Commonhold: A Primer

BD (Website Manager)

The concept of freehold is new in the UAE and purchasers of property, especially expatriates, may understandably feel ill at ease about the whole issue of buying property. There is, however, a pent-up desire among residents to own as opposed to rent and many of the new developments are so tantalizing that both residents and non-residents feel drawn to enter the market. The fact is that the developments committed to thus far are of such a scope and scale that to rule unfavorably in regard to freehold ownership by expatriates or non-residents is almost inconceivable.

Alongside the question of freehold, however, is the equally unfamiliar concept of commonhold. It is interesting to note that it is not only new to the UAE but has only been in practice in the UK since 2004. In deed, commonhold in the UAE is modeled on the British formulation and the concept itself is rather easy to understand:

The common use areas of a complex such as an apartment tower are owned and managed in common (collectively) by the owners of the complex’s individual units. Although they may need to task someone else with the actual management and maintenance of the property, the group of owners are in effect the landlord, with full powers of decision and delegation in regard to all common use areas

Although an inherently simple concept, it requires that the group of owners act as a collective, and this is where a bit of complexity enters in. Individual owners, perhaps, will not have equal say in management and control decisions. Rather an individual’s voice may be weighted by the percentage of property units he holds. Therefore, owners of larger units or multiple units may have more say than single and especially smaller unit holders. In fact, a single entity like a company may own several floors of units or even a majority stake in the tower. How would its leverage as a majority owner compare then with that of an individual who owns but a single unit? In whatever scenario, there will need to be sufficient communication and cooperation among owners so that the owners may effectively function as a group with a single voice. Whether decisions will be made on the basis of simple majority or other formulae will need to be determined.

Simple but not Sweet

A simple concept then, but rather complex upon implementaton. It represents a favorable option from the perspective of the apartment owner, which puts control of the entire property into the hands of the unit holders as opposed to a perhaps disinterested landlord or one who is motivated by self-intersts alone. The challenge will be for the new owners and owner-residents in Dubai’s multitude of developments to work together as a community to effectively implement a successful model of commonhold. Again, to do so may be complicated by the fact that some owners will be non-residents who are at times unavailable when crucial decisions need to be made. Alternatively, a larger entity like a company may hold a sufficient number of units to effectively silence the voice of single-unit owners. Potentially even worse are scenarios where units have been purchased solely as instruments of speculative investment. The owner in this case may have no interest in the long-term value of the property nor in the day-to-day concerns of residents and resident owners.

Whatever the case, commonhold presents both a challenge and opportunity for Dubai’s new property owners. On the one hand it empowers them, to greater or lesser extent, to better control the condition and quality of their surroundings. On the other hand it begs of them to take a more active role in the building community to which they belong.

See also What is Commonhold?

Go to MAG 218 Community homepage or About the Community.

Legal Docs: Constitution of the MAG 218 Tower Association

The following is a copy of the Rules of the Association document prepared by Emaar for its Dubai Marina properties. The Constitution of the MAG 218 Tower Association document prepared for the MAG 218 Tower is nearly identical.

Whereas:

The Project is a commonhold development project, the developer of the project and wishes to establish the Association to which all new Owners will become members.

In these Rules :

• Association means the association formed under these rules to manage and administer those aspects of the Project and the Commonhold Property that require agreement and cooperation of the Owners as a group
• Commonhold Property means that part of the land and Project that does not form part of any unit of the Project and is capable of and intended for the use, enjoyment and utility of all units
• Developer means [ ], the developer of the Project
• Manager means the manager of the Association appointed by the Association from time to time
• Management Agreement means that form of agreement to be entered into between the Developer and the Association whereby the Developer will serve as the first Manager and which agreement was disclosed to each Owner as an attachment to the offer made to acquire his interest in the Unit
• Owner means an owner of a freehold interest in a Unit. The initial Owner of all Units is the Developer
• Project means the land, residential buildings, parking structures and amenities buildings known as [ ]
• Unit means an individual numbered unit designated as such on the plan for the Project registered at the Dubai Land Department and includes the Commonhold Property and the parking space(s) attaching to that Unit as shown on the said plan.

1. MEMBERSHIP IN THE ASSOCIATION AND TERM

1.1 Each Owner shall become a member of the Association upon the registration of his interest in the Unit at the Dubai Land Department

1.2 No person other than an Owner may become a member of the Association.

1.3 In the case of joint Owners the first named party on the title deed shall be considered for the purposes of these Rules to be the Owner.

1.4 No Owner may resign or otherwise relinquish his membership in the Association.

1.5 The Association shall come into existence when the first Unit in the Project is sold and the plan of the project is registered at the Dubai Land Department and shall continue in existence for an unlimited period.

2. OFFICE OF THE ASSOCIATION

2.1 The Association shall have its main office in the Project and shall provide the Manager office space in the Project without charge from which to administer the affairs of the Association.

3. POWERS OF THE ASSOCIATION

3.1 The Association has the power to :

(a) enter into binding agreements through its Manager

(b) fix an annual fee to be levied against each Unit for the operating, upkeep, repair and maintenance of the Project and the fee levied against each Unit must equal the percentage that the Commonhold Property attached to that Unit, as shown on the plan for the Project registered at the Dubai Land Department, is to the total annual fee

(c ) fix an annual fee to be levied against each Unit for replacement or repair of Commonhold Property where it is expected that such replacement or repair will be necessary in the future and would under generally accepted accounting practice be considered a capital expenditure provided that the fee levied against each Unit must equal the percentage that the Commonhold Property attached to that Unit, as shown on the plan for the Project registered at the Dubai Land Department, is to the total annual fee

(d) make rules to govern its members and deal with all matters of membership

(e) determine the terms of payment of all fees with respect to the Project and charge interest on payments in arrears

(f) appoint a Manager of the Association to manage the day to day affairs of the Association or enter into management agreements with companies for this purpose

(g) appoint the auditor for the Association

(h) take proceedings in the name of the Association in the Courts of Dubai against any Owner that is in default in payments due the Association or is otherwise in breach of these Rules or any regulations made pursuant thereto and seek remedies to enforce payment or remedy the breach including but not limited to the forced sale of the Owner’s Unit

3.2 The Association may delegate any or all of its powers as it may from time to time see fit

4. DUTIES OF THE ASSOCIATION

4.1 The Association has the duty to:

(a) appoint a Manager to manage the Project and administer its day to day affairs

(b) maintain and manage the Commonhold Property for the general benefit of all Owners

(c) ensure that each Owner will enjoy peaceful possession and quiet enjoyment of his Unit and the Commonhold Property in accordance with these Rules and the regulations made pursuant to these Rules

(d) enforce the Rules and regulations of the Association

(e) insure the Project, all Units (but not the contents of any Unit) and the Commonhold Property against all customary risks to the replacement value of the Project naming the Association as the main beneficiary of the insurance proceeds

(f) register the plan, the lot and the building comprising the Project at the Dubai Land Department as a Commonhold project

(g) file the Rules and all amendments thereto and all minutes of Association meetings at the Dubai Land Department

5. ASSOCIATION MEETINGS

5.1 The Manager shall once a year, not later than ninety days (90), following the receipt of the auditor’s report on the Association’s accounts, convene a meeting of all Owners for the purpose of:

(a) appointing or reappointing a Manager if there is no Management Agreement then enforce

(b) receiving for approval the accounts of the Association

(c ) receiving a report from the Manager on the previous year’s operations

(d) appointing auditors for the Association

(e) such other business as may properly be brought before the meeting

5.2 Each Owner shall be given 15 days written notice of the meeting by post to the address for mailing given to the Association by the Owner

5.3 The notice shall state the place, date and time of the meeting and the nature of any special business to be brought before the meeting and be accompanied by the audited accounts for the preceding fiscal year if this is a meeting to consider the accounts

5.4 A quorum for a meeting shall be two Owners or individuals representing an Owner by proxy, and a representative of the Manager must be in attendance. If no quorum is present within 30 minutes of the time for the meeting to begin the meeting shall stand adjourned to the day following at the same time and place and the meeting shall proceed with the Owners or their proxies and the Manager’s representative then present

5.5 The Manager shall set the rules for the meeting as are required subject to the requirement that all matters must be decided by a majority vote of the Owners present at the meeting unless otherwise stated in these Rules

5.5 On all votes at a meeting each Owner shall have that number of votes that corresponds to the percentage interest that Owner has in the Commonhold Property.

