I am currently experiencing financial hardship and would like to find a way to reduce my monthly payments and avoid defaulting on my mortgage for a property I own in the UAE.
My problems began last year when I went through a divorce, a salary reduction and also had to pay for a family member’s surgery in my home country. I now have to pay Dh3,000 in alimony every month to my former spouse, deal with a 40 per cent permanent salary reduction and a huge dent in my savings.
My monthly primary expenses include my child’s school fees of Dh3,000, mortgage instalment of Dh4,000, Dh2,500 car loan and other miscellaneous expenses. I also have credit card debt worth Dh10,000 and pay the minimum amount due every month.
I work in the retail industry and used to earn a monthly salary of Dh15,000 before Covid-19 struck.
I am not trying to avoid my responsibilities and I am embarrassed that I am even in this position in the first place. I have not missed any mortgage payments to date. However, if the current situation continues, I am afraid I might default on my financial obligations because my savings are about to hit rock bottom and my expenses are more than my current income.
What do you suggest I do to reduce my expenses or increase my income? I do not want to be hounded by debt collection agents, so please help me with a few options. SS, Dubai
Debt panellist 1: R Sivaram, executive vice president and head of retail banking products at Emirates NBD
You have been going through a series of unforeseen life events that has put you in this predicament. However, it is commendable that you are looking to keep up with your financial obligations.
As a first step, connect with your bank’s mortgage loan department to explain your situation and request help with reviewing the terms of the loan to lower your monthly instalments by extending the term of the loan.
Explore options to see if there is a way to optimise the pricing on the loan by shifting to a different plan. Ask the bank if there are instalment deferral options that can be availed, which could provide short-term relief.
Given that you are in a stable job and in view of your extenuating circumstances and proactive approach, I am sure the bank will review your request favourably.
Under UAE Central Bank guidelines, your financial liabilities should not exceed 50 per cent of your salary
Jaya Ratnani,
managing partner at Freed Financial Services
In addition, plan to actively scrutinise your monthly expenses to see how these can be optimised. As the saying goes: “A penny saved is a penny earned.” There are a number of budgeting websites that you can check out for tips on how to plan your budget and save more.
Keep a tight focus on your card spending and also review your existing car loan to see if there are reductions possible.
I wish you all the best in putting a good plan in place, along with support from your bank, to help you address the situation and put you back on a sound financial footing soon.
Debt panellist 2: Jaya Ratnani, managing partner at Freed Financial Services
This is a tough time for you personally and financially. It is great to know that you are taking the required measures to avoid any further financial liabilities and intend to fulfil your personal responsibilities.
Under UAE Central Bank guidelines, your financial liabilities should not exceed 50 per cent of your salary. Since your monthly salary was Dh15,000 before Covid-19, your reduced income must now be about Dh9,000, which makes your debt-burden ratio almost 80 per cent.
In such a situation, it would be best for you to contact your bank to reduce your mortgage and car loan instalments by restructuring the liabilities.
You can prepare a letter that explains your situation and why you are looking to restructure your debt. Also provide your bank with the related documents, such as bank statements, salary reduction letter, cash-flow position, other assets and borrowings. Your good payment history will play an important role for the bank to consider your request.
It is also important for the bank to understand that you have done your utmost to reduce your personal expenses to keep up with timely payments.
You could also consider renting out the mortgaged property and assigning the rental income towards your home loan. You may want to consider the possibility of moving into smaller accommodation.
Your car loan instalment is close to 30 per cent of your total income, which is very high. To reduce the monthly instalment, perhaps consider replacing your car with a cheaper one.
Lastly, do look for suitable opportunities as the job market is on an upwards trend and the retail industry has largely bounced back. Given your experience, there may be the possibility of finding something in line with your previous income that will help you revive your current financial situation.
Taking the right steps will surely result in improving your personal and financial circumstances.
Debt panellist 3: Nathan McFarlane, founder of AskHelpWith.com
Your situation is similar to what many people have experienced over the past year or so. It certainly is not embarrassing to find yourself in this situation; it is an unfortunate by-product of the current economic climate.
However, fear not: it is actually great that you are looking for advice before your financial issues become too difficult to handle. By relying on your savings, it appears that you have managed to keep up to date with your payments despite your difficulties.
