Asteco

relaxing in Dubai

Water Crisis in Palm Jumeirah, residents bath in sea and malls

oceana palm jumeriah

Residents of Oceana, a seven-building complex at Palm Jumeriah have to bath in sea, use shopping malls and other odd spots to relieve themselves.

Water supply was apparently cut off by a pipe burst and the property management firm Asteco allegedly waited for four days to fix the problem, XPRESS reported.

One resident says that apparently Asteco didn’t want to pay another contractor to fix the problem and waited for as long as it took for their existing contracting company to step in.

Rather than fixing the problem quickly, the management offered them a stay into Movenpick Hotel at half the rack rate, which is Dh250 per night, which residents claim is a normal Ramadan rate.

Another resident and his wife used the swimming pool for a quick wash before heading to work.

Asteco Property Management says the work currently being carried out on the lazy river at Oceana was scheduled and residents were informed about it eight weeks ago.

Dewa mixes-up Discovery Gardens’ bills

DEWA Discovery Gardens Bills

Residents of two apartment blocks in Discovery Gardens have been receiving Dubai Electricity and Water Authority (Dewa) bills that actually belong to someone else.

The Dewa bills in question have the wrong building number, wrong premise number and even wrong water and electricity meter numbers.

Thus, a tenant receives a bill each month with his name on it, but with someone else’s building number, premise number and water and electricity meter numbers.

Tenants of Buildings 13 and 14 are most affected by this slip-up.

Speaking to this website, Arif AbdulKarim Julfar, Manager, Media & Marketing, Dewa, said, “Regarding the cases, we discussed it with our billing services department, they are following them but will require site verification for Building 13 and 14 where they have to check each customer account number, meter number, premise number etc. It will be completed within 7 working days.”

However, Discovery Gardens service staff in the know (and on condition of anonymity) said, “The necessary Dewa details of tenants of building number 13 have got interchanged with that of corresponding flats of building number 14. The error is believed to have occurred because of wrong addresses recorded.”

When tenants figured out that their bills and usage was not adding up, in some cases since August last year, they decided to dig deeper.

“When I checked with property manager Asteco to confirm my premise number, I was told that Dubai Municipality and Dewa have a different numbering system. Hence, the building number is different on the bill,” says one resident who did not wish to be named.

“I was not satisfied with his answer and hence, took the matter up with his superior, who admitted that the numbers had in fact got jumbled,” adds the resident.

Another resident who also spoke on condition of anonymity said, “The current system in which we are paying the bill is dangerous. If the person, to whom my bill is being sent, fails to clear it by the due date, electricity at my house will be cut off!”

Sure enough one resident got a letter from Dewa last month asking them to clear the unpaid bills amounting to Dh2,000.

When contacted issue, Asteco through its public relations channel said it will not be able to comment on this as the tenants have their own meters operated by Dewa.

From: Emirates 24|7

relaxing in Dubai

Recession causing Dubai rental market shift, landlords accepting 12 cheques

The recession and credit crunch is effecting Dubai rental property market, tilting it in favour of the tenants.

As Arabian Business reports, Landlords in various location of Dubai are accepting rents in up to 12 cheques, a move in strak contrast of previous practice of accepting rents in 1-3 cheques.

With more properties coming onto the market as job losses mount and tenants downsize amid the global crisis, landlords are increasingly showing more flexibility, keen to secure rental income, it has emerged.

Dubai broker Smith & Ken Real Estate is currently advertising a monthly payment deal for properties on its books in Old Town.

Antony Anderton, sales negotiator at Smith & Ken said: “Landlords are having to be more creative in the current climate.

“Especially with banks not willing to lend, a 12 cheque system is more appealing and it means people don’t have stump up a huge sum of money in advance. This will become more common in Dubai,” he added.

“More landlords are offering this, it’s happening very quickly, people are rapidly moving in this direction,” said Ryan Mahoney, managing director of agent Better Homes.

“Rents are coming down because demand has fallen and supply has risen through [job] layoffs and number of people releasing their units into the market.”

Landmark Properties is also offering 12 cheque deals on Discovery Gardens and the downtown Burj Dubai development.

Rising supply is pushing rents down, which spiralled in the first half of last year before the six-year property boom started to correct.

Lack of bank lending has meant that many residents are unable to get financing to pay for a year’s rent in advance, so landlords are being forced to make payment easier.

Earlier in the month property consultant Asteco said in a report that rental growth slowed in the final quarter of last year. Average annual rent for studios, and apartments with one, two and three bedrooms in Dubai were 80,000, 123,000, 165,000 and 243,000 dirhams respectively, Asteco reported.