Transcript
Speaker: My guest today has been working in Dubai Real Estate for over 10 years and is now part of the prestigious and well-respected developers in Dubai Onyat.
Speaker: With extensive experience on the development and delivery of bespoke off and on-plan property programs within Dubai that challenges clients' mindsets and commercial objectives of their property portfolios, I'm excited to break down his thoughts, process and expertise on the off-plan market.
Speaker: We're going to be answering all your off plan investment questions and finding out more about OmniNAT's current developments and plans as Dubai continues to grow.
Speaker: Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome our guest, Josh Firon.
Speaker: Hello.
Speaker: Welcome.
Speaker: Thanks for coming on.
Speaker: That's good.
Speaker: So what we typically do is we start off with quick five questions.
Speaker: It's eight questions, no right or wrong answer.
Speaker: Just a chance to listeners to get to know you a bit better and Dubai.
Speaker: A bit better than a lot of them listen from outside Dubai.
Speaker: Yeah, of course.
Speaker: And we're going to go into really specific questions about Omni as a developer and also off plan in general.
Speaker: A lot of questions have been sent in this week.
Speaker: So let's start off the quick fire questions.
Speaker: Go on.
Speaker: So your favorite restaurant in Dubai?
Speaker: I've got to say Namos, I think for me.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: More of a daytime person rather than nighttime.
Speaker: So Namos is the one.
Speaker: Nice.
Speaker: Have you been?
Speaker: I've never been.
Speaker: Have you not been?
Speaker: No, no.
Speaker: It's in the Four Seasons.
Speaker: Oh, lovely.
Speaker: Very nice, yeah.
Speaker: So it's more of an afternoon vibe from like four o'clock onwards.
Speaker: But yeah, that's my place.
Speaker: That's my favourite restaurant.
Speaker: You have to live in one Omniat development slash building.
Speaker: Which one do you pick?
Speaker: That's a tough one.
Speaker: Without being biased, obviously all of them to me are amazing.
Speaker: But if I had to pick one, it's something which is under construction at the moment, it'd be Orla.
Speaker: So Orla on the Palm Jumeirah.
Speaker: Amazing, amazing project.
Speaker: I'm sure we'll dive into that a little bit.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah.
Speaker: In this episode.
Speaker: So describe the Dubai Real Estate Market in one word.
Speaker: Right now, booming.
Speaker: Booming.
Speaker: I had bubbling hot last week.
Speaker: Booming this week.
Speaker: That was good.
Speaker: Your favorite thing to do Saturday out in Dubai when you have a day off?
Speaker: For me, it's a beach club.
Speaker: Like daytime things, like I said before, is my thing.
Speaker: So beach club, Saturday, all day.
Speaker: Any Pacific beach club?
Speaker: Anyone really.
Speaker: West Palm Beach is probably where I end up most weekends.
Speaker: But Niki Beach is a favorite as well.
Speaker: Lovely.
Speaker: Your favorite Dubai area slash community?
Speaker: Palm.
Speaker: Palm, like I said, I've spent about 90% of my time on the Palm, so that's my favorite place.
Speaker: I tend to agree as well.
Speaker: The one thing you love about Dubai more than anything else?
Speaker: Lifestyle, I think, and I always say, I think there's something for everybody in Dubai.
Speaker: So whether it's you like going out or whether it's daytime things and nightclubs, DJs or all of that and just nice beaches, there's something for everybody.
Speaker: Definitely.
Speaker: I think a lot of people, when they see Dubai, they see the Instagram highlights and stuff.
Speaker: When you actually live here, it's so different.
Speaker: Yeah, exactly.
Speaker: It's totally different.
Speaker: But there's something for everyone, families, young people, older people.
Speaker: There's something for everyone.
Speaker: I always say it all the time, but definitely the lifestyle of everything.
Speaker: Definitely.
Speaker: Last two.
Speaker: In your opinion, what's the biggest common myth about Dubai that people who don't live here have?
Speaker: Probably how strict it is.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Can you get a drink there?
Speaker: You know, get arrested if you have a drink, all that stuff.
Speaker: But that's mainly from people who've not been to Dubai.
Speaker: Like the UK press love to slate the place and I don't know why it really annoys people.
Speaker: But yeah, exactly.
Speaker: But that's probably one of the main things I say that people think.
Speaker: I think it was years ago, you know, we talked about maybe 30 years ago, you know, that was probably the case.
Speaker: Well, now it's very westernized.
Speaker: Of course there's rules, you know, and there's restrictions everywhere.
Speaker: I mean, you know, you can do what you want to an extent.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah.
Speaker: My wife first came here on holiday about nine years ago.
Speaker: and uh the moment when we've come back here obviously since and moved here but she said even when she came like nine years ago there was like much stricter for that even like wearing bikinis and beaches yeah no it was stuff but now like it's it's exactly more relaxed as i came in 2013 and even back then looking back then it was all about the nighttime so really daytime stuff you didn't really have beach clubs yeah you know there wasn't nothing of that everyone come alive in the nighttime i think that was a lot to do with the drinking and stuff
Speaker: didn't want to promote that in the daytime maybe um and then as the time time evolved you know beach club started appearing yeah yeah it's all about the daytime things gonna be wrong you had brunches back then but you know it wasn't really a daytime vibe it was lunches every day and it used to just be the friday but now you can get one every day yeah definitely last question what have you done Dubai what have you done to Dubai to make it feel like your own home
Speaker: For me, I think having a solid career, you know, like mastering that and being successful in what I do in my industry, you know, made Dubai feel like home for me.
