Dubai Investment Property

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Dubai is physically divided into nine sectors which are then divided up into communities or administrative regions in Dubai. Borders are usually defined by roads. A complete list is available from the Dubai Municipality Geographic Information Systems Center (DM GIS) with maps (although map source was offline in June 2006). There are over 130 communities in Dubai. The ‘Al’ part of the name is often omitted in print and discussions eg Karama, Ghusais, Garhood; and spellings can be variable eg Sofouh/Sufouh/Sufooh, Ghusais/Qusais. Some of the more well known areas and places to live in Dubai are:

* Abu Hail

* Al Awir (or Al Aweer) – out in the desert on the way to Mirdiff, the Used Car Complex is out here, also cheap places to fix your cheap car and modify your expensive one so it becomes a cheap one (no longer, has been demolished to make way for a new residential development). An industrial area.

* Al Barsha – residential area near Ski Dubai and Mall of the Emirates on the way to Emirates Hills, popular with Western expats.

* Al Garhoud – residential area between Dubai International Airport and the Dubai Festival City development. The Aviation Club, Deira City Centre, Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club, Dubai Tennis Stadium, The Irish Village and Welcare Hospital are approximately in this area as well as the new Park Hyatt hotel. Also a few new car showrooms.

* Al Hamriya – on Deira side of Dubai along the coast towards Mamzar Beach Park, older more established area (there’s also an Al Hamriya in Bur Dubai but people are usually talking about the one in Deira when they mention Hamriya).

* Al Karama – well known for cheap shopping (fake goods and pirated DVDs), residential area popular with Asian nationalities, near Dubai Central Post Office (CPO) and Bur Juman center.

* Al Mamzar – near Sharjah on the coast. Residential area more popular with Emiratis. Al Mamzar Beach Park is popular.

* Al Muntasa (Al Muntasah / Muntazah) – between Ibn Battuta Shopping Mall and Jebel Ali.

* Al Muraqqabat – Deira, apartment buildings and commercial activities with a few hotels.

* Al Quoz – mostly industrial areas on the desert side of Sheik Zayed Road between Safa Park and Al Barsha.

* Al Qusais – often written as Al Gusais, last stop before Sharjah. Residential area near Al Mulla Plaza, popular with those who want to live in Dubai at a cheaper price – but pay for it in extra frustration with traffic jams (not that anywhere in Dubai is immune from traffic currently).

* Al Rashidiya – residential area with many larger villas, between Dubai creek and the airport. Popular because some say it has ‘character’ (whatever that means).

* Al Rigga

* Al Safouh / Al Sofouh / Al Sufouh – between Madinat Jumeirah / Burj Al Arab and Knowledge Village / Dubai Marina, with access to Jumeirah Palm near Knowledge Village. Al Sufouh Road runs parallel to the coast. Villas on the desert side, a couple of beach palaces on the beach side. Some (diminishing) public beach access. Traffic jams in the evenings as commuters try to avoid the Salik road toll on the Sheikh Zayed Road, but a more than acceptable place to live, if you can find something. The Al Sufouh Tram will run through there by about the end of 2009.

* Al Satwa – between Jumeirah 1 and the Trade Center roundabout. Another suburb with ‘character’ as well as good shawarmas from the Picnic Restaurant and the infamous Ravi’s ‘peel-off-your-stomach-lining’ Chilli Chicken. Plenty of shops with car batteries and plastic clothes pegs as window displays. Tucked away in the back streets are a few old villa complexes where expat residents poke their heads out of the gate every now and then, cluck at how Dubai is not what it used to be, and return to polishing their pith helmets or whatever it is they do in there (although they’ll have to make way for the Jumeirah Gardens development one day). A splendid place to wander about, once. Watch out for teenagers spitting, throwing sticks and stones and generally harassing people, especially women. Several stories and letters appeared in the local press in 2006 & 2007 reporting unpleasant incidents. Parts of Al Satwa are slated for demolition during 2008, and a new, much more expensive, community will rise up from the ashes – Jumeirah Garden City, to be developed by Meraas.

* Al Shindagha – near the coast, Port Rashid, and remarkably close to Shindagha Tunnel under the creek. Bus station and commercial area.

* Al Wasl – between Jumeirah and Sheikh Zayed Road, mostly residential with expensive villas.

