Homefront: 'Can I rent a four-bedroom Dubai villa for Dh125,000?'

I have paid the same amount for a three-bedroom villa in Jumeirah for many years, mainly because I have a great relationship with my landlord. The issue is that with an expanding family, I would love a bigger home - ideally a four-bedroom villa. This would give me enough space to comfortably house my family and the endless guests that fly in to stay with us, But I do not want to pay much more than my current rate of Dh125,000. If I move into some of the newer communities in Dubai, can I still negotiate a good deal. And is it worth the risk when I have such a great rapport with my current landlord? I don't want to start having to move every year because I take on an unreasonable landlord. NB, Dubai

I cannot stress how important having a great business relationship with your landlord is. I am constantly contacted by disgruntled landlords and tenants about how unreasonable parties can be and sometimes they fall out over such petty scenarios, therefore good communication, reasonable behaviour and a clear understanding of the other person's situation is key to having a perfect landlord/tenant relationship.
That said, you clearly ought not to stay in a property that is either no longer suitable nor cost effective for you. Rental prices have been coming down over the past year or so and with a large future inventory scheduled to become available in the coming six months or so, this trend is unlikely to change any time soon, therefore if you are able to find a larger property that suits then you should look into this.
Areas that have four bed villas or townhouses from Dh125,000 and below, can be found in Jumeirah Village Circle, Mirdif, Al Warsan, Dubai Investment Park, Al Furjan, Town Square and Living Legends.

Unfortunately while you can pick the property to live in, you cannot guarantee what the next landlord is going to be like. The good news is that you can now check for any potential bad history on the landlord via a new service that the Rental Dispute Settlement Centre has launched. Be aware that any landlord can also check to see your history via this app too.

To use the new service, download the RDSC app, select your preferred language, click on the rental good conduct certificate if you are a tenant and if you want a RGC certificate. Choose person or company, key in your Emirates ID number and name as indicated on the ID, mobile number and email address. You will receive a text message response straightaway. If no enforcement cases are found against you the RGC certificate will be emailed to you immediately. The same procedure applies to the leaser.

One way to ensure your good relationship with your existing landlord continues is to contact him or her and enquire if by any chance he/she owns another larger property somewhere in Dubai. This way you get your larger property to fit your growing family and you get to keep your current landlord too.

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Homefront: 'Can I evict a tenant in 90 days to move in with my family?'

Homefront: 'My landlord wants his villa repainted four months after I moved out'

Homefront: 'What happens to a tenant's personal possessions if they abscond from the UAE?'

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Mario Volpi is the sales and leasing manager at Engel & Volkers. He has worked in the property sector for 34 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 BIO

Ms Davison came to Dubai from Kerala after her marriage in 1996 when she was 21-years-old

Since 2001, Ms Davison has worked at many affordable schools such as Our Own English High School in Sharjah, and The Apple International School and Amled School in Dubai

Favourite Book: The Alchemist

Favourite quote: Failing to prepare is preparing to fail

Favourite place to Travel to: Vienna

Favourite cuisine: Italian food

Favourite Movie : Scent of a Woman

UAE - India ties

The UAE is India’s third-largest trade partner after the US and China

Annual bilateral trade between India and the UAE has crossed US$ 60 billion

The UAE is the fourth-largest exporter of crude oil for India

Indians comprise the largest community with 3.3 million residents in the UAE

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi first visited the UAE in August 2015

His visit on August 23-24 will be the third in four years

Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the Armed Forces, visited India in February 2016

Sheikh Mohamed was the chief guest at India’s Republic Day celebrations in January 2017

Modi will visit Bahrain on August 24-25

On Women's Day

Dr Nawal Al-Hosany: Why more women should be on the frontlines of climate action

Shelina Janmohamed: Why shouldn't a spouse be compensated fairly for housework?

Justin Thomas: Challenge the notion that 'men are from Mars, women are from Venus'

The National Editorial: Is there much to celebrate on International Women's Day 2021?

Score

Third Test, Day 1

New Zealand 229-7 (90 ov)
Pakistan

New Zealand won the toss and elected to bat

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.”

Skewed figures

In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.

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