If you are new in Dubai, you have seen it all around. If you live in Dubai since a few months, they told you. Emaar is the leader in building and the most trustful developer in the city. They even have an app. So, what is U by Emaar?

We have a lot of apps in our phone, even too many. So why another one?

Emaar is the best developer in UAE. It has a long history, and it is the owner of the Burj Khalifa. Moreover, the entire Downtown area is dominated by its buildings. Another area the company is building is the Creek.

Emaar is characterised by its modern buildings and by the quality of its development. If you are searching for a new home (check our article here), Emaar is the name for quality.

Sure, Emaar properties are not cheap, but they come with benefits. Quality is one, another one is the App.

U by Emaar is an app created by Emaar to make your life easier in town. In fact, on the app, not only you can book restaurants around the city, but also you have a cashback. In fact, Emaar is offering you a cashback in terms of accumulated points to use in another venues.

You need to know that Emaar is not just a developer, it is also the owner of different hotel chains. For example, all the Address hotels are owned by Emaar. Vida hotels and Manzil are others. Therefore, the app allows you to book and get the discount in all the restaurants in those hotels. Cashback included.

How can you get the app?

If you are an Emaar resident, you can download the app and register. You need to upload your contract and Ejari. This allows you to get already the first Tier of loyalty, the black one.

Otherwise, if you are not a resident, you can just download it and you will start from the most basic tier of loyalty. However, using this discount code is going to give you immediately benefits:

Step 1: Click on the link below to download the U By Emaar app
Step 2: Register using your mobile number and enter the referral code (VYJL12D2)

Download the app now: https://bit.ly/2XP80Jq

The latest possibility to access to a high tier of membership is to get the U by Emaar credit card. Emirates NBD offers this option. For every purchase you make, you get points to use in the Emaar Venues.

The post WHAT IS U BY EMAAR? appeared first on Entrepreneurs in Dubai .

We are business men and we know that good deals are made on the golf course. Moreover, Dubai is one of the cities with the biggest number of golf courses on the planet. however, how can we get good deals for our tee times? How to book cheap golf tee times in dubai?

Golf has always been the sport for entrepreneurs. In fact, on the course we have the occasion to meet really interesting business men or to make good business. A lot of entrepreneurs use golf as a natural way of expand and build their network. We have already discussed how to network in Dubai, you can read the article here: article.

You can play golf to meet interesting people, do business or to have fun.

Dubai is also based of a lot of different courses. In fact, there are a lot of courses spread around the city. Coming from Abu Dhabi you can find the JA resort 9 holes course. Moving around the city there 14 golf courses. The last would be the Dubai Creek or Sharjah 9 holes course.

Dubai is also the place where two important international events take place. The DP World Tour Championships takes place in November at the Jumeirah Golf Estates. While, the Hero Dubai Desert Classic takes place at the Emirates Golf Course in January usually.

So, how can you play on the coursed where the most famous players are playing?

And, how to book cheap golf tee times in dubai in those courses?

There are 2 options to book cheap tee times in Dubai. The first would be to get a membership in one of the clubs. This allows you to play for free whenever you want and for as many times as you want. However, it is really expensive. Mostly, the membership can cost you around 35 to 50 thousand dirhams.

The second option would be using the golf apps. There are 2 of them and they cover all the major golf courses. You can get deals and special rates on the apps. Moreover, they also offers cashback on the reservations and discounts in the proshops and restaurants in the clubs.

The best App is definitely VIYA app, they offer really great discounts and it easy to use. You can download it here for Free and Earn 100 Viya points (worth AED 10) when you make your first transaction. Download now and use referral code VI5CFWKM: download.

The other app is the TROON app where you can find all the other courses. There is no discount here unfortunately, however you can still find good deals.

The advice would be to check both the apps when you want to play and the the best deal out of the two.

This is How to book cheap golf tee times in dubai!

The post How to book cheap golf tee times in dubai? appeared first on Entrepreneurs in Dubai .

