ASSET MANAGEMENT SALES LEASING VALUATION & ADVISORY SALES MANAGEMENT OWNER ASSOCIATION NEWS BRIEF 17 SUNDAY, 29 APRIL 2018 RESEARCH DEPARTMENT DUBAI | ABU DHABI | AL AIN | SHARJAH | JORDAN | KSA IN THE MIDDLE EAST FOR OVER 30 YEARS © Asteco Property Management, 2018 asteco.com ASSET MANAGEMENT SALES LEASING VALUATION & ADVISORY SALES MANAGEMENT OWNER ASSOCIATION REAL ESTATE NEWS UAE / GCC UNION PROPERTIES TO PROPOSE RAISING FOREIGN STAKE TO 49% WOMEN AND PROPERTY FIVE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT NON-MUSLIM WILLS WHAT IS A DEFECT LIABILITY PERIOD? EMAAR PROPERTIES DECLARES CASH DIVIDEND OF DH1B UNION PROPERTIES DISMISSES THREE BOARD MEMBERS EMAAR HOSPITALITY GROUP HITS 50-HOTEL MILESTONE REAL ESTATE SCAMS IN UAE UNLIKELY TO SHAKE INVESTOR TRUST: REPORT BMI RESEARCH UPBEAT ON SAUDI ARABIA'S ECONOMIC REBOUND THIS YEAR DUBAI 10 CHEAPEST PLACES TO RENT IN DUBAI TODAY DUBAI DEVELOPERS CAN MAKE HAY WITH HOLIDAY HOMES DUBAI ADOPTS AI TO EXPOSE FAKE REALTY FIRMS A REAL RESTATE CONUMDRUM: SPACE AND AFFORDABILITY LIVING IN THE FINANCIAL NERVE CENTRE ASK FOR A HIGHER RENT AND LOSE A POTENTIAL TENANT ‘HAPPY CITIES’ IS THEME FOR REALTY EVENT DUBAI’S RENTAL DECLINES COOL OFF IN FIRST QUARTER NAKHEEL AWARDS DH595M CONTRACT FOR NAD AL SHEBA MALL DUBAI SEES 2% JUMP IN VISITORS DURING FIRST QUARTER SPINNEYS OPENS DOORS TO FIRST SUPERMARKET AT DUBAI AIRPORT DAMAC TARGETS TO OPERATE 15,000 HOTEL ROOMS BY 2021 IT'S TIME TO BARGAIN HARD WITH YOUR DUBAI LANDLORD REDEEM AIR MILES TOWARDS BUYING YOUR HOME NEW MORTGAGE LAW TO BOOST FUNDING FOR DUBAI REAL ESTATE DUBAI | ABU DHABI | AL AIN | SHARJAH | JORDAN | KSA IN THE MIDDLE EAST FOR OVER 30 YEARS © Asteco Property Management | 2018 | asteco.com Page 2 ASSET MANAGEMENT SALES LEASING • VALUATION & ADVISORY SALES MANAGEMENT OWNER ASSOCIATION REAL ESTATE NEWS DUBAI HOUSE RENTS MAY FALL MORE IN THESE AREAS... HOMEFRONT: 'MY TENANT IS THREATENING COURT OVER A RENTAL DEPOSIT?' DUBAI RENTS Q1, 2018: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW KLEINDIENST GROUP SEEKS APPROVAL FOR DH2.5BN ‘FLOATING VENICE’ RESORT IN DUBAI $27M SALES SEEN AT DUBAI'S FIRST BANYAN TREE RESIDENCES PROJECT DUBAI SOUTH LAUNCHES INITIATIVES TO SPUR PRIVATE SECTOR INVESTMENT DEVELOPER BEGINS HANDOVER OF DUBAI MARINA PROJECT HOMES UAE'S AZIZI AWARDS $120M DEALS FOR DUBAI HEALTHCARE CITY PROJECTS DUBAI SCHOOL FEES DROPPED BY 15% IN PAST YEAR ADDRESS RESIDENCES JUMEIRAH RESORT + SPA PHASE 1 SOLD OUT NAKHEEL SIGNS DH588M DEIRA ISLANDS HOTEL DEAL WITH VIENNA HOUSE DUBAI BUSINESSES UPBEAT AS CONFIDENCE IMPROVES DUBAI TO BUILT STUDENT HOUSING COMMUNITY IN DIAC BY 2020 OLYMPIC-SIZE POOL, GIANT GYM AND SPA COMING TO NAKHEEL’S JUMEIRAH PARK COMMUNITY ABU DHABI ABU DHABI RENTS DECLINE AGAIN IN Q1 BUT SOME UNITS BUCK THE TREND ABU DHABI RENTS IN Q1, 2018: ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABU DHABI OFFICE RENTS FALL AS COMPANIES CONTINUE TO CONSOLIDATE NORTHERN EMIRATES SHARJAH INT'L SEES 5% PASSENGER GROWTH, PLANS $410M EXPANSION ROVE HOTELS REVEALS PLAN FOR EXPANSION IN RAS AL KHAIMAH INTERNATIONAL SWINGING UK INVESTOR INTEREST IN OFFPLAN’S DIRECTION US COAST DWELLERS PUSHED OUT AS STORMS BRING WAVE OF WEALTHY DUBAI | ABU DHABI | AL AIN | SHARJAH | JORDAN | KSA DEFINING LANDSCAPES SINCE 1985 © Asteco Property Management, 2018 asteco.com Page 3 ASSET MANAGEMENT SALES LEASING • VALUATION & ADVISORY SALES MANAGEMENT OWNER ASSOCIATION UNION PROPERTIES TO PROPOSE RAISING FOREIGN STAKE TO 49% Thursday, April 26, 2018 Union Properties is calling in shareholder approval to allow foreign investors to pick up to 49 per cent of shares in the company. This is to be decided at a general assembly meeting on May 17, where the amended articles of association will be presented. Meanwhile, the general assembly will also vote to “open candidacy” for three new directors on the board to fill the vacancy created by the dismissal of its former chairman, Khalid Bin Kalban, and two others. If the proposal to raise the foreign ownership limit goes through, and there is nothing to suggest it won’t, it will become the second UAE developer in recent weeks to raise the ceiling to 49 per cent. Aldar had earlier gone through the process, raising it from 40. In Union Properties’ case, it is a much higher jump — from 25 per cent. Foreign investors held 5.71 per cent of UP’s shares, as of close of trading on April 25. Concerted moves are on at the individual developer level and within the wider Dubai property market to allow foreign funds and institutional investors a higher exposure. Union Properties had record net profits of Dh180 million for the first quarter of 2018, a substantial gain from the Dh42,5 million in the same period a year ago. Source: Gulf News Back to Index DUBAI | ABU DHABI | AL AIN | SHARJAH | JORDAN | KSA DEFINING LANDSCAPES SINCE 1985 © Asteco Property Management, 2018 asteco.com Page 4 ASSET MANAGEMENT SALES LEASING • VALUATION & ADVISORY SALES MANAGEMENT OWNER ASSOCIATION WOMEN AND PROPERTY Wednesday, April 