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can anybody help..

my wife and I have recently moved to dubai and are going through the whole house hunting hell..

we've found a nice villa in the springs and paid a deposit and agency fee to an agent 3 weeks ago and signed a contract

. it then transpires that this agency is booking the house through another agency.. our cheques, agency fee and deposit where passed on to the second agency. we where given a new contract to sign. We are now waiting for a signed copy of the tennanct agreement to come back. aparently the landlord is 'out of the country' and until we get a tennancy agreement we cant get the dewa connected. The tennancy agreement started on the 25th may and we're still not in the villa.

we are now at the stage of asking for our money back.. anyone know how we stand on this? and who in dubai should we contact if we ahve difficulty get out money back ... the police? dubai municipality??

thanks for you help in advance.

karl

questions...
have the cheques been cleared by the bank.
contact emaar in the springs and find out who the actual owner is and if they have a contact number for him/ her.
do you still have a copy of the first contract as if it is signed by both parties it is legally in effect.
why would it be necessery to sign a second contract if you have the original contract the landlords signature should be on it in anycase and not the agents.

i'd phone the agent and demand either he delivers the signed contract to you within 24 hours, or returns your money. threaten him with the police not the rent control board. if he fails to turn up with the contract follow it up with a visit to the police station - they will normally phone the concerned person before having to fill in piles of paperwork - this may scare him enough to deliver the contract or return your money. it would be a case of fraud.

sorry, meant to mention if you do go to the police take someone with you to act as a translator or you'll be there all day.

thanks for the advice.

the first contract was drawn up by the first agency and was not signed by the landlord. the second agency gave me a second contract (and at one point i had a third contract from agency) the second contract, which is green standard DM contract aparently has been signed by me and has gone off to be signed by the landlord...

this is where it gets complex. the rent is in two installments. the first cheque has cleared (with the first agency) who have then written a cheque to the landlord. I need to find out if that has cleared The second cheque is in the landlords name, but is dated oct 2006. so i assume can be cancelled. deposits etc where in cash.

it feels liek there building up a web, so its really difficult to track back where our money is.. is it the first agent, the second agent or the landlord.. or perhaps i'm just being paranoid.

we've contacted the agent and said in 24hrs we want either a contract or our money back. they've told us the contract is on its way and will be be with us tomorrow...and they are tracking it via the couriers website.. i've since emailled and asked for a tracking number, but got no response.

If i get no joy tomorrow i'll see if i can persuade our office PRO to come to the police station with me.

thanks

karl

mmm... sounds complicated. glad its not me trying to explain it in arabic

well, firstly if it comes to going to the police, explain that the agent has taken and banked the cheque without obtaining the prior approval of the owner. my understanding is they may only sign it once it is a done deal and signed by both parties, then they are able to bank the cheque.

as for the deposits etc, i hope that you managed to get reciepts for all of it, take these along as well.


i assume till now you have not been able to take occupation?

This sounds very frustrating Karl. dbxsoul is giving good advice. Good luck!

thanks for all the advice guys..

I'm hoping it wont go as far as the police.. plan of action is to chase again tomorrow. they've definitively promised us the contract tomorrow.. if not then write an official letter giving them 24hrs to refund our money or we will be seeking legal advice and contacting the police.

i can't work out if its a con or just incompetence.

hopefully it'll take just one call from the police to get things moving again (once i've managed to explain everything to the police via the PRO)

we've got receipts for all the cheques, deposits etc.. we've been given some keys, but the building is unoccupiable without water and electricity..

needless to say, once its sorted i'll name and shame all involved.

karl

Sorry to butt in.

This is all bollox about the "owner" having to sign the TA. Technically the "owner" can give power of attorny to the agent to sign on his behalf.

I would therefore insist telling the Agents to pull thier finger out pronto, or ask for a part refund of the Agency fee, as they have charged for a service they havent supplied.

Then follow Souls advice, he is quite correct saying it is a police matter, money has been taken without completeing the contract.

A good agent would have had 2 or 3 contracts "pre-signed" by the owner, if it was likely he would be out of the country.