Speaker: And secondly, as well, if you don't have family here, surround yourself with good friends, you've got to have a solid group of mates.
Speaker: I mean, Dubai can be a lonely place if you don't have a friendship group and no family here.
Speaker: And I think that's half the reason why most people don't last in Dubai, you know, because it is tough without your family and stuff, you know, but good group of mates and, you know, you'll settle right in.
Speaker: I agree.
Speaker: I agree.
Speaker: Right, so we're going to move on to section of the podcast where listeners are sending questions.
Speaker: We answer them.
Speaker: I try and answer them.
Speaker: Obviously, bring on guests like yourself to answer them.
Speaker: So this week, we're going to be focused purely on off-plan.
Speaker: All right.
Speaker: And then I've included a couple here specifically on OmniNats just because they are developing, obviously, a lot in the moment.
Speaker: Of course, of course.
Speaker: People have probably seen them.
Speaker: Everyone, Bill, Bill, Bill, Bill.
Speaker: building so I'm really excited to dive into what they're doing at the moment as well.
Speaker: So question one is from Max which is going via a YouTube comment.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: What are the benefits of buying off plan compared to secondary?
Speaker: There's a few benefits actually.
Speaker: Number one obvious reason you get a brand new property you know and in a brand new property you know if you're well if you get there in an early stage of the developers launch you're able to select a unit from a
Speaker: there's a good variety of units to choose from you know so that you're looking for a one bedroom apartment you can choose the floor level the view the size the layout in the desired building and location that you want compared to a secondary market where there could be one tower for example that you want to be in you need a one bedroom
Speaker: and there's one more bedroom available it doesn't take all those boxes but you end up just taking the unit anyway because you want to be within the tower so it's more of a variety on what's out there you know in terms of inventory um secondly pricing you know your pricing is always very attractive when you're going with the developer you know that's one of the reasons people go for off plan
Speaker: you know the much more affordable shall we say in a prime location than it would be on the secondary market yeah you know it could be a tower next door that's selling for 40 percent more than you're paying your off-plan unit for yeah um third you've got payment plans so payment plans are key for developers you know and that helps the investors as well you know those that don't want to take finance um it's a perfect option for them
Speaker: and also those that have funds that come in regularly but may not have the 100% upfront payment, you know, to go full cash.
Speaker: So they're the benefits.
Speaker: And lastly, actually, which is the important one, is your capital appreciation.
Speaker: So, you know, you're buying an off-plan unit.
Speaker: If you've chosen the right developer, the right location, you're automatically getting, you know, a premium.
Speaker: The minute you get your keys, you know, you should be looking at least 20%.
Speaker: you know when you get your keys and you know that's good to know it's a good investment if you wanted to sell it even on on those at the key handover you know you can and you've earned yourself a 20 premium and that's a minimum i would say but you've got to choose the right development and right location of course i can't say that's across all development but you know if you choose if you choose wisely yeah it'll make you some good money
Speaker: I said, going back to the capital appreciation bit, because a lot of people listen to us are investors, and they might be investing in the UK market, or similar markets, where to buy an upfront property and then get 20% plus minimum, again, depends on the project and development, is like, wow, that's almost like, it's not unbelievable to them, but because they're used to a certain market.
Speaker: Is there a specific client you've had with Omniat in recent times where you've had a case study you could break down a little bit?
Speaker: We've got a lot of comparables for Omniat.
Speaker: If you just take one at Palm, for example, which is managed by the Dorchester Collection,
Speaker: The guys who, I mean, that launched quite some years ago now, you know, but people who bought at those off-plan prices and what they're selling at today, you know, people are doubling their money in terms of their initial investment.
Speaker: So it's proven, you know, times have changed.
Speaker: The market is, like I said, booming.
Speaker: And if you buy at the right price from a developer on like a pre-launch, you know, you always will get that capital appreciation.
Speaker: And also one thing I love about Dubai and we spoke about last week on the podcast was the transparency of data.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: So like investors, like, you can go and see, for example, the one palm you mentioned, they can actually go and see what they were bought for.
Speaker: Exactly.
Speaker: You can see everything's online.
Speaker: You can see.
Speaker: And honestly, when you do look at those figures, you're like, wow.
Speaker: And then you get people, you know, clients, previous clients of mine and others in the company who, you know, they didn't buy.
Speaker: and then you're like look at the end they're like you know i wish i would have done that you know but people don't think at the time people don't actually believe where the market's going to go that's why i always say don't think about it just do it you know if you've got the comps there because it's always going to work out yeah especially when you're looking at your sales price you know definitely when they develop an off-plan pre-sales
Speaker: Brilliant, no, that's some really, really good points.
Speaker: So I hope that answers your question, Max.
Speaker: Question two is from me, is around OmniNats.
Speaker: So a lot of people would have seen the name on the sides of buildings across social media and as a prominent developer in Dubai.
Speaker: Can you tell us a little bit more about them as a company and a developer?
Speaker: Yeah, so, I mean, Omniat had been around for 18 years now.
Speaker: 2005 was when Omniat started, and they started off as a commercial developer.
Speaker: So they produced corporate houses, retail, you know, office hours, essentially.
Speaker: And it wasn't until around five years ago that they stepped into the ultra luxury segment, shall I say.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: There was a couple of things that put Omniat on the map.