* Corniche Deira – more likely to be called the Deira Corniche. Hyatt Regency Dubai & Galleria hotel and residence is here (the one with the revolving restaurant) along with a pleasant walk along the corniche and past the nearby automotive accessory shops.

* Dubai Investment Park

* Dubai Marina – a hole in the ground filled with water, surrounded by apartment buildings, and close to the sea, Jumeirah Palm Island, Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City, and Knowledge Village. A good spot to live, although can be noisy. The Dubai end is preferable to the Jebel Ali end. Dubai Marina Mall is a decent enough shopping center to service the area.

* Emirates Hill (or Emirates Hills) – where you find all the new villa developments. Probably should have been called Emaarville. Springs, Meadows and Greens communities are here, behind Al Barsha and Ski Dubai.

* Hatta – not in Dubai as such but an hours drive towards Oman with the popular, but old, Hatta Fort Hotel and the Hatta Pools which you can’t find unless you go with someone who’s already been.

* Jebel Ali – on the coast side is Jebel Ali Free Zone and Jebel Ali Port (from which you can apparently see the moon on a clear night). On the other side of Sheikh Zayed Road is Jebel Ali Village (built in 1977), previously a popular friendly expat village but now a popular friendly collection of run down old villas. Most expats will proudly inform you that Jebel is Arabic for ‘hill’ (because that’s the only Arabic word they know). When they do, ask them if that means ‘Ali’ is Arabic for ‘satellite dish’ (it’s not). Jebel Ali Village is slated for demolition in late 2008, to make way for a new development by Nakheel. Residents were given a year’s notice to move out by August 2008.

* Jumeira (usually spelt Jumeirah) – older region than Umm Suquiem between the very large flagpole and Umm Suqueim along the coast. Popular place to live if you can afford the rents, mostly residential.

* Jumeirah Garden City – a new development to replace areas of Satwa and Al Wasl that are being demolished in 2008.

* Jumeirah Lake Towers – across the road from Dubai Marina and development a year or two behind but a similar idea with apartment buildings surrounding bits of water.

* Jumeira Palm (commonly spelt Jumeirah Palm) – large man-made island built offshore between Umm Suquiem and Dubai Marina – nowhere near Jumeirah in fact – and partly owned by the England football team. Villas were due to be completed in 2006 but due to development delays (villas started to become available in mid-2007), a large tent city of homeless owners sprouted in Al Quoz Industrial Area 2 where residents played football with David Beckham – a well known homeless person.

* Mankhool – part of Bur Dubai with computer shops, banks, tailors and shops selling plastic buckets. Some apartment buildings also.

* Mirdiff (or Mirdif) – Dubai version of suburbia. Quiet (apart from the occasional plane – it’s on the airport flight path) family living in small to medium sized comfortable houses – they were cheap a couple of years ago but rental prices are quickly catching up to the rest of Dubai. The Union Properties Uptown Mirdiff development with a large Spinneys supermarket has meant residents don’t have to drive so far for groceries. And in March 2010, the large Mirdiff City Center shopping mall opened up.

* Nadd Al Hamar (usually written Nad Al Hamar)

* Nadd Al Shiba (usually written Nad Al Sheba) – where the horses race in the Dubai World Cup. Camels too (but not in the DWC – they have their own track).

* Naif (or Naif Square) – on Deira side. Presumably people live there, it seems to be a popular source of Dubai newspaper articles that put you off your breakfast.

* Oud Metha – near Dubai Creek Park on the Bur Dubai side. Rashid Hospital, Dubai Courts, St Mary’s Church and the Cyclone nightclub form an eclectic mixture of institutions in this area.

* Port Saeed – some residential accommodation available.

* Ranches (usually referred to as the Arabian Ranches) – a popular new villa-for-expat-purchase development out in the desert somewhere. Easy to get lost in, and impossible to find your own home unless you leave a trail of breadcrumbs in the mornings before going to the office.

* Ras Al Khor – on the way to Al Aweer at the end of Dubai Creek. Home to flamingos and mangroves – at least until developments like The Lagoon and Dubai Lagoon appear.

