Miscellaneous Questions: Post them here

[Investor___]

For all of you IC owners, I mean no offence by this question, so please excuse my ignorance.

Its just that i've been looking online for a place to rent ( or rent to own ) to stay at on vacations and weekends. ( I live in a neighboring gulf country )

It seems that decent places are really expensive.

Then I found out about the the prices at the IC.

1- Why are the prices so low ( relatively speaking )?

2- Does the place have a gym and stuff like that, that other places normally have?

3- What type of people live there? I mean, like students? Or all kinds of people from different nationalities?

4- Is the quality of the apartments not that good?

Naturally if I ever get a place there i'd visit Dubai first. I just want to collect enough info about different places before I go, otherwise i'd spend too much money at hotels, while looking.

[wayneis]

This is a good question and I will answer this in detail as I imagine others would be asking the same.I am an Owner not a resident of International City so I will answer from an Investment View

1/ There is a combination of factors why I.C. is one of the most affordable projects in the City. This could be viewed as a blessing or a curse depending when you brought and what is your goal for investment. ( Short term flick it on the market again or long term future capital gain or cash flow with rent or become an owner occupier.Historically in Dubai most projects see a spike in sales price on completion of the project then after the dust settles and the neighborhood becomes established with trees,grass people you will see another spike in price if not a steady rise. I can not recall any project yet on completion in Dubai where the price has not increased. I.C. is still a work in progress which has upset many owners who were promised apartments and they have still not been handed over.Do a search on the board many complaints. Myself I had a 1 year delay. There are several threads on this board that discuss the location of the project next to the sewage works and comments from the press and people who have complained about the associated smell.
Past post on smell here
Another here

Lack of transport as well as promised infrastructure that has yet to emerge all contribute to the present price. Once all the above has been addressed prices will change.

2/ The normal clusters do not have a Gym or Pool. I understand that the large Buildings in the CBD district do. There are the odd Basket ball courts scattered around the complex. It is a concrete jungle very little greenery and no parking spaces allocated out side on street side at all for shops

3/ All nationalities live in I.C., do not be put off by the Cluster name. I.C. has become known as one of if not the most affordable place's to rent an apartment . From a tenant view point great. From a future investor not so great but still OK. Why is this so when rent is at ridiculous prices any where else in Dubai? Look at the answer to question 1 PLUS the master developer Nahkeel released a lot of their own apartments onto the rental market in I.C. early this year at rental prices from 3 or 4 years ago. For example Nakheel were renting a studio for 32,000 Dirhams. I still do not understand why they did this when many people purchased in I.C. as an investment. My thoughts are that as Nakheel is owned by the Government of Dubai then this is the Government seen to be doing something other than a rental cap to assist those who must rent.

4/ Build Quality will depend on who built your building. My apartment the finish was not up to standard.( I was told by Nakheel that my building contractor was one of the best!) Nakheel came back and re painted as well as re plastered several areas. They came back another time after I had water connected as there were water leaks. ( I was told this was common) When my tenant occupied the apartment Nakheel came back again to fix another water leak and also complete sloppy paint work. The response time with defects has been excellent, usually done the same day however one has to ask why was the project or building not inspected to a proper standard before handover?

The answer I received from Nakheel is that the building owner is given the opportunity to inspect the building and do a "snag check" My case the building owner did not do this. I also do not understand why Nahkeel did not have a quality control programe in place or if they do or did it was not working.

So is the I.C. a good investment? Depends again what you are in the market for. It is providing me with a 15% Gross or 13 % Net return on rental, however this is because I purchased off the plan.

Capital Gain wise will depend again when you purchased those who purchased 12 or 18 months ago will do very well in todays market. I decided to sell this year a 1 bedroom that I brought off the plan 3 years ago and Capital Gain was nearly non existent when I took into account all my charges.

Dubai enjoys one of if not the highest Hotel occupancy rates in the world (last I read was 85% last year) There is a shortage of rental accommodation due to Projects such as I.C. not coming on line as projected. This is forecast to continue in the future.

To sum up I believe I.C. is an affordable project that will generate cash flow and give you a Capital Gain Once the project is completed in full. I.C. = affordable Housing not low cost housing.

[blinkybill]

What kind of people live in IC? Many units have been rented by companies for their staff. In some cases whole buildings have been let to hotels and such, as staff accomodation. Also, many owners are non-residents who keep the unit for their occasional visits to Dubai. The residents tend to be single, or couples, as the units are studios & 1-beds, except in China which some 2-beds.

Facilities such as gyms are lacking (except in the CBD blocks, but these aren't in the "affordable" category), but should start to appear, given time. We are starting to see some businesses such as restaurants and internet cafes occupying the shops.

One of the big advantages is the traffic - you can get to most parts of town on uncongested roads. Also it's close to Dubai and Sharjah airports.

[dxbinvest]

What is wrong with Discovery Garden? Why is it a flop project?

[eyeC]

dont buy in perisa the smell is bad &building quality is low hard to rent too

[blinkybill]

Originally Posted by eyeC

dont buy in perisa the smell is bad &building quality is low

It's really not that bad - try and visit for yourself and make up your own mind about it.

... hard to rent too

There's plenty of evidence against this as well - buildings have been steadily filling up in the few months since hey were released. Maybe some owners are just asking too much rent.

[Investor___]

Weyneis, blinkybill, thank you very much for your replies. I appreciate it.

[Liton Miah]

Hi All

I am new to this forum and a have a studio in Greece…..are there any other ‘’Greeks’’ on this forum as I have not come cross any who I can get info from as my agents keep on fobbing me off..

Where is this Forbidden City supposed to be anyway?

[jwayne592]

Hi Liton, Im a fellow Greece purchaser and have bought in building K7 through Dubai Property Link. I'm under the impression it will be completed around December/January and then I imagine it will take a few months to hand over so I'm aiming for the keys around March 2008. The Forbidden City is planned for the middle section of International City and looks very good (if it ever gets built). Have a look on the Nakheel website and choose the International City development option. Good luck with your purchase. Do you know if you're getting a balcony and what buliding/floor are you in?

[Liton Miah]

Hi, my studio apartment is located in building L14 top floor and it does have a balcony. I bought in May 05 from a company called MINC and was told completion would be in Dec 06. I am now being told it should be completed by the end of Sept 07. I think we paid 285,000 Dirhams and it will be fully furnished. I take it not all the apartments come with a balcony.