Speaker: First one was the Opus building, which is our development in Business Bay, which is beautiful.
Speaker: You've seen it yourself when we were down at the event.
Speaker: I had an office there, as I said to you.
Speaker: Yeah, you did, actually.
Speaker: And it was designed by Zaya Hedid.
Speaker: So it was architecturally beautiful.
Speaker: It was the one with the big void in the middle, inside and out.
Speaker: It's totally unique.
Speaker: So that sort of put us in the limelight for the ultra luxury, which was a stepping stone for us getting into the residential.
Speaker: It done extremely well.
Speaker: And then another was our exclusive partnership with the Dorchester Hotel, which is the Dorchester collection.
Speaker: And that's when we stepped into the branded residential, we say, in terms of the hospitality side.
Speaker: And the first development was one upon which I spoke to you about before.
Speaker: so that's where we sort of are at the moment in terms of omniat um although we are ultra luxury developer um you know we do have some luxury um developments too yeah so we sort of say we have two buckets of inventory you know we have our luxury bucket and we have our ultra uber luxury so ultra will start from sorry luxury will start anything from say 1.3 up to 10 12 million
Speaker: And then we have our ultra luxury and Uber, which start from around 20 million.
Speaker: They can go up to 350 million.
Speaker: So we have two buckets and we don't have to capture the market.
Speaker: You know, we don't want to focus purely on the Uber luxury because, you know, there is a market as well for the luxury side as well.
Speaker: So we've captured everything, I would say.
Speaker: And this is where we are today.
Speaker: So very strong at the moment.
Speaker: We're going through a huge growth and there's a lot to come from Omniat.
Speaker: And I think now we're on our sixth collection for Dorchester.
Speaker: Moving fast.
Speaker: Yeah, we are.
Speaker: Exciting times.
Speaker: I was obviously at the launch last week and yeah, it was just...
Speaker: you can literally see the growth and the amount of, I couldn't believe the amount of people there.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah, it's a huge response from the workers for our latest project, which I'll talk about in a moment.
Speaker: But yeah, it's exciting times.
Speaker: There's a lot going on.
Speaker: So just to go back to that range then, just to give us a rough example of maybe the most affordable, I mean,
Speaker: is that a townhouse apartment is to the most expensive one just to- Yeah, so we know, I mean, Omniat produce mainly apartments rather than villas.
Speaker: We do have a couple of townhouses within certain developments.
Speaker: So we'll be looking at a project in terms of affordable would be Sterling, which is in Business Bay.
Speaker: So this is completed.
Speaker: So we're gonna hand over this in a couple of months time.
Speaker: So the buildings there, they're just minus snagging taking place.
Speaker: We do have a selection of units still available to be honest.
Speaker: We have around 12 units left.
Speaker: Start from around 1.3, 1.4, you know, they can go up to 4 million, 5 million, you know, some 6 million on the townhouses.
Speaker: That's sort of the range there.
Speaker: That's where I'd say our starting price is our entry level, shall I say, into Omniat would be Sterling.
Speaker: And then additional to that we have Anwa, which is in Dubai, Manitim City, which is an interesting location actually because this is very up and coming.
Speaker: And again, you know, our average price there per square foot would be around 2,500 approximately.
Speaker: Again, we haven't got the official pricing yet, so we're not able to go into actual price symbol.
Speaker: in terms of the figures that's what we'll be looking at there so approximately let's say you know you'd be looking maybe you know 1.3 for a studio again 1.4 you know um one bedroom two million 2.5 yeah yeah so yeah
Speaker: They're like the two affordable options within the luxury segment of Omnia.
Speaker: And people always love the big luxury high-end sales.
Speaker: We have a lot of that.
Speaker: What's the highest...
Speaker: priced unit in our current availability our current availability that's being released now is um going to be vela yeah so we have vela there we have the the triplex um sky palace which is amazing insane over 20 000 square feet it's honestly insane
Speaker: You haven't seen it.
Speaker: I'll leave a link down below on this podcast.
Speaker: Circa 200 million plus.
Speaker: But again, that price is to be confirmed because at the moment we've got a shell and core.
Speaker: Normally people who come with a budget of 200, 300 plus, they want to do the interiors themselves.
Speaker: So we keep the option there.
Speaker: So the price has not been confirmed on it, but it's going to be circa 200.
Speaker: That's a really good range though.
Speaker: Yeah, of course.
Speaker: Yeah, definitely.
Speaker: You know, like I said, the Uber, ultra Uber luxury staff around 20 million.
Speaker: You know, that's where we normally start from.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Lovely.
Speaker: Question three, some Laura via LinkedIn.
Speaker: Laura or Laura, I hope I pronounced your name right.
Speaker: I'm thinking of investing in off-plan and then flipping.
Speaker: Can I sell before the settlement?
Speaker: You can.
Speaker: Now, I can't speak for every developer because each developer has their own internal policy.
Speaker: So I'll talk on OmniAT.
Speaker: We do allow it, yes.
Speaker: And we have an internal policy of 50%.
Speaker: So you would have had to pay your payment plan to 50% or clear 50% of the payment before you can apply with the developer to resell the unit.
Speaker: But it's possible, yeah.
Speaker: And that's kind of what a lot of our investors do with our products.
Speaker: They flip, you know, as Omni, we always say we keep a little bit of meat on the bone whenever we are, you know, we are pricing our stock because we want the investors to buy from us.
