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
Marie Guerre, a Luxembourgish-French financial adviser, and her husband Renaud Kieffer, a private pilot, moved from Luxembourg to their new home in Dubai only two weeks after seeing it.
They had sold their private members’ car club business, which was based in Luxembourg, in 2021 and Ms Guerre decided she wanted to move somewhere sunny. After travelling the world to find the perfect location, they settled on the UAE. Within the Emirates, it was Jumeirah Village Triangle that had the home they wanted.
After looking at more than 10 properties, they bought the Dh880,000 ($240,000) one-bedroom apartment in Zazen One – where they now live with their dog Milo – which they fell in love with because of how well the building was finished.
The National takes a look around.
Please tell us about your home
We have a one-bedroom corner unit that is 925 square feet. Having a corner unit is nice because even when the sun is almost gone over to the other side of the building, we still have the corner that has some light.
How much did it cost?
We bought it for Dh880,000. Now I think it’s worth Dh1.2 million or Dh1.3 million, maybe even more because we did some enhancements. Two-beds are selling for Dh1.8 million to Dh1.9 million.
Why did you buy instead of renting?
We had never owned a property. We were always renting everywhere we lived, so it was important to us that we buy the roof over our head. It was security. We had sold our company and we had the money. So what do you do with the money? You buy your security. You buy a roof over your head.
What renovations have you done?
In most of the apartments, the door frames and the kitchen cupboards were made of dark wood, which I don’t like. So we did everything in white about a year after we moved in. The darker the colour inside the apartment, the smaller it makes it seem.
We put double-glazed windows in the bedroom for noise insulation. We have an open view, but are just next to Al Khail, so you can hear the traffic, and I'm used to sleeping in absolute silence. These windows decreased the decibel levels in the bedroom massively. Before I had to sleep with earplugs, now I don’t.
In the kitchen, we put in a big rectangular sink and increased [the size of ] that area – I was still getting rid of dust after two months because they had to cut into the stone, but it’s much more elegant.
We also changed all the lights in the apartment and installed a French design. They make the room more airy. The next thing we're going to do is change the wallpaper. It was my choice but I don’t like it any more. I think the apartment will be even lighter if it’s just normal off-white.
We spent between Dh70,000 and Dh80,000.
How would you describe your interior-design style?
We wanted to go modern, minimalist, kind of Swedish, to be more zen. We have white and leather and wood. It feels quite bright and I’m trying to put some plants in but they tend to die on me.
What facilities do you have?
We have a nice swimming pool with a kids’ pool. We have a barbecue area, a communal garden, a nice gym and a kids’ play area.
There's also a study room, so people with kids who try to work from home can go and work there. And there’s a residents’ lounge, where there’s a TV, you have a library and a pool table. You can meet your neighbours there or even invite your friends over.
The rooftop is quite nice as well, because on one side is the barbecue area, while the other part is a smaller, more private space that you can book. I like to do raclette with friends on the rooftop. It’s nice.
Why did you choose this neighbourhood?
When we were looking for a place to live, I had one requirement – I wanted sun. We began looking in Spain, in Portugal ... I even looked at Latin America, everywhere where you have sunshine and we wanted to pay in cash. I also wanted to be near the sea. The place that we found that fitted all our requirements was here in Dubai.
We came here in January 2022, we stayed two weeks, we visited 10 apartments or so. When we saw this one, it took us a day. We paid the deposit. It was still off-plan but almost finished. We booked the following day to go back home, sold everything and came back two weeks later.
We chose the neighbourhood for the residence.
What did you love about this building?
It was nicer quality. Out of all the apartments we visited, all the lobbies were just big halls, with no windows, no paintings, really clinical. In the lobby here, you leave the elevators and already you have windows and you have natural light. To me, natural light is so important, not only in the apartment, but also in the common areas, because you need to be comfortable everywhere.
We have a view of Burj Khalifa from very, very far when it's not hazy. But it was also really important for us not to have a tower right in front of us for privacy.
What do you like about JVT?
JVT is just fantastic for the amenities. You have the padel courts, you have a number of parks, you have three dog parks, which is really convenient.