* Satwa – see “Al Satwa”

* Sofouh / Sufouh – see “Al Sufouh”

* Trade Center – area with what, for many years, used to be the tallest building in Dubai. Marked the boundary between moving traffic on the Sheikh Zayed road and the Garhood Bridge car park until about 2004-2005. Boundary shifted to Defense Roundabout / Interchange, then Safa Park Interchange, and on bad afternoons in 2008 is as far as the Mall of the Emirates Interchange.

* Umm Al Sheif

* Umm Hurair

* Umm Ramool

* Umm Suqeim – like Jumeirah but a bit newer. Nice area. Spelt as Umm Suqueim by some people who choke if their qs are u-less.

* Za’abeel – (often written as Zabeel) where the ruler of Dubai lives, near the Trade Centre. Don’t park on the grass.

Things and Documents Required For Doing Business in UAE

Doing business in United Arab Emirates(UAE) is rather simple as long as you have all the required documents and necessary things in place. Things and documents that you need to have including office space, sponsorship agreement, labor and Immigration computer cards, trade license, your driving license, your ‘Investor visa’ that stamped on your passport, as well as your bank account.

For years up to 2000, the UAE government has been desperate to have people setting up small and medium size businesses in the area from them to get investors. And as real estate and property seem to be a profitable investment, the focal point then shifted to larger business in UAE and this cause forever changing of the market particularly for the small and medium company owners.

Incorporation rules for doing business in UAE have grown to be less complicated, however there are still hundreds of license groups remain to be staggering. It tend to be less difficult to get a license for conducting business with numerous Free Zones in the UAE, however the costs for the visa have increased 8 times as well as the annual fees for trade license.

Conducting Business in UAE Business Centers

Currently there are about 20 Free Zones that represent UAE business centers and work out more easier for international investor and at the same time offering top quality facilities. Furthermore, people from other countries could own 100 percent of their businesses in the Free Zones in contrast to merely 49 percent if they own a business in the UAE. There are a lot of international corporations have openning shop in the Free Zones and you will notice almost any business that you can imagine of have been conducted in these business centers.

If you plan to setup business in UAE, you are required to get a local resident to be your local partner and the local resident need to hold 51% shares of the business. All these will be black and white written in paper with fine agreements to safeguard you. Determined by your needs, the ‘sponsor’ will be paid either a percentage of sales, profits or fixed fee even he has not put any money into the business. The advantage would be you don’t have to pay for corporate taxes nor submitting any audited accounts; you will need to do so if your business in take place in the free zones.

You need to keep in mind that in order for you to get a trade license for running business in the UAE, you are required to own or rent office space. It is illegal for you to run your business at home or through a business center according to the law. This may raise the cost for your business in UAE and you could wind up having to pay around US$ 50,000 every year for you to remain in business even you are making a loss!

Therefore, the policy may only sounds great for big corporates as even they are making huge profits, they merely need to pay about US$ 50,000 – US$ 100,000 each year for remain in the business.

There are business centers that will rent you office space or desks, and even this can be of attractive offer, but you may not allow to use the address as the place of your office to obtain the trade license.

Hub For Health Care

UAE is devoting to be the regional hub for health care with the setting up of Harvard Medica Center and the Dubai Health Care City; Besides, there are leisure via Dubailand and the entertainment parks in collaboration with Busch Gardens, Six Flags, Legoland, Formula 1, Bollywood, Universal Studios, Sea World, Marvel and Dreamworks Studios; Education via Academic City and numerous universities from all over the world; Financial services via Dubai International Financial Center (DIFC) in alliance together with Nasdaq; Software via the Dubai Internet City and etc.

Now we can see that most of the UAE residents who are graduate from university have started to have strong interest in taking care of their personal investments. This is very different as compare to last time where they just gave all their money to Western money managers to do the investment jobs for them.

Investors from all over the world are flocking in to UAE for doing business and the architecture is receiving a free reign with amazing designs. UAE is a tax-free emirate and is one of the major advantages for investors conducting their business. The demand from customers for residential as well as commercial properties has escalated significantly with the admittance of multinational companies and this has increased the rentals and prices of most properties as well. And because of all these, UAE have become a perfect location for people to do business.

Dubai real estate is a huge real estate and property market for investment during the past few years. Dubai is the second largest Emirate in the UAE but is the most booming region among the 7 Emirates. It is having a massive development and has lured in a lot of foreign investors to participate in its real estate and property projects.

