Last April, John Harrison marched into a Dubai skyscraper with a cheque for Dh500,000.
With no mortgage or financing from the bank, Mr Harrison, a pilot for Emirates Airline, paid a 50 per cent down payment on the Dh1 million villa in Abu Dhabi with cold, hard cash. The cheque represented four years of diligent saving.
But the transaction - over in an instant - turned out to be the biggest financial error of his life. "I wasn't a speculator," Mr Harrison says, who wished to keep the local developer anonymous. "I didn't want to flip it a few months down the road. Now, I have sleepless nights and have been sick over this unpleasant business."
Mr Harrison, 44, who agreed to share his story on the condition we change his name, grew up in Zimbabwe and moved to the UAE more than 13 years ago, in 1996. He says he bought the off-plan property last year for his mother, 66, who now lives alone in the troubled African nation. His family's history there dates back to when his grandfather, a soldier, moved to the country with the original "Pioneer Column" ? the British army raised in 1890 to annex part of Southern Rhodesia.
He remembers attending a school "in the bush" as a boy, and the violence surrounding him, such as when a farmer was killed down the road as he played football, or when his cousin died during military service. But Mr Harrison is now eager to bring his family's history in Zimbabwe to an end.
"The idea is to pull her out," he explains. "For years, I had been saving money for a rainy day, and the situation in Zimbabwe is untenable. I thought this must be the rainy day."
After the turmoil surrounding the Zimbabwean presidential election in March 2008, he decided he'd seen enough. He began actively looking for a home for his mother. He felt Dubai was too expensive and unpredictable for investment. While there were many budding projects in the UAE to consider, a friend- who works as a property agent in Dubai - suggested he buy into a promising development in Abu Dhabi.
Mr Harrison decided to pounce on the opportunity.
But in hindsight, he admits he may have acted too quickly. After dropping off his Dh500,000 cheque, he was assured - in April 2008 - that he'd be issued receipts and a contract in the next couple months, and the villa would be ready by the beginning of 2009.
But after two months, with neither in hand, Mr Harrison started to sweat. Phone calls and e-mails to the developer, he says, were greeted with further delays, and at times, silence.
Mr Harrison would eventually receive a receipt in July 2008. But in September, when he came to finally sign a contract, he says he was required to select a different plot of land than what was originally agreed upon, at a higher price.
He was charged, he explains, an additional 10 per cent fee for the "extra area" on the plot. He claims he was given no suitable reason for these changes. He was simply told the contract was altered because of building and financial constraints.
Construction delays, he adds, proved equally troublesome. In January 2009, the completion date for the development was pushed back until sometime in 2010. And now, Mr Harrison says, that deadline has been further extended to the fourth quarter of 2011. All of these problems considered, he decided in February 2009 to pull the plug on his investment.
He sold the off-plan villa to another investor at a loss of Dh100,000. However, Mr Harrison, who has a wife and three children, aged 16, 14 and 12, says he's learnt a great deal from the experience.
He says he'll be more hesitant about buying property in the UAE, as he feels that - when there were delays in construction and changes to the contract - he had no recourse against the developer, and there was no protection for the consumer.
"But I wouldn't put people off entirely," he adds. "There is still good property. I would buy from someone with a reputation to lose, who has depth to their business and experience behind them. As they say, there is proof in the pudding."
He also regrets handing over the cash on the basis of a "reservation agreement" rather than signing a contract. He advises anyone interested in property to never make a "gentlemen's agreement", as he called it, and instead demand a detailed and thorough contract.
If there are any delays in signing a contract, treat that as a serious warning sign, and think twice. He says that more than a year ago, prior to the financial downturn, it was much easier to get caught up in the property frenzy - and he was no exception. Buyers, chasing what seemed like a foolproof investment, would find themselves under tremendous pressure to hand over their savings because of the sharp demand for property, often without fully understanding the terms.
Now, he advises prospective buyers to get absolutely everything in writing, remain suspicious and remember that even contractual agreements can be broken. In other words, be your own advocate, and be prepared to defend yourself. And Mr Harrison has followed his own advice.
Since his problems with the developer, he has helped establish an investor's group specifically formed to protect their rights and provide support and advice for its members.
