Job Discussion Forums

[Badar Bin Bada Boom]

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/03/09/greathomesanddestinations/once-sky-high-abu-dhabis-prices-tumble-to-earth.html

One expat couple got "tired of paying exorbitant rent" in Abu Dhabi and plunked down over $900,000 for a condo in an unfinished building. Guess what--they'll never see it or their money.

[helenl]

No kidding, I've never understood why any expat would buy property here when the ownership laws can change on a dime and you'd be left out in the cold without legal recourse, because the law has changed.

[veiledsentiments]

$900,000 for a condo in Dubai? And they put down a deposit of about $270,000. That is HUGE deposit for an unfinished building. These were obviously people who had lots of money, but no idea what they were doing. PT Barnum was right...

Buying property in a foreign country is always a risk since few of the laws cover you. It should only be money that you can easily afford to lose.

VS

[2buckets]

Even if the building is finished, and you move in, and everything is fine, one should keep in mind that the average lifespan of a building here is 25 years before they tear it down, then, what do you own?

A cubic dimension of air somewhere up there in the sky.

[Badar Bin Bada Boom]

And forget about passing it on to children a generation from now. Even if the building still stands, ownership will probably revert to the developer.

(VS.--although DXB is mentioned in the article, it was Abu Dhabi where the couple bought the $900K condo).

[veiledsentiments]