6. DUTIES OF OWNERS

6.1 Each Owner shall :

(a) permit the Manager, at all reasonable times and on reasonable notice (except in cases of emergency) to enter into his Unit for the purpose inspecting, maintaining and repairing the Commonhold Property

(b) pay the Association all fees, rates, taxes and premiums that may become payable in respect of his Unit

(c) maintain his Unit in a state of good repair

(d) notify the Association immediately if there is a change of Owner with respect of his Unit

(e) ensure that all occupants of his Unit comply with the Rules and regulations

(f) at all times comply with the laws, decrees rules and regulations of the Emirate of Dubai and the United Arab Emirates from time to time enforce that relate to the Project or his Unit and procure that all occupants of his Unit also comply

(g) comply with all notices and instructions from the Manager with respect to the use and occupation of the Unit and the Project

7. RESTRICTIONS ON OWNERS

7.1 No Owner shall:

(a) make structural, mechanical or electrical alterations to his Unit or to the Commonhold Property without the prior written consent of the Manager

(b) expose laundry to the public view by hanging it on balconies, out windows or by any other means

(c ) allow in his Unit any animal, reptile or bird that is not customarily reared inside a building and considered generally as a house pet and all pets must be carried or on a leash when outside any Unit

(d) permit explosives, hazardous chemicals or firearms to be stored in any Unit, in any part of the Project, in its annexes or beside the Project

(e) store any of his personal property in any of the Commonhold Property

(f) erect any sign or billboard on any part of the Commonhold Property including the entrance to his Unit

(g) park vehicles in other than designated parking spaces that has been assigned to his Unit

(h) allow his Unit to fall into disrepair, become infected with insects or in any way become a health hazard to the Project

(i) create a nuisance

(j) use the Commonhold Property for any personal use such as dusting carpets, cleaning furniture or displaying plants and flowers

(k) use or permit the use of the parking structure for any purpose other than parking vehicles

(l) make any change (including a color change) to the external appearance of the Project or its doors and windows

8. RIGHTS OF OWNERS

8.1 The Owners may convene a meeting of all Owners at any time by lodging with the Manager a request for a meeting stating the business for the meeting, which may include a proposal to terminate the Manager, subject to the terms of any Management Agreement then in force, which request shall be accompanied by a signed petition of the Owners representing twenty five (25%) percent of all Units.

8.2 Any Owner has the right to require that the Manager enforce the Rules and regulations.

Go to MAG 218 Community's most recent posts, or view the complete listing (by title) of all MAG 218 and Dubai Marina Communities' posts.

Legal Docs: Terms and Conditions

The following is a copy of the Unit Terms and Conditions of Sale document prepared by Emaar for its Dubai Marina properties. The Terms & Condtions document prepared for the MAG 218 Tower is nearly identical.

1. DECLARATION OF THE VENDOR

The Vendor declares that it is the sole owner of the Unit free from encumbrances and the Purchase Price set out in the particulars of Sale and Purchase is the true price of the Unit.

2. PAYMENT

The Purchaser will pay each instalment payment as described in the Schedule of Instalment Payments by mailing the same to the Vendor at P O Box 9440 Dubai, UAE or delivering the payment to the Vendor’s office in Dubai, UAE on/or before the due date of the payment.

3. POSSESSION AND RISK

3.1 Provided the Purchaser is not in default under this Agreement the Vendor shall provide vacant possession of the Unit to the Purchaser on the Completion Date at which date all risk associated with the Unit shall pass to the Purchaser.

3.2 The Vendor shall within 12 months prior to the Estimated Completion Date advise the Purchaser of the designated completion date for completion of construction and handover of the Unit (the “Completion Date”). The Vendor may at its option on notice to the Purchaser given prior to one (1) month before the Completion Date extend the Completion Date to such dates as advised by the Vendor from time to time provided that the total period of such extensions (if any) shall not in any event exceed twelve (12) months. The Vendor shall give notice to the Purchaser no later than thirty (30) days prior to the Completion Date of the date of handover of the Property.

4. TRANSFER OF TITLE TO THE PURCHASER

On the Completion Date, the Vendor shall give a clear and unencumbered freehold right of the Unit to the Purchaser provided that the Purchaser pay all fees payable by the Purchaser in connection with the transfer.

5. COVENANTS AND WARRANTIES OF THE VENDOR

5.1 The Vendor covenants to carry out construction of the Project in compliance with all building codes, rules, regulations and laws in force in the Emirate of Dubai and the UAE and that all materials and equipment will be new and, subject to the terms of this Agreement, in conformity with the plans and specifications shown to the Purchaser when signing this Agreement.

5.2 The Unit is subject to a builder’s defects liability warranty in respect of any defective material, fittings and fixtures including mechanical, plumbing and electrical works for a period of 12 months from the date of completion of the construction thereof.

5.3 The Vendor hereby assigns to the Purchaser all benefits the Vendor holds in any warranties from the manufacturer of all appliances fittings or fixtures that are installed in the Unit.

5.4 The Vendor shall remain liable for a period of ten (10) years from the date of completion of the construction of the Project to repair and rectify any structural defects in the Project.

5.5 The Vendor shall deliver the Unit to the Purchaser in a professionally finished condition, clean and ready for occupancy and constructed, subject to the terms of this Agreement, in accordance with the plans and specifications shown to the Purchaser when signing this Agreement.

5.6 The Vendor shall construct the infrastructure surrounding the Project including roads, lighting, walkways, and landscaping substantively in accordance with the Vendor’s overall development plan for infrastructure.

5.7 The Vendor will procure that the Project and the Commonhold Property will be managed in a professional manner and in accordance with the terms and conditions of the Management Agreement.

5.8 The Vendor will allocate the parking space(s) and a Commonhold unit factor with respect to the Unit on the Completion Date.

6. COVENANTS AND WARRANTIES OF THE PURCHASER

6.1 Purchaser represents that the Unit is being purchased on Purchaser’s own behalf and the Unit will be beneficially owned by the Purchaser.

6.2 The Purchaser agrees that the Unit will be used for single family residential purposes only.

6.3 The Purchaser shall:

(a) permit the Vendor and its employees or agents at all reasonable times to enter the Unit to inspect and examine its condition

(b) not use the Premises for any illegal or immoral act or purpose

(c) pay all charges (including connection charges to the Unit) for water, electricity, sewage and other services provided to the Unit, in addition to all property taxes, Maintenance Fees, Dubai Municipality fees and other similar levies that may be imposed or levied with respect to the Unit; and

(d) comply in all respects with the provisions of all laws, decrees, regulations and the Rules for the time being in force and the requirements of any competent authority in relation to the Unit or anything done in the Unit.

6.4 The Purchaser shall not modify, add or delete any part of the exterior of the unit (including satellite dishes or antenae) or construct any additional improvements in the Unit without the prior consent of the Vendor.

6.5 The Purchaser acknowledges that he has not acted or relied upon any representations made by or on behalf of the Vendor except those contained in this Agreement.

7. UNIT INSPECTION

The Purchaser will be entitled to inspect the Unit accompanied by a representative of the Vendor at a reasonable time by arrangement with the Vendor prior to the Completion Date. At such time, the parties will prepare and sign a conclusive list of any defects and deficiencies (the “Deficiencies”) and will agree the date by which the Deficiencies shall be rectified. The Vendor will promptly remedy the Deficiencies by the stated date for rectification of Deficiencies provided that the Purchaser shall not be entitled to hold back any portion of the Purchase Price in respect of the Deficiencies. In the event of any dispute, a decision by the Vendor’s architect will be final and binding on the parties. In all other respects the Purchaser will be deemed to have accepted the physical condition of the Unit. The Purchaser acknowledges that except for this one inspection, the Purchaser shall not be allowed access the Unit or the Project prior to the Completion Date, without the prior written authorization of the Vendor.

8. ASSOCIATION RULES

The Purchaser acknowledges that the Rules contain certain restrictions on the use of the Unit and Commonhold Property which restrictions are essential to the successful operation of the Project. The Purchaser agrees to comply with the Rules and agrees to procure the compliance of all other occupants of his Unit and acknowledges that under the Rules each unit in the Project will be assessed a fee to pay the operating, external maintenance, capital reserve and other costs associated with the Project, the Commonhold Property and associated facilities. The Purchaser agrees to pay all the fees assessed under the Rules and further agrees that the Association is empowered (which power may be delegated) to take whatever action it deems necessary to enforce payment of fees in default, including legal proceedings. The Purchaser further agrees that the Association shall have a lien on the Unit for any unpaid fees and the Purchaser agrees the Association may take proceedings directly against the Unit to enforce collection of unpaid fees in addition to proceedings against the Purchaser directly. The Purchaser agrees to the powers of the Association and the delegation of the Association’s powers to the Vendor pursuant to the Management Agreement and agrees to the enforcement of the Rules by the Vendor during the term of the Management Agreement.

9. SALE AND ASSIGNMENT

9.1 The Purchaser acknowledges that any sale, assignment or other disposition (other than by way of mortgage) of an interest in the Unit must have the consent of the Vendor, which consent shall not be unreasonably withheld or delayed. Where the Purchaser is other than a natural person, any change in the legal or beneficial ownership or control of that entity shall constitute a disposition of an interest in the Property. The Vendor may in its sole and absolute discretion entertain any application for consent to sell, assign or dispose of an interest in the Unit prior to the Completion Date or if any payments due to the Vendor or the Association are in arrears.