Speaker: We want them to make money, you know, whether that's, you know, flipping Jordan Construction or whether that's flipping on handover.
Speaker: We always want them to make some capital on it.
Speaker: The reason being that they retain customers, they retain clients and clients who have bought in one palm, bought in all that, whoever bought in all the boards, so forth.
Speaker: So when they know that it works, we have retained in custody, constantly and that's sort of how we position it.
Speaker: Is it quite common that people, you find with Omniot that people do buy these developments knowing that the 50% with you guys, for example, that they will flip or do most people tend to hold?
Speaker: No, they tend to hold.
Speaker: There's only a small percentage of people that do that, but majority of them hold on to the units for sure.
Speaker: Not everyone is in the game to flip, but you do get your investors.
Speaker: There's a small handful of them.
Speaker: But those keep hold of it.
Speaker: Some people are excited about it.
Speaker: They don't want to let it go.
Speaker: And those that are buying these sort of projects, promos, and properties, these guys, they're wealthy people.
Speaker: If you're looking at a two bedroom, three bedroom, a 40, 50, 60 million, to flip it, it's not their main objective.
Speaker: So they want to hold on to it because they want to experience it.
Speaker: They want to move in.
Speaker: They want to experience it.
Speaker: Whether they sell it in a year or two after they experience it, that's the decision.
Speaker: Do you find most of the clients that you work with, are they purely investors or are they kind of end users looking?
Speaker: I know everyone's an investor, so obviously, to understand if you're buying the units, but are they people who tend to look moving in or just keeping for?
Speaker: Honestly, it's a total mix.
Speaker: You've got your end users that want to move into the property.
Speaker: You have your investors as well.
Speaker: And then what we're having is a lot of international investors.
Speaker: I just come forward and this is second homes.
Speaker: So we're looking at a second home, a holiday home for them.
Speaker: They will use probably six months of the year, you know, so it's a complete, yeah.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Interesting.
Speaker: Hope that answers your question, Lara.
Speaker: So question four again is for me around Omniat.
Speaker: So give us the top three current developments from Omniat for investors looking for maximum ROI.
Speaker: To be honest, all of our projects give maximum ROI in my opinion because we offer something completely unique and different in every single project and no project's the same.
Speaker: But if I had to choose three for you, I would say I would give Opus as an example.
Speaker: Reason being Opus is ready as well.
Speaker: That's a ready project.
Speaker: We do have some availability on that as well.
Speaker: We have around 10 units left.
Speaker: Oroaianat is going to be fantastic, you know, they're serviced from the Mii Hotel.
Speaker: You have a range of fine dining restaurants and big branded restaurants within the building.
Speaker: It's quite a unique, funky hotel as well and we've had a huge amount of interest where it's located as well.
Speaker: You know, Business Bay is by the IFC, for example, and all of the major offices.
Speaker: So, you know, you're going to always have a ready tenant coming forward.
Speaker: Now forecasted, which we've predicted for Vela and Orla, I would say these two projects were going to bring in a high return of investment.
Speaker: They're part of the Dorchester collection.
Speaker: Amenities wise are fantastic.
Speaker: What we do is
Speaker: We give so much external space basically on all of our projects where most developers would build an extra tower or more apartments.
Speaker: We tend to give out a lot of space.
Speaker: We want to create lifestyles and destinations in each one of our projects.
Speaker: So when people come forward, tenants, and they're wanting to rent a property from OmniApple, not from OmniApple, but part of OmniApple, from their developments,
Speaker: They see the value.
Speaker: So they're prepared to pay the price, you know, and in return you get a decent ROI.
Speaker: All we say is, well, you know, for anything that's ultra or uber luxury, obviously there's a premium price that someone's bought at.
Speaker: So you've got to take that into account when you're working your ROI out, you know.
Speaker: Or, you know, you should be looking, you should be having at least 7%, 6.5%, 7% net, you know, on an uber luxury project.
Speaker: And just because I know the context of them, but just go into the concept of opiates because you mentioned the fine dining restaurants.
Speaker: You've got the offices there as well.
Speaker: I know when I was there, I used them all.
Speaker: So I had the office, I was there, and now you go down to the business lunch in the restaurants and you just got everything there.
Speaker: Obviously, if you're living there as well.
Speaker: So just maybe just go into the context of people, from people listening of the opiates building.
Speaker: Yeah, so we have the Opus building.
Speaker: Half of it, let's say, is a boutique hotel.
Speaker: There's only a small amount of rooms in there compared to other hotels.
Speaker: So it's very boutique.
Speaker: And then we do it off as residents.
Speaker: So they're fully furnished, they're keyed in.
Speaker: So they're all fully designed, bespoke furniture.
Speaker: And the service as well.
Speaker: So we have the hotel.
Speaker: So you get your concierge, you know, you've got all the service.
Speaker: You can imagine what you would expect in a hotel you have within the Opus as well.
Speaker: And then, like you said, just offices within there too.
Speaker: You've got, I think it's like five or six restaurants now that have opened up.
Speaker: So you've got everything and more that you need within your residence, you know, and a very cool looking building as well.
Speaker: Live, work, play.
Speaker: Exactly, yeah.
Speaker: Exactly.
Speaker: You know, and it's some really nice restaurants.
Speaker: You can pop downstairs.
Speaker: You can go for a business lunch.
