Omar Chihane hopes that his new concept, Sellanyhome.com, will revolutionise the way properties are bought and sold in the UAE and turn the property market into more of a stock market.
The former corporate sales director had such a tough job selling his own Dubai Marina two-bedroomed apartment last year through estate agents that it gave him the idea for a business.
After “multiple visits and agents”, an interested buyer contacted him out of the blue and bought it, sight unseen, within 24 hours. The buyer was a professional property investor.
Lebanese-Canadian Mr Chihane, 36, who has been in the UAE nine years, pitched his idea for a website that will sell your home to investors to Saygin Yalcin, the owner of Sellanycar.com. Sellanyhome.com launched last month with Mr Yalcin as the chairman and Mr Chihane the chief executive.
Avoid the endless viewings, time-wasters and “over-promising, under-delivering” estate agents, enjoins the website. Instead, it cajoles, you can plump for an instant online estimate of your property value, followed by a full valuation by a real estate expert - certified by Dubai’s Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA) - and a “formal, binding” offer made within 30 minutes.
The evaluation covers 100 points, from checking every door and tap to the air conditioning, with pictures taken inside and out, and even from inside out so investors can see the view from every room. This is because would-be buyers will never step foot inside the property. Sellanyhome.com is, after all, a consumer-to-business model, says Mr Chihane. “We don’t entertain mortgage buyers.”
One investor, a 47-year-old Indian man living in Dubai who prefers to remain anonymous, says he chose to invest through Sellanyhome.com because it could bring him “a high deal flow and transparent evaluations”.
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Although he still buys properties the “conventional way”, he says he is “quite impressed” with how easy the site's process is. His relationship manager at Sellanyhome.com notifies him when a property fitting his needs is about to come online and he can log in and put an offer in. “The fact that the work is done for me is, of course, very compelling,” he adds. “I get to know if my offer was accepted, or not, in real time.”
The pool of investors is around 1,000-strong, Mr Chihane estimates, but occasionally (mostly during “downtimes”) the Business Bay-based Sellanyhome.com will itself take part in the offer process - but are outbid by their pool “95 to 96 per cent of the time”.
Investors, Mr Chihane says, tend to know what they are willing to pay based on square footage and location plus building type and view and it is a purchase made “without the emotional element” of buying a family home. “Our premise is to use technology to replace every other thing except feelings.”
Rather than classifieds businesses such as Propertyfinder or Dubizzle, the inspiration for Sellanyhome.com was what Mr Yalcin was already doing with Sellanycar.com – a valuation and guaranteed purchase, says Mr Chihane.
“We’re trying to speed up the sales process and hope to eventually attract more buyers into the market and have a positive contribution to the market as a whole – essentially creating a ‘stock market for real estate’.
“If I told you to buy shares in GE but with no place to transact, buy or sell them, you would think twice; if you have a place you can go to buy and sell easily, with seamless transactions, we hope to attract more buyers and impact prices positively.”
“SellAnyHome.com is the logical next step for real estate,” adds Mr Yalcin. “It uses the power of the internet to improve transparency and transactions in a market under-served with technology.”
The residential real estate market in the nine biggest cities in the GCC is worth US$100 billion, he says, and Sellanyhome.com hopes to take a five per cent market share - or $5bn - within five years.
Mr Chihane lives with his wife in a rented property in Jumeirah but is also still a real estate investor: he owns an off-plan apartment in Jumeirah Lake Towers.
The business came out of “stealth mode” last month and plans to expand into Abu Dhabi next then into a few other GCC markets within the next year.
Having already received angel investment from Mr Yalcin and an undisclosed amount of seed funding, the business is making plans for Series A funding in early 2018.
Commission is set at 1 per cent, as opposed to the “market standard” 2 per cent – a saving of Dh13,000 in fees on, for example, a one-bedroom, 780 square feet Dubai Marina apartment selling for Dh1.3 million.
“We have a seller-first mentality,” says Mr Chihane. “Our job is to ensure they get a price they will accept. We let market forces take flight and we are rooting for the sellers to get the highest possible commission.”
The main benefit for the seller is to keep strangers out of their home, he says. Once an offer is accepted, the normal sales process kicks in to pay off any mortgage, generate all necessary no objection letters and transfer the property registration, “hand held” by Sellanyhome.com.