We have already discussed in a previous article how to connect with other entrepreneurs in Dubai. Find it here: article. However, being an entrepreneur means you probably have a company. If you do not have one yet, you are reading the right article. In fact, let’s talk about which is the cheapest way to open a company in Dubai!

Let’s start dividing 2 main concepts about having a company in Dubai. You can be the owner of a mainland company or the owner of a freezone company.

For as much as we could talk about the difference, let’s just summarize it. Leaving the discussion for another article.

Mainland company is a company founded in UAE and without a specific geographic limitation. The company can conduct business in all UAE and it is subject to UAE laws. The company has to be owned for its 51% by an Emirati citizen. Just to clarify, a citizen is a person who owns the passport of UAE. Having a VISA means you are a resident and not a citizen, therefore it is not enough.

Why to open a mainland company?

Having a mainland company allows you to conduct business in all UAE areas (except for the freezones). It is useful if you have a physical business such as a restaurant or shop. It is also useful if you want to open an office in an area of the city which is not in a freezone. For Example Dubai Marina or Downtown.

On the other hand, Freezones company are companies you can found in a specific area. There are multiple freezones spread around UAE. Every FreeZone has its main activity of business. For example you have Media City freezone focused on Media. Dubai World Central freezone is focused on shipping. There is internet city focused on internet. You got the idea.

Why to open a Freezone company?

Freezones are under UAE laws but they also benefit from specific status and specific laws. Therefore it might be easier to deal with a problem in a free zone. Moreover, freezones companies can be owned 100% by a foreign person. However, having a freezone company means that you can run your business only within the physical borders of the freezone. Which, if you are a digital company is okay to do, but if you need an office in the city center might be a problem.

Moreover, mainland companies are way more expensive both to be founded and to maintain them every year. Bureaucracy is also more complex and you need to find the Emirati partner.

The cheapest way to open a company in Dubai is to open a Freezone company.

There are multiple freezones and different requirements to be answered to in order to open one. However, they are really cheap if you can access to the right promo.

Opening a Freezones company starts from 7.500aed.

You don’t need to pay more than that a part the case in which you need a complex setup or a licence to run a specific business. We have partnered with SHAMS media city directly. Therefore you do not need to pay the commission to strange consultans or companies that only want to monetize you.

You can get the special price clicking here and leaving your details: APPLY HERE. A member of Shams will call you in 24 hours directly.

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Dubai has seen a huge increase of number of visitors and residents in the past few years. Different events made the city really popular. However, the more people arrive, the more expensive are airline tickets. Therefore, let’s see how to fly cheap to Dubai.

Dubai has been on the news since they started with the vision of creating something extraordinary. The government has approved incredible projects to make the city on the map. In the bast 2 decades, the city has shifted from a pearl fishermen small town to becoming one of the most urbanized cities in the world.

Firstly, projects such as the Burj Al Arab, the palm islands (yes, there are 2) or the Burj Khalifa made the news globally. In fact, these projects were so big that everyone around the globe starting to talk about it or to make documentaries.

I remember 2010 and watching on Discovery channel the series on the Dubai Airport operations or the construction of the palm.

Lately, the city has benefitted from a nice strategy to fight Covid and on its open business bureaucracy. Dubai has become lately a global city, a city that everyone knows or has been. The years when it was considered an exotic place with other traditions are gone.

However, it is also true that the cost to reach the city is more expensive day by day. Dubai is home of the Dubai Airport, the busiest international airport in the world. Moreover, Emirates is based in Dubai, connecting the city to the world through its modern fleet of Airbus A380 and Boeing 777.

Therefore, the classic idea is to try to book an Emirates flight.

Emirates is however a premium airline. Its motto is Fly Better. This is no Ryanair or a low cost. Flying with Emirates means having in mind to pay a bit more to “Fly better”. No shock that the tickets are expensive. Even if, sometimes there are offers or great deals to take.

An option when you are looking on how to fly cheap to Dubai is to check which airline is flying to Dubai Airport. Try to search for NON-Emirates companies flying to Dubai Airport. You can use websites such as Booking.com or Skyscanner to do so.

