Hi there,

I own an apartment and been following this forum closely. Thank you Amnesia for sharing your pictures with us.

The quality of finishing looks way below the standards that I was expecting. I'm disappointed :( . Have had my flat for sale for some time now, with no luck in finding a buyer.

I'm not currently based in Qatar...what is the general feeling there with regards to the development? do you think once finished it could be easily rented out or sold?

Any ideas of how long could it take for the mall to open?

Thank you again for your informative posts.

@rbj, sorry I didn't understand the question?

I personally think that it'll be easy to rent them out, reselling at the moment is tricky anywhere because of market sentiment.

You'd get around 3,000 pounds per month with today's exchange rate.

People in Qatar are now just being a bit cautious, but for now developments are moving on. I expect that once people start moving into their investments, things will start to speed up again because properties will be on their minds again.

These finishings definitely leave to be desired but that was expected. You can see the place is not completed and no furniture/decoration makes it kinda dull (apart from the great views). Let's see what the final product looks like... these flaw pics reminded me of the Ezdan ones, that were posted here more than a year ago.. however I trust it wont be hard to do better then Ezdan : )

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http://www.iloveqatar.net/images/logo.png

@rbj, sorry I didn't understand the question?

I personally think that it'll be easy to rent them out, reselling at the moment is tricky anywhere because of market sentiment.

You'd get around 3,000 pounds per month with today's exchange rate.

People in Qatar are now just being a bit cautious, but for now developments are moving on. I expect that once people start moving into their investments, things will start to speed up again because properties will be on their minds again.

No I dont want to sell. My impression is that you werent over the moon with everything ,not excited. There is still a couple of months until it will be fully open. Do you think it has the potential to be a vibrant community around the piazza , shopping mall when it is all done or just another couple of towers nothing special that could be on any estate anywhere in the world. I wanted to feel excited about the flats being slowly released but I am not getting that impression from you, I think you were slightly disappointed.

point is for me, I'm going to be redoing everything myself and spending another 100k probably. I want to join the lights, switches, whole kitchen etc...

Also I should mention that the hall ways are HUUUUGE, un-necessarily huge! They could have made the apartments bigger!

@avid, no you cannot talk about the pearl as a whole, They are many different projects and developers and you're talking as if it's just one.

I've purchased in three locations on the pearl and I've seen one so far and it's immaculate.

As for the gym it's complete. Actually looks quite nice. I guess that's a plus.

I doubt it's going to be 10k. 16k is the estimated avg figure. Especially when you've got flats in westbay averaging at 18-24k.

We'll see though.

@rbj, no I'm not really excited with what I've seen so far. However it's just a pre-inspection so I'll pass judgement once they say they're done.

I took these photos to show the sort of stuff that was done. However I know that it's not complete and in fact I'm sure it'll be better than what my photos show.

I'll take photos after they say it's done AND once I kitt it out to show the potential :)

I think it'll have some nice restaurants, cafes, etc.. especially since 51east has taken over, so need to fret on the commercial side.

I expected more because I've bought apartments around the world and around Qatar.

I've also built villas here in the Lagoon. My standards are high or perhaps it was that they raised my expectations with such a modern design. Ah well. We'll see. No point in me saying anything just yet.

thanks..... I think you have a 2 bed. How big was it inside or quite small. I have a 1 bed in the other tower. The rents you are talking about are they for a 1 or 2 bed flat. I will pop over in a month or so when the water is on and the electricity. Perhaps we could all meet up in a hotel bar for a beer as we all have a common interest. If people want to turn up great..... if not I will quite happily sit there reading the paper. Thanks for all the info about the place without the internet I personally would know absolutely nothing. I have slagged of DAR enough so I wont bother again needless to say that they havent even told me it has gone past ground level without me emailing them a dozen times. So thanks for all your input and comments

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@rbj, I felt it's quite small but that's because I'm used to living in a villa.

However note that they include the shared spaces (like hallway) in the size. So my 145sqpm is actually closer to 120.

The rents I was talking about was for a high two bed.

It'll be my pleasure to meet up with you. At least we'll be able to sulk at the fact that we expected so much more lol.

@avid, yes but your'e talking about Al Sadd. If you go to Gharaffa you can get a 4bedroom in a compound for 8k.

I'm talking about the area itself in comparison to the apartments near by. It also depends on how the final result is though.

Your'e right though about the fittings. I mean, they couldn't even give us ovens and cookers?! I mean, how much profit is 'enough'. It's pure greed when they can't even spend 20k of the 1 million we gave them for a fridge etc lol!