It should also accelerate a sales process often dragged down by “unrealistic” price expectations on the part of estate agents and sellers.
Whether Sellanyhome.com becomes the Nasdaq of property in a few years’ time remains to be seen.
Brief scores:
Toss: Sindhis, elected to field first
Kerala Knights 103-7 (10 ov)
Parnell 59 not out; Tambe 5-15
Sindhis 104-1 (7.4 ov)
Watson 50 not out, Devcich 49
Fixtures (all times UAE)
Saturday
Brescia v Atalanta (6pm)
Genoa v Torino (9pm)
Fiorentina v Lecce (11.45pm)
Sunday
Juventus v Sassuolo (3.30pm)
Inter Milan v SPAL (6pm)
Lazio v Udinese (6pm)
Parma v AC Milan (6pm)
Napoli v Bologna (9pm)
Verona v AS Roma (11.45pm)
Monday
Cagliari v Sampdoria (11.45pm)
Anghami
Started: December 2011
Co-founders: Elie Habib, Eddy Maroun
Based: Beirut and Dubai
Sector: Entertainment
Size: 85 employees
Stage: Series C
Investors: MEVP, du, Mobily, MBC, Samena Capital
Company profile
Company name: FinFlx
Started: January 2021
Founders: Amr Yussif (co-founder and CEO), Mattieu Capelle (co-founder and CTO)
Based in: Dubai
Industry: FinTech
Funding size: $1.5m pre-seed
Investors: Venture capital - Y Combinator, 500 Global, Dubai Future District Fund, Fox Ventures, Vector Fintech. Also a number of angel investors
Kill
Director: Nikhil Nagesh Bhat
Starring: Lakshya, Tanya Maniktala, Ashish Vidyarthi, Harsh Chhaya, Raghav Juyal
Rating: 4.5/5
UAE athletes heading to Paris 2024
Equestrian
Abdullah Humaid Al Muhairi, Abdullah Al Marri, Omar Al Marzooqi, Salem Al Suwaidi, and Ali Al Karbi (four to be selected).
Judo
Men: Narmandakh Bayanmunkh (66kg), Nugzari Tatalashvili (81kg), Aram Grigorian (90kg), Dzhafar Kostoev (100kg), Magomedomar Magomedomarov (+100kg); women's Khorloodoi Bishrelt (52kg).
Cycling
Safia Al Sayegh (women's road race).
Swimming
Men: Yousef Rashid Al Matroushi (100m freestyle); women: Maha Abdullah Al Shehi (200m freestyle).
Athletics
Maryam Mohammed Al Farsi (women's 100 metres).
TERMINAL HIGH ALTITUDE AREA DEFENCE (THAAD)
What is THAAD?
It is considered to be the US's most superior missile defence system.
Production:
It was created in 2008.
Speed:
THAAD missiles can travel at over Mach 8, so fast that it is hypersonic.
Abilities:
THAAD is designed to take out ballistic missiles as they are on their downward trajectory towards their target, otherwise known as the "terminal phase".
Purpose:
To protect high-value strategic sites, such as airfields or population centres.
Range:
THAAD can target projectiles inside and outside the Earth's atmosphere, at an altitude of 150 kilometres above the Earth's surface.
Creators:
Lockheed Martin was originally granted the contract to develop the system in 1992. Defence company Raytheon sub-contracts to develop other major parts of the system, such as ground-based radar.
UAE and THAAD:
In 2011, the UAE became the first country outside of the US to buy two THAAD missile defence systems. It then stationed them in 2016, becoming the first Gulf country to do so.