9.2 No sale, assignment or other disposition (other than by way of mortgage) of an interest in the Unit will be of any legal effect until the party intending to acquire the interest has entered into an agreement acknowledging that such party will pay the fees referred to in clause 8, be bound by the Rules and acknowledge the Association’s power to enforce the Rules.

10. MODIFICATIONS

10.1 The Purchaser acknowledges and agrees that the Vendor may from time to time, in its discretion or as required by any competent authority, change, vary or modify the plans, colours, materials, finishes, equipment, fixtures and specifications pertaining to the Project and the Unit (including architectural, structural, landscaping, grading, mechanical or other plans) from the plans, colours, materials, finishes, equipment, fixtures and specifications existing at the time the Purchaser entered into this Agreement or as same may be illustrated in any sales brochures, models or otherwise, all without notice to or consent from the Purchaser, provided that the substituted items are of equal or better quality. The Purchaser hereby consents to any such changes, modifications and / or substitutions and agrees to complete this transaction notwithstanding modifications in accordance with the foregoing.

10.2 The Purchaser acknowledges that the area of the Unit, as represented to the Purchaser by the Vendor’s sales representative or by the Vendor’s brochures, drawings, plans, advertisements or other marketing materials, is approximate only and the Purchaser acknowledges that the actual suite floor area of the Unit may vary from the stated area. The suite area is measured as the area bounded by the center lines of demising of party walls separating one unit from another unit, the exterior surface of the exterior walls, and the exterior surface of the corridor wall enclosing and abutting the unit. The Balcony area is measured as the area bounded by the inner face of a demising or party walls separating one unit from another unit, the outermost face of the enclosing guard and the external face of the suite abutting the balcony. If the total of the actual area is less than the represented area by more than three (3) percent the Purchase Price will be reduced proportionally. No adjustment will be made to the Purchase Price if the actual area is increased or is reduced by less than three (3) percent.

11. DEFAULT BY THE VENDOR

If the Purchaser has fulfilled all of the Purchaser’s obligations of payment under this Agreement and the Vendor is unable to deliver possession of the Unit on the Completion Date (as extended if applicable), the Purchaser may give the Vendor, within thirty (30) days following the Completion Date, , a notice of termination of this Agreement. If the Vendor is not in a position to give the Purchaser vacant possession of the Unit within ninety (90) days of receipt of such notice the Vendor shall refund all payments made by the Purchaser with interest at the Interest Rate calculated from the date each payment was made and this Agreement shall be terminated. If the Vendor remedies its default within the said ninety (90) day period the date of the remedy will become the Completion Date and this Agreement will remain in full force and effect and thus the Purchaser will remain obligated to make all outstanding payments.

12. DEFAULT BY THE PURCHASER

The Purchaser shall pay interest at the rate of one percent (1%) per month on all instalment payment and other payments due to the Vendor for each day that payments are in default. In the event that this default is not cured within thirty (30) days from the due date, the Vendor shall have the right, at its option, on fourteen (14) days written notice to the Purchaser, to terminate this Agreement and if the payment default has not been remedied within the said fourteen (14) days notice period, this Agreement shall automatically terminate and in such event all payments previously made by the Purchaser (the “Agreed Amount”), shall be absolutely forfeited to the Vendor as liquidated damages. The parties hereby agree that the Agreed Amount constitutes a genuine and reasonable pre-estimate of the damages that will be suffered by the Vendor as a result of such default by the Purchaser. The Purchaser hereby acknowledges and agrees that the forfeiture of the Agreed Amount in the foregoing circumstances is fair and equitable, is not harsh or unconscionable and does not constitute a penalty.

13. VENDOR’S VISA SPONSORSHIP

13.1 The Vendor agrees to sponsor the first-named owner of the Unit and subsequent first-named transferees for a Visa (and renewals thereof) (provided the owner/transferee is not otherwise entitled to sponsorship for a Visa) on payment of the Vendor’s applicable visa administration fee. If there are joint owners/transferees then sponsorship will only be offered if none of the joint owners/transferees are otherwise entitled to sponsorship for a Visa. Upon a disposition of his interest in the Unit (other than by way of mortgage) the Vendor will terminate the sponsorship of the owner/transferee and cancel the Visa.

13.2 The Purchaser acknowledges that he will have to comply with all laws and regulations in force in the UAE with respect to Visa sponsorship.

13.3 The Purchaser agrees to indemnify the Vendor against all costs and liabilities incurred or suffered by the Vendor as a result of the Vendor’s sponsorship and the Purchaser hereby grants a first fixed charge over the Unit to secure to the Vendor any such costs and liabilities.

14. FORCE MAJEURE

“Event of Force Majeure” means an act of God including but not limited to fire, flood, earthquake, windstorm or other natural disaster; act of any sovereign including but not limited to war, invasion, act of foreign enemies, hostilities (whether war be declared or not), civil war, rebellion, revolution, insurrection, military or usurped power or confiscation, nationalisation, requisition, destruction or damage to property by or under the order of any government or public or local authority or imposition of government sanction embargo or similar action; labour dispute including but not limited to strike, lockout or boycott; interruption or failure of utility service including but not limited to electric power, gas, water or telephone service; failure of the transportation of any personnel, equipment, machinery or material required by the Vendor for completion of the Project; breach of contract by any essential contractor or subcontractor or any other matter or cause beyond the control of the Vendor. Should an event of Force Majeure occur that will delay the Completion Date, the Vendor shall promptly notify the Purchaser of the event and give the Purchaser a new Completion Date or an estimate of the duration of the delay, followed by a new Completion Date when same can be determined. The Purchaser’s payment obligations shall cease until the event of Force Majeure has been remedied after which time the payment obligations will resume taking into account the Force Majeure delay. Should an event of Force Majeure delay the Completion Date by a period of one (1) year the Purchaser may elect to terminate this Agreement by notice to the Vendor and the Vendor shall refund all monies paid by the Purchaser.

15. SURVIVAL OF AGREEMENT

The Purchaser acknowledges and agrees that this Agreement will survive the Completion Date and the transfer of freehold title to the Unit to the Purchaser and will remain binding upon the parties until the Purchaser has effectively sold or assigned the Purchaser’s interest in the Unit to a third party and that third party has entered into an agreement to comply with the Purchaser’s obligations herein.

16. TIME OF THE ESSENCE

Time will be of the essence of this Agreement and will remain of the essence notwithstanding the extension of any of the dates herein.

17. ENTIRE AGREEMENT

17.1 This Agreement and Schedules A through E, which schedules are incorporated into this Agreement by reference, constitute the entire agreement between the parties and there are no other representations, warranties, conditions or collateral agreements, express or implied, written or oral, whether made by the Vendor, any agent, employee or representative of the Vendor or any other person including, without limitation, arising out of any marketing material including sales brochures, models, representative view sets, show room displays, photographs, videos, illustrations, renderings, revenue projections or pro-forma statements provided to the Purchaser or made available for his viewing, and upon acceptance by the Vendor, this Agreement shall form a binding agreement subject only to the terms and conditions contained herein.

17.2 The Purchaser acknowledges that the Management Agreement will be entered into by the Association and the Vendor as soon as practicable and the Purchaser further acknowledges that it has read the terms and conditions of the Management Agreement and the Rules and is in agreement with the contents of both documents and agrees to be bound by them as from the date hereof.

18. INTERPRETATION AND DISPUTE RESOLUTION

This Agreement will be governed by and construed in accordance with the laws of Dubai and the United Arab Emirates. All disputes, other than disputes pursuant to clause 7, between the parties in relation to or arising from this Agreement shall be referred to arbitration in Dubai to be conducted in accordance with the rules of Commercial Conciliation and Arbitration of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry in place at the time by one arbitrator appointed in accordance with the said rules whose decision shall be final and binding.

19. NOTICES

Without prejudice to the right to serve notice by any other means, any notice required to be served under this Agreement shall be in writing in the English language and shall be deemed sufficiently served ten (10) days after it has been mailed by registered pre-paid post to the address of the party to be served that is set out at the head of this Agreement or to such other address of which notice has been previously given.

20. ENUREMENT

The Agreement shall enure to the benefit of and be binding upon the parties hereto and their respective personal representatives, heirs, successors, and permitted assigns.

21. JOINT LIABILITY

If there is more than one purchaser named in this Agreement, all Purchaser obligations shall be joint and several.

22. COUNTERPART EXECUTION

This Agreement may be executed, accepted and delivered in counterparts and by telecopy, which counterparts and tele-copied documents shall together constitute one and the same Agreement.

