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
Kristen Bocanegra and her family began renting a home when they relocated to Dubai from the US seven years ago.
The American, her 45-year-old husband Juan, a former Olympian who works as an IT security specialist, and their eight-year-old daughter Maya fell so much in love with their home in The Sustainable City that they didn't want to move anywhere else.
In February this year, they bought the property from their landlord.
Ms Bocanegra, 46, who also swam competitively, runs a swim coaching business, Tidal Sport Training, in the community and teaches many of the local children.
Here, she takes The National on a tour of her home, which is also shared by the family's adopted three-legged dog, Ra Ra.
How would you describe your home?
It's pretty much a standard four-bedroom corner unit.
It's central, in terms of where everything is. It's a beeline to either the pool or up top.
Every bedroom has a bathroom. We have a maid's room downstairs, which has a bathroom, and an additional bathroom downstairs.
So that's technically five bedrooms, six bathrooms.
Because our nanny lives out, we use the maid's quarters as storage space.
We have a small garden, but there are lots of different open spaces around.
What prompted you to buy the villa?
Security. We rented it for six and a half years and we had talked about buying for the past three or four years. And then we were in a situation where our owner decided to sell.
Spaces that were available to rent here were scarce, people were fighting over them. So that was the time we just had to buy. And it worked out really well.
We’ve been the only people that have lived in this house. We love it, so we basically doubled down and bought it.
How much did it cost you?
We bought at Dh3.65 million. The landlord gave it to us for – at the time, I believe – under market value, because we’ve been here so long.
I checked yesterday and if you go by current valuations for a four-bedroom corner unit, it is worth Dh4.45 million.
Why choose that villa?
They opened The Sustainable City in January 2016. My husband moved out here first, in June of that year. He took and sent two videos, one in Arabian Ranches and the other here, for me to see.
There’s so much light in these houses, like everything is windows. And we happen to be on the corner where the sun gets us most of the day.
I needed as much light as possible, and that’s how we chose the villa.
What advantages are there to this area?
One of the nicest things is we have group residential parking. We have two spots allotted. There are, if you have an electric car, different places you can plug in.
Our two spaces are centralised, so anytime I get in my car, you have to walk by all your neighbours. In the morning, you see them to say hello.
Our car is maybe 100 metres from our house. If you’re carrying a lot of stuff, there are buggies that free-roam the community that you can access anytime.
The primary component to living here is the walkability.
What facilities do you have?
We have a yoga studio, a coffee place, a bunch of different places to eat and a communal gathering area. The weekends can be very vibrant.
There's an enormous amount of green space and two pool facilities – one is a leisure pool and the other is a lap pool.
I have a full-time business and four coaches that work for me. We cover about 170 kids in the community every single week.
There's also a community gym with all glass that looks out into the community and a small football pitch, tennis courts and a community farming area.
We also have a duck pond, an animal sanctuary that has donkeys, turtles and goats, a school, which is amazing. We also have an equestrian centre.
There's a track around the community which you can run, bike or walk on. Then on the outskirts we have a cycle track.
Around the back, it connects directly to Al Qudra, the main cycling track.
Have you personalised the property?
We haven’t done any renovations. We’re not really in any big rush.
Our garden isn’t planted yet. We’ve started our seedlings, but they’re not ready to go in.
We’ve two spaces outside of our villa around palm trees where we usually have our tomatoes and kale and we usually grow beans and jalapeños … all sorts of stuff.
What improvements are planned?
This can be a runaway train. It can very quickly go from, “I've never really liked these cabinets” to: “We need to rip out the whole kitchen.” It can get overwhelming.
There are homeowner groups here that show renovations they've done, and they've been exquisite. We've been here seven years, we haven't done anything.
Are you better off owning versus renting?
We were paying Dh175,000 a year. Rates right now are double that, so the timing was right.
The one place I think, psychologically, we all go to is home for that sense of safety. And to feel like that could have been pulled out from under us at any minute … it was worth investing.
We’re paying a little bit more (per month) now that we own, but we would be paying almost double (the rent) here now.
Do you plan to stay in your home?
We’re not going anywhere.
My business is here, my daughter’s school is here. She rides her bike to school and back. This is the kind of stuff my mum used to talk about when she was young.
It's such a nice feeling as a parent to have that. So we're staying here until she's in college, that's how we're perceiving it right now.
We have our house, so that sense of security is here which is what’s important for me. And it’s important for my daughter that we don’t feel like we’re going to be moved out.
How are your bills?
They’re OK. Light was one of the reasons we chose this place but light is also the death of your AC bill because it can get hot very quickly.
It’s super easy to recycle in different allotted bins. We generate an enormous amount of compostable trash which we compost and then feed into our garden.
We don’t have a service fee here. Maintenance is free; you pay for parts, but the labour is free.
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
Tearful appearance
Chancellor Rachel Reeves set markets on edge as she appeared visibly distraught in parliament on Wednesday.
Legislative setbacks for the government have blown a new hole in the budgetary calculations at a time when the deficit is stubbornly large and the economy is struggling to grow.
She appeared with Keir Starmer on Thursday and the pair embraced, but he had failed to give her his backing as she cried a day earlier.
A spokesman said her upset demeanour was due to a personal matter.
WHAT IS A BLACK HOLE?
1. Black holes are objects whose gravity is so strong not even light can escape their pull
2. They can be created when massive stars collapse under their own weight
3. Large black holes can also be formed when smaller ones collide and merge
4. The biggest black holes lurk at the centre of many galaxies, including our own
5. Astronomers believe that when the universe was very young, black holes affected how galaxies formed
Know your camel milk:
Flavour: Similar to goat’s milk, although less pungent. Vaguely sweet with a subtle, salty aftertaste.