You're right, there will not be as much demand as they're hoping. In fact, I think it's fantastic. It'll fix the economy, encourage competition, encourage the government to let more people in (hopefully means more women rather than them all being treated as 'possible prostitutes' lol).

I'm pro change avid, I like to think that I'm realistic too. By the time that the apartments are done, I don't know exactly what's going to happen. In the current state that it's in, I imagine that if someone tries to rent it UNFURNISHED they'd get very low.

Furnished I'm saying around 16k compared to the 22k at something like Fardan Tower or the 25k at Beverly Hills Tower.

I feel sorry for Dubai, where they've got 5 times the construction going on and nobody to live in it!

At the end of the day, it's the government which needs to step in.

Make Qatar look sexier.
Make people feel at home.
Let people have fun.
Stop making stupid laws.
Create SMART laws like penalizing construction companies.

Etc.....

sounds like i'd be lucky if i manage to let my unfurnished one bed as soon as it comes out for 10000.

pls send me a PM if you know any potential tenant

http://www.iloveqatar.net/images/logo.png

I always come across as negative when I post, it used to be so different. I was looking through my posts from another site, where I extolled the virtues of Qatar and what a great investment I thought it was, certainly all signs pointed to it being a sound investment. And of course I brought into it, and purchased in the Zig Zag.

And then I did some research, probably not the right way of doing things, I found this site and more importantly I found the massive section on Dubai.

Now Dubai and Qatar are completely different markets and I do not claim to make the comparison between the two markets. There are though many similarities with regards to the towers.

Reading the Dubai threads there are two things that continually come up, Delays and finish.

And it's those two things more,even than the financial crisis that promoted me to sell, we all know this project is delayed, but were we ever informed ? Nope.

Same story in Dubai, and then there was the finish, horror stories abounded in Dubai, poor finish, low quality materials, cheap sanitary ware and kitchens.

I worried, but I was assured by DAR that things on this development would be different, the project seemed on track and I believed DAR that the first freehold properties in Qatar would be finished to the very highest standard to set an example to the World that Qatar was a safe,sound and value for money place to invest in.

And then the first pictures came through, you can see them on this thread about 10 pages ago, and then I visited.

What a shattering blow, what a betrayal of trust, what an insult to Qatar.

And even now you are still waiting to move in, did DAR ever let you know of a delay ? Were you ever kept informed ?

I hope you all paid cash for the flats, those of you with mortgages (like me) would have found the delays a crushing blow to their finances, the mortgage was stretching me, it meant no holidays for a year. I missed a dear friends wedding because I couldn't afford the tickets.

Now even if I could rent the apartment I would not have been able to cover the mortgage costs, and I still would have had to have paid for furnishings and all the kitchen appliances.

So I sold, I can't say I saw the financial crisis being quite as bad as it is now, although now we are in the crisis it's fairly clear we have a long way to go to before we reach the bottom. I sold because I was worried about delays, oversupply and the nail in the coffin so to speak was the finished product. I thought it was an insult bearing in mind these places were far from cheap.

I posted above some links for flats in CENTRAL London, my point was not so much what else you can get for the money in a World Class City, more the FINISH that is required in a World Class City. If you tried to supply this sort of finish for that price in London it's likely you would be sued for a considerable amount of money. OR.

You simply would not have gone ahead with the purchase. something we forget here. In the UK you place a 5-10% deposit on the property and pay the full amount on COMPLETION. This makes a massive difference.

Developers know that if they don't deliver as they promise they won't get paid. It's better for people to walk away from a bad development that to continue with a poor one. If this happens a developer can be left with a building in which he is either unable to sell, or unable to achieve hoped for sale prices because it becomes apparent that the prices are not worth it.

The Zig Zag is a case in point. Now it's finished people can walk around the flats and get an actual feel for them, they can now imagine themselves living in the space rather than imagining it from a piece of paper. The towers needed to be really special, they needed to make people feel like it was worth paying a premium to live there, the flats needed to ooze sophistication they had to make you feel you were living in a 5* Hotel.

They simply don't. They fail on any basic level to make you feel special at all.

So DAR failed to deliver, and Qatar is poorer for it and sadly some you will be poorer for it too

It's unrealistic in this present day and age for anyone to expect to pay a premium to live in the flats, no one will pay a unless it feels like it's worth it. The location is simply not enough. In fact the location counts against it. In practical terms the nearest shops are in the City Centre, not a great place to pick up the groceries on a Friday or Saturday. The area feels remote, this I agree will change but remember many people coming to Qatar think only short term.