Dubai Mortgages are not mature previously

Few years back, I still recall at that time when a foreign investor was looking for a mortgage, he will be confronted by confused local constructors and real estate agents. Even when a foreign investor finally found a Dubai bank that would willing to borrow him a mortgage, the interest charges can be insanely high and the whole process was very time consuming and the investor will end up quit from buying. Luckily after some years to now, the real estate market in Dubai is start get maturing and those sizeable Dubai banks have started to realize that Dubai mortgages are actually a very lucrative business.

The previous problems for getting a Dubai mortgage all rooted from the local banks that are not familiar with mortgage services and have created a lot of difficulties for international investor to secure the freehold property. However, after the declaration on 12th March 2006 in which that non UAE residents are eligible to own freehold properties in certain Dubai areas, substantial interest has been arouse for international investors. Demand is suddenly surge up to the sky and property is always in short supply status since a lot of off plan construction projects happen to sell out in days of launching.

Dubai Mortgages Sector

Today, with regulations passed and certain areas in Dubai are open to foreigners for freehold ownership, finally the local banks are willing to issue mortgage to investors. The Dubai mortgage market can said to be very competitive in the region and most investors are of their due diligent as they are not willing to endure for getting ripped off with high interest rate for the mortgages they are apply for.

The property market in Dubai is not the same with property market of other countries where most Dubai freehold property hasn’t purchased through any mortgage. As a result, this provides the financial market a lot of resilience. However, most of Dubai mortgage lenders and of conservative types and they will only give loans to non Dubai residents within the freehold zones.

Properties that are available for international investors are including: Dubai Marina, Dubai Sports City , Jumeirah Village, I.M.P.Z. International Media Production Zone, Shaikh Zayed Road, The Palm Jumeirah, The Lagoons, International City, Jebel Ali Airport, Palm Deira, Dubai Land, Emirates Road, Downtown Dubai ,Business Bay and some others.

Thus, the reason for many international banks are interest to do the mortgage business in Dubai is because they foresee a very good opportunity for releasing mortgages in the region which can get very handsome repayments. The population in Dubai is at the moment stand at 1.4 million and it’s estimated that in 2010 Dubai population will raise to 3.5 million. Most international banks are predicted an enormous demand for real estate and property, and this is going to create a huge market for mortgages.

It is also anticipated that most of the newly increase of Dubai population would be comprised of people from abroad. And Dubai by then going to be a genuine multi-cultural and multi-national city. The thing is actually happen as you may go out to experience nightlife in Dubai and you are going to see a truly multi-national people hanging around.

The international banks future are vibrant as international buyers tend to feel safer by apply for mortgage from the lenders that they been familiar to deal with.

To sum everything up, Dubai mortgages are showing good sign from the banks and international investors will have more flexibilities when come to invest in Dubai real estate and property.

Related Downtown Dubai Articles

The Dubai beach hotels are likely to be considered as luxury and classy. It can be a very attractive area for the entire Dubai beach and almost every visitors will wish to have a chance to stay in there. If you happen to be lucky enough for checking yourself into one of the Dubai beach hotels, you will be able to have a fantastic and crystal clear sea view.

Many Dubai Beach Hotels For You To Choose

Once you go to the beach, you will discover a lot of magnificient hotels that built on the Dubai beach. The best thing for you to make your accommodation at one of the hotels would be that all of them will provide you with wide variety of facilities and services even though the price tend to be on the expensive side. Most of the hotels can definitely offer you with luxury amenities but will charge you a great price, but some will be able to offer you with sensible luxuries at a reasonable rate.

If you are wondering what kind of amenities and services you can have if you checking into one of these Dubai beach hotels, then it is just the time for us to list them out.

Facilities and Services That Dubai Beach Hotels Offer

You are able to enjoy the following amenities if you are staying in hotel around the beach: public air conditioned areas, sauna, airport transportation, concierge desk, health club, currency exchange facilities, restaurants, steam bath facilities, swimming pool, laundry services, cafes, high speed internet access, complimentary magazines and newspapers in the lobby, and many more.

And these are the standard facilities provided by virtually all Dubai beach hotels and you will expect to enjoy more facilities if you are having your accommodation in higher star rating hotel. Which mean if you want to have more amenities, then you need to stay in higher star rating hotel.

