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
Captain Fareed Lafta made plenty of headlines as an adventurer who skydived thousands of times, swam with sharks and once attached 350 helium balloons to a garden chair to fly over the US for eight hours.
The Iraqi-born businessman and pilot also broke his first record after flying to the peak of Mount Everest and skydiving from a height of 9km, and held a Guinness World Record, one of several, for skydiving with the biggest flag in 2012.
But even a fearless adventurer has to come down to Earth, so Capt Lafta – a goodwill ambassador for the Iraqi Red Crescent who does charity work with young Iraqis – likes to relax. He does so in a spacious home in Jumeirah Park, a short drive from the Jebel Ali office of the family’s steel-trading business.
The 45-year-old, who once piloted a MiG 29 fighter jet to the edge of space, has a museum/office in JBR [Jumeirah Beach Residences] for his “boy's toys”, such as cartoon figures and aeroplane models, so he can keep the rest of his family home simply decorated.
Capt Fareed took The National on a tour of the house he shares with his wife and their children, aged 18 and 19.
What can you tell us about your home?
It has five bedrooms, with five bathrooms, on two floors. I love it because it’s very comfy. And I have a big garden with a huge swimming pool. It’s a quiet area with a lot of greenery. I like nature.
We bought it in 2019, before Covid, and paid roughly $1.5 million (Dh5.5 million).
It is about 10 years old and it’s well maintained, so it looks brand new. It has a high-quality finish.
We have a dining room, which is separate, and we have a reception area and lounge. I love books so I have space to go and read.
We have a large kitchen but I’m not a good cook – I’m just the consumer.
We turned one of the rooms into a gym. I also own a gym, Easy Life Fitness, in Al Quoz.
There’s plenty of parking space and a garage. I have a Cadillac Escalade, a Humvee military car and a Lexus. Some of my cars are parked at home.
What made you buy this property?
We were previously living in Dubai Marina. We owned a big apartment on the 23rd floor. It was nice but I prefer houses rather than flats.
I have a son and daughter and I wanted more space for everyone.
In fact, not just indoor space, also the gardens, the backyard and a swimming pool, plus you have your own garage.
Why did you choose this particular area?
Because it’s near my brother, my sister and my father. Everybody lives in this area. We have four villas.
It’s pretty quiet and has less people around. The ratio of people, because the land area and homes are big, means it’s less crowded, there’s less pollution and less traffic.
It’s greener, a lot of trees and flowers, so it's healthier. Even the temperature, if I go from some areas to our area … it drops.
We also have great maintenance here.
Where did you live before?
Ajman was the first place where I owned a flat. Then International City, in Dubai, also a flat. And then a villa in Jumeirah Islands.
Why do you own rather than rent a home?
I prefer to own since I've been a resident here since 2004. Dubai is my second home.
In Iraqi culture, we prefer to own.
If I stay in an area for a long time, it's better to own my own home. I love to feel that it is my home.
But I’m not fascinated with investing in properties. We have family businesses, so I want to focus on that.
Have you ever seen your home from the air?
When I was jumping from the plane with Skydive Dubai, I was always flying over Jumeirah Park and Jumeirah Islands. I love to see my homes from above.
I wish I could get permission to land as a skydiver but it’s too small an area to land here.
Have you upgraded your villa or the garden?
I love what I found here when I moved in so I didn’t and don’t want to change anything.
Unfortunately I don’t have time [for gardening] because I am travelling a lot. I would love to. I also have a farm in Iraq and I’m always planning to plant there but I’m always in a plane.
Decoration is simple. We bought new stuff [furniture], modern and simple. My concept is about space, not about filling the space. It’s very comfortable on the eye.
Also I have a big 1.3-metre scale model plane on a stand, a Czech Republic L39 training jet. I used to fly one.
Are there advantages to living in this area?
It’s very well connected. Sheikh Zayed Road is easy to get to.
We have Ibn Battuta Mall nearby, and JLT and the Marina is next to us. The beach is near and it's a five-minute drive to JBR. We are away from the traffic though.
I have an office in Jebel Ali for my family business and I have my museum/office in JBR.
I’m not social person. Maybe because I'm travelling a lot, I have no time. So what time I have, I prefer to spend it with my family.
Sometimes we come together here and we have a barbecue.
Do you think you will stay in this property?
I hope so. I don’t like to move around, unless something pushes me to do that.
I like to settle down and stay there for as long as I can.
We own two more villas and six flats as a family that we rent to people.
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
In numbers: China in Dubai
The number of Chinese people living in Dubai: An estimated 200,000
Number of Chinese people in International City: Almost 50,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2018/19: 120,000
Daily visitors to Dragon Mart in 2010: 20,000
Percentage increase in visitors in eight years: 500 per cent
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
Key changes
Commission caps
For life insurance products with a savings component, Peter Hodgins of Clyde & Co said different caps apply to the saving and protection elements:
• For the saving component, a cap of 4.5 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 90 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• On the protection component, there is a cap of 10 per cent of the annualised premium per year (which may not exceed 160 per cent of the annualised premium over the policy term).
• Indemnity commission, the amount of commission that can be advanced to a product salesperson, can be 50 per cent of the annualised premium for the first year or 50 per cent of the total commissions on the policy calculated.
• The remaining commission after deduction of the indemnity commission is paid equally over the premium payment term.
• For pure protection products, which only offer a life insurance component, the maximum commission will be 10 per cent of the annualised premium multiplied by the length of the policy in years.
Disclosure
Customers must now be provided with a full illustration of the product they are buying to ensure they understand the potential returns on savings products as well as the effects of any charges. There is also a “free-look” period of 30 days, where insurers must provide a full refund if the buyer wishes to cancel the policy.
