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
Avi Gambhir, a former software company manager, has spent seven of the 12 years he’s lived in the UAE, based in Al Furjan.
When he first moved into his Dh2.2 million ($600,000) three-bedroom townhouse in 2018, it was a quiet, closed-off community with little access to the rest of the city. It has since grown exponentially and is now one of the most accessible parts of Dubai, with limited traffic congestion and plenty to do.
As its popularity has risen, so have house prices and the value of Mr Gambhir's property has since soared after a brief dip during the Covid pandemic.
But Mr Gambhir has no plans to sell just yet. In fact, he loves the place so much that he now works permanently from home, running a travel agency with his wife, Sucheta Malik Gambhir, called Miles & Menus.
The National has a look around.
Please tell us about your home
It’s a three-bedroom townhouse with a small garden at the back, a nice living room, dining area, big kitchen, maid’s room and powder rooms.
When did you buy this property?
February 2018. We moved in July that year, because there was work that had to be done. It was a blessing in disguise for us, as Covid hit about one year later and everybody was working from home. My daughter did about two years of schooling in this house.
How much did you buy it for?
I bought it for Dh2.2 million. Now I’m getting offers around Dh3.7 million. During Covid, the property rates went down by about 40 per cent, so people were anxious about it. But in Dubai, if you are in the right area …
Why did you choose this neighbourhood?
First of all, the accessibility. It's strategically located – only five minutes to Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Road, 10 minutes to Sheikh Zayed Road or Garn Al Sabkha, and Al Asayel Street is only two minutes’ drive. It's a nice community and it’s the only villa community connected to the Metro.
It was a small community, it's still very calm in this area, even though it has started opening up. People are nice. My daughter's school is a 10-minute drive away. My office used to be 10 to 15 minutes from here. My daughter does ballet and her ballet school is 10 minutes’ drive.
It was more about convenience for us. There are no traffic issues, no bottlenecks, lots of exit points and access to the Metro. We're in a great place.
How has the neighbourhood changed since?
I have seen Al Furjan grow in the past seven years. Nakheel is putting in much effort to improve the infrastructure. Very soon Al Furjan will also be a gated community. I am part of a group of volunteers and homeowners working with Nakheel on this project.
We have meetings with them every quarter, as we understand the security challenges facing communities. For instance, we were always in need of a dog park, because everybody loves pets, right? So we agreed with Nakheel that they'll give us some space for the dog park. All these things we negotiate on behalf of the community.
What renovations have you done?
We did some bits in the kitchen. We changed the furniture, we did our TV wall, added some wardrobes. We changed our bedrooms and put lights and a small fountain in the garden, as we love water.
They aren’t major renovations, some small changes here and there. Overall, I would say we’ve spent about Dh100,000 to Dh120,000 on renovations.
What facilities do you have?
We have a gym, tennis courts, padel courts, a swimming pool in the area, plus so many kids’ parks. Every zone has a kids’ park. There is one right behind me. There's the new dog park coming very soon.
We also have access to restaurants and grocery stores. There are now two schools here, which opened after we moved in – Arbor School and Arcadia, so both renowned names. There is a small traffic bottleneck in the mornings when people drop their kids at school, but we've no complaints.
How would you describe your interior design style?
We believe in a minimalist lifestyle. We don’t have too much furniture but what we do have, we believe in quality. It’s very classy and contemporary.
How long do you plan to stay?
Honestly, I’ve never thought about it. I bought it, so I call it our home and we don’t usually sell our homes. We love it here. It's a decent-sized three-bedroom.
Maybe we will consider, if my daughter goes to college next year, whether we want to move. Since my wife and I work from home and have our own company, it's much easier for us to work from wherever.
