off-plan Law Dubai

[djaan]

Hi everybody,
following is a new law introduced this month.Is it good for us or not?


"It has been made mandatory that off-plan property sales in Dubai be registered with the Land Department of the emirate, and no developers will be permitted to charge transfer fee on such sales, according to a new law announced yesterday.

The Law No.13 of 2008 aims to regulate off-plan sales, and mandates registration with the land department, said Emad Eldin Farouq, Senior Legal Advisor, Land Department.

The practice of marketing residential or commercial units based on an architectural plan of the property, prior to building the structure, is termed as 'off-plan sales'.

"Any sale or disposition that transfers or restricts title will be void, if not registered in the interim real estate register," states the new law.

Hence any developer, who markets or sells other disposition prior to implementation of the law, will have to register it within 60 days, Farouq clarified.

The law also states that master developers and sub-developers will not be permitted to charge transfer fee on off-plan sales, henceforth. However, they will be permitted to accept administrative charges once it has been approved by the Land Department.

The Chief Executive Officer of Dubai Properties Group, Mohamed Binbrek, agreed that this is surely good news, as the interest of small investors and buyers will be protected, and that the Land department will now regulate the market. The new law is likely to add credibility to the market.

Last week, Dubai passed on a new mortgage law, which states that mortgage contracts need to be registered with the Land Department, and specified the size of the loan, the repayment period and the value of the property to which the loan is linked.

However, developers say that they will insist payment of a minimum of 20 to 30 percent of the property value prior to transferring to a second buyer under a resale transaction. They will also screen customer profiles prior to selling the property off-plan".

initial transfer and sale of off-plan properties will be permitted only after payment of 30 percent of total property value,"said an Emaar spokesperson.

[Sean@Phuket]

Quote "The new law is likely to add credibility to the market."

Yes I think so too...

Sean

[TommyC]

And hey, they wiped that little confidence away with some lobbying (and under-the-table payments?).
More bribery news will surely come to the surface in some time, somebody is gaining money on this for sure. And it ain't the end-user paying for it. Anyone looking to invest, stay away from Dubai. Day-to-day changes in regulations will never be in the benefit of the investor, sure there are some regulations regarding escrow-accounts and so on. But that won't help you when the developer has decided they're not making enough profit and delays the projects waiting for you to default before shutting down, collecting the money you forfeited and move on, all while you're watching and hopelessly complaining. There is no logic at this place, whoever in charge makes the most money makes the regulations to fit their needs.

If it's not clear; Law 13 that gave investors, still inadequate but some protection was changed a few days ago basically removing that protection and taking the developers side instead. If you want to make money, become a developer in Dubai, start projects at medium market rates, delay them forever (go on vacation, start similiar projects, have a coffee with the Land Department and make some empty promises "soon soon", or just sit and watch), wait for investors to stop their payments due lack of information and never-ending delays, immediatley cancel their contracts on any breach, and when enough people have given up on your project, cancel it, cash in the forfeited money and start another project! You can make use of Escrow accounts as well, that will attract investors under the false believe that it will protect their money. But a few phone calls and a note to a contractor here and there will still give you full access to the funds within that account. Welcome to the world where the corruption, good friends make up the rules. In this unregulated country it's all about knowing the right people in a way that far extends beyond the western world. In this place there is one Chief, and whatever is interesting to him or his friends the regulations will protect.