You can go to Palm Jumeirah or Dubai Marina without taking Al Khail Road, without taking the highway, which is a big plus when you compare with other communities where you have to get on the highway to go anywhere you need.
How long do you plan to live in this property?
We have a golden visa, so I know we can stay in Dubai until that runs out. I was thinking maybe we are going to move into a two-bedroom, but we spent so much and really made the place our own, so I think next time we move it is going to be to another country.
For now, we know the community, we know the neighbours, we have our routine. We have settled. We have the Carrefour, the Spinney’s, and I have my yoga studio.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
SEMI-FINAL
Monterrey 1
Funes Mori (14)
Liverpool 2
Keita (11), Firmino (90 1)
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
Benefits of first-time home buyers' scheme
- Priority access to new homes from participating developers
- Discounts on sales price of off-plan units
- Flexible payment plans from developers
- Mortgages with better interest rates, faster approval times and reduced fees
- DLD registration fee can be paid through banks or credit cards at zero interest rates
DIVINE%20INTERVENTOIN
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Learn more about Qasr Al Hosn
In 2013, The National's History Project went beyond the walls to see what life was like living in Abu Dhabi's fabled fort:
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
'Manmarziyaan' (Colour Yellow Productions, Phantom Films)
Director: Anurag Kashyap
Cast: Abhishek Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Vicky Kaushal
Rating: 3.5/5
'The Last Days of Ptolemy Grey'
Rating: 3/5
Directors: Ramin Bahrani, Debbie Allen, Hanelle Culpepper, Guillermo Navarro
Writers: Walter Mosley
Stars: Samuel L Jackson, Dominique Fishback, Walton Goggins
Ten tax points to be aware of in 2026
1. Domestic VAT refund amendments: request your refund within five years
If a business does not apply for the refund on time, they lose their credit.
2. E-invoicing in the UAE
Businesses should continue preparing for the implementation of e-invoicing in the UAE, with 2026 a preparation and transition period ahead of phased mandatory adoption.
3. More tax audits
Tax authorities are increasingly using data already available across multiple filings to identify audit risks.
4. More beneficial VAT and excise tax penalty regime
Tax disputes are expected to become more frequent and more structured, with clearer administrative objection and appeal processes. The UAE has adopted a new penalty regime for VAT and excise disputes, which now mirrors the penalty regime for corporate tax.
5. Greater emphasis on statutory audit
There is a greater need for the accuracy of financial statements. The International Financial Reporting Standards standards need to be strictly adhered to and, as a result, the quality of the audits will need to increase.
6. Further transfer pricing enforcement
Transfer pricing enforcement, which refers to the practice of establishing prices for internal transactions between related entities, is expected to broaden in scope. The UAE will shortly open the possibility to negotiate advance pricing agreements, or essentially rulings for transfer pricing purposes.
7. Limited time periods for audits
Recent amendments also introduce a default five-year limitation period for tax audits and assessments, subject to specific statutory exceptions. While the standard audit and assessment period is five years, this may be extended to up to 15 years in cases involving fraud or tax evasion.
8. Pillar 2 implementation
Many multinational groups will begin to feel the practical effect of the Domestic Minimum Top-Up Tax (DMTT), the UAE's implementation of the OECD’s global minimum tax under Pillar 2. While the rules apply for financial years starting on or after January 1, 2025, it is 2026 that marks the transition to an operational phase.
9. Reduced compliance obligations for imported goods and services
Businesses that apply the reverse-charge mechanism for VAT purposes in the UAE may benefit from reduced compliance obligations.
10. Substance and CbC reporting focus
Tax authorities are expected to continue strengthening the enforcement of economic substance and Country-by-Country (CbC) reporting frameworks. In the UAE, these regimes are increasingly being used as risk-assessment tools, providing tax authorities with a comprehensive view of multinational groups’ global footprints and enabling them to assess whether profits are aligned with real economic activity.
Contributed by Thomas Vanhee and Hend Rashwan, Aurifer
Abaya trends
The utilitarian robe held dear by Arab women is undergoing a change that reveals it as an elegant and graceful garment available in a range of colours and fabrics, while retaining its traditional appeal.
The specs
- Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
- Power: 640hp
- Torque: 760nm
- On sale: 2026
- Price: Not announced yet
