My Own Home: Couple get Dh3 million offers for bargain Dh1.3m property


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My Own Home takes you inside a reader-owned property to ask how much they paid, why they decided to buy and what they have done with it since moving in

Less than a year after internal audit head for Noon.com Payal and Nimit Sethi, founder of pet store and grooming business Pet Patio, got married in 2019, they bought their dream property in Springs 4 in Dubai for Dh1.3 million.

It was already a few months into the global pandemic and prices had steeply dropped, so they took the plunge and spent a further Dh250,000 on renovating the place.

Today, they live in the three-bedroom house with their three-year-old poodle Burfee and they are getting offers for more than Dh3 million all the time. But they are reluctant to sell because they are just so comfortable where they are.

The National takes a tour.

Please tell us about your home

Nimit Sethi: We have three bedrooms and three bathrooms. We are very blessed to have a spot where we’re not backing into any other house, as it backs on to a road. So we don’t have anyone peeping in our garden.

We are also blessed to have good neighbours who don’t interfere or complain over little things.

The best part is they’re owners on both sides, so our neighbours won't change until they end up selling the house.

Why did you decide to buy?

Payal Sethi: We were renting a one-bedroom place in Downtown before, but when we got married we were looking for a bigger space.

We were in two minds about whether to rent another property or buy, and then Covid happened. We started seeing that the property prices were going down and we knew we are going to live in Dubai for the long term. The only risk was, would the prices go down any further?

But we’d always had our eyes on the Springs. Earlier in 2020, the prices were steep here, but then, come July or August, we started seeing the dip.

At the time, no one was letting us in the houses for viewings. Thankfully, Nimit knew someone who managed to give us a glimpse of this house. The tenants who were living here were very sceptical of people coming in, but they agreed to one viewing. I still remember the masks were on and we had to make our way around in one line and just go up, down, then out again.

We just managed to get a feel for it, but that was enough.

Nimit: Also, in the back of our heads we knew we were going to renovate this house completely. So whatever state it was in before, it didn’t really make a difference to us.

What renovations have you done?

Nimit: We did some extensions in the living room. We converted a maid’s room on the ground floor to a bathroom. There was also a powder room as well as a laundry area, which we converted into a guest bedroom.

We revamped all the bathrooms upstairs and completely changed the floorings. We also opened up the kitchen and put in an entire Ikea model.

The kitchen has been completely renovated. Pawan Singh / The National
The kitchen has been completely renovated. Pawan Singh / The National

Payal: We also did a lot to the garden. Before it was just concrete and artificial grass, so we ripped it apart and added natural grass.

My grandmother contributed a lot. She planted some trees that are now fully grown. We have some drumsticks, we have a pomegranate tree and there’s also a lemon tree.

We grow a lot of vegetables as well, such as tomatoes, aubergines and green chillis.

It’s an L-shaped garden and it’s a very nice area for us. Winters are amazing, when we sit out in the garden. We also do these barbecues and parties where we can easily accommodate about 50 people.

Why did you choose the Springs?

Payal: Access to the Springs is amazing. You are close to Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Khail, as well as the Marina and Barsha Heights. All the vibrant places, yet the Springs has its own quiet and calm environment.

The couple love sitting outside in winter and enjoying the calm atmosphere of the Springs. Pawan Singh / The National
The couple love sitting outside in winter and enjoying the calm atmosphere of the Springs. Pawan Singh / The National

Here we’re right next to one of the biggest lakes, so the evening walks are amazing. There’s a lot of walking space around here. There are also a lot of nice community malls and some dog parks.

It’s one of those communities that cannot be replicated in terms of the location, and that was really key for us. And, just generally, all the facilities are nice and clean, and we have a lot of friends here, so it’s the perfect choice for us.

We love this house so much. We always want to preserve it. We keep getting these offers of people really wanting to buy, but we just don’t have the heart to sell it.

Are you planning to move anywhere else in future?

Nimit: We actually just bought another four-and-a-half-bedroom house in Al Furjan that will be handed over by the end of the year. It’s like the most upcoming and in-demand area right now. It’s just about five miles away from here and connected to Sheikh Zayed.

Payal: We’re still contemplating whether to live there or rent it out. We are so used to the Springs now and this house really is sufficient for us at this point.

Also, with the rental prices in that area, we could make a good amount. So we’re thinking we’ll rent it out to start with and then we’ll see, hopefully if the family grows and we need more space, then we move there.

Have you seen a financial difference between renting and owning?

Payal: Before we got married, we were both renting our own places. I’ve been in Dubai since 2012 and Nimit has been here since 2008. All these years we invested in renting and if we would have even picked up one studio, we might have owned it by now.

When we got married, our main focus was to stop investing in rented houses and get our own home. If we look at the savings now, we would have rented this house for Dh200,000-plus per year, whereas we’re paying about Dh90,000 for our mortgage. So, we’re living in the Springs for half the price we would have paid if we were renting.