At Dubai airport there is also based Flydubai, the low-cost company of Emirates. However, this low cost is service different markets compared to Emirates and might be possible that your route is only operated by its mother company Emirates.

A good advice is to search for Dubai as a city and not Dubai Airport. In fact, in Dubai there is a second airport, the Dubai Al Maktoum airport, which is the base for some low costs airlines.

However, the best strategy for flying cheap to Dubai is actually NOT flying to Dubai.

Seems strange but, because it is less famous and wants to attract more tourist, Abu Dhabi offers better deals. Abu Dhabi is the base of Etihad Airlines. The company wanted to be a competitor of Emirates in the past. However, due to the past struggling years, It has changed its business model shifting to a middle class airline. Its prices are more competitive and there are more offers. Moreover, Abu Dhabi is only 1 hour driving to Dubai and any taxi from Abu Dhabi Airport will drive you to Dubai for around 200aed.

Try to search for low-cost airlines serving Abu Dhabi. Recently WizzAir has created a base in Abu Dhabi and is offering its low cost tickets. WuzzAir is definitely a low cost, so do not expect to have food or TVs onboard.

The last option would be to search from Sharjah Airport. Sharjah is another emirate, neighbour or Dubai. The city is only 40 minutes driving from Dubai and any taxi will drive you to Dubai for around 150aed. Sharjah airport is the base of Air Arabia, a low cost operating in the region. Try to search the options of this airline or any other airlines that might operate a flight to Sharjah.

The last suggestion to how to fly cheap to Dubai would be flying during the week if you can or replanning your visit to low season.

The post HOW TO FLY CHEAP TO DUBAI? appeared first on Entrepreneurs in Dubai .

Standard rent contracts in Dubai are for 1 year. At the end of the contract usually you either renew it or cancel it. How much can they increase my rent at the end of the contract though?

There are a few rules you should know in order not to be scammed by your landlord.

First of all, it is normal to have a 1 year contract. A parts for some rare exceptions, all rental contracts are for one year. This is partially due to the fact that Dubai population is constantly changing. There are the ones who arrive and the one who go. For you as well, having a one year contract might be useful if you decide that your time in Dubai is over and you want to relocate.

So if you are signing your first rental contract, don’t worry, it is normal. You can also check what to pay as Deposit and which other costs you might have in our article.

Something you really want to negotiate though is the notice period.

Let’s make a distinction between leaving at the end of your contract or before. If you want to leave before the ned of the contract or you want to keep the option open, it is better to negotiate favourable terms. Something you do NOT want is to have a penalty.

It is common to have a 2 months notice period with a 1 or 2 months month penalty.

This means that if you want to move at your 9th month of contract, you need to give the notice at the beginning of the 7th month. Moreover, depending on the terms, you might be forced to pay 1 or 2 month of penalty. In the example, you need to pay the 10th month even if you are not going to live inside. Therefore, always better to negotiate this option at the signing moment. Try to get 0 months penalties or at least only 1 month. We know might be rare the occasion that you leave sooner, but always better to protect yourself.

The other deadline you have is the contract renewal. Usually you, and the landlord, have until 90 days before the end of the contract to define the new terms for the next contract. This means that if you want to renew your contract you need to say something before 90 days. Let’s see the case in which the landlord is not saying anything to you before the due date. In this case, it is defined that he does not want to change the terms of the contract for the next year. Therefore, he is okay with you staying.

If you want to negotiate a better price, you need to say something before 90 days to the end of the contract.

In case you miss this due date, unfortunately you cannot re-negotiate the price. While, if the landlord misses the date, he cannot increase your rent as well. The 90 days might be not standard. Just read the contract and appoint on your agenda the due date in order to not forgetting it.

However, if the landlord wants to increase the rent and he does it before the due date, how much can they increase my rent?

The rules are clear. RERA rules are applying. The only exception is if you are living in an Hotel apartment. In this case the hotel rules apply.

