My Dubai Rent takes you inside a reader's home to have a look at what they get for their money, how much they pay in rent and asks them what they like and don't like
Life is so good in a community on the outskirts of Dubai that one Egyptian resident never wants to leave.
Wessam El Zairy shares her ground-floor apartment in Layan with her husband and three children, paying an annual rent of Dh85,000 ($23,145).
Ms El Zairy, 44, said the area had everything she could possibly need.
She cannot imagine living anywhere else, having living in Layan for the past three years.
She invited The National into her home to show what makes it so special to her.
Why did you choose to live here and not somewhere else?
The community is so lovely where we live. Everyone, including the security guards and gardeners, is so friendly and kind.
The neighbours are really friendly too and we have been made so welcome since the first day we moved here.
It is also extremely close to my children’s school, which is a real bonus for us.
The access to other parts of the UAE is first class too. We are not really all that far from anywhere because we have access straight on to Emirates Road.
My home has a lot of space as well, which is perfect for us. It might only have two bedrooms, but they are both large.
What kind of facilities do you have around you?
We have hair salons, swimming pools, football pitches, tennis courts and laundry facilities.
We also have a large supermarket beside us. I don’t have to travel far to get what I need, which I like because I love to cook.
We also have a cafe close by, which is really convenient.
Do you think living there offers value for money?
Definitely. We pay Dh85,000 now in rent, but we have been told that will be going up to Dh88,000 next year.
I do not mind that, though, because it would be very, very difficult to find anywhere else like this for about that price in other parts of Dubai.
What would you change about where you live?
There is nothing I would change about my home because I am so happy with it.
More direct access roads to get on to Al Qudra Road would be helpful, though, as we have to go through Sustainable City, which is next to us.
Do you see yourself living there much longer?
I don’t want to live anywhere else.
The community is perfect for us. There is loads of space for the children to play outside and it has everything we need.
I feel like I am still new, though, because most of my neighbours have been in the area for more than 12 years.
My sister lives not far from me in Town Square and she would love to move here.
She’s on a waiting list because demand is so high.
Tamkeen's offering
- Option 1: 70% in year 1, 50% in year 2, 30% in year 3
- Option 2: 50% across three years
- Option 3: 30% across five years
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
LIVERPOOL SQUAD
Alisson Becker, Virgil van Dijk, Georginio Wijnaldum, James Milner, Naby Keita, Roberto Firmino, Sadio Mane, Mohamed Salah, Joe Gomez, Adrian, Jordan Henderson, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Adam Lallana, Andy Lonergan, Xherdan Shaqiri, Andy Robertson, Divock Origi, Curtis Jones, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Neco Williams
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
The specs: Lamborghini Aventador SVJ
Price, base: Dh1,731,672
Engine: 6.5-litre V12
Gearbox: Seven-speed automatic
Power: 770hp @ 8,500rpm
Torque: 720Nm @ 6,750rpm
Fuel economy: 19.6L / 100km
'Nightmare Alley'
Director:Guillermo del Toro
Stars:Bradley Cooper, Cate Blanchett, Rooney Mara
Rating: 3/5
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
Will the pound fall to parity with the dollar?
The idea of pound parity now seems less far-fetched as the risk grows that Britain may split away from the European Union without a deal.
Rupert Harrison, a fund manager at BlackRock, sees the risk of it falling to trade level with the dollar on a no-deal Brexit. The view echoes Morgan Stanley’s recent forecast that the currency can plunge toward $1 (Dh3.67) on such an outcome. That isn’t the majority view yet – a Bloomberg survey this month estimated the pound will slide to $1.10 should the UK exit the bloc without an agreement.
New Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly said that Britain will leave the EU on the October 31 deadline with or without an agreement, fuelling concern the nation is headed for a disorderly departure and fanning pessimism toward the pound. Sterling has fallen more than 7 per cent in the past three months, the worst performance among major developed-market currencies.
“The pound is at a much lower level now but I still think a no-deal exit would lead to significant volatility and we could be testing parity on a really bad outcome,” said Mr Harrison, who manages more than $10 billion in assets at BlackRock. “We will see this game of chicken continue through August and that’s likely negative for sterling,” he said about the deadlocked Brexit talks.
The pound fell 0.8 per cent to $1.2033 on Friday, its weakest closing level since the 1980s, after a report on the second quarter showed the UK economy shrank for the first time in six years. The data means it is likely the Bank of England will cut interest rates, according to Mizuho Bank.
The BOE said in November that the currency could fall even below $1 in an analysis on possible worst-case Brexit scenarios. Options-based calculations showed around a 6.4 per cent chance of pound-dollar parity in the next one year, markedly higher than 0.2 per cent in early March when prospects of a no-deal outcome were seemingly off the table.
Bloomberg
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