How does a young expat get onto the property market in Abu Dhabi?

[visionary]

After I complete my training I should have saved around about 140,000 AED ( with a bit of help from my parents) for a deposit and I will have access to a 160,000 AED a year housing allowance which I definitely do not want to throw away by renting, as it is nearly the same as my starting salary!I am also planning to stay in Abu Dhabi for a long time, so renting definitely seems pointless.

My question is, all the property available seems to be off plan and paid via installments, but to be able to pay these installments I would need a mortgage, which would be paid via the housing allowance, which would mean whilst the property is being built , I am using my housing allowance to pay for a property that I am not living in!

I read that there is no property available in Abu Dhabi to buy and move into straight away, is this really true? If so, that would mean that I would have to rent and save up for a long time before I can afford to pay these installments out of my monthly salary, which would mean a lot of years of throwing my housing allowance down the drain.


Or have I misunderstood things here? It seems the only way to buy a property in Abu Dhabi is to have large amounts of money upfront and be able to rent somewhere else at the same time?

One thing to note is that I am 19 and I have no assets at all.....

[jomonanu1]

Well, You are right. Why not move to Dubai>

[ALIYA]

Originally Posted by visionary

After I complete my training I should have saved around about 140,000 AED ( with a bit of help from my parents) for a deposit and I will have access to a 160,000 AED a year housing allowance which I definitely do not want to throw away by renting, as it is nearly the same as my starting salary!I am also planning to stay in Abu Dhabi for a long time, so renting definitely seems pointless.

My question is, all the property available seems to be off plan and paid via installments, but to be able to pay these installments I would need a mortgage, which would be paid via the housing allowance, which would mean whilst the property is being built , I am using my housing allowance to pay for a property that I am not living in!

I read that there is no property available in Abu Dhabi to buy and move into straight away, is this really true? If so, that would mean that I would have to rent and save up for a long time before I can afford to pay these installments out of my monthly salary, which would mean a lot of years of throwing my housing allowance down the drain.


Or have I misunderstood things here? It seems the only way to buy a property in Abu Dhabi is to have large amounts of money upfront and be able to rent somewhere else at the same time?

One thing to note is that I am 19 and I have no assets at all.....

Hi please send me your contact details to sales@citycard.ae and I will get someone to call you asap with all the availabilities in Abu Dhabi and surrounding areas.

[visionary]

Would anyone be able to link me to the various payment options for off plan properties then?

Thanks

[EM Concepts]

Hi Visionary,

It is a common problem that you face and not an easy one to solve immediately. I would suggest first contacting a good mortgage broker such as John Charcoal to give you a status check and mortgage options....as at the moment mortgage requirements are changing every day - you may find unfortunately that you can not obtain finance at the moment - that said your budget seems reasonable.

Some banks will offer finance through off plan periods for 1000 - 2000 aed per month if they like the developer (this is added on to your loan amount when interest starts on handover).... but again given the current climate these may have been withdrawn temporarily...

For non residents typical LTV will be 70% or less which puts your max budget at around 466,666AED and you may struggle to find anything in Abu Dhabi for that price - even a studio flat....

Our reasech department will be releasing a document shortly that will list every project in Abu Dhabi and the price variations for them, you should find this interesting. Send us an email and I will add you to the newsletter lists.

My self or one of my colleagues are happy to discuss your best course of action with regards to timing and purchase strategy. Although I think Abu Dhabi is a good long term investment (provided you get the right price!) given your budget you may find other emirates make more sense for investment... then you can use your allowance for renting in Abu Dhabi....