Dubai Real Estate: Some Dreams End Up As Nightmares

UAE's most popular daily, Khaleej Times, reported that hundreds of residents are fighting not to lose their life savings in a property battle in Dubai. It mentioned, "Several of these investors have now turned to the courts in a desperate bid for justice and for their dream homes."

Dubai has become the favorite hub for many wealthy individuals who are contributing significantly to the real estate tourism. Among them, Indians have been at the top, making a huge investment to the tune of Rs 35,000 Cr in 2022 as per UAE records.

The subsequent year, 2023, has seen better growth according to realtors and some authorities in the UAE, though the figure is not disclosed. However, not every investment happens to be safe, and not every investment goes to waste. It all depends on the situation where investors have to be vigilant.

The story of Falconcity serves as a cautionary tale for every real estate investor to be vigilant before investing in property.

As per Khaleej Times, "The Falconcity of Wonders project launched in 2005 at Dubailand...".

It continues to write, "From first-time buyers to seasoned investors, everyone was sold on the project, unaware of a long-drawn dispute simmering between Falconcity and Dubailand over unsettled dues."

According to Dubai Courts documents seen by Khaleej Times, Falconcity was ordered to pay Dubailand Dh1.3 billion back in October 2020.

Eventually, the property is in court, where many are worried that their money would be lost, and even if paid, they are sure that the interest wouldn't be paid for locking the amount for quite a long time.

Many of the investors in this project happen to be local resident expats who invested their hard-earned money way back in 2005 to 2010. So, blindly going by glossy brochures and the pampering of marketing executives may put the investment in trouble sometimes.

The story of Falcon City in Dubai is a lesson and an alarm bell for all aspiring investors in property in Dubai or in UAE as a whole. It should be underlined that this sort of issues are not just confined to India but also to UAE.