You have great advise about but if it was me I would get a reduction from the agent's fee for all the aggrevation! Maybe a bit radical but I would insist than unless the fee is reduced (or the rental term increased) I will go to the police (and I would). How else will this bastards learn a lesson! They might have done this to others who are less sophisticated that you and gotten away with it....

Have said all that, I hope you resolve your dilemna tomorrow and can have the pleasure of paying outrageous bills to DEWA...

all the best.

Hi!

Being in the real estate industry. My two cents:

It is normal for two agents to be involved - its industry practice and norm - one sometimes gets the customer, the other one the property. This is not an issue.


It is NOT industry norm to issue the RENT cheque in the name of the agency, unless the agency owned the property. This is very dicey. Some years ago, I was personally cheated of my money when I issued a cheque in the name of a real estate agency (landlord's office confirmed it was okay to do so). They did about a few 100 deals in a period of time and ran away. We eventually lost the case and had to pay (a portion of) the rent again.

The mistake that we did is the time they were buying with excuses (such as in your case that owner is out of town) I let them buy - because I was too busy. I should have gone to the police the same day - but I didn't and within a month this guy had collected 2 million and then simply disappeared.

Go to the police TODAY... I have done the DEWA thingy and they do not check signatures and stuff ...the agency could have signed on the landlord's behalf (note I have not rented out any freehold property - so I am only assuming same rules apply)



Anyway if all is sorted out and these guys are not frauds make sure you get your contract starting the day you receive the contract. The 10 days you have lost would have cost you at least AED3-4K depending on the rent...so why let it go..

audreygaur wrote:It is NOT industry norm to issue the RENT cheque in the name of the agency, .

Crap!!! I think our rent checks are to be made in the name of the agency not the owner, I need to double check that. Have you had any experience with Harrington Homes? are they a reputable agency? http://www.harringtonhomes.ae/

They told us the owner is in Austria and they will be managing the property for him.

You are in so much shit now Fayz....

Just kidding.... I wouldn't worry, though it is very bizarre this agency thing. Bizarre doesn't equate to dicey necessarly buddy.

Audrey, as for Fayz's question. Please answer him as soon as you can, as moderator here I would really appreciate it.

Fayz,

My company had to issue the cheque made payable to the real estate agent as well. They deducted their fees and forwarded the rental componant to the landlord. I didn't thought it was perfectly fine - at least they are doing something to earn their 'fees'!

thanks for all the advice guys... i think these guys where more incompetent than trying to defraud me.

Its all sorted now and i got the contract yesterday and DEWA connected.. they are still insisting on starting the contract on the 27th may, even though i couldnt move in until 6th June...
when i tried arguing the point they said the landlord wanted to start it on the 20th may (thats the day we first viewed the villa).... my reply "in which case he shove his villa up his A--e"

anyway, im writing a letter saying that we believe the tenancy didnt start until 6th june and therefore believe is due to end 5th June 2007.. lets see where that gets me..

anyway, for future reference, the companies i dealt with and possible avoidance. the companies i dealt with where Luxury Homes LLC, and Ariha Commercial Broker LLC.

k

k i am glad it turned out to be your usual dubai incompetence rather than anything else. I hope you enjoy your new home

Incompetance is as common as snow in the North Pole..

I'm glad it worked out for you K, I'll keep you posted on how things for us, hopefully all is smooth as well.

fayz wrote:I'm glad it worked out for you K, I'll keep you posted on how things for us, hopefully all is smooth as well.

i heard about the new crib fayz, i am so jealous !!!

you're welcome any time, I have a feeling there will be one or two social outings there I'm just still trying to accept the whole moving into the 'burbs.

fayz wrote:you're welcome any time, I have a feeling there will be one or two social outings there I'm just still trying to accept the whole moving into the 'burbs.

You think where you live is the burbs????

Then where I live must be like a whole different emirate for you... lol

Liban wrote:You think where you live is the burbs????

Then where I live must be like a whole different emirate for you... lol

Back in Oz we call it "the sticks".

Liban wrote:

fayz wrote:you're welcome any time, I have a feeling there will be one or two social outings there I'm just still trying to accept the whole moving into the 'burbs.

You think where you live is the burbs????

Then where I live must be like a whole different emirate for you... lol

You do, why do you think i've never visited