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
Manjeet Singh Gill was influenced by an advertisement to buy his first UAE property in 2017. The message, from a local developer, was that renting was the equivalent of burning money – and the visual they used was so powerful that Mr Gill bought a two-bedroom apartment for Dh1.1 million in Dubai’s Sports City within two weeks.
Today, the mechanical engineer still lives there with his wife, Priyanka, and three children – sons Armaan Singh, 10, and Ivaan Singh, eight, and daughter Mannat, four – working from home remotely. While he has not done much to the apartment since moving in, he has plans to renovate before moving to a villa within the next year or two.
The National takes a look around.
Please tell us about your home.
It’s a two-bedroom apartment in Frankfurt Sports Tower, Sports City. It has one hall and the bathrooms are attached to both the bedrooms. One is the master bedroom, another is the children’s room, and then there is a powder room off the hall.
When did you buy your home?
I bought this one in 2017, then I bought a luxury one-bedroom house in Ras Al Khaimah, next to the casino, just last month. That was for investment purposes.
How much did you pay for it?
I paid Dh1.1 million for my apartment, but then prices started dropping. There was a drop of 10 per cent when I bought it. It ended up going all the way to Dh750,000 in Covid times.
Now it is worth more or less the same as I paid, which I'm pretty happy with. I'm still much better off than if I had rented all these years. It was worth it.
What renovations have you done?
There was a basic kitchen by the developer, but I designed the kitchen we have now and had it built for us.
I haven’t done any other renovations, but I’m in the process of doing it now. We’re working on remodifying the kitchen. I'm going to reconstruct the washrooms, because these have a pretty old style with the tub.
I was inspired by my neighbour who just moved to this building. I was so amazed with his home that I thought I should do the same thing. He has completely renovated his washrooms. They are brand new, very much like a five-star hotel. He has reconstructed the kitchen and also built extra wardrobes.
The way he has managed the space within those two bedrooms is amazing. His house is completely white, like an Apple store, and that's what I love. My kitchen now is red and black, which was my own taste seven or eight years ago, but our taste is always developing.
Why did you decide to buy?
I saw an article in a newspaper advertising Damac Hills, with a picture of dollar bills going into the fire and their headline was saying that by paying rent, you're burning your own money. I did a calculation and realised that if I paid this much rent already, and if I continue to pay this much, I’m better off owning a house.
I had a discussion with a few people in the UAE who were living here for quite a long time. Some people, they have built huge assets in this country, and some people have not done anything. I realised those people who have not done it, it does not mean they don't have money, but they are always worried about what will happen. If something happens, then they will have to exit immediately, even though they have been living here for the last 30 to 40 years.
So, I said to myself, this is such an amazing country and volatility is everywhere. I’m a bit of a risk taker, so when I saw the ad, within two weeks I bought the house. I did not think too much about it.
Why did you choose this neighbourhood?
I was looking for a villa in the Mudon area, but that community was not ready and I was a bit worried that I didn’t know how much time they were going to take to build it.
This building was brand new and they were giving a handover. The guy who had bought this apartment had never moved in. He had bought it for Dh1.4 million. I was the first owner to move here, so I thought this was a better deal. I had only two boys then, so I thought we would see at a later stage if we need to move.
I also liked that there was a gym and lots of sports activities. There was a playground, indoor football and cricket training. Most of my friends were living around this community, so I thought this was perfect.
I wanted something ready to move. My office was pretty close as I was working in Jebel Ali, so it was a 15-minute drive. Plus, it fell into my budget.
What facilities do you have?
The building has a swimming pool, which is under renovation. There’s a kids’ play area, and then they have the gym as well.
How long do you plan to stay here?
I’ll be looking to sell within a year or two. I want to move to a villa at some point, so I'm just waiting to see if property prices come down. I’ve had a lot of opportunities to buy property, but I was a little bit sceptical about the prices.
One thing I realised is if you want to buy for investment, yes, you should wait for a good opportunity. But if you want to live in the house, it does not really matter if it goes up or down 10 to 15 per cent.
Where are you looking to move next?
I'm looking at Dubai South. I was about to book a villa over there just three months ago, but I did my calculations and realised I should wait a little bit more.
We will still renovate here because I want to renew it a little bit. You never know when you're going to die. You live in a short span, so you should enjoy wherever you're living. You need to feel good.
People think that it's going to be quite expensive, but then you split it over 12 or 24 months, or the amount of time you are going to stay in the property, and it's tiny money for your happiness.