If your credit rating is still reasonably good – about 550-plus – there may be several options to restructure or buyout your existing liabilities. You can obtain your credit report from Al Etihad Credit Bureau to check your score. I suggest you start to look at restructuring all your liabilities if possible.
Either way, rather than paying the minimum on your credit card, you should focus on paying this down as soon as possible as this has the highest interest rate. If you are paying the minimum every month, it will take you years to pay it off.
If all else fails, I would suggest looking at a secondary income of some sort to help you through this time. It is now common for many people to have two roles to help make ends meet. One positive benefit of Covid-19 is that it has made part-time remote work all the more possible. I wish you the very best of luck.
The Debt Panel is a weekly column to help readers tackle their debts more effectively. If you have a question for the panel, write to pf@thenational.ae
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
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Directed by: Ricky Staub
Starring: Idris Elba, Caleb McLaughlin, Jharrel Jerome
3.5/5 stars
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GROUPS
Group Gustavo Kuerten
Novak Djokovic (x1)
Alexander Zverev (x3)
Marin Cilic (x5)
John Isner (x8)
Group Lleyton Hewitt
Roger Federer (x2)
Kevin Anderson (x4)
Dominic Thiem (x6)
Kei Nishikori (x7)
RACE CARD
5pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,400m
5.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 1,200m
6pm: Arabian Triple Crown Round-1 (PA) Listed Dh230,000 1,600m
6.30pm: HH The President’s Cup (PA) Group 1 Dh2.5million 2,200m
7pm: HH The President’s Cup (TB) Listed Dh380,000 1,400m
7.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap Dh70,000 1,200m.
Other promotions
- Deliveroo will team up with Pineapple Express to offer customers near JLT a special treat: free banana caramel dessert with all orders on January 26
- Jones the Grocer will have their limited edition Australia Day menu available until the end of the month (January 31)
- Australian Vet in Abu Dhabi (with locations in Khalifa City A and Reem Island) will have a 15 per cent off all store items (excluding medications)
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Barcelona v Liverpool, Wednesday, 11pm (UAE).
Second leg
Liverpool v Barcelona, Tuesday, May 7, 11pm
Games on BeIN Sports
Abu Dhabi Equestrian Club race card
5pm: Abu Dhabi Fillies Classic (PA) Prestige; Dh110,000; 1,400m
5.30pm: Abu Dhabi Colts Classic (PA) Prestige; Dh110,000; 1,400m
6pm: Maiden (PA); Dh80,000; 1,600m
6.30pm: Abu Dhabi Championship (PA) Listed; Dh180,000; 1,600m
7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup (PA) Handicap; Dh70,000; 2,200m
7.30pm: Handicap (PA); Dh100,000; 2,400m
Schedule:
Pakistan v Sri Lanka:
28 Sep-2 Oct, 1st Test, Abu Dhabi
6-10 Oct, 2nd Test (day-night), Dubai
13 Oct, 1st ODI, Dubai
16 Oct, 2nd ODI, Abu Dhabi
18 Oct, 3rd ODI, Abu Dhabi
20 Oct, 4th ODI, Sharjah
23 Oct, 5th ODI, Sharjah
26 Oct, 1st T20I, Abu Dhabi
27 Oct, 2nd T20I, Abu Dhabi
29 Oct, 3rd T20I, Lahore
Meghan%20podcast
%3Cp%3EMeghan%20Markle%2C%20the%20wife%20of%20Prince%20Harry%2C%20launched%20her%20long-awaited%20podcast%20Tuesday%2C%20with%20tennis%20megastar%20Serena%20Williams%20as%20the%20first%20guest.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20Duchess%20of%20Sussex%20said%20the%2012-part%20series%2C%20called%20%22Archetypes%2C%22%20--%20a%20play%20on%20the%20name%20of%20the%20couple's%20oldest%20child%2C%20Archie%20--%20would%20explore%20the%20female%20experience.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3ELast%20year%20the%20couple%20told%20Oprah%20Winfrey%20that%20life%20inside%20%22The%20Firm%22%20had%20been%20miserable%2C%20and%20that%20they%20had%20experienced%20racism.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%22I%20don't%20ever%20remember%20personally%20feeling%20the%20negative%20connotation%20behind%20the%20word%20ambitious%2C%20until%20I%20started%20dating%20my%20now-husband%2C%22%20she%20told%20the%20tennis%20champion.%26nbsp%3B%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Distance covered: 160km
Temperature: -40°C
Weight of equipment: 45kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 0
Terrain: Ice rock
South Pole stats
Distance covered: 130km
Temperature: -50°C
Weight of equipment: 50kg
Altitude (metres above sea level): 3,300
Terrain: Flat ice
The specs
Engine: 5.2-litre V10
Power: 640hp at 8,000rpm
Torque: 565Nm at 6,500rpm
Transmission: 7-speed dual-clutch auto
Price: From Dh1 million
On sale: Q3 or Q4 2022
Ferrari
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Email sent to Uber team from chief executive Dara Khosrowshahi
From: Dara
To: Team@
Date: March 25, 2019 at 11:45pm PT
Subj: Accelerating in the Middle East
Five years ago, Uber launched in the Middle East. It was the start of an incredible journey, with millions of riders and drivers finding new ways to move and work in a dynamic region that’s become so important to Uber. Now Pakistan is one of our fastest-growing markets in the world, women are driving with Uber across Saudi Arabia, and we chose Cairo to launch our first Uber Bus product late last year.