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The Library: A Catalogue of Wonders
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Pietro Bartolo and Lidia Tilotta
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'Hocus%20Pocus%202'
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What the law says

Micro-retirement is not a recognised concept or employment status under Federal Decree Law No. 33 of 2021 on the Regulation of Labour Relations (as amended) (UAE Labour Law). As such, it reflects a voluntary work-life balance practice, rather than a recognised legal employment category, according to Dilini Loku, senior associate for law firm Gateley Middle East.

“Some companies may offer formal sabbatical policies or career break programmes; however, beyond such arrangements, there is no automatic right or statutory entitlement to extended breaks,” she explains.

“Any leave taken beyond statutory entitlements, such as annual leave, is typically regarded as unpaid leave in accordance with Article 33 of the UAE Labour Law. While employees may legally take unpaid leave, such requests are subject to the employer’s discretion and require approval.”

If an employee resigns to pursue micro-retirement, the employment contract is terminated, and the employer is under no legal obligation to rehire the employee in the future unless specific contractual agreements are in place (such as return-to-work arrangements), which are generally uncommon, Ms Loku adds.

F1 The Movie

Starring: Brad Pitt, Damson Idris, Kerry Condon, Javier Bardem

Director: Joseph Kosinski

Rating: 4/5

The specs

Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cyl, 48V hybrid

Transmission: eight-speed automatic

Power: 325bhp

Torque: 450Nm

Price: Dh289,000

Ferrari 12Cilindri specs

Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12

Power: 819hp

Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm

Price: From Dh1,700,000

Available: Now

Chinese Grand Prix schedule (in UAE time)

Friday: First practice - 6am; Second practice - 10am

Saturday: Final practice - 7am; Qualifying - 10am

Sunday: Chinese Grand Prix - 10.10am

If you go

The flights Etihad (www.etihad.com) and Spice Jet (www.spicejet.com) fly direct from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Pune respectively from Dh1,000 return including taxes. Pune airport is 90 minutes away by road. 

The hotels A stay at Atmantan Wellness Resort (www.atmantan.com) costs from Rs24,000 (Dh1,235) per night, including taxes, consultations, meals and a treatment package.
 

The specs: 2017 Lotus Evora Sport 410

Price, base / as tested Dh395,000 / Dh420,000

Engine 3.5L V6

Transmission Six-speed manual

Power 410hp @ 7,000rpm

Torque 420Nm @ 3,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined 9.7L / 100km

The biog

Favourite colour: Brown

Favourite Movie: Resident Evil

Hobbies: Painting, Cooking, Imitating Voices

Favourite food: Pizza

Trivia: Was the voice of three characters in the Emirati animation, Shaabiyat Al Cartoon

Other key dates
  • Finals draw: December 2
  • Finals (including semi-finals and third-placed game): June 5–9, 2019
  • Euro 2020 play-off draw: November 22, 2019
  • Euro 2020 play-offs: March 26–31, 2020
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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Director: Louis Theroux

Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz

Rating: 5/5

THE NEW BATCH'S FOCUS SECTORS

AiFlux – renewables, oil and gas

DevisionX – manufacturing

Event Gates – security and manufacturing

Farmdar – agriculture

Farmin – smart cities

Greener Crop – agriculture

Ipera.ai – space digitisation

Lune Technologies – fibre-optics

Monak – delivery

NutzenTech – environment

Nybl – machine learning

Occicor – shelf management

Olymon Solutions – smart automation

Pivony – user-generated data

PowerDev – energy big data

Sav – finance

Searover – renewables

Swftbox – delivery

Trade Capital Partners – FinTech

Valorafutbol – sports and entertainment

Workfam – employee engagement

Specs

Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request

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The specs

Engine: 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbocharged and three electric motors

Power: Combined output 920hp

Torque: 730Nm at 4,000-7,000rpm

Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch automatic

Fuel consumption: 11.2L/100km

On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025

Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000

The specs

  Engine: 2-litre or 3-litre 4Motion all-wheel-drive Power: 250Nm (2-litre); 340 (3-litre) Torque: 450Nm Transmission: 8-speed automatic Starting price: From Dh212,000 On sale: Now

How to increase your savings
  • Have a plan for your savings.
  • Decide on your emergency fund target and once that's achieved, assign your savings to another financial goal such as saving for a house or investing for retirement.
  • Decide on a financial goal that is important to you and put your savings to work for you.
  • It's important to have a purpose for your savings as it helps to keep you motivated to continue while also reducing the temptation to spend your savings. 

- Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching

 

 

WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

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T20 World Cup Qualifier A, Muscat

Friday, February 18: 10am - Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm - Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain

Saturday, February 19: 10am - Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm - UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain

Monday, February 21: 10am - Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm - Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines

Tuesday, February 22: 2pm – semi-finals

Thursday, February 24: 2pm – final

UAE squad: Ahmed Raza (captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia

All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv

Updated: July 10, 2024, 12:00 PM`