Speaker: You know, you can go downstairs, have a drink of an evening.
Speaker: You can even just work from the lobby.
Speaker: The lobby is amazing.
Speaker: And you can work from the lobby.
Speaker: And, yeah, it's one of those, again, what you've just said.
Speaker: Definitely.
Speaker: It's also really good for network, especially if you're business minded.
Speaker: I find it really good for networking.
Speaker: In fact, a lot of my network has now come from the months I spent there just because you're also around a certain type of clientele, business level.
Speaker: Exactly.
Speaker: You see it in the lobby.
Speaker: I sit there sometimes myself networking on my laptop, you know.
Speaker: I mean, we do have a sales center there as well, but I'm normally sitting in the lobby.
Speaker: You do, you see the caliber of people coming through, you know, and it's a lot.
Speaker: I imagine a lot of business people staying on business trips and so forth.
Speaker: That's sort of what the clients that look like.
Speaker: But yeah, it's very nice.
Speaker: Very nice.
Speaker: And you mentioned the Dorchester, just again, just give people who might not know exactly what that is.
Speaker: Yeah, so the Dorchester, I mean, Dorchester Hotel, you know, it's renowned, you know, for what they do in terms of their service levels.
Speaker: So we have the exclusivity on the Dorchester in the UAE.
Speaker: So we're the only developer that can have Dorchester manage our projects.
Speaker: So the service levels you get are, well, I mean, don't get me wrong, Dubai is amazing and you get your five star hotels everywhere, but not necessarily five star service.
Speaker: So when we've approached, obviously, Dorchester, we've done the full collaboration and they're gonna manage each and every one of our residents.
Speaker: There's not gonna, well, apart from the lawn that has the hotel attached, which I'll touch on in a moment, but the rest of the developments that we have, like Ola, we have one at Palm, for example,
Speaker: They managed by the Dorchester.
Speaker: There's no hotel.
Speaker: So it's a pure residence managed by luxury five-star classic hotel, which is the Dorchester.
Speaker: And the service levels are like out of this world, you know.
Speaker: So, yeah, super luxury.
Speaker: Definitely.
Speaker: It's a really good concept bringing them both together.
Speaker: Obviously, we're seeing this more in Dubai now, but it's a really good...
Speaker: contact especially for investors and selling points.
Speaker: And even if you're living there as an end user, it's just a, it's a really, really good.
Speaker: Yeah, honestly the experience is like no other, even the pools, when you walk in to give you an idea so people visualize it, it's like being in a five star hotel, even at your pool, wet towels, fresh water, you just line it's where it's your home, it's your residence, there's no hotel attached, but you're getting all the benefits of the hotel.
Speaker: So what I was referring to before, sorry, which have jumped across from the service levels, you know, and five star hotels are amazing here in Dubai, but your service levels may not always be five star.
Speaker: Service levels that we're getting, especially within the Dorchester, the Larner Hotel, which the Dorchester have as well from us and our residents, you know, we're going to expect the service that you get in Paris and London, you know, not Dubai.
Speaker: You know, it's a totally different service.
Speaker: They're very personal, you know, and that is true five star.
Speaker: Definitely, definitely check it out.
Speaker: So question five is from Akash via the podcast form.
Speaker: How much do I need to buy an off plan property in Dubai?
Speaker: And can you give me some examples of payment plans?
Speaker: Obviously, we'll make this Omniac Pacific.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Again, it's developed so that every developer is totally different on their payment plans.
Speaker: I'll give you an example.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I mean, even Omniat, you know, all of our projects have different payment plans.
Speaker: You know, we tailored them for that specific project.
Speaker: Okay.
Speaker: So normally you would have a down payment, which generally is around 20 to 25%.
Speaker: So you would normally pay a 5% reservation fee and sign your reservation agreement.
Speaker: And then when you're signing your SPA, which is a sales purchase agreement, which is your contract, you would then put your 20%
Speaker: Down so in total you're looking at 25% plus your 4% so there's a Dubai lands department fee which is 4% of the purchase price similar to you know let's say a stamp duty in the UK for example it's a one-off cost And then your payment plan will come into effect so developers will have either
Speaker: 50 uh payment plan which is jordan construction and 50 on handover so 50 50. you can have 30 um 70 you can have 60 40 it depends you know and they're normally every quarter every six months or annually again project specific so i can give you an exact payment plan from musbo
Speaker: they are up for discussion as well.
Speaker: So, you know, if that payment plan doesn't suit, for example, if we have a payment plan on one of our projects that pay your 20, 25% on your SPA and then, you know, we expect the payments in another year, another year, another year, you know, three payments over three years, for example.
Speaker: If that doesn't work for the buyer and he's like, look, I'd rather make a couple of payments within that year.
Speaker: With cash flow for me, I prefer to get out.
Speaker: It can be done.
Speaker: So everything can be discussed, but they're just how it's set.
Speaker: And we found actually having those longer payment plans, whereas not every quarter is better.
Speaker: And it's less stressful for the buyer as well because three months come around quick.
Speaker: And I say, geez, another payment due.
Speaker: So it's totally flexible.
Speaker: But we have the payment plans.
Speaker: And just to follow on that, because a lot of people might think, oh, do I need a buying off plan?
Speaker: Do I need a mortgage?
Speaker: Or is it purely just through the developer?
Speaker: Again, on the Pacific, they don't need a mortgage.
Speaker: It's just purely through the developer.