How to wear a kandura
Dos
- Wear the right fabric for the right season and occasion
- Always ask for the dress code if you don’t know
- Wear a white kandura, white ghutra / shemagh (headwear) and black shoes for work
- Wear 100 per cent cotton under the kandura as most fabrics are polyester
Don’ts
- Wear hamdania for work, always wear a ghutra and agal
- Buy a kandura only based on how it feels; ask questions about the fabric and understand what you are buying
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Xpanceo
Started: 2018
Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality
Funding: $40 million
Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)
PROFILE OF CURE.FIT
Started: July 2016
Founders: Mukesh Bansal and Ankit Nagori
Based: Bangalore, India
Sector: Health & wellness
Size: 500 employees
Investment: $250 million
Investors: Accel, Oaktree Capital (US); Chiratae Ventures, Epiq Capital, Innoven Capital, Kalaari Capital, Kotak Mahindra Bank, Piramal Group’s Anand Piramal, Pratithi Investment Trust, Ratan Tata (India); and Unilever Ventures (Unilever’s global venture capital arm)
EMERGENCY PHONE NUMBERS
Estijaba – 8001717 – number to call to request coronavirus testing
Ministry of Health and Prevention – 80011111
Dubai Health Authority – 800342 – The number to book a free video or voice consultation with a doctor or connect to a local health centre
Emirates airline – 600555555
Etihad Airways – 600555666
Ambulance – 998
Knowledge and Human Development Authority – 8005432 ext. 4 for Covid-19 queries
Company profile
Company name: Fasset
Started: 2019
Founders: Mohammad Raafi Hossain, Daniel Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $2.45 million
Current number of staff: 86
Investment stage: Pre-series B
Investors: Investcorp, Liberty City Ventures, Fatima Gobi Ventures, Primal Capital, Wealthwell Ventures, FHS Capital, VN2 Capital, local family offices
ROUTE TO TITLE
Round 1: Beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 6-2
Round 2: Beat Naomi Osaka 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
Round 3: Beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2
Round 4: Beat Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0
Quarter-final: Beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2
Semi-final: Beat Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4
Final: Beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2
Company profile
Name: Maly Tech
Started: 2023
Founder: Mo Ibrahim
Based: Dubai International Financial Centre
Sector: FinTech
Funds raised: $1.6 million
Current number of staff: 15
Investment stage: Pre-seed, planning first seed round
Investors: GCC-based angel investors
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: SmartCrowd
Started: 2018
Founder: Siddiq Farid and Musfique Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech / PropTech
Initial investment: $650,000
Current number of staff: 35
Investment stage: Series A
Investors: Various institutional investors and notable angel investors (500 MENA, Shurooq, Mada, Seedstar, Tricap)
DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE
Starring: Ryan Reynolds, Hugh Jackman, Emma Corrin
Director: Shawn Levy
Rating: 3/5
The specs: 2018 Mitsubishi Eclipse Cross
Price, base / as tested: Dh101,140 / Dh113,800
Engine: Turbocharged 1.5-litre four-cylinder
Power: 148hp @ 5,500rpm
Torque: 250Nm @ 2,000rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed CVT
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.0L / 100km
The schedule
December 5 - 23: Shooting competition, Al Dhafra Shooting Club
December 9 - 24: Handicrafts competition, from 4pm until 10pm, Heritage Souq
December 11 - 20: Dates competition, from 4pm
December 12 - 20: Sour milk competition
December 13: Falcon beauty competition
December 14 and 20: Saluki races
December 15: Arabian horse races, from 4pm
December 16 - 19: Falconry competition
December 18: Camel milk competition, from 7.30 - 9.30 am
December 20 and 21: Sheep beauty competition, from 10am
December 22: The best herd of 30 camels
Museum of the Future in numbers
- 78 metres is the height of the museum
- 30,000 square metres is its total area
- 17,000 square metres is the length of the stainless steel facade
- 14 kilometres is the length of LED lights used on the facade
- 1,024 individual pieces make up the exterior
- 7 floors in all, with one for administrative offices
- 2,400 diagonally intersecting steel members frame the torus shape
- 100 species of trees and plants dot the gardens
- Dh145 is the price of a ticket
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League semi-final, first leg
Bayern Munich v Real Madrid
When: April 25, 10.45pm kick-off (UAE)
Where: Allianz Arena, Munich
Live: BeIN Sports HD
Second leg: May 1, Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid
The stats and facts
1.9 million women are at risk of developing cervical cancer in the UAE
80% of people, females and males, will get human papillomavirus (HPV) once in their lifetime
Out of more than 100 types of HPV, 14 strains are cancer-causing
99.9% of cervical cancers are caused by the virus
A five-year survival rate of close to 96% can be achieved with regular screenings for cervical cancer detection
Women aged 25 to 29 should get a Pap smear every three years
Women aged 30 to 65 should do a Pap smear and HPV test every five years
Children aged 13 and above should get the HPV vaccine