23. DEFINITIONS

In this Agreement where the context allows the following words shall have the following meanings:

• Association means the Association formed as an association of all the owners in the Project, which Association shall be governed by the Rules as described in Schedule A hereto
• Building means the building identified in the Particulars of Sale and Purchase being part of the Project
• Common hold Property means that part of the land and Project that does not form part of any unit of the Project and is capable of and intended for the use, enjoyment and utility of all units
• Completion Date means the date set out in the Completion Notice to be delivered by the Vendor to the Purchaser in accordance with clause 3.2 hereof
• Department means the UAE Ministry of Interior, Department of Naturalization and Residency and or its successor
• Developer means for the within named Vendor, the developer of the Project
• Estimated Completion Date means the estimated completion date set out in the particulars of Sale and Purchase
• Interest Rate means the UAE Dirhams ninety (90) day Emirates Interbank Offer Rate (“EBOR”)
• Manager means for the purpose of the Property Management Agreement, the Vendor described in the Particulars of Sale and Purchase
• Property Management Agreement means the Property Management Agreement to be made in the form attached as Schedule B between the Manager and the Association
• Maintenance Fees means the fees to be levied by the Vendor in respect of the costs associated with the operation and maintenance of the Project including the Building, the Commonhold Property, associated facilities and infrastructure
• Particulars of Sale and Purchase means the Particulars of Sale and Purchase set out on page 1 of the Agreement of Sale
• Project means the land, residential buildings, parking structures and amenities buildings identified as the Project in the Particulars of Sale and Purchase
• Rules means the Rules of the Association attached as Schedule A; where the Developer shall be the Vendor and the Project shall be the Project both respectively as described in the Particulars of Sale and Purchase
• UAE means the United Arab Emirates
• Unit means the Unit described in the Particulars of Sale and Purchase set out on page one (1) hereof
• Visa means a UAE residence visa issued by the Department
• Visa Administration Fees mean the Vendor’s applicable visa administration fee plus all amounts payable to third parties, including the Department, for each Visa application made by the Vendor on behalf of the Purchaser.

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MAG 218 Project Description

Source: Fact sheet provided by the developer.

Introduction

The site for the MAG Tower is located at a prime location in Dubai Marina District 10, plot no. 392-199-A23B.

Dubai Marina is amongst the world's largest master planned waterfront developments of its kind, built around an uninterrupted waterside promenade, parks and boat-berthing facilities.

This man made marina is strategically located on the Arabian Gulf in close proximity to leading five-star hotels, beach clubs and prestigious landmarks such as Dubai Internet City and Dubai Media City. It is approximately 3.4 km long with 11 km marine frontage, spanning an area of 30 million square feet. Dubai Marina comprises 10 districts, each of which will be developed as distinct communities.

The plot area is 3427 square meters. It allows a base podium on the full area of the plot within a limit of 15 meters of height and 1393.5 square meters per floor.

The set back is to be of 10 meters on street "D" (S-E) and the American University side (N-E), 15 meters on the Ring Road (S-W) and 5 meters on the arcade side (N-W).

Since there is no height limitation, the main architectural concept design is the number of parking spaces provided (one space for every apartment of area below 148.5 square meters and two spaces for any greater than this area).

The MAG Tower is a residential building of 66 floors, of which 55 are residential floors. This report intends to define the architectural components of the tower.

The following sections will be compiled shortly:

• Basement and Podium
  
  The podium and the basement levels are accessible at ground level from both streets adjacent to the building via a two-way continuous slope (ramp).
  
  The third basement is mainly a technical basement, with a 4m clear height and contains the transformer room and the water tank, in addition to 40 parking spaces.
  
  The second and first basement contain only parking spaces (87 spaces each), under 2.6m clear height.
  
  The pedestrian access at the ground floor level is at the center of the Ring Road (S-W) elevation, and two-way car access at the end of each roadside elevation. The parking finished level is 15cm higher than the sidewalk level, and the entrance lobby level is 30cm higher by regulation. The clear height over the ground floor is 3.8m with double height over the main pedestrian entrance. This floor contains 72 parking spaces.
  
  The car park extends to the first and second floors under a clear height of 2.6m and contains 81 cars on the first and 87 cars on the second floor.
  
  The third floor is partially uncovered since the back part (on adjacent plots) connects to the fourth floor (open air parking). It houses 89 parking spaces under a clear height of 2.6m.
  
  The top of the podium, the fourth floor, consists of an outdoor swimming pool along with a Jacuzzi, an outdoor deck and a solarium, as well as changing facilities and a shower area to support the swimming pool. The remainder of the fourth floor houses 23 shaded car parking spaces.
  
  Storage rooms are available on all floors of the basements and podium parking levels.
  
• Technical Floors
• Typical Floors
• Elevators
• Staircases
• External Finishes

Conclusion

The tower is a combination of four slender towers tied together with a steel structure, showing a gradual transition from the metal cladding starting on the podium and lower floors, through the glass glazing on the upper floors, to the steel structure crowning the tower top.

See also MAG 218 Facts & Figures. Return to The MAG 218 Tower homepage. Go to MAG 218 Community homepage.

About the Community

The MAG 218 Tower Association

A community association (or building association) of some form is necessary to, at the least, make decisions about the management of the common areas of the MAG 218 property. The common areas will include the parking, grounds, entrance, lobby, corridors and health and recreational facilities. At a minimal level a community association is required by decree of the ownership contract and in respect of UAE civil laws to properly manage the property once the developer has completed construction and the first unit owners have taken possession of their property.

This association will be required to enter into a management agreement with a suitable party and appoint a building manager. From time to time the association will also need to decide on rules to govern the management and use of common areas. By decree of the ownership contract only a unit owner may become a member of the association, therefore other residents, although part of the larger MAG 218 community, will not belong to the MAG 218 Tower Association. Further details regarding the powers and responsibilities of the association can be reveiwed in the Constitution of the MAG 218 Tower Association included in the ownership contract.

The MAG 218 (Online) Community

The present online community is in effect separate and disticnt from the MAG 218 Tower Association, which is unlike this community a legal entity. There will be some overlap in membership, however the online community will by its very nature involve more open participation not limited to unit owners. Although not having a formal membership, the online community may be thought of as an association with respect to organizing activities or events whether online or in the real world. The online community will, however, function primarily as a forum for discussion and exchange of information. By contrast the MAG 218 Tower Association will function primarily to carry out or oversee the management of the common-hold elements of the property.

The Acivities of the MAG 218 (Online) Community

The following is a list of activities and ideas that participants in the online community may choose to undertake:

• Discuss topics of interest related to ownership and residency at the MAG 218 Tower.
• Raise questions with the property developer, future building management, the sales consultant and other involved parties.
• Share information of relevance to owners and residents of the property.
• Source news articles and other information related to the MAG 218 tower and larger Dubai Marina community.
• Organize community events to take place (upon completion of the tower) in the community areas and off-premises.
• Offer suggestions on rules and policy to the MAG 218 Tower Association.

Ideas for Community Events

Although limited to an online format at present, the MAG 218 Community should eventually function as a living community on site at the MAG 218 Tower. At such time the organization of community events should become one of its primary functions.

The following are ideas for in-house activities:

• movie nights
• pot lucks
• country theme nights
• cultural or religious holiday programs
• exhibits (art, photos, collections, etc.)
• language lessons (for fun)
• music or book appreciation meetings
• pool parties

The following are ideas for off-site activities:

• barbeques
• beach outings
• team sports

Add other ideas by Posting Comments below.

Go to MAG 218 Community's most recent posts, or view the complete listing (by title) of all MAG 218 and Dubai Marina Communities' posts.

MAG 218 Fiction (Residents' Tales)

Everyone likes a good yarn. Residents and owners are invited to submit fictional accounts of life at MAG 218 or in the Dubai Marina.

Submit your story or idea to the Website Manager.

Index of Stories
I

---

Imagine..., a 3-part story about moving into the MAG 218 tower. (Website Manager)

Interior Views, a visit to the new MAG 218 in 2008. (Website Manager)

Return to MAG 218 Community homepage.

What's in a Name?

Similarly named MAG 214 is said to come from the firm's owner's personal details, ala 2 wives and 14 children . The meaning of 218 as well as 220 and similar numbers used in the names of other MAG towers is open to speculation.

The developer will be asked to explain the name MAG 218.

Update:

As noted in the write-up on the 12 November interview with the GM of MAG PDD, the number 218 is simply a continuation of the series begun with 214. Furthermore, the use of MAG is part of the companies desire to establish its name and reputation. (The GM did not, however, explain why the series begins with 214.)

Other towers are already on the drawing board with names like MAG 220, MAG 224, etc.

Return to MAG 218 Community homepage.

Who We Are

The following list is intended to provide a picture of who we are (as future residents and owners). An understanding of the international character of our community can only help to foster better interaction and understanding. The list is not meant to be comprehensive nor infringe upon anyone's privacy. It would be useful, for example, to know about the age breakdown of our community and how many are residents as opposed to non-resident owners or owner-residents, and how many reside primarily in Dubai or outside the emirate or country. For inclusion contact Website Manager.