Speaker: Yeah, so, yeah, it's purely, yeah, you're paying, you know, the developer directly into an escrow account, you know, and that's the benefit of going with a developer.
Speaker: however if you for the final installment so for example if you've done a 50 um payments during construction periods over three years for example on the handover on the completion you you owe the developer 50 for example now because the building's completed and a bcc it's ready to ready to go you can actually finance that if you wanted okay so you can take a finance you know so you could take a mortgage on it because the building's ready
Speaker: So some people do this.
Speaker: So, you know, they'll pay the payment plan over the 50% over the course of three years and then on the final installment, take mortgage.
Speaker: So it's flexible.
Speaker: Flexible, yeah.
Speaker: Well, you can't take a mortgage on an off-plan property, obviously, because there's nothing there.
Speaker: There's nothing to mortgage, you know what I mean?
Speaker: Exactly, exactly.
Speaker: But yeah, it's a ways around.
Speaker: Okay, so I hope that answers your question again, Akash.
Speaker: Question six again is from me on Omniat.
Speaker: So what is the next big Omniat development coming up that we should get excited for?
Speaker: I can't, I mean, there's one I can talk about because we've just launched.
Speaker: We have a lot going on at Omniat internally.
Speaker: We have projects which are going to be coming, you know, by quarter four, I would say, you know, towards the end of the year.
Speaker: Some really interesting stuff.
Speaker: However, I'm not able to discuss, even I don't really know all of the details.
Speaker: Yeah, you know, it's kept very, very secret.
Speaker: You know, there's a couple of things we know, but not.
Speaker: The device is a small place.
Speaker: Exactly, you know, exactly.
Speaker: So that it doesn't get told to anyone, but, you know, directors and higher level.
Speaker: But one which we've just launched, which is an amazing project.
Speaker: Again, Dorchester Collection, it's Vela.
Speaker: So, I mean, you went down the launch with me last week.
Speaker: Amazing project, you know, exclusive, only 38 units across 30 floors, two connecting towers.
Speaker: essentially one unit per floor you know we've got three bedrooms and four bedrooms majority have those private pools some have the double heights we've got penthouse we've got triplex sky palace um yeah honestly it's again our architecture you know it's beautiful from the outside aesthetically pleasing and
Speaker: It's a quality over everything.
Speaker: You know, we use the best, you know, interior designers.
Speaker: We use the best architects.
Speaker: And this is launching.
Speaker: Well, it's launched, but it's coming, you know.
Speaker: Construction's about to start in the coming months.
Speaker: And that's in Morasi Bay, basically for District Business Bay, next to the Lorna Residence and the Lorna Hotel.
Speaker: So that will open in quarter four this year.
Speaker: That's going to bring huge value and a lot of wealth to the area.
Speaker: It's the only Dorchester.
Speaker: you know, within the Middle East.
Speaker: So, you know, that's big things for them and for us as well.
Speaker: And it's just two plots away from there.
Speaker: So for someone who may not have been in a Dubai new residence, tell me some of the amenities that you get in a place like the Vela.
Speaker: Yeah, so you get everything, you know, you can have across all developments, you know, cinema rooms, state-of-the-art gyms, you know, spa,
Speaker: really amazing outdoor space.
Speaker: That's what we like to give.
Speaker: We like to give outdoor space, really nice facilities, huge big swimming pools.
Speaker: You've got your valet parking, double height ceilings.
Speaker: You've got every little detail is thought of when we go into the plans of these.
Speaker: And in partnership with the Dorchester, we have to be as well.
Speaker: We have to both be aligned with vision and ideas.
Speaker: And I think that's one of the reasons why the relationship worked so well between Omniath and Dorchester because they both think the same, you know.
Speaker: Definitely.
Speaker: All right.
Speaker: So question seven from Jamie via the podcast form.
Speaker: I'm from the UK and have no intention of moving to Dubai.
Speaker: We'll try and change that.
Speaker: Yeah, you'll be here soon.
Speaker: But I want to invest in an off plan development I've been presented with.
Speaker: What is the process of investing into off plan
Speaker: when not being a resident in Dubai.
Speaker: And again, make this on that Pacific.
Speaker: It's very, very, very simple, actually.
Speaker: A lot of people who probably, like yourself, is based in the UK.
Speaker: And yeah, you wouldn't have a, you'd have no clue where to start, you know.
Speaker: It's very different to how things are done in the UK, to how it's done here.
Speaker: All you need, honestly, is a passport.
Speaker: You don't need a bank account either.
Speaker: You're taking off-plan property, so you pay your payments directly to the developer and it goes into an escrow account, which is protected, obviously, by the Lands Department as well.
Speaker: and your payments are made regularly into there.
Speaker: So it's a very, very easy process.
Speaker: You still follow the same reservation form, KYC, which is a customer information form for those that don't know, your reservation agreement, your sales purchase agreement, and then you're good to go.
Speaker: When you're about to do your down payments, you would do a bank transfer international.
Speaker: if required you know so it can actually be done from the uk and your payments can be made from from the uk you know you can just do an online transfer straight to the escrow yeah it's very easy yeah yeah very easiest i can imagine people think it would be a lot more complicated but yeah it's not especially not when you don't i mean if you're looking at secondary market you have to open a bank account and everything else but you don't with the developer so it's very very easy
Speaker: In terms of people investing, it's very common that who don't live in Dubai.
