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
Aaliya Alam, founder of Things of Media marketing agency, was poised to move to the UAE for a job from India in 2020 before plans were scuppered by global lockdowns in place due to the Covid-19 outbreak.
It wasn’t until a few years later that she finally made it back, this time as a married woman after reconnecting with an old school friend, her now-husband Kazi Syed Ubaid, who has been living in the UAE for 13 years.
The couple recently bought their first property together, but instead of living in Abu Dhabi, where her husband commutes for work, or in Dubai where they had been renting, they decided to move to Ajman to get far more square footage for their money.
They invested in a Dh1.3 million three-bedroom villa in Al Zahya, which appreciated by Dh300,000 in just one week after they signed the paperwork, as more residents from across the Emirates are seeking better property deals.
The National takes a look around.
Please tell us about your home.
For Dh1.3 million I was able to get a 3,500-square-foot villa with three bedrooms, one majlis, a bigger kitchen, one living room and then outside we have a maid’s room as well.
Why did you decide to buy?
Once I’d moved here, we knew we had to buy a house and I don’t know why but I was always very precise that I have to go for Ajman. Everyone always said, why don’t you live here in Dubai or another city. I love Dubai, but you compromise with the square footage. I wanted to have a big house in a great budget, so that’s how it clicked.
Last year, I started the journey of searching for the house. My husband was totally against coming to Ajman, but I said even if you’re going from Dubai it’s an hour, if you just extend for half an hour we’ll have a big house where our children can be comfortable. They can run around, they can mess up the house and it’s all right. When we have guests, there would be no compromise, because they can stay here or there.
How did you find your home?
I went through a lot of difficulties, because here in Ajman potential is very good for real estate, but it's not that vast like Dubai and the other cities.
One day, I was just going through TikTok and I saw some villa and though, I have to go for it. I met that person, he was sub agent, and he said we’d definitely get it.
We started the journey last May and we ended up getting the house by November. It took that long.
How much did you get it for?
When I started the process, the price started going up. It was Dh900,000, which went up to Dh1 million. I was not able to get the approvals, but this was the house. The builder is great, he’s local, and he’s done everything in a very particular way, as if he was going to live in the house himself. In this area, each villa is different to the others.
We ended up getting it for Dh1.3 million, but that included everything like electricity and water [connections].
We got the approval on my birthday, on October 14, and did the registration on November 14, so we were able to reside here in January. The day we registered, it was Dh1.3 million and a week after a real estate agent said they had a family looking and that the house was worth Dh1.6 million. I think it’s worth Dh1.7 million now.
Everyone is migrating from Dubai, from Sharjah, even Abu Dhabi, and they’re coming to Ajman because of the budget. My neighbour is French and on the opposite side they’re British and they bought the house. I’m seeing a lot of foreigners coming in and buying houses here.
What’s your neighbourhood like?
It’s a little outside Ajman city, but from here it’s a 15-minute drive and you get to Umm Al Quwain. In about 30 or 40 minutes, you’ll be in Ras Al Khaimah, which is growing.
It’s not a closed community, but there are lots of grocery stores around and we can sign up to any gym in the area. It’s all very convenient and budget friendly.
What renovations have you done?
Nothing yet. We’ve just started. I’ve done some wallpaper. I want to do some micro-cementing, which is very much in trend, and I want to introduce more soft pastel colours. I just want to have my house more open.
We have a garden area but we haven’t started on it yet since it’s summer now. I’ll start that in winter so I can have plants that don’t die.
How would you describe your interior design style?
It should be more pastel, more white, but with a touch of green because I really like nature. I’m going to start doing the planting outside.
How long will you stay here for?
We will stay in the UAE indefinitely. This is a place we got entrepreneurial opportunity. This is a place where we get lot of peace, a lot of comfort, a lot of calmness. I think I will be here forever, inshallah.
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
Paatal Lok season two
Directors: Avinash Arun, Prosit Roy
Stars: Jaideep Ahlawat, Ishwak Singh, Lc Sekhose, Merenla Imsong
Rating: 4.5/5
SHAITTAN
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Ashes 2019 schedule
August 1-5: First Test, Edgbaston
August 14-18: Second Test, Lord's
August 22-26: Third Test, Headingley
September 4-8: Fourth Test, Old Trafford
September 12-16: Fifth Test, Oval
Ain Issa camp:
- Established in 2016
- Houses 13,309 people, 2,092 families, 62 per cent children
- Of the adult population, 49 per cent men, 51 per cent women (not including foreigners annexe)
- Most from Deir Ezzor and Raqqa
- 950 foreigners linked to ISIS and their families
- NGO Blumont runs camp management for the UN
- One of the nine official (UN recognised) camps in the region
Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
Power: 464hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh590,000
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
Tell Me Who I Am
Director: Ed Perkins
Stars: Alex and Marcus Lewis
Four stars
Quick facts on cancer
- Cancer is the second-leading cause of death worldwide, after cardiovascular diseases
- About one in five men and one in six women will develop cancer in their lifetime
- By 2040, global cancer cases are on track to reach 30 million
- 70 per cent of cancer deaths occur in low and middle-income countries
- This rate is expected to increase to 75 per cent by 2030
- At least one third of common cancers are preventable
- Genetic mutations play a role in 5 per cent to 10 per cent of cancers
- Up to 3.7 million lives could be saved annually by implementing the right health
strategies
- The total annual economic cost of cancer is $1.16 trillion
Results:
Men’s wheelchair 200m T34: 1. Walid Ktila (TUN) 27.14; 2. Mohammed Al Hammadi (UAE) 27.81; 3. Rheed McCracken (AUS) 27.81.
North Pole stats
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
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
The Voice of Hind Rajab
Starring: Saja Kilani, Clara Khoury, Motaz Malhees
Director: Kaouther Ben Hania
Rating: 4/5
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
ENGLAND WORLD CUP SQUAD
Eoin Morgan (captain), Moeen Ali, Jonny Bairstow, Jos Buttler (wicketkeeper), Tom Curran, Joe Denly, Alex Hales, Liam Plunkett, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Jason Roy, Ben Stokes, David Willey, Chris Woakes, Mark Wood
Revival
Eminem
Interscope
More on animal trafficking
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
Uefa Champions League last 16 draw
Juventus v Tottenham Hotspur
Basel v Manchester City
Sevilla v Manchester United
Porto v Liverpool
Real Madrid v Paris Saint-Germain
Shakhtar Donetsk v Roma
Chelsea v Barcelona
Bayern Munich v Besiktas
The story in numbers
18
This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens
450,000
More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps
1.5 million
There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m
73
The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association
18,000
The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme
77,400
The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study
4,926
This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee
GAC GS8 Specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4cyl turbo
Power: 248hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 400Nm at 1,750-4,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 9.1L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh149,900
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