MAG 218 Community Profile (2006)
Count	Nationality	Primary Residence	Age*	Occupation	Residence Status
001	USA	Abu Dhabi	44	teacher	owner-resident
002	UK	UK	31	agency director	owner-resident
003	India	Dubai	43	engineer	owner
004	UK	Dubai	51	company GM	owner-resident
005	UK	Dubai	47	teacher	owner-resident
006	India	Dubai	28	driver	resident
007	Italy	Italy	38	sales director	owner
008	Italy	Italy	25	restaurant owner	owner
009	India	Dubai	34	IT manager
*Age, in the year added to the list.
MAG 218 Community Profile (2007)
Count	Nationality	Primary Residence	Age*	Occupation	Residence Status

Return to MAG 218 Community homepage.

Your Questions (Q&A)

All answers provided by the Webmaster unless otherwise indicated.

I have bought one of these properties in MAG 218. I am worried about Asteco no longer taking an active involvement and more worried as I pay for the deposits if this development will ever happen. Is MAG PD a reliable developer to spend my hard earned money with?

The MAG developer is genuinely engaged in building in Dubai as evidenced by the documented progress being made on the MAG 214 tower in the Jumeirah Lake Towers development. It is documenting in photos the construction work at this site and the work appears to be progressing well. As the stated goal for completion of the project is mid-2008 the delay in construction work so far should not seriously impact this timetable. A large banner hanging above a freeway in Dubai advertising the MAG developer and their projects (including the MAG 218) can also be seen. That being said Asteco has a much bigger pressence in the local market than MAG. So with Asteco no longer playing a key role there may be some cause for concern but nothing that should sound any alarms.


Post a Comment here if you have any questions about the project. These may be answered by the Website Manager or passed on to others in the know.

Return to MAG 218 Community homepage.

Imagine... (Part 3)

Soon to come...stay posted.

Return to MAG 218 Community homepage.

Imagine... (Part 2)

As I stand at my window and look out over the Dubai Marina I feel some of the emotions that I felt when I first arrived at the MAG 218 Tower in April 2008...

Stay tuned... more to come.

Although 8 years have passed living in the Marina still feels like a new experience. From year to year—almost month to month—things change. The big event this year is the opening of the Jebel Ali International airport, just in time to welcome visitors to the 2016 Dubai Olympics. Dubai has been pre-occupied with this event since the city was chosen back in 2009. If people hadn’t yet heard that Dubai was on the world stage, they finally came to realize it then. At breakneck speed the city accelerated its infrastructure development. The initial rapid transit lines were finished ahead of schedule and new roads linking all the new communities seemed to open up every year. The once notorious traffic jams are now a thing of the past. Especially for residents of the Marina, there’s seldom a need to take your car when you can quickly reach your destination in a comfortable train, winding through the fantastic development projects.

Imagine... Part 3.

Return to MAG 218 Community homepage.

Imagine... (Part 1)

It's April 2008 and you've just got the keys to your new flat in the MAG 218 Tower in the Dubai Marina. The Marina itself is a fantastic sight to behold--towers of every height and design lining the streets, a busy waterway through its heart with small boats ferrying tourists and residents and lots of folks walking along the promenade.

But what really interests you at this moment is walking into the flat you've waited 3 years for. Instead of driving into the parking structure in your own car, you decide to make a grand entrance. You hire a limousine for an hour and invite some friends to join you. After taking a brief tour along the Marina Ring road, the limousine approaches the MAG 218 Tower. Standing at he corner of the block, the tower appears in full view as you approach it. You forget for a moment the anticipation of stepping into your new flat as you take in the site of the futuristic structure you will soon be calling home.

Your limousine makes its stately entrance through the drive way and under the lobby's extended portico. The black shiny exterior of the limousine perfectly accents the aluminum cladding, grey stone, marble and glass that form the exterior structures and entry way. It creates a space that is wide, cool and modern with a minimalist aesthetic. You and your friends step out of the limousine and head through the tall glass doors into the spacious lobby.



As you turn back toward the doors, you wave off the limousine driver, while bright sunlight filters in through the tinted glass to the open space of the lobby. You walk up to the doorman who stands behind the reception counter in pristine white uniform. "Welcome to the MAG 218 sir," he greets you and you respond with a hearty, "Thank you." As you walk through the lobby, you look casually from side to side at the walls then up to the ceiling and across the floor--taking in the shiny new surfaces that you'll soon take for granted. Once in the elevator corridor you hope that the doors won't open too quickly, so that you can have just a few more minutes to take in the ambience.

But the moment you press the button the bell rings and one of the elevator doors promptly opens. "Is it the one I want...I need to get up to the 55th floor." Whatever the case you step inside, locate the button for your floor and begin the final ascent. You smile and chat with your friends, who are as anxious as you are to see the new flat. You don't realize the speed of the elevator until it begins to slow down near your floor. "We're here!" one friend says cheefully, and you step out of the elevator with a bubbling sense of glee.

"...08, ...09, ... There it is!" Key in lock, a brief hesitation, then voila, ...WELCOME to the MAG 218! There's no one to say it, but the walls seem to speak it. It's a small flat, only one bedroom, but the floor to ceiling window at the far wall creates an effect of grandeur. Never mind the shiny new floor or the pristine kitchen appliances, you head straight for the "stage front" windows. From the 55th floor it is a magnificent view. The towers of the Dubai Marina loom before and below you and you stare across the now diminutive waterway that snakes through the Marina.



"This is home?" you ask yourself, although you should be making a statement of fact. It's rather hard to believe.

(Specific references to floor or room numbers are arbitrary and do not indicate actual occupancy.)

Imagine... Part 2.

Story edidted 2006-01. Go to MAG 218 Fiction (Residents' Tales) for more fictional accounts, or return to MAG 218 Community homepage.

How to Choose a Property

A big question the property buyer faces is, "which property?" This is especially problematic in Dubai with so many properties coming up in so many different developments. To make matters worse, most available property is off-plan, therefore one doesn't have the opportunity to know what's availabie by simply driving around and having a look.

In this forum I hope readers will share what helped them to make their choice. A lingering question for me was how to go about the process. The artlcle linked below delves into this question and offers one solution:

Dubai Property Tours Launch

Return to MAG 218 Community homepage.

MAG 218 Facts & Figures

Location:

Dubai Marina, Dist. 10, Plot no. 392-199 (A23B).
See MAG 218 & Dubai Marina Maps for details.

Floor Breakdown:

Basement & Podium: B3-B2-B1 (technical & parking), G-1 (entrance, lobby & parking), 2-3 (parking), 4 (outdoor deck, swimming pool & parking).
Tower: 5 (technical floor), 6 to 35 (residential floors), 36 (community area & health club), 37 (technical floor), 38-62 (residential floors), 63 (technical floor & water tank).
Summary: There are 3 basement floors and 64 above ground floors (including the ground level). The basement and podium structure consists of 7 enclosed levels and the tower structure consists of 60 floors (including 55 residential, 3 technical & 2 community or recreational). Residential floors have a clearance height of 3 meters while other floors vary between 2.6 and 6.4 meters with an average clearance height of 3.7 meters each.

See also Project Description.

Return to The MAG 218 Tower homepage. Go to MAG 218 Community homepage.

Links Repository (Dubai & the UAE)

Text of off-site links pasted here for retrieval when 3rd party pages go offline.

1. Dubai to make Jebel Ali world's largest airport
   
   Emirates News Agency (WAM) - 22/11/2005
   
   Dubai will have yet another superlative.
   
   This time the world's largest airport, Jebel Ali International Airport (JXB).
   
   To be built at a cost of Dhs30 billion, the airport could handle 120 million passengers a year, according to reports in the UAE's dailies.
   
   That will relegate the present topper, London's Heathrow with a throughput of 83.5 million, to the second rank.
   
   Once completed, JXB will be the combined size of Heathrow and Chicago's O'Hare. Again, it will be ten times bigger than Dubai International Airport.
   
   The Department of Civil Aviation of the government of Dubai on Monday launched Jebel Ali Airport City (JAAC), a 140 square kilometre development. Central to the JAAC project is JXB.
   
   Announcing the project at the ongoing Dubai air show, Dubai Civil Aviation Director for Engineering and Projects Khalifa Al Zaffin said the project is designed to serve Dubai's passenger and cargo air transportation needs until 2050 and beyond. It will have at least six parallel runways and as many concourses capable of handling more than 120 million passengers and more than 12 million tonnes of cargo per year.
   
   The project will be completed in phases, and the first aircraft will land in the first quarter of 2007 on completion of phase one.
   
   The project will be financed through internal resources and consortium banking.
   
   "The project's design is being finalised and the tendering process has started for a project which has been conceived to ensure that Dubai will not be hampered by capacity constraints. It will accommodate every aircraft type yet conceived," he said. JAAC is conceived as a mixed-use urban environment, comprising aviation, logistics, commercial, residential, educational, recreational, technology and entertainment components.
   