Speaker: For you personally, what are some of the main nationalities you're seeing at the moment investing?
Speaker: Do you know what?
Speaker: For our projects, a lot of Europeans will say, you know, because we're from, yeah, we get a lot of international.
Speaker: interest a lot and it's got a lot to do with Dorchester and Zaya as well.
Speaker: So yeah, Europeans, but it's a total mixed bunch as well, to be honest with you.
Speaker: We've seen a lot of Europeans at the moment, but yeah, I wouldn't say it's one specific nationality invested in a total mixed, but I think that's across Dubai anyway at the moment.
Speaker: I mean, the Brits were up there with the largest transaction
Speaker: I saw it in the last call.
Speaker: It was Indians, Brits, and Russians.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah.
Speaker: Top three.
Speaker: It's unusual, actually.
Speaker: The Brits aren't normally the main investors here.
Speaker: It was very interesting to see.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Very interesting.
Speaker: I think they've all been watching this podcast.
Speaker: Probably, yeah.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker: A joke.
Speaker: Cool.
Speaker: So the question number eight is, again, from me.
Speaker: So what makes Omniac different from other developers in Dubai?
Speaker: Because there are a lot of developers in Dubai covering different sectors.
Speaker: But what makes Omniat different?
Speaker: A few things really.
Speaker: So Omniat, we're not about being the biggest, but we are about being the most unique.
Speaker: And that's what stands us above the rest, in my opinion.
Speaker: Everything we create, we say we create pieces of art.
Speaker: We create lifestyles and destinations.
Speaker: It's not just a project.
Speaker: And we're one of those few developers, probably the only developer really that focuses and reproduces the uber luxury projects.
Speaker: There's a lot of developers out there that, you know, are master developers and they'll do one really, you know, unique branded, you know, ultra luxury tower, but then they'll go back to the normal stuff.
Speaker: You know, with us, you know, we reproduce and every time we, you know, create a design or an idea for a project,
Speaker: we take all the selling points from our previous project that was the huge selling points and we incorporate it into the new project but then we add more as well so we don't have any pro any two projects the same you know which again you know stands us above the rest you know and like i said you know amenities number one you know we give the most outdoor space for for amenities again we want to create this resort feel throughout you know we build what we need to build we don't over build you know to the extent where you've got a small little pool
Speaker: and not much outdoor space.
Speaker: So when you see our properties, you know, they have huge like plots and a lot are dedicated to the amenities, which is a huge selling point, you know?
Speaker: So I think that just sets us above the rest in terms of what we do.
Speaker: I would say like if you're looking at different developers and including yourself, when you go to the sales offices and you get the feeling of what type of developer it is.
Speaker: So you go to some sales office with developers where it's just jam packed with
Speaker: people almost as a transaction, almost feels like a bank, just transaction.
Speaker: And then you go to ones like Omniac, which I've been to.
Speaker: It's very, from my experience, it's very exclusive.
Speaker: Very exclusive.
Speaker: A bit quieter in terms of sales, in a good way, in terms of you're looked after as an individual.
Speaker: Yes.
Speaker: So I'd say if you are going to look at different developers, I would always recommend going to the sales office and you'll get that feeling for...
Speaker: what you're looking for.
Speaker: Yeah, exactly.
Speaker: And the type of service you're going to get is then reflected using the buildings or the units that you move into as well.
Speaker: Yeah, no, definitely.
Speaker: I mean, we have our sales office, which is an opus, then we have our head office there.
Speaker: All of our meetings are private meetings, you know, and we have multiple meeting rooms inside that are booked out and our clients are there.
Speaker: So when you walk in, it looks quiet, but there's a lot going on in the back.
Speaker: What we do private one-on-one meetings, you know, we try not and cross our clients over and stuff, you know.
Speaker: Yeah, there's a level of service which you get.
Speaker: And privacy as well.
Speaker: Not a lot of people want people to know what they're buying as well.
Speaker: When you have clients and they're coming in with X amount and they're looking at 80, 90, 100 million, they're in properties.
Speaker: These are very private people as well, so you've got to respect their privacy.
Speaker: We have a lot of outside meetings as well.
Speaker: They go to the clients rather than them come to us.
Speaker: Brilliant.
Speaker: Question nine is from Tom via the podcast form.
Speaker: I'm looking to invest in an off plan development for purely investment purposes.
Speaker: Should I be looking at using a specific rep tool developer first, then seeing what options they have or look at an area or what is best?
Speaker: I'd always say, reptile developer, always anyway, when you're going to buy off-plan, it's very beneficial to know what they've built before and what's in their portfolio so you have some sort of vision and idea of what you're going to expect.
Speaker: However, if you know what you're looking for, specifically like for example, I want to be in the marina, I want to be in this location and there's this one developer that's building a tower there, then it's an easy job if you go and see the developer if you know what you want.
Speaker: But if you don't know what you want and you haven't got a clue where to start, what area, you don't know, you have no clue whatsoever,
Speaker: Appointed broker.
Speaker: I always say, you know, a broker will give you a non-biased opinion.
Speaker: You know, they will take you or sit you down, find out exactly what you want in your criteria, and they will suggest developers for you, you know, based on your requirements.
Speaker: And they will then assist you and take you around the developers too.
Speaker: You know, they're really good.
Speaker: And if you choose a strong broker, you know, they will know and have relationships with every developer in the way.
