I am in a desperate situation. I have lost my job and the tenancy contract for my house has also ended. I own an apartment in a project in Dubai, and have made a down payment of 25 per cent of the unit’s price.
The project was due to be handed over on April 1, 2019. At that time, I could have easily taken a mortgage. However, completion was delayed by a year and the project was ready on April 1, 2020. But with the onset of the pandemic, the situation has changed and banks are stricter about offering mortgages.
As per the contractual terms, the owner can move in to the unit after paying 50 per cent of the property price, while the remaining 25 per cent can be paid after moving in.
I asked the real estate agency to allow me to stay in my apartment because I have already paid 25 per cent of the purchase price.
I have heard of cases where other brokerages allow owners to move in to their property after paying only 10 per cent as down payment and the remaining amount over the next five years. I can afford to pay Dh50,000 in the first year and the remaining amount over the next four to five years.
My apartment has been vacant since April 2020. The brokerage is also incurring a loss because no one is willing to rent such an expensive unit in a remote area of Dubai. If the agency allowed me to move into my apartment, it could benefit by “renting out” the property to me.
But the agency insists on adhering to the terms of the contract, which are not feasible in the midst of a pandemic. LZ, Dubai
I sympathise with your situation and can only recommend that you try to do the following steps.
You mention the agency, so I assume this is the brokerage you did the deal with in the first place. I would not recommend you to pursue any more meaningful conversations with the brokerage. The agency will only abide by the contract and not offer any relevant advice.
Make a face-to-face appointment, which will allow you to explain your position in a much better light
If you have paid 25 per cent of the purchase price, I also assume you have signed a sales and purchase agreement with the developer and, as such, I’m sure you can get hold of somebody in authority at the developer’s office who might be able to agree a mutual understanding.
Make a face-to-face appointment, which will allow you to explain your position in a much better light. Try to offer solutions rather than just talk about your problem.
You are correct in saying that there are indeed developers who allow buyers to move in after paying just 10 per cent, with the remaining to be paid post-handover. But I stress this is at the discretion of the developer, which is why you should try to get hold of a senior manager there.
There really is no quick fix to your issue given the current economic problems faced by everyone. However, a solution will be found if both parties work together. The key, as mentioned, is to speak to the most senior person possible.
Talking to the company owner would do the trick, but the difficulty is to get to him. I believe him to be a reasonable man, so if you are able to discuss this at that level, I’m sure you would come to a solution.
Mario Volpi is the sales and leasing manager at Engel & Volkers. He has worked in the property sector for more than 35 years in London and Dubai. The opinions expressed do not constitute legal advice and are provided for information only. Please send any questions to mario.volpi@engelvoelkers.com
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
Packages which the US Secret Service said contained possible explosive devices were sent to:
- Former first lady Hillary Clinton
- Former US president Barack Obama
- Philanthropist and businessman George Soros
- Former CIA director John Brennan at CNN's New York bureau
- Former Attorney General Eric Holder (delivered to former DNC chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz)
- California Congresswoman Maxine Waters (two devices)
Brief scoreline:
Manchester United 0
Manchester City 2
Bernardo Silva 54', Sane 66'
The low down
Producers: Uniglobe Entertainment & Vision Films
Director: Namrata Singh Gujral
Cast: Rajkummar Rao, Nargis Fakhri, Bo Derek, Candy Clark
Rating: 2/5
SPECS
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Global Fungi Facts
• Scientists estimate there could be as many as 3 million fungal species globally
• Only about 160,000 have been officially described leaving around 90% undiscovered
• Fungi account for roughly 90% of Earth's unknown biodiversity
• Forest fungi help tackle climate change, absorbing up to 36% of global fossil fuel emissions annually and storing around 5 billion tonnes of carbon in the planet's topsoil
Squad
Ali Kasheif, Salim Rashid, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Ali Mabkhout, Omar Abdulrahman, Mohammed Al Attas, Abdullah Ramadan, Zayed Al Ameri (Al Jazira), Mohammed Al Shamsi, Hamdan Al Kamali, Mohammed Barghash, Khalil Al Hammadi (Al Wahda), Khalid Essa, Mohammed Shaker, Ahmed Barman, Bandar Al Ahbabi (Al Ain), Al Hassan Saleh, Majid Suroor (Sharjah) Walid Abbas, Ahmed Khalil (Shabab Al Ahli), Tariq Ahmed, Jasim Yaqoub (Al Nasr), Ali Saleh, Ali Salmeen (Al Wasl), Hassan Al Muharami (Baniyas)
Poacher
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The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
Coming soon
Torno Subito by Massimo Bottura
When the W Dubai – The Palm hotel opens at the end of this year, one of the highlights will be Massimo Bottura’s new restaurant, Torno Subito, which promises “to take guests on a journey back to 1960s Italy”. It is the three Michelinstarred chef’s first venture in Dubai and should be every bit as ambitious as you would expect from the man whose restaurant in Italy, Osteria Francescana, was crowned number one in this year’s list of the World’s 50 Best Restaurants.
Akira Back Dubai
Another exciting opening at the W Dubai – The Palm hotel is South Korean chef Akira Back’s new restaurant, which will continue to showcase some of the finest Asian food in the world. Back, whose Seoul restaurant, Dosa, won a Michelin star last year, describes his menu as, “an innovative Japanese cuisine prepared with a Korean accent”.
Dinner by Heston Blumenthal
The highly experimental chef, whose dishes are as much about spectacle as taste, opens his first restaurant in Dubai next year. Housed at The Royal Atlantis Resort & Residences, Dinner by Heston Blumenthal will feature contemporary twists on recipes that date back to the 1300s, including goats’ milk cheesecake. Always remember with a Blumenthal dish: nothing is quite as it seems.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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Profile
Company: Justmop.com
Date started: December 2015
Founders: Kerem Kuyucu and Cagatay Ozcan
Sector: Technology and home services
Based: Jumeirah Lake Towers, Dubai
Size: 55 employees and 100,000 cleaning requests a month
Funding: The company’s investors include Collective Spark, Faith Capital Holding, Oak Capital, VentureFriends, and 500 Startups.
The specs
Engine: 1.4-litre 4-cylinder turbo
Power: 180hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 250Nm at 3,00rpm
Transmission: 5-speed sequential auto
Price: From Dh139,995
On sale: now
Fixtures
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The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
HWJN
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More on animal trafficking
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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MATCH INFO
Manchester City 2 (Mahrez 04', Ake 84')
Leicester City 5 (Vardy 37' pen, 54', 58' pen, Maddison 77', Tielemans 88' pen)
Man of the match: Jamie Vardy (Leicester City)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The National Archives, Abu Dhabi
Founded over 50 years ago, the National Archives collects valuable historical material relating to the UAE, and is the oldest and richest archive relating to the Arabian Gulf.
Much of the material can be viewed on line at the Arabian Gulf Digital Archive - https://www.agda.ae/en
SPEC%20SHEET%3A%20APPLE%20IPHONE%2015%20PRO%20MAX
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