   At the core of JAAC, and scheduled to be the project's first component to launch operations at the end of 2007, is Dubai Logistics City (DLC), a free zone for businesses which require, or provide, logistics and multi-modal transport services to the GCC, wider Middle East, India, Africa, South East Europe and the CIS.
   
   Grading work for the first 4.5-kilometre runway is already advanced and, when complete, it will cater for a significant portion of air cargo transported through Dubai.
   
   The 25 square kilometre development will also feature office buildings, and will provide land plots for dedicated industrial businesses, trading companies, distributors, logistics service providers and forwarders, shared facilities, such as warehouses and modern air-side cargo handling, facilities.
   
   DLC is aimed at boosting business opportunities and developing services and facilities for its customer base that address the needs of leading global, regional and local industrial businesses, trading companies and logistics service providers who need multi-modal transportation. These will include airlines, integrators, multi-national, regional and local forwarders, as well as third party logistics service providers. It will also target key high-end logistics users including multi-national companies within the automotive, IT, pharmaceutical, electronics and communication industries as well as relief and aid NGOs and service companies.
   
   "Trade and industry customers can opt to build their own facilities on serviced sites with long-term leases, to work with Dubai Logistics City (DLC) who will provide a design and build facility or alternatively, companies can outsource operations to contract logistics service providers that provide both services and facilities, DLC's CEO Michael Proffitt said.
   
   Over 1.4 million square metres of leased land in phase one has been reserved by some 35 companies who will be able to begin construction on their individual premises in Q2 2006.
   
   Planning for an integrated road and rail transportation network to support DLC and the rest of Jebel Ali Airport City is under way. Official transportation plans include the development of a 160 kilometres network of main roads within Jebel Ali Airport City to support public traffic and a unique system dedicated to the specific needs of DLC and JXB measuring a total of 90 kilometres.
   
   The other Jebel Ali Airport City developments include Commercial City, Aviation City, Residential City, a Golf Resort, a Science and Technology Park and Exhibition City.
   
   The Commercial City, the financial and business heart of the project, will house up to 850 towers ranging from 50 to 300 metres in height.
   
   
   
2. A case of development choking lifestyle
   
   12/11/2005 11:34 PM | By Ashfaq Ahmed and Kevin Dean, Staff Reporters
   Dubai: Lack of basic amenities and overcrowded roads in the new developing areas of Dubai has marred the city's fast development.
   
   The signs are all over town, advertising the next ambitious real estate project that will either place Dubai at the centre of the universe or at the top of every record book.
   
   But thanks to poor planning, analysts said, everyone is going to feel the painful effects of such flamboyant and rapid urban development if immediate steps are not taken to cater to basic needs of people.
   
   Grid-locked roads have been an ongoing talking point for more than two years now. But as the construction projects of recent years have come online, other more worrying aspects of this boom have surfaced, underlining the lack of proper town planning.
   
   There are hardly any facilities such as hospitals, schools, markets and banks in the new developing areas, while the Civil Defence and police stations are far away in the central city.
   
   For residents in communities like the Springs, Meadows and Gardens, tackling those challenges means providing adequate amenities within close range of every front door.
   
   "Residents opting to reside in new areas have to take extra trips up and down the main city to meet even their daily needs, what to speak of emergency services," said Noushad Karim, who recently moved to the Greens, a residential area in 'New Dubai'.
   
   Residents in such communities have criticised the respective developers lately, saying that they are forced to drive into the city's gridlocked centre to satisfy their basic needs.
   
   "You can't build 6,000 houses and not think of emergency services," said Maryam Medina, a Springs resident.
   
   "The lack of planning is an issue when it takes 45 minutes to reach the nearest hospital. It is just unacceptable."
   
   "The pace of development requires a very serious look at the impact on our quality of life," said Dr Amer Moustafa, Director of the Town Planning Centre at the American University of Sharjah, a post-graduate curriculum that specialises in urban planning and analysis.
   
   Dubai's population recorded at 1.1 million according to the last census is expected to reach four million by 2017, according to statistics.
   
   The number of registered cars in Dubai has crossed the 700,000 mark, and this year 45,000 more vehicles are set to hit the roads.
   
   "A city should be people-friendly, livable and affordable, easy to move through and within. So I hope that these [new real estate] projects are part of an overall scheme," Moustafa said.
   
   Practically all of the existing and slated developments lie between Emirates Road and the coastline, with little expansion beyond.
   
   "To what extent are these new developments factored in with the transportation plan for all of Shaikh Zayed Road?" Moustafa said.
   
   "And to what extent is the Dubai Municipality coordinating these developments? The fact that these questions are even raised shows that the situation is critical enough."
   
   According to Abdul Rahman Kalantar, general manager of planning, infrastructure, and utilities for all of Nakheel's projects, the major project developers and Dubai Municipality authorities hold monthly meetings with the Infrastructure and Services Committee.
   
   The group tries to coordinate the latest developments and progress of each company with police, health, and defence officials, while making sure that everything is in line with a "master plan" to carry Dubai into the future, he said.
   
   In a similar report, some major residential and commercial projects along the coast are expected to house more than one million people.
   
   According to a Municipality study, the Dubailand project is expected to accommodate about 350,000 people
   
   New cities such as Jebel Ali Airport City is expected to have a population of more than 700,000 people, and Jumeirah Beach Residence is expected to house up to 40,000 people.
   
   
3. Dubai Property Tours launch
   
   Author: Property World Middle East Thursday, June 09, 2005
   
   UAE-based property consultancy Morley Consultancy Services announced the launch of Dubai Property Tours, an independent service to help prospective buyers make informed choices as they embark on their property search in Dubai.
   
   “We want to offer buyers a comprehensive view of the Dubai property market and empower them with the information they need to be able to purchase a property confidently and efficiently, whether they are buying it as a home or for investment purposes,” said Helen Morley, of MCS.
   
   Dubai Property Tours may be on to something. Since freehold property was made available to expatriates three years ago, there has been a rush of new developments in Dubai, from apartments and townhouses to luxury villas.
   
   However, real estate agents are only interested in selling what they have instructions to sell, and developers encourage the buying of their own properties. As a result, both visitors and existing UAE residents can easily get confused, and find it difficult to get objective information. “The Dubai property market can be a maze to newcomers or visitors who are bewildered by the endless choice of properties, across an increasing number of new neighbourhoods and in various stages of development,” said Helen Morley. “With new developments popping up phenomenally quickly, it can also be baffling to long-time residents”, she adds.
   
   Because MCS is not an estate agent, Dubai Property Tours offers a unique opportunity to see all that Dubai has to offer, and obtain comprehensive information on the medium term strategic plans for the city, without any pressure to buy. Clients are taken in a private vehicle on a ‘tour’ spanning several hours and covering up to 190 kms of some of the emirate’s numerous developments, accompanied by a Dubai Property Tours consultant. However, unlike more leisurely tours, this one covers the freehold developments of interest to prospective buyers and is filled with information on property types, neighbourhoods, infrastructure and the purchase process.
   
   “Our aim is to help potential buyers get a comprehensive overview of Dubai and its property market, “ adds Mike Morley, owner of MCS. “The city has a great deal to offer a wide variety of people, and Dubai Property Tours will give buyers a valuable starting point whether they’re looking for a home, holiday flat, retirement villa or investment property.”
   
   Morley has lived in Dubai for the past twelve years: easily long enough to see the emirate’s dramatic transformation into a world-class metropolis. He established MCS in 1995 with his wife Helen and has assisted hundreds of expatriates purchase property successfully in Europe. This in-depth knowledge of the European market coupled with a longstanding presence in the UAE enables the Morleys to provide information on what to look for and what pitfalls may exist based on first-hand knowledge of international standards.
   
   “We have watched Dubai’s emerging property market with huge interest over the past or three years. Property prices are still very attractive but there is a lot of hype being bandied about and a lot of anecdote. Dubai Property Tours is being launched to give potential buyers and investors a simple way to consider the comparables before committing to a specific project,” added Mike Morley
   
   The Dubai Property Tours package includes indicative information about each development, location, amenities, indicative pricing and rent levels, the purchase process and legal systems. Consultants will also provide a market overview, including facts and figures and information about future plans for the city.
   
   Summing up the new service, Helen Morley said: “The key to buying in any new market is to do your homework – this is the ideal first step.”
   
   For more information, please contact:
   
   Lamia S. Jaroudi/ Ali Koaik
   Strategic Marketing Communications Director
   tmh
   PO Box 33457
   Dubai Media City
   4th Floor, CNN Building
   Dubai, United Arab Emirates
   [t] 00971 4 391 8085
   [f] 00971 4 391 8086
   [e] lamia@tmhinternational.com
   [w] www.tmhinternational.com
   
   Return to MAG 218 Community homepage.
   

Links Repository (MAG 218)

Text of off-site links pasted here for retrieval when 3rd party pages go offline.