RERA defines the maximum yearly rental increase on the average price of the units in your area. Therefore, you need to compare what you are paying to the other units. You can estimate if you are already paying too much or if you are paying below average. If you pay more than average, the landlord CANNOT increase your rent. While, if you pay below average, landlord can increase the rent but by a maximum percentage.

According to the Land Department’s Decree Number 43, a landlord must follow the rules below:

• If your rent is less than 10% below the average market rate, no rent increase is permitted.
• If your rent is between 11% and 20% below the average market rate, a maximum increase of 5% is permitted.
• If your rent is between 21% and 30% below the average market rate, a maximum increase of 10% is permitted.
• If your rent is between 31% and 40% below the average market rate, a maximum increase of 15% is permitted.
• If your rent is more than 40% below the average market rate, a maximum increase of 20% is permitted.

In case the landlord wants to increase the rent and he is not following the rules. In this case, you can open a claim to the RERA and keep your rent the same. Sometimes you can just mention to the landlord that you to RERA if he doesn’t agree to a lower rent. Treating to do so most of the times is enough to make him changing his mind. Landlords know the rules.

You can find RERA rules and the average market rate of your area at this link: RERA rules.

The post How much can they increase my rent? appeared first on Entrepreneurs in Dubai .

Dubai is a fantastic oasis in the desert. The city where everything is possible. Dubai is the city of the new riches and where all the entrepreneurs are moving to. By why is this? And is it true that you pay no tax in Dubai? If not, how much tax you pay in Dubai?

Let’s start analysing the city ecosystem in terms of business and fiscal procedures. The city is build around the free trade zone. This zones are spread around the city and offer big incentives for everyone who wants to create or establish a business in Dubai.

In fact, every different free zone has a specific scope and targets different industries.

There is the Media city free zone, targeting all businesses in the media space. The Dubai aviation zone, targeting all te companies in the aviation space. There is Internet city free zone, there is financial free zone (DIFC), there is the silicon oasis free zone for startups and so on.

There is really a huge list of different zone, everyone focusing on a specific niche. If you need to open a new company and you have questions about which free zone is the best for you we got you covered. You can apply at this link and we get you in contact with an expert to assist you with a free consultation: apply here.

So why opening a company in a free zone?

There are many incentives to do so and, without analysing all of them, we can focus on the main one. You can own the company 100%. In fact, if you want to open a company outside the free-zone, in the mainland, you need to have an Emirati citizen partner. The partner needs to have at least 51% of the company. Therefore, you don’t have the majority of the company.

If this is the main incentive, on the other hand, having the company in a free zone means that you can conduct physical business only within the free zone. Therefore, if you want to open a shop or moving goods, you can but only within the borders of the free zone. Of course, if you have a digital activity or a service, you can conduct it wherever you want anyways. However, even if you have a service business, your physical office has to be in the free zone.

You cannot have an office in mainland if you have a free zone company.

Having said this, let’s discuss in deep if you need to pay tax. Let’s start saying we need to differentiate between:

• Personal Tax
• Company Tax
• VAT

The personal tax is the tax you need to pay on your income. It is the tax on you salary or on your dividends. It is the tax on the capital gains. This tax is easy in Dubai. If you are a resident (not a citizen, meaning you hold a residence VISA) THERE IS NO PERSONAL TAX! So you don’t have to declare anything and you pay 0 on your salary, you pay 0 on dividends. and Moreover:

There is no capital gains tax in Dubai.

Regarding the Company tax, this is the tax companies have to pay on their profit. It used to be zero as well. However, starting from 2023, companies have to pay 9% tax on the profits (revenue minus expenses) of all businesses which generate over 375,000 AED (about USD $100,000). If you do not generate over 375.000aed in Profits, your company does NOT need to pay tax.