25, 2018 If you are a non-Muslim female property owner in Dubai, how do you protect your property? A new statistic released by the Dubai government says that around 30 per cent of Dubai’s property is owned by women. The information came from Sultan Butti Bin Mejren, director general of the Dubai Land Department, who said that this shows the accumulation of large amounts of wealth in female hands. This shows the UAE as an open and progressive country where men and women are free to make their own choices about investment, according to their own judgement. But as a lawyer, the news also brought a question into my mind. How do the many non-Muslim female property owners in Dubai deal with the delicate question of inheritance? Research has shown that Western women are the ones to prompt their husband to make a will, while Muslim women have a predetermined inheritance structure. That system has been challenged by female protestors in Tunisia, where the government is reviewing the traditional inheritance rules. But overall it’s a system that has applied in Muslim legal systems throughout the centuries, and it continues to be implemented across the Islamic world.Most pertinent to female homeowners — and indeed male ones — is the property will. This protects up to five properties in Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah, allowing you to choose who will inherit them, if the worst were to happen. For non-Muslims, though, it raises sensitive issues. Women or men with valuable assets may not wish to allocate their wealth according to Sharia; instead they want to decide for themselves the beneficiaries. In the UAE, there is a solution. The governments of Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah allow non-Muslims with assets to register a will that will distribute their estates according to their preferences. It’s provided through the DIFC Courts, part of the Dubai International Financial Centre, which offers a legal system based on English Common Law. The DIFC Wills Service Centre offers a variety of services, covering everything from bequeathing property to the guardianship of children. Most pertinent to female homeowners — and indeed male ones — is the property will. This protects up to five properties in Dubai and Ras Al Khaimah, allowing you to choose who will inherit them, if the worst were to happen. Also available are financial asset wills, protecting cash, government securities and stocks and shares, as long as they are held by a bank or brokerage in Dubai or Ras Al Khaimah. Mothers bringing up children will also be interested in the guardianship will. This allows you to name interim guardians in the UAE for your offspring and also permanent guardians, often family or friends in the home country. Finally, you can bring all these elements together in the full will, covering all assets and also guardianship. Many families find that a mirror full will suits their needs, as it allows both parents to create documents that “mirror” their wishes over guardianship and distribution of assets. The DIFC Wills Service Centre has registered well over 3,500 wills and its own statistics reflect a growing number of female property owners in Dubai. In 2016 and 2017, 38 per cent of those registering a will were women. But if three in 10 of all properties in Dubai are owned by women, that means there are many thousands more owning very valuable assets who have no effective will in place. In the rush and pressures of daily life, they may wish to consider if choosing who will ultimately benefit from their acquired wealth should become a higher priority as they organise their financial affairs. Source: Gulf News Back to Index DUBAI | ABU DHABI | AL AIN | SHARJAH | JORDAN | KSA DEFINING LANDSCAPES SINCE 1985 © Asteco Property Management, 2018 asteco.com Page 5 ASSET MANAGEMENT SALES LEASING • VALUATION & ADVISORY SALES MANAGEMENT OWNER ASSOCIATION FIVE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT NON-MUSLIM WILLS Wednesday, April 25, 2018 If you are a non-Muslim expat or an overseas investor with assets in Dubai or Ras Al Khaimah but residing in your home country, you better get a will done to ensure smooth inheritance to your chosen beneficiaries. Without a will, chances are that your assets will be passed on to specific blood relatives as per the local inheritance law that follows Sharia principles of pre-determined allocation. “In the absence of registering a will, then you will be looking at Sharia that will distribute that property to specific blood relatives in predetermined proportion,” says Sean Hird, director of DIFC Wills Service Centre (WSC). Established in 2015, the DIFC Wills Service Centre provides a system whereby non-Muslims can register a will at the DIFC Courts, Dubai’s international English language commercial courts.But non-Muslim residents and non-residents with assets in Dubai and RAK have the option of opting out of Sharia through a will and chose their home country laws for inheritance arrangements.