So in conclusion, as Qatar's first freehold investment property the Zig Zag has proved to be a massive disappointment, instead of being a flagship property it will forever stand as a monument to how poorly you can execute an idea and a startling reminder to future investors in Qatar that they should tread very carefully indeed.

I wish all of you the best of luck, and those that are thinking of renting it unfurnished, 10K a month for a 1 bed is not only unrealistic it is approaching fantasy. Sorry.

Thanks.....I feel a lot better now....AAAAAAAGGGGGGGHHHHHHHHHH:ohno:

I am the eternal optimist and if I was moving to Doha I would want to live out of town, in an area next to the pearl , ritz , golf course and grand hyatt. Although I do accept some of your points. 10K appears expensive. We intend to furnish ours to a fairly high standard, not make the rent too expensive ( we would prefer to have a tenant for a long term let rather than shorts ones simply because we dont want to be flying backwards and forwards to qatar from london.)

I thought I might get about 7K a month for a 1 bed, but I will see what the real estate agents say when I come over.Cheers :cheers:

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Well one out of two aint bad,. I bought early so got a good price. Took a mortgage out which has made it a tadge digfficult especially with the exchange rate dropping from 7 to 5 so in effect making it more expensive when I sent sterling over.

7K will cover all my costs , mortgage , flights, etc etc so that will do for me in the short term until the world economy sorts itself out. Will let you know how I get on. If anyone is going to tower b , I would be more than happy for them to look at my place on the 21st floor just to make sure it has doors on and they didnt forget to put the windows in. Could be worth a beer when I come over probably in april.

Mark my words, 10k is NOT unrealistic.

I agree with many of Avid's words but when it comes to rents I simply can't.

If the worst apartment (in terms of finishing since it looks like a war zone) in westbay goes for 12-13.5k how can the Zig Zag go for less than 10k?

Either way, my opinion is that if you want to get proper rent you'll need to spend a little bit more to make it look nicer.

@rbj, If you'll fuly furnish it and deck it out to a high standard. I'LL rent it out for 7k! I'm not joking.

By the way, I'm on the 21st floor tower b too. (2 bedroom though)

@avid, so far you seem very disappointed at the fact of lack of communication and have talked about Dubai and UK.

When Zig Zag was launched it was 20% then 80% on completion.

Dar never took the initiative to give me updates, but they did update me whenever I called.

As for finishing, I can't say anything yet until it's handed over or they say they're done.
Either way though, it annoys me that they've used cheap materials.

Plus I'd wish they asked me if I wanted marble or just leave it blank, I would have loved to put wood flooring.

Either way, my opinion is that if you want to get proper rent you'll need to spend a little bit more to make it look nicer.

Dar never took the initiative to give me updates, but they did update me whenever I called.

These two statements say enough, if you're paying a premium then you shouldn't require to spend more and the poor communication from the developer is surely a lesson learn't. In my experience, people have come to accept that poor service is just part and parcel of living in the Gulf. It doesn't have to be like this though ... does it?!

By the way, I'm on the 21st floor tower b too. (2 bedroom though)

I am 2106 are you my next door neighbour ?????? ( it is flat b6 in the brochure) overlooking the pearl and tower A.

Does anyone know how much is the interest rate in Doha these days?

My contract with Dar gives an August 08 handover, with compensation of QR1,000 per month due from 6 months after that date. Has anyone tried claiming from Dar yet?

7K Furnished to a high standard is realistic. If you made some cosmetic changes to the property and added the WOW factor then certainly I don't see any reason why that price can't be achieved.

7K is totally underpriced compared to the market. A realistic rent would be double that price as of today.

@davy, I agree.

Then again, even when I bought an apartment in Colchester from Barratts I never had any communication from them either (Oh how I loathed them, especially the cheap materials).

@rbj, I'm 2101

@sad for mortgage? 9.2%
For a fixed deposit account with Khaleeji bank 5.5% for anything above 350k

@contrad, I didn't, but I definately will and I say that we ALL ask for the late fee! If they give us any hassle, we start a class action.

Thanks amnesia, Yes I was enquiring about mortgage rates...have asked cbq to send me their revised interest rate but no reply so far....

Great news for me . I got an email today ( nothing in the post) from DAR inviting me to view the apartment on 26 february 2009. All official , on DAR headed note paper starting '' Dear Valued DAR customer.......etc etc ''

Great news I cant wait to finally get in and see what has been happening.

Only DAR could do it invite me in to view the flat in February when its now March.