Last but not least, the Value Added Tax, or VAT, broadly based consumption tax assessed on the value added to goods and services. VAT in Dubai is 5%. Whatever you buy as a personal, either a product or a service, has the total cost plus 5% of VAT on top to be paid. As a company you are required to add tax to your services or products if they are sold within the country. If you are providing a service for a client abroad, you do NOT need to add VAT.

As a company you need to register at the Federal Tax Authority and declare your VAT revenues and cost every quarter.

We know it might be confused, but it is actually more simple than a lot of other countries. however, we offer you a FREE consultation, you just need to apply clicking here.

If you want to expand your new business we suggest you this article: how to network with interesting people in dubai!

The post How much tax you pay in Dubai? appeared first on Entrepreneurs in Dubai .

You are new in Dubai and you want to get the most from this city. For sure, one of the reasons you moved here is the ability to know people and to make business here. However, where can you meet people to make business in Dubai?

We all know that business is done by knowing people. The ability to network is one of the main skill of a successful entrepreneur. Knowing people give you the ability not only to expand you business opportunities, but also to understand different mindsets and ecosystems.

Especially in Dubai, a lot of different people get together and share their insides and experience. The city offers a vibrant ecosystem to expand your horizons and to maximise your business.

You can meet with people and entrepreneurs from every side of the world in Dubai.

In fact, Dubai offers the perfect basis to conduct a successful business. It is built around the idea of facilitating business. Bureaucracy is as easy as possible and the government is really betting on the digital transformation to make things as easy as possible. We all know that dealing with bureaucracy is extremely annoying and complex.

Moreover, in terms of conducting a successful business, Dubai, through its freezones and tax system, offers one of the most appealing condition to setup a business in the emirates.

In fact, you can create a company in a few clicks in Dubai. You can get a VISA for living in the city. You can run your business with zero or a really low taxation.

Moreover, one if the best opportunity the city offers, is the ability to connect really interesting people. Especially because, the people who come to Dubai are usually extremely valuable. (Check our article in when to start looking for a place in dubai here).Thinking about the city, there is a cost to move here. Therefore, who comes to Dubai are either successful entrepreneurs or managers relocated here by their company. If the second is the case, the manager to be relocates is probably really good and a valuable asset for the company to invest on.

The Dubai ecosystem is therefore populated by really interesting people. Everywhere you go you can meet someone that might change you day!

We have not answered our question yet. Being new in the city and knowing zero, where can you go to meet people to make business in dubai?

You are ideally looking for someone that has done already what you did. Someone probably from your country and someone who has been in your shoes in the past and can guide you know.

A lot of countries offer, through their consulates or through their chamber of commerce an opportunity to meet. There are as well Business Councils created exactly with this scope.

You can search online for the business council of your home country. There are so many established in the city. For example there is the Italian, the Swiss, the SouthAfrian, the Pakistani, the Saudi business councils.

The scope of a business council is to connect people from the same country and help them in facilitating their business in Dubai.

Moreover, the business councils are often organising events and occasions to meet and discuss different topics. A really nice occasion for you to meet people to make business in dubai.
Contact the business council you would like to join and ask them to be invited to the next event!

Remember to bring business cards with you at those events and to introduce yourself to as many people as you can!

The post meet people to make business in dubai? appeared first on Entrepreneurs in Dubai .

When you finalise a rent contract, the real estate agent is always asking you to pay a rent deposit. However is classic to feel scammed and to ask yourself “how much should I pay my rent deposit?”.

We have already seen together the steps to rent a home in Dubai. You can find them here: article.

Se let’s visualize it, you have finally found the place of your dreams or maybe just a place. NExt step is to sign the contract. Contracts are really standard in Dubai and the template si done by the RERA. RERA is the Dubai land authority, responsible to manage litigations and the housing market.

You can change the addendum, but not the main part of the contract, which is standard.

3 different EXTRA costs are written in the contract:

Ejari registration. Ejari is an online registration system initiated by the Real Estate Regulatory Agency (RERA, see above). It requires all rental or lease agreements in Dubai to be registered on this portal. The main objective of the system is to legalize the relationship between landlords and tenants in Dubai. This document is necessary and mandatory because it validate your rent into the land department. WITHOUT this document you cannot apply for electricity and water! The cost is around 250aed. You can do it yourself or ask the real estate agency to do it for you, paying them a small fee.