Texture: Smooth and creamy, with a slightly thinner consistency than cow’s milk.
Use it: In your morning coffee, to add flavour to homemade ice cream and milk-heavy desserts, smoothies, spiced camel-milk hot chocolate.
Goes well with: chocolate and caramel, saffron, cardamom and cloves. Also works well with honey and dates.
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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.
What are the influencer academy modules?
- Mastery of audio-visual content creation.
- Cinematography, shots and movement.
- All aspects of post-production.
- Emerging technologies and VFX with AI and CGI.
- Understanding of marketing objectives and audience engagement.
- Tourism industry knowledge.
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The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
Globalization and its Discontents Revisited
Joseph E. Stiglitz
W. W. Norton & Company
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Starring: Bria Vinaite, Brooklynn Prince, Willem Dafoe
Four stars
Indian origin executives leading top technology firms
Sundar Pichai
Chief executive, Google and Alphabet
Satya Nadella
Chief executive, Microsoft
Ajaypal Singh Banga
President and chief executive, Mastercard
Shantanu Narayen
Chief executive, chairman, and president, Adobe
Indra Nooyi
Board of directors, Amazon and former chief executive, PepsiCo
Schedule
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MATCH INFO
Liverpool 0
Stoke City 0
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BIOSAFETY LABS SECURITY LEVELS
Biosafety Level 1
The lowest safety level. These labs work with viruses that are minimal risk to humans.
Hand washing is required on entry and exit and potentially infectious material decontaminated with bleach before thrown away.
Must have a lock. Access limited. Lab does not need to be isolated from other buildings.
Used as teaching spaces.
Study microorganisms such as Staphylococcus which causes food poisoning.
Biosafety Level 2
These labs deal with pathogens that can be harmful to people and the environment such as Hepatitis, HIV and salmonella.
Working in Level 2 requires special training in handling pathogenic agents.
Extra safety and security precautions are taken in addition to those at Level 1
Biosafety Level 3
These labs contain material that can be lethal if inhaled. This includes SARS coronavirus, MERS, and yellow fever.
Significant extra precautions are taken with staff given specific immunisations when dealing with certain diseases.
Infectious material is examined in a biological safety cabinet.
Personnel must wear protective gowns that must be discarded or decontaminated after use.
Strict safety and handling procedures are in place. There must be double entrances to the building and they must contain self-closing doors to reduce risk of pathogen aerosols escaping.
Windows must be sealed. Air from must be filtered before it can be recirculated.
Biosafety Level 4
The highest level for biosafety precautions. Scientist work with highly dangerous diseases that have no vaccine or cure.
All material must be decontaminated.
Personnel must wear a positive pressure suit for protection. On leaving the lab this must pass through decontamination shower before they have a personal shower.
Entry is severely restricted to trained and authorised personnel. All entries are recorded.
Entrance must be via airlocks.
LIVERPOOL%20TOP%20SCORERS
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Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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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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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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The%20Genius%20of%20Their%20Age
%3Cp%3EAuthor%3A%20S%20Frederick%20Starr%3Cbr%3EPublisher%3A%20Oxford%20University%20Press%3Cbr%3EPages%3A%20290%3Cbr%3EAvailable%3A%20January%2024%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Lewis Hamilton in 2018
Australia 2nd; Bahrain 3rd; China 4th; Azerbaijan 1st; Spain 1st; Monaco 3rd; Canada 5th; France 1st; Austria DNF; Britain 2nd; Germany 1st; Hungary 1st; Belgium 2nd; Italy 1st; Singapore 1st; Russia 1st; Japan 1st; United States 3rd; Mexico 4th
MATCH INFO
CAF Champions League semi-finals first-leg fixtures
Tuesday:
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Second legs:
October 23
Cryopreservation: A timeline
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Stage result
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2. Sam Bennett (Irl) Bora-Hansgrohe
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8. Olav Kooij (Ned) Jumbo-Visma
9. Tom Devriendt (Bel) Intermarché-Wanty-Gobert Matériaux
10. Pascal Ackermann (Ger) UAE Team Emirate
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Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
Small%20Things%20Like%20These
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The Greatest Royal Rumble card as it stands
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Universal Championship Brock Lesnar (champion) v Roman Reigns in a steel cage match
Intercontinental Championship Seth Rollins (champion) v The Miz v Finn Balor v Samoa Joe
SmackDown Tag Team Championship The Bludgeon Brothers (champions) v The Usos
Casket match The Undertaker v Chris Jericho
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The biog:
Languages: Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, basic Russian
Favourite food: Pizza
Best food on the road: rice
Favourite colour: silver
Favourite bike: Gold Wing, Honda
Favourite biking destination: Canada
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
Mountain%20Boy
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The specs
Price, base / as tested Dh12 million
Engine 8.0-litre quad-turbo, W16
Gearbox seven-speed dual clutch auto
Power 1479 @ 6,700rpm
Torque 1600Nm @ 2,000rpm 0-100kph: 2.6 seconds 0-200kph: 6.1 seconds
Top speed 420 kph (governed)
Fuel economy, combined 35.2L / 100km (est)
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Scorline
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Iraq Hussein 28’
SPECS
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About Takalam
Date started: early 2020
Founders: Khawla Hammad and Inas Abu Shashieh
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: HealthTech and wellness
Number of staff: 4
Funding to date: Bootstrapped
ABU%20DHABI'S%20KEY%20TOURISM%20GOALS%3A%20BY%20THE%20NUMBERS
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How to watch Ireland v Pakistan in UAE
When: The one-off Test starts on Friday, May 11
What time: Each day’s play is scheduled to start at 2pm UAE time.
TV: The match will be broadcast on OSN Sports Cricket HD. Subscribers to the channel can also stream the action live on OSN Play.