While he didn't wish to mention the specifics, the group, with more than 100 members, continues to lobby the developer and push for their rights as investors. As for his mother, while he may bring her to the UAE in the near future, Mr Harrison says the loss has put his savings back a few years.
But he knows his biggest financial mistake could have been worse. And there are many others who have suffered a similar fate.
"I have to remain philosophical," he says. "There are others involved with the same company that stand to lose a lot more, or have already lost it. I still have a good job, and I can recover."
jtodd@thenational.ae
Results
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EElite%20men%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E1.%20Amare%20Hailemichael%20Samson%20(ERI)%202%3A07%3A10%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Leornard%20Barsoton%20(KEN)%202%3A09%3A37%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20Ilham%20Ozbilan%20(TUR)%202%3A10%3A16%0D%3Cbr%3E4.%20Gideon%20Chepkonga%20(KEN)%202%3A11%3A17%0D%3Cbr%3E5.%20Isaac%20Timoi%20(KEN)%202%3A11%3A34%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EElite%20women%3C%2Fstrong%3E%0D%3Cbr%3E1.%20Brigid%20Kosgei%20(KEN)%202%3A19%3A15%0D%3Cbr%3E2.%20Hawi%20Feysa%20Gejia%20(ETH)%202%3A24%3A03%0D%3Cbr%3E3.%20Sintayehu%20Dessi%20(ETH)%202%3A25%3A36%0D%3Cbr%3E4.%20Aurelia%20Kiptui%20(KEN)%202%3A28%3A59%0D%3Cbr%3E5.%20Emily%20Kipchumba%20(KEN)%202%3A29%3A52%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
How to join and use Abu Dhabi’s public libraries
• There are six libraries in Abu Dhabi emirate run by the Department of Culture and Tourism, including one in Al Ain and Al Dhafra.
• Libraries are free to visit and visitors can consult books, use online resources and study there. Most are open from 8am to 8pm on weekdays, closed on Fridays and have variable hours on Saturdays, except for Qasr Al Watan which is open from 10am to 8pm every day.
• In order to borrow books, visitors must join the service by providing a passport photograph, Emirates ID and a refundable deposit of Dh400. Members can borrow five books for three weeks, all of which are renewable up to two times online.
• If users do not wish to pay the fee, they can still use the library’s electronic resources for free by simply registering on the website. Once registered, a username and password is provided, allowing remote access.
• For more information visit the library network's website.
The specs: Fenyr SuperSport
Price, base: Dh5.1 million
Engine: 3.8-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 800hp @ 7,100pm
Torque: 980Nm @ 4,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 13.5L / 100km
Secret Pigeon Service: Operation Colomba, Resistance and the Struggle to Liberate Europe
Gordon Corera, Harper Collins
Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
THE%20SPECS
%3Cp%3EBattery%3A%2060kW%20lithium-ion%20phosphate%3Cbr%3EPower%3A%20Up%20to%20201bhp%3Cbr%3E0%20to%20100kph%3A%207.3%20seconds%3Cbr%3ERange%3A%20418km%3Cbr%3EPrice%3A%20From%20Dh149%2C900%3Cbr%3EAvailable%3A%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Washmen Profile
Date Started: May 2015
Founders: Rami Shaar and Jad Halaoui
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Laundry
Employees: 170
Funding: about $8m
Funders: Addventure, B&Y Partners, Clara Ventures, Cedar Mundi Partners, Henkel Ventures
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Spider-Man: No Way Home
Director: Jon Watts
Stars: Tom Holland, Zendaya, Jacob Batalon
Rating:*****
The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EName%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESmartCrowd%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2018%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounder%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiddiq%20Farid%20and%20Musfique%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EDubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%20%2F%20PropTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%24650%2C000%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2035%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESeries%20A%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EVarious%20institutional%20investors%20and%20notable%20angel%20investors%20(500%20MENA%2C%20Shurooq%2C%20Mada%2C%20Seedstar%2C%20Tricap)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2018 Opel Mokka X
Price, as tested: Dh84,000
Engine: 1.4L, four-cylinder turbo
Transmission: Six-speed auto
Power: 142hp at 4,900rpm
Torque: 200Nm at 1,850rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L / 100km