Agency Commission. The real estate agency is asking you, the tenant, to pay them a 5% fee for arranging the deal. The fee is standard and most of the time you cannot negotiate on it. You can pay it with a bank transfer or by cheque.

Rent Deposit. This is what you are requested to pay to your landlord. It might happen that the deposit is held by the real estate agency, but it is rare. It happens when the agency is also managing the apartment on the owner behalf. There are two standard rent deposits: 5 and 10%.

The 5% fee is for the NON-furnished house fee. This fee is for all the unit not furnished.

The 10% fee is for the furnished apartments.

You can pay them via cheque or wire transfer. Owner can cash them and does not need to wait the end of the contract.

It is really important to save your deposit at the end of your renting, to make an inventory of everything. Therefore, write down every single object there is the unit when you take the ownership the first day. Make the inventory part of the contract and have both parties signing it.

Moreover, another good tip to save your rent is to make a video of the unit together with the agency when they give you the key. In the video focus on all the details of the unit, including the walls, the kitchen and everything that is not perfect. Make pictures as well. As many as possible.

Unfortunately, I have seen landlords trying to always keep the deposit for all the smallest problems they find. At the end, they held the money so it is hard to have them back, especially if you have no proves of how the unit was the first day.

The post How much should I pay my rent deposit? appeared first on Entrepreneurs in Dubai .

Whenever you arrive in Dubai and you get a place to stay, the next thing to thing is which is a cheap supermarket in Dubai to go for your groceries?

Let’s start saying that is normal initially to spend hundreds of dirhams for a couple of items. To all of us happened at least once to buy one milk and one bread for 100aed.

It is normal because you are new in town and you don’t know how to buy items in a cheap supermarket in Dubai.

In Dubai there are all the supermarkets you want, from local stores to discounts, from a specific food store to the huge hypermarkets. You can find Indian supermarkets, Italian, French and Arabian all over town. There are organic supermarkets but also exotic ones. What about the difference between the local 24h daily supermarket and the huge hypermarkets.

So let’s summarise what you can find:

Daily shops. If you leave in a really densely populated area, you probably have in your building or just hundreds meters away a Daily shop. Most of the time they are open 24 hours, 7 days a week. Usually you can find a few products and they are perfect if you are missing something for your dinner receipt. They are usually expensive.

Local supermarkets. Local supermarkets are spread around town. You can find a Spinneys or a Choithram in almost every areas of town. Most of the time you can also find Carrefour, Grandiose or Geant markets in your area. You can fins a bigger selection compared to the daily shops and they are usually a bit cheaper. However they are less spread around and you might need to walk a bit or drive a couple of minutes. They are not usually open all day. However all supermarkets are working 7 days a week.

Hypermarkets. The cheap supermarket in Dubai is definitely a hypermarket. These are usually at a car distance. You can find them in some malls or around town. Most of the time you need to drive there. These are the supermarkets where you can find every imaginable products and with family boxes and offers. We can mention here chains like Carrefour, UnionCoop and Lulu.

Discounts supermarkets. Spread around town there also supermarkets that offer discounts or products without brand. These are good for all the products that you want to get and you are not really caring if they are from a know brand or not. You can save a lot in these markets. One of this is VIVA supermarkets.

Culture markets. There are also around town, with no chain, supermarkets focused on a particular culture and country of products. You can find Arabian supermarkets, Indian, British and others around town. you can find here the products you are buying at home or the exotic products you might need to cook a special dish.

Online stores. There are shops only ONLINE where you can buy special products. For example you can buy fresh fruit and vegetables on NRTC Fresh or Italian food on Casinetto.