If you are curious about the hotel rates, then now just take a glance at the rates of the different rooms at some Dubai beach hotels. It is advisable for you to ask for the rate as you will not want to find out later that you been pay too high a price for the room. Only when you find out the amenities and services that offer by certain hotel are suit your needs, then only you make up your mind by checking in the hotel.

Of course the rates for a 5 star hotel will be cheaper compare to a 7 star hotel. And for hotels that are stretch along the Dubai Jumeirah beach will not be cheap and normally will charge you for at least from a range of $1,200. Nevertheless, these rates can be up and down and keep fluctuating with regards to the season. If you are arriving in Dubai for a peak season such as the Dubai shopping festival, then you will expect to pay the highest rate for the hotel that you intend to stay.

For booking or making your reservation of hotel room, you could do this online, or bank account transfer, or through wire. All of the popular beach hotels in Dubai will have their own website to ease you making your booking and payments online. Otherwise, you could just make a phone call and contact the hotel support desk and ask for the rates and make your booking on the date that you will go to Dubai.

There are also many cheap hotels available if you want to save your budget. Of course the facilities will not be able to compete with the 5 star or 7 star hotels but you can still enjoy yourself with the amenities that are available and save money. Whatever the case, it is a best practice for you to carry out some research and analysis before make your final decision on those Dubai beach hotels that you want to accommodate.

Dubai is become more and more famous and is now the popular tourists spot for many visitor nowadays. It is a multicultural city that features with exquisite buildings, high quality of living, deserts, sand beaches as well as other considerations that draws the attention of the world towards the city. Today, Dubai has offices popped up everywhere that owned by multinational companies as a result of business opportunity offered by the city. Furthermore, strategical area of the city tend to receive high demand due to it is really ideal for conducting a business.

Rapid Development in Dubai

However, the development of Dubai in last decade is without a doubt very spectacular. Many sectors are seeing a big advancements like the real state, transport, medicine, and infrastructure. It is very rare at the moment for you to find an area in there which is stayed to be untapped with the development. In the sector of tourism, there seem to be no match for Dubai as the area is situated at captivating place around the shore of Arabia Gulf to overlook the substantial panoramic of sea. The gorgeous Dubai beaches offer perfect destination to loosen up yourself along with beach enjoyment as well as sunbathing. The other happening place in Dubai would be the silver deserts that can draw in visitors from all over the world to have a memorable moment over there. During shopping festivals, the shopping malls will be crowded with visitors who are coming for tax free goods and these can be a big excitement for visitors especially female shoppers.

To taking care of the large number of holidaymakers coming to the city, Dubai has as well make an enormous development in the hospitality sector especially the hotel sector. You are able to find all the hotel big shots that taking place in Dubai. The world renown 7 Star hotel, Burj al Arab, is situated in Dubai. Besides, you can find a number of high quality and luxury five star hotels in the region as well. Nevertheless, the classification of five star hotel is determined by the amenities and services that offer by respective hotel. With more amenities and services provided, the hotel is going to receive higher ranking. The hotel ranking standard in Dubai may be different with other countries as in some countries, they have the professional entities to grant star classification to the hotels after evaluating the hotel services.

Five Star Hotels in Dubai

You can actually find a lot of five star hotels in Dubai. Among those hotels, one of the favorite five star hotels that relished by many visitors is the Grand Hyatt Dubai which is having a distance of just 5 miles away from Dubai International Airport. The hotel is features with 16 floor hotel and 674 hotel rooms. The other luxurious five star hotel in Dubai is Hilton Dubai Creek which is situated at Dubai Creek and is features with 18 floor hotels and 154 rooms. And there are more reputable five star hotels you can stay in which are Hyatt Regency Dubai, Dubai Marine Beach Resort and Spa, Dusit Thani Dubai, and Jumeirah Emirates Towers.

All the five star hotels are featured with state of the art amenities such as sauna, fitness equipment, children swimming pool, outdoor swimming pool, cafes, complimentary continental breakfast, internet access, currency exchange, babysitting, restaurants, 24-hour front desk service and many more other facilities which comfortably suit them into five star hotels to fulfill the visitors needs.