Today we are taking the next step in this journey—well, it’s more like a leap, and a big one: in a few minutes, we’ll announce that we’ve agreed to acquire Careem. Importantly, we intend to operate Careem independently, under the leadership of co-founder and current CEO Mudassir Sheikha. I’ve gotten to know both co-founders, Mudassir and Magnus Olsson, and what they have built is truly extraordinary. They are first-class entrepreneurs who share our platform vision and, like us, have launched a wide range of products—from digital payments to food delivery—to serve consumers.
I expect many of you will ask how we arrived at this structure, meaning allowing Careem to maintain an independent brand and operate separately. After careful consideration, we decided that this framework has the advantage of letting us build new products and try new ideas across not one, but two, strong brands, with strong operators within each. Over time, by integrating parts of our networks, we can operate more efficiently, achieve even lower wait times, expand new products like high-capacity vehicles and payments, and quicken the already remarkable pace of innovation in the region.
This acquisition is subject to regulatory approval in various countries, which we don’t expect before Q1 2020. Until then, nothing changes. And since both companies will continue to largely operate separately after the acquisition, very little will change in either teams’ day-to-day operations post-close. Today’s news is a testament to the incredible business our team has worked so hard to build.
It’s a great day for the Middle East, for the region’s thriving tech sector, for Careem, and for Uber.
Uber on,
Dara
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
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AWARDS
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UK-EU trade at a glance
EU fishing vessels guaranteed access to UK waters for 12 years
Co-operation on security initiatives and procurement of defence products
Youth experience scheme to work, study or volunteer in UK and EU countries
Smoother border management with use of e-gates
Cutting red tape on import and export of food
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
UAE SQUAD
Ali Khaseif, Mohammed Al Shamsi, Fahad Al Dhanhani, Khalid Essa, Bandar Al Ahbabi, Salem Rashid, Shaheen Abdulrahman, Khalifa Al Hammadi, Mohammed Al Attas, Walid Abbas, Hassan Al Mahrami, Mahmoud Khamis, Alhassan Saleh, Ali Salmeen, Yahia Nader, Abdullah Ramadan, Majed Hassan, Abdullah Al Naqbi, Fabio De Lima, Khalil Al Hammadi, Khalfan Mubarak, Tahnoun Al Zaabi, Muhammed Jumah, Yahya Al Ghassani, Caio Canedo, Ali Mabkhout, Sebastian Tagliabue, Zayed Al Ameri
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
If you go
The flights
There are direct flights from Dubai to Sofia with FlyDubai (www.flydubai.com) and Wizz Air (www.wizzair.com), from Dh1,164 and Dh822 return including taxes, respectively.
The trip
Plovdiv is 150km from Sofia, with an hourly bus service taking around 2 hours and costing $16 (Dh58). The Rhodopes can be reached from Sofia in between 2-4hours.
The trip was organised by Bulguides (www.bulguides.com), which organises guided trips throughout Bulgaria. Guiding, accommodation, food and transfers from Plovdiv to the mountains and back costs around 170 USD for a four-day, three-night trip.