1. MAG Property Development Department launch their latest project, MAG 218 Tower in Dubai Marina
   
   Wednesday March 16, 2005
   
   source: ameinfobuilding: info
   
   Mohammed Nimer, Director, MAG Group PDD said "MAG 218 can be best described as functional in all aspects. Its buzzing location, which is walking distance from neighboring Internet and Media cities and major upcoming shopping centers in the area. In addition, it is just minutes away from the most serene waterfront in the area, the Dubai Marina. Functionality includes its design and finishing material as well, where MAG 218 is composed of 66 floors, 55 of which are 1 & 2 bedroom-apartments, while other 11 floors include parking, technical floors and one community floor.No doubt that perfection in performance requires the right partners who are experts in their relevant fields. That's why we've chosen Dar-Al-Handasah as our consultant, Asteco as our sales & marketing agent, Amlak as our financier.
   A 66-storey residential Tower, 55 of which are comprised of 1 and 2-bedroom apartments, houses 7 floors for parking, 3 technical floors and a Community Area and Health Club Floor. There is a swimming pool and Jacuzzi on the Podium Roof.
   
   The Tower is conveniently located minutes away from the most serene waterfront in the area - the Dubai Marina. It is also within a short distance of the most attractive shopping facilities, and other amenities such as Internet and Media Cities.
   
   All the flats are spaciously designed with first-class finishings and fully equipped European standard kitchens.
   
   The event was attended by high-profile businessmen specialized in the real estate business.
   
   The Consultants for this project are Dar Al Handasah and the Sales & Marketing agent is Asteco. Payment facilities to buyers are offered by Amlak.
   
   MAG 218 is the second of 12 projects in progress by MAG PDD who has developed a structured formula that combines design distinction with real estate basic principles based on quality and commitment in execution.
   
   Return to MAG 218 Community homepage.
   

Links Repository (Dubai Marina)

Text of off-site links pasted here for retrieval when 3rd party pages go offline.

1. Charting Dubai's Future Density and Mixed-Use Characterize a New Model of Development in the UAE
   
   29 August 2004
   
   Dubai is a remarkable place. It's a vibrant new city where elegant young expats from all over the world are striving to make their first "tax-free" million. It truly feels like a place where anything can happen. In many ways it is the "city of the moment," reflecting both the best of modern technological advances and the worst of rampant consumerism.
   
   Over the past decade, Dubai has emerged as the regional commercial, entertainment and resort hub. Forty years ago, the city was a small port on the Arabian Gulf. It had the advantage of a natural harbour formed by a natural estuary and the even greater benefit of a native people who over centuries developed an affinity and talent for trade.
   
   The form and the growth of the city have followed a variation of the Los Angeles model. New centres of development leapfrog across the desert outside of the older cores of Diera and Bur Dubai, linked by freeways and ring roads. This leaves large open spaces in between to be filled in with a lower-intensity, car-dependent form of urban sprawl. There is no real urban history in Dubai, so the developers in the city have invented a variety of urban conditions.
   
   Dubai Marina, a mixed-use development on approximately 578 hectares, is planned as one of the major new centres within the city. Designed with the intent to create a new focus for high-density development, it was conceived as a "city within the city" that would help shift the perceived centre of Dubai further west along the shore of the Gulf.
   
   As work began on the master plan, the true design challenge came from the lack of context within which to build. As a place with few historical references and no traditional commercial real estate market, on a site simply bounded by a freeway on one side and a beachfront on the other, HOK and Emaar Properties had an open opportunity to define the characteristics of the kind of community we wanted to create. In the most generic sense, as planners, we needed to define the essence of what makes a great urban place and translate it into the physical context at hand.
   
   Creating a sense of place
   The Dubai Marina project was blessed with a developer who had a strong initial vision for the overall development. This "big idea" about the form, shape and function of a new urban area, is one of the essential factors for successful urban design. The vision for Dubai Marina brings the waters of the Gulf into the site, creating a new waterfront community. It will be a dense, urban place with a residential focus capable of accommodating a large international population.
   
   Focus on the quality of the public realm
   Another key factor in the design of Dubai Marina was a large central waterway, excavated from the desert, running the length of the 3-kilometre site. To protect this resource as well as to create a place for recreation, the design established a continuous minimum 15-metre-wide strip of land around its perimeter. This is a remarkable and generous achievement in a private development project. More than 12% of the total land area on the site has been given over to this central public space. Although much of this area is occupied by the marina water surface, it also includes almost eight kilometres of landscaped public walkways creating a recreational zone along the waterfront with views into the various water basins and a relationship to the water. In a fairly dense urban setting, where fresh water is scarce and rain is insufficient to support open landscapes, the value of the marina is in the finished visual open space it provides in the center of the development. Like Central Park in New York, or the Grand Canal in Venice, the marina public space opens up the development to light and long views.
   
   In addition to the marina waterway and promenade, the other important components of the public realm are the streets, avenues and parks that create the framework for the development. All of the neighbourhood streets are designed with generous, landscaped pedestrian walkways leading to the parks and the marina. Residential building entrances are oriented to these neighbourhood streets to encourage active pedestrian circulation and to create functional and visual linkages between buildings and the marina even if the particular building does not front directly on the waterway.
   
   From an urban design perspective, the important factor is that the public realm is conceived and designed as a network of linked open spaces, and the private development parcels and guidelines controlling private development are all shaped to address and enhance the adjacent public realm.
   
   Design of the pedestrian environment
   The convenience of being able to walk to perform daily errands, to meet friends and to access community resources is one of the real pleasures of urban life. The activity and social interchange that this kind of access provides is also one of the qualities that make cities interesting places to live.
   
   Dubai Marina is designed so that residents can arrive home, park their car and walk to take advantage of all the resources in the community. Retail shops and community services will be built into grade-level building podiums in neighbourhood centres. Larger shopping facilities with restaurants and cafes are planned at key locations along the promenade around the perimeter of the marina and along major boulevards. All residential development is within a five-minute walk of the marina promenade.
   
   Mix of uses
   Linked to the objective of creating a pedestrian-friendly urban community is the need to provide a mix of grade-related, street-front land uses that meet the needs of neighbourhood residents and that are convenient and accessible. Retail and community service uses need to be concentrated into well-defined centers of activity, and these centers need to be conveniently distributed throughout the community.
   
   The development frontage along the marina promenade is planned to provide a real mix of conditions to create interest and variety along 8 kilometers. Some lengthy segments of the promenade will be quite passive in character, providing a landscaped walkway in front of low-rise residential development lining the waterfront. The promenade also links the series of pocket parks at the end of cul-de-sac streets that may have cafes or convenience shops in adjacent residential buildings. In other waterfront developments, similar to the Phase 1 project, much more active commercial centers are planned that will generate and encourage pedestrian traffic and activity along the promenade.
   
   Variety and future flexibility
   One of the problems with large-scale master planning is the tendency to become too prescriptive in creating urban design guidelines that apply to the entire planning area. The result is a homogeneity that can be repetitive and tiresome. The neighbourhoods created in Dubai Marina are designed to allow for creation of a distinct identity and character responding to their own unique location within the overall community.
   
   Dubai Marina has the advantage that it will be built out over a long period of time. This in itself creates variety. Over time, market conditions will change, as will community needs and priorities. The master plan creates a framework that can respond to change and allows for additional phases of detailed planning and urban design as new segments of land are opened up for development.
   
   The fine grain of land subdivision will also be an issue addressed in subsequent planning stages, and may be one of the key factors in generating diversity and variety in the identity of different neighbourhoods. The developable land immediately adjacent to the marina is currently parceled in very large plots. These can either be developed as large multiple structure developments, as represented by the Phase 1 development, or they could be subdivided into smaller development plots. There is also the potential of opening new neighbourhood roads through some of these large plots to create smaller development parcels with internal road frontage.
   
   A new benchmark for development
   In the five years since the master planning process began, the marina (the major formative element of the development) has been excavated and opened to the sea. The Phase 1 development is complete and in many respects has set a new standard for development in Dubai. It was the first residential development in Dubai offering condominium ownership to expatriates, and the rapid sale of its approximately 1,100 units has created a new real estate market in the Emirate. The sale of land by Emaar Properties and development of plots by other developers around the shore of the Marina is proceeding rapidly, with more than 40 major building projects either in design or under construction.
   
   In addition to launching a new source of development revenue, Dubai Marina promotes a sense of community that celebrates the region's natural and cultural resources and distinguishes it among building projects. As Dubai continues to prosper, the project's compelling public spaces and thoughtful urban design provide both a context and a catalyst to chart the course of the city's exciting future.
   
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2. Marconi to Deliver Communications of the Future for World's First Intelligent City at Dubai Marina
   
   30 October 2000
   
   Marconi has been chosen to create and supply the communications of the future for the world's first truly intelligent city: an entirely new business, government centre and residential community of 80,000 to 100,000 people called Dubai Marina, being built at a cost of more than US$4 billion in the United Arab Emirate of Dubai.
   