“The illustration should provide for at least two scenarios to illustrate the performance of the product,” said Mr Hodgins. “All illustrations are required to be signed by the customer.”
Another illustration must outline surrender charges to ensure they understand the costs of exiting a fixed-term product early.
Illustrations must also be kept updatedand insurers must provide information on the top five investment funds available annually, including at least five years' performance data.
“This may be segregated based on the risk appetite of the customer (in which case, the top five funds for each segment must be provided),” said Mr Hodgins.
Product providers must also disclose the ratio of protection benefit to savings benefits. If a protection benefit ratio is less than 10 per cent "the product must carry a warning stating that it has limited or no protection benefit" Mr Hodgins added.
It’ll be summer in the city as car show tries to move with the times
If 2008 was the year that rocked Detroit, 2019 will be when Motor City gives its annual car extravaganza a revamp that aims to move with the times.
A major change is that this week's North American International Auto Show will be the last to be held in January, after which the event will switch to June.
The new date, organisers said, will allow exhibitors to move vehicles and activities outside the Cobo Center's halls and into other city venues, unencumbered by cold January weather, exemplified this week by snow and ice.
In a market in which trends can easily be outpaced beyond one event, the need to do so was probably exacerbated by the decision of Germany's big three carmakers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – to skip the auto show this year.
The show has long allowed car enthusiasts to sit behind the wheel of the latest models at the start of the calendar year but a more fluid car market in an online world has made sales less seasonal.
Similarly, everyday technology seems to be catching up on those whose job it is to get behind microphones and try and tempt the visiting public into making a purchase.
Although sparkly announcers clasp iPads and outline the technical gadgetry hidden beneath bonnets, people's obsession with their own smartphones often appeared to offer a more tempting distraction.
“It's maddening,” said one such worker at Nissan's stand.
The absence of some pizzazz, as well as top marques, was also noted by patrons.
“It looks like there are a few less cars this year,” one annual attendee said of this year's exhibitors.
“I can't help but think it's easier to stay at home than to brave the snow and come here.”
The biog
Name: Abeer Al Bah
Born: 1972
Husband: Emirati lawyer Salem Bin Sahoo, since 1992
Children: Soud, born 1993, lawyer; Obaid, born 1994, deceased; four other boys and one girl, three months old
Education: BA in Elementary Education, worked for five years in a Dubai school
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
Red flags
- Promises of high, fixed or 'guaranteed' returns.
- Unregulated structured products or complex investments often used to bypass traditional safeguards.
- Lack of clear information, vague language, no access to audited financials.
- Overseas companies targeting investors in other jurisdictions - this can make legal recovery difficult.
- Hard-selling tactics - creating urgency, offering 'exclusive' deals.
Courtesy: Carol Glynn, founder of Conscious Finance Coaching
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
Results
5.30pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Turf) 1,600m; Winner: Al Battar, Mickael Barzalona (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer).
6.05pm: Maiden Dh165,000 (Dirt) 1,200m; Winner: Good Fighter, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
6.40pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,200m; Winner: Way Of Wisdom, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
7.15pm: Handicap Dh170,000 (D) 2,200m; Winner: Immortalised, Tadhg O’Shea, Satish Seemar.
7.50pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 2,000m; Winner: Franz Kafka, James Doyle, Simon Crisford.
8.25pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (D) 1,200m; Winner: Mayadeen, Connor Beasley, Doug Watson.
9pm: Handicap Dh185,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Chiefdom, Mickael Barzalona, Salem bin Ghadayer
The specs
Engine: four-litre V6 and 3.5-litre V6 twin-turbo
Transmission: six-speed and 10-speed
Power: 271 and 409 horsepower
Torque: 385 and 650Nm
Price: from Dh229,900 to Dh355,000
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
Story%20behind%20the%20UAE%20flag
%3Cp%3EThe%20UAE%20flag%20was%20first%20unveiled%20on%20December%202%2C%201971%2C%20the%20day%20the%20UAE%20was%20formed.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EIt%20was%20designed%20by%20Abdullah%20Mohammed%20Al%20Maainah%2C%2019%2C%20an%20Emirati%20from%20Abu%20Dhabi.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EMr%20Al%20Maainah%20said%20in%20an%20interview%20with%20%3Cem%3EThe%20National%3C%2Fem%3E%20in%202011%20he%20chose%20the%20colours%20for%20local%20reasons.%C2%A0%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3EThe%20black%20represents%20the%20oil%20riches%20that%20transformed%20the%20UAE%2C%20green%20stands%20for%20fertility%20and%20the%20red%20and%20white%20colours%20were%20drawn%20from%20those%20found%20in%20existing%20emirate%20flags.%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Under 19 Cricket World Cup, Asia Qualifier
Fixtures
Friday, April 12, Malaysia v UAE
Saturday, April 13, UAE v Nepal
Monday, April 15, UAE v Kuwait
Tuesday, April 16, UAE v Singapore
Thursday, April 18, UAE v Oman
UAE squad
Aryan Lakra (captain), Aaron Benjamin, Akasha Mohammed, Alishan Sharafu, Anand Kumar, Ansh Tandon, Ashwanth Valthapa, Karthik Meiyappan, Mohammed Faraazuddin, Rishab Mukherjee, Niel Lobo, Osama Hassan, Vritya Aravind, Wasi Shah
Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh190,000 (Countryman)
MATCH INFO
Everton 0
Manchester City 2 (Laporte 45 2', Jesus 90 7')
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
More from Rashmee Roshan Lall
Honeymoonish
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The%20specs
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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
More coverage from the Future Forum
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