Speaker: So when you're maybe on the laptop and you're Googling new projects and you're getting the same stuff coming up, because there's a lot of projects that haven't been released yet.
Speaker: And like ourselves, Omniat, we have stuff that we haven't gone public with yet.
Speaker: But the strong brokers who have the connections with the developers will always know beforehand, because we do sort of a pre-launch, which is...
Speaker: you know we approach the agents ourselves and as omnia we do the same look this is coming you know so this broker probably has something that you don't even know exists or what's coming you know very common yeah it's you know i'd always say a point of broker unless you know very specifically that you want this one project go well if not a point of broker but always a restaurant developer you know make sure they've got stuff
Speaker: that you can go and see, even if it's an old tower, just have some sort of idea and the quality to build, you know, and what to produce, you know, so always do your research.
Speaker: Definitely.
Speaker: Last question.
Speaker: We always finish off with this one.
Speaker: What is your one bit of advice for someone thinking of investing in the Dubai real estate market?
Speaker: Just go for it.
Speaker: Don't sit about it.
Speaker: Don't wait for the prices to drop.
Speaker: Honestly, I have these conversations all the time.
Speaker: And clients who I spoke to in January are waiting for the market to drop.
Speaker: And they're expecting something to happen.
Speaker: It's not going to happen.
Speaker: It's not devised.
Speaker: The market's been the best it's been.
Speaker: I've seen it, sorry, in the whole 10 years I've been here.
Speaker: And on both sides as well, secondary and off plan.
Speaker: But don't sit about, if you're in a position and you need to buy or you're an end user or even an investor, bite the bullet because, you know, one of my clients is in a position now than he was in January.
Speaker: He should have bought in January because you wait.
Speaker: And he knows, he's like, I should have just listened.
Speaker: I should have just got it, got it, Josh.
Speaker: And I was like, I know, but never mind.
Speaker: Today's the day, you know, but it takes on today because in six months time, this property is going to be, it's going to have increased anyway.
Speaker: You know, I don't really see
Speaker: No, definitely with off plan.
Speaker: As you said, as soon as you get the keys, most times it's already appreciated.
Speaker: Exactly, yeah.
Speaker: But anyone looking to invest, just go for it, you know.
Speaker: Definitely.
Speaker: I had a conversation last week, and I think it was with Dr. Michael.
Speaker: Yeah, I've seen this.
Speaker: Yeah, he came on and he's done the research.
Speaker: I know the last 15 years, the biorealistic market has given 11% annualized returns over the last 15 years.
Speaker: And we were saying if you've got a medium to long-term investment
Speaker: mind which most good investors do you know yes you can make short-term profits here and there of course with flipping like we've mentioned yeah if you've got a medium to long-term mindset you can't really go too wrong with the biorealistic market i know i'll see it depends on the project yeah of course but if you look at the course history it's it's
Speaker: it's delivered high returns and most, you know, most a lot of other investment opportunities out there.
Speaker: 100% and like they say, you know, the market's great at the minute and it's nice to see, you know, there's projects launching left, right, and sends it every single week.
Speaker: And then people say, you know, there's an oversupply.
Speaker: And there's not, you know, because if you look at the projects that are launching, you know, these are not master communities.
Speaker: You know, they're not your towers that have got thousands of units in, you know, the towers, 38 units, we've just launched one.
Speaker: You know, you've got one on the palm, which has launched, you know, like 80 units and the boutique towers, let's call them, you know.
Speaker: So though you might see five, six towers just launched, when you look at the inventory within them, there's not that many.
Speaker: And with the influx of people coming in,
Speaker: You know, for the Golden Visa, for example, you know, there's actually not enough.
Speaker: There's so many questions about that at the moment.
Speaker: Yeah, there's not enough, you know.
Speaker: So there's enough appetite for all these developments that have taken place on launch and for sure.
Speaker: And the rate they sell out is from your city.
Speaker: Yeah, exactly.
Speaker: I mean, we launched only Vela officially last week.
Speaker: It's 50%, I think, or just over.
Speaker: So we're talking starting from 30 million.
Speaker: So Vela starts from 30 million and that's for a free bedroom.
Speaker: And then our highest price one, up to 200.
Speaker: And now I'm looking at a property at 100 million.
Speaker: I don't consider that expensive anymore.
Speaker: yeah you know and and even the 30s and the 40s i don't back way back then wow that is so expensive you know and it's it's it's not it's becoming the norm yeah yeah exactly exactly and then you know the buyers obviously just ever growing so
Speaker: We'll be sent to the other world soon.
Speaker: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker: That's what everyone says.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: Well, thank you so much for coming on.
Speaker: No problem.
Speaker: Thank you very much.
Speaker: Lastly, before you go, where can listeners find you?
Speaker: Ask me questions.
Speaker: Obviously, find out more about Omniot as well.
Speaker: You can tag me on my Instagram there.
Speaker: Yeah, leave the links below.
Speaker: Put my Instagram there.
Speaker: You can contact me on there.
Speaker: Send me a DM.
Speaker: Yeah.
Speaker: I'll get back to you.
Speaker: definitely and if there's any uh contact questions about omni as well i'll leave our link down below as well so you can of course get in touch and we can go and give you a tour yeah around some of these uh amazing developments particularly that are coming up they're really really exciting so thank you so much for tuning in to the buy real estate club thanks for coming on josh and make sure you tune in next week we're answering your questions about real estate market and i will see you then
