01 / Journal
Service charges, yields, tenancies and the arithmetic of holding a Dubai property.
Downtown buildings charge between AED 18 and AED 55 per square foot a year. On a 1,000 sq ft apartment that is a difference of AED 37,000 annually, and it is the number that decides whether a yield is real.
A portal shows 8% and your bank statement shows 5.5%. The gap is service charges, tenancy registration, re-letting fees, the void, maintenance and utilities on an empty unit. Here is the full subtraction.
02 / The guest list
Roughly once a month. New and off-market listings before they are advertised, one neighbourhood piece, and an invitation when we are running an evening at the showroom.