   UAE-based developer EMAAR has appointed Marconi as technology partner in a deal expected to be worth more than US$550 million to the company over the next ten years. Its brief is to design, build and operate a totally new communications network for Dubai Marina, Emirates Hills and Emirates Lakes, using the most advanced technologies and applications available – including regular upgrades so that it remains at the cutting edge of global communications.
   
   Neil Sutcliffe, CEO of Marconi's Services Division, said: "EMAAR chose Marconi because we were the only company able to present a forward-looking vision of communications to help realise its dreams for the city of the future - and back it up with the resources to deliver a fully working, fully integrated system."
   
   "Dubai Marina is the most exciting development project in the world: the opportunity to create the first truly intelligent city. It will be a living demonstration of all that is best in every aspect of communications for business, government and the home."
   
   "Our role in building an entirely new city will enable us to show the full potential of convergence in communications technology for the first time on such a large scale and show how Marconi is transforming the world we live in. The facilities we provide for the people who live and work in Dubai Marina will be a template for developments across the world."
   
   Dubai Marina is being built minutes away from Dubai City and will comprise a three kilometre beach, 100 low, medium and high rise office and apartment towers, landscaped parks, schools, shopping centres, luxury hotels, medical facilities and a full range of recreation and entertainment facilities, together with 4000 new upmarket homes in Emirates Hills and Emirates Lakes. The first buildings will be completed in January 2001, with the first phase of tower blocks completed in early 2002. The Dubai government plans to move to new offices, which will be built next to the development.
   
   The first phase of Marconi's involvement is to create a fully working simulation of the communications facilities which will be available - including everything from video conferencing to smart household appliances. They will be demonstrated to businesses and residents interested in moving to the city in a sales pavilion, opening in October, that will contain three replicated apartments.
   
   The communications infrastructure will integrate every aspect of living and working in Dubai Marina: business, home, government administration, education, health, entertainment and leisure.
   
   Every part of the city will be connected to a high-bandwidth network that will provide access to local services via a specially-created intranet, together with high-speed connection to global services via the internet and international telephone networks.
   
   All residents will have access to video-on-demand, video telephony, video camera security and access control. They will also be able to use the network to control their living environments and appliances - for example, turning on cookers or air conditioning equipment from their offices before they set off for home.
   
   Students will be able to access educational resources whether they are at home, school or college. Everybody will have access to regular and emergency healthcare resources, from anywhere in the city.
   
   Businesses will enjoy real-time video telephony and conferencing, and fast access to commercial and government databases online.
   
   "Dubai Marina will be the world's first fully online city, with every worker and resident able to use e-business, e-healthcare, e-leisure, e-education, e-entertainment and e-government facilities at the click of a mouse or touch of a screen," Mr Sutcliffe said.
   
   "Until now, it has been difficult for most communities to turn the concept into reality, because of the limitations of heritage technologies such as low bandwidth networks and ageing access equipment. The idea of a large online community has remained a dream."
   
   "At Dubai Marina we have the unique opportunity to create a communications environment which is totally state-of-the-art and all-embracing."
   
   "Just as exciting is the prospect of implementing new technologies and applications as soon as they become available in the future. Communications for the people in Dubai Marina will not be frozen in time - they will continue to evolve at the very leading edge of what is possible."
   
   Marconi plc is a global communications and IT company with around 49,000 employees world-wide and sales in over 100 countries. It supplies advanced communications solutions and the key technologies and services for the internet. Marconi plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange and NASDAQ under the symbol MONI.
   
   Notes to Editors:
   
   EMAAR is one of the largest property development companies in the UAE. It is 33% owned by the Government of Dubai and 67% owned by investors, via a listing on the Dubai Financial Market.
   
   Known as the Venice of the Gulf, Dubai is the chief port and commercial centre of the United Arab Emirates. It has a population of nearly 700,000.
   
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Why the MAG 218?

BD (Website Manager)

See also What's in a Name?

There is an amazing choice of new real estate, not only in the Marina but all over Dubai. Of course, price is a factor but at whatever price (above, say Dh 500,000) there is still a wide range of properties to chose from. A more problematic issue is how to find all the listings as there isn't any central clearing house.

I began my search with the main developers--Emaar, Nakheel, Damac and Dubai Properties. I thought I might be offered a large selection of available properties and sites to choose from. Unfortunately, it seems that isn't how it works. Each developer had but one or two properties on offer at any given site. I was shown, for example, the Falcon Tower by Nakheel at Jumeirah Lake Towers. The building was attractive and JLT seemed like a well-contained, well-designed modern community. My interest was piqued.

When I had initially walked into the Nakheel office I wasn't sure what I wanted or at which development, although I was interested in a one-bedroom unit that would more or less fit my budget. When I left a short time later all that was really presented to me was the Jumeirah Lake Towers project. The same thing happened at Emaar and the other developers' offices. With the vast multitude of buildings coming up and under plan why was I being shown so little by the developers?

I have yet to come upon an answer to this question. After my visit to Nakheel, however, I began checking the property ads in magazines and newspaper, where at last I found a wider listing. The trouble with this, however, was that there was not enough detail in the listings to determine what was suitable. It seemed that I'd either have to call dozens of agents or make the rounds to offices all over Dubai.

My earlier visit to Nakheel had prejudiced me toward the Jumeirah Lake Towers. If not Nakheel's Falcon Tower I was sure that it needed to be another JLT tower. Asteco had several listings in the property ads which matched my budget range, so they were among the first I called.


Nakheel's Falcon Tower at Jumeirah Lake Towers

As it turned out I was persuaded on the advantages of a Marina lifestyle as oppossed to living at Jumierah Lake Towers. It was modern and swanky. On my own I came to appreciate what appeared to be the "functionality" of the MAG 218, combined with the convenience and potentially resort-like atmosphere of the Marina. Among other things a proposed rail transit line would also run through it. Comparing two apartments I had selected, I reluctantly decided to trade tranquil views of the Jumeirah Islands for views of dazzling high-rises running the length of the Dubai Marina waterway. With thoughts such as these my choice was made.

I still was not shown or offered any real range of projects to choose from by Asteco or by any of the other agents I phoned. Perhaps there are some out there who do so but before I could get around to checking I had already made up my mind.

More on the question of finding the right property.

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Security Concerns

This is an open forum to which not only owners and residents but anyone will have access. It might include those who are considering purchasing or renting units as well as those who may have a general interest in the MAG 218 development. It may also be accessible to anyone who executes a MAG 218 search in Google or other search engines. Therefore, it might be prudent for contributers to maintain some degree of anonymity by (at their discretion) not revealing their own or others' real names, flat numbers or other personal details which could adversely affect issues of privacy.

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About This Website

The aim of this site is to create a forum where owners and residents (future residents at this stage) can share thoughts and information regarding the MAG 218 development. The idea is to create a "community" albeit in digital form, which might eventually represent the real community of residents who will inhabit the complex. A further objective is to establish a link between owners and residents and the developer and its partners, whereby questions, requests or concerns and replies to these may be posted.

Owners and residents are encourged to participate in this forum by posting comments directly to the site or by contacting the Website Manager. Each entry is followed by a Post a Comment link, allowing anyone to easily type in a message which when posted will appear on the page like the sample below.

The Website Manager may be contacted direclty by clicking the Contact Me link in the sidebar, which opens an email compose form--provided the browser is configured to do so. Otherwise the following email address (upandhi@gmail.com) may be used to manually compose a letter.

Addendum (A Word About the Website Design)

Anyone familiar with Blogger.com will recognize the popular template, which amusingly found its origin in a shower curtain.

TicTac (and it’s blue variation) was inspired by the pattern on my shower curtain, which coicidentally fit in nicely with Blogger’s new “rounded” look. The designs make up 2 of the 26 templates created by an all-star cast of web designers (Todd Dominey, Dan Rubin, Dave Shea and Jeffrey Zeldman), assembled and directed by Douglas Bowman of Stopdesign.Simplebits.com

Beyond that a lot of fiddling has gone into the HTML to modify not only the look of the site but its functionality as well. It is a totally amateur product with hopefully a professional look. The MAG 218 Community site is the first of over a dozen complimentary sites which include the following:

• M218 Blog
  
• MAG 218 Community
  
• MAG 218 Documents
  
• MAG 218 Gallery
  
• MAG 218 Links (External)
  
• MAG 218 News
  
• MAG 218 Notice Board
  
• MAG 218 Photos
  
• MAG 218 Tower
  
• MAG 218 Tower Sales
  
• DM Blog (Dubai Marina)
  
• Dubai Marina & MAG 218 Topics
  
• Dubai Marina & MAG 218 Topics Index
  
• Dubai Marina Communities
  
• Dubai Marina Info
  
• Dubai Marina Links (External)
  
• Dubai Marina Maps
  
• Dubai Marina News
  
• Dubai Marina Photos

See also About the Community.

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