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.
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.
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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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
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Finals draw: December 2
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Finals (including semi-finals and third-placed game): June 5–9, 2019
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Euro 2020 play-off draw: November 22, 2019
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Euro 2020 play-offs: March 26–31, 2020
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- 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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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
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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
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On sale: Now, deliveries expected later in 2025
Price: expected to start at Dh1,432,000
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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
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Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
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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