Order supermarkets online. You can use APPs to order your groceries from the daily shops or from the local supermarkets around you. The most common is INSTASHOP, but you can use also Careem APP. They are going to the supermarket on your behalf and delivery at home your products in around 1 hours. You can also buy a huge grocery from Carrefour hypermarket but it will take at least 24hours to be delivered.

The post Cheap supermarket In dubai? appeared first on Entrepreneurs in Dubai .

How to rent in dubai is the second question you asked yourself after deciding to move to Dubai. The first one? When to start searching for a place. We have already discussed it in our article that you can read here.

Why is necessary this question? Well, we are new in the city and we have no experience. Is the real estate agent honest? Is he doing my interest or only his?

All questions that, in order to be able to answer, you need to have a clear picture of the Dubai housing ecosystem. You really need to master the art of knowing how to rent in Dubai.

The first step to rent is to decide in which area you want to move. Every different area has its own life and atmosphere. Different people and different vibes are related to different parts of the city. Soon a guide is coming to explain all this better. Be sure to subscribe to the newsletter.

As soon as you have an area in mind you can start the research.

BONUS point: get a chequebook before renting!!! See below why.

First thing: Google Maps. Why? Well because in Dubai there are no street names. I mean, there are, but nobody is really using them. Wherever you need to go or whenever you need to write your address, the name of the building is mandatory while the street name is optional.

So check the are you want to live, maybe even on street view and appoint the names of the buildings you like.

Second: go on PropertyFinder or Bayut and search for those buildings. Searching for buildings and not area is going to give you a better result and a more precise research.

Third: Contact the real estate agents via whatsapp or phone call. Explain them your needs and which buildings you like. Remember that timing is the essence of your research. Again, read my article about timing and housing: start searching.

Fourth: Arrange a visit. Try to organise a visit as soon as possible. The market is extremely fast so what is available today might not tomorrow. Do not wait, just go a see it the day after. NOTE: ask the real estate agent to verify that the unit is still available. Really ofter unfortunately, placed already taken are still listed. Moreover, since difference agencies are promoting the same units, agents might not be updated if the unit is still free or not.

Fifth: If you like a place do not wait too long. As said before, market is really fast so if you really like it, reserve it. So many times I have seen people loosing an amazing unit just because they waited too long. Even two-three days for thinking might be too much.

Six: negotiation. How much can you negotiate? Well, this depends on the area and on the status of the unit. Check the prices of similar units in the area or in the same building and make a comparison. Being the market really fast, unfortunately often there is not too much space for negotiation. However, you can still try and I suggest you to do so. Just do not ask for an unrealistic price because you might loose face with the real estate agent. He is going to think you are not serious.

What you can negotiate on is the number of yearly payments.

In Dubai contracts are standard of 1 year. You can ask for more years but is a bit uncommon. Yearly payments can be splitted in different ways. NOTE: you need a chequebook for your rent, so get one before starting. If you do not have one, unfortunately you either need to pay everything in advance or you might loose the deal. Yes one year rent in advace, this is Dubai standard.

Number of cheques can be between 1 or 6. More than 6 is really hard to get. The less cheques you want to offer, the more you can negotiate a cheaper price. Example: rent is 100k aed per year. You can offer 90k all paid in 1 cheque or you can offer 95k paid in 4 cheques.

Seven: Contract. Dubai contracts are really standard, you cannot change them. The only part you can change is the addendum. Be sure to include the inventory of the unit, the parking space (all unit comes with one) and the payment method.

Eight: EJARI. After having signed your contract you need to register it to the Dubai housing authority. This is usually done by tthe real estate agency, but you can save around 100aed if you do it by yourself.

Nine: DEWA. Once you have the Ejari registered you can connect electricity and water. Just go on DEWA website and apply there. They will come at yours to activate it in around 8 hours.

Tenth: Moving in. You can finally move in, however ask your doorman if you need to apply for a Moving IN permit from the building. If you have movers coming and you need to furnish the apartment, you need to ask the permission to the building.

It is a long process but later on you can finally relax in your new Dubai unit!! More precise guides on every points are coming, stay tuned!

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