What incompetance !!!!!!!!!!!! you couldnt make it up

I rcvd a phone call from DAR 10FEB09 asking for a fax number (which I had just emailed them 5 days earlier!), as I was on holiday, I suggested since they had my email address, why could they not email me the letter instead? (didnt think of that!). Anyway, rcvd a letter inviting us to 'inspect' our apartment on 22FEB. I could not visit Doha on this date, so asked if I can reschedule, they replied yes, as long as it is before 12MAR09. I am only able to visit Doha middle or end of MAR, I requested if this could be extended (and also asked why the timeframe). They replied I can inspect anytime!

I would love to say I'm looking forward to viewing the apartment, but my gut feeling tells me it's not going to be pretty!! I sincerely hope I am wrong, but given the run-around I've been given; lets see!! FYI: we purchased high floor sea view in Tower B.

There is much more to the Dar'saster' story and service we experienced - but hey!! be nice just to to get this over and our apartment handed over!! fingers crossed!

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...

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Some helpful timescales from a helpful chap at DAR. Bits of info we werent aware of as well. Hope it helps.


1. Inspection:

DAR management had decided to invite all of our customers to visit the project in order to achieve the following goals:

a. To make sure that the project is completed.

b. To provide us with own comments/snags they might witness, in order to allow us following up with the contractor to work on doing it.

c. Make sure that the only issue is delaying us is having the final power connection by the state authority for electricity.

Hence, I would appreciate your visit to your apartment or if you have a friend to do so along with an authorization letter any Sunday, Tuesday or Thursday till the coming March 12th , 2009 (If applicable for you).



2. Handing Over Date:

M/S KAHRAMA’A still having one more final job of constructing a physical high voltage cable beneath the main road; that already started last week and their estimated job completion would take 45 to 60 working days. Once they complete this job and the power supplied to the towers our consultant along with the project management company and the contractor will start a testing commissioning procedure for all the Mechanical & Electrical Systems in the towers (i.e. cooling system, fire detection system…etc); this procedure would take another 45 to 60 working days. Then we will start the final handing over to our customers that we estimate any time in coming June 2009. Of course DAR Shall apply the sales contract terms in regard of fine in order to compensate the customers for any delay.





3. Renting Services:

DAR in process to start renting services for its own apartments in the Lagoon Plaza Tower and if any customer wish us to manage the renting of own apartment we will be glad to do so. Once we finish our administrative and technical issues for this service; we will be then notifying all of our customers in this regard.

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@rbj, that's so funny! Only Dar could invite you to an event in the past.

I think it's to promote their new time machine.

@avid, thank God they're managing it for only one year. Actually, I'm planning to apply to get voted to manage it in the years after.

So guys if you want some proper maintenance vote for me! I think it's fair to say you know I'm thorough!


Oh at least they brought up the subject of fines.

Remember, we all ask for it so they feel it! If it's june they owe us 12 months, so 750 apartments X (1,000QR x 12) = 9M Qr = 9 apartments

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you're right avid, they think of things when its too late.

They're reactive not proactive.

has anyone driven past recently??? are they still going full steam ahead ??? (thats a normal persons full steam ahead obviously) not a DAR interpretation of the meaning.

been there yesterday. Went to look at my other apartment.

My second apartment wasn't that bad! Besides a few finishings and grouting I was pretty happy! (or my standards have sunk :P)

Looks like things are still moving forward but the Mall didn't look too different to me. They are already working on the landscaping though.

any photos, I am getting withdrawal symptoms. We are going to wait until handover time until we come over, which will probably be in june / july hopefully

photos of my apartment? I only have photos of the issues, like small cracks and grouting lol

^^ LOL couldnt you focus on the positive ? like general views on the living room, bed room etc

you can be a pain occassionally but welcome back qatar son 333 where have you been ???? we have sort of missed your opinions and comments

LOL, nice to meet you again rbj, been banned for awhile (for my occasional pain :P)

Hi there. It seems I have upset some people on this forum in particular a small child with a great love of Qatar, for that I am truly sorry.

Due to the fact that I am sensitive to these matters I have deleted ALL my negatives posts about Qatar hopefully from all the threads, I might have missed a few and sadly where I am quoted, well I can't remove them so if any of you have quoted me I would really appreciate you removing my negativity.

I hope some of you have enjoyed my prose and perhaps some of you have even been moderately enlightened by by views and opinions. After all what is a web forum without a bit of disagreement. Anyway I am sure I will probably be banned for deleting all my chatter so I will bid you farewell.

I have realised that Qatar isn't for me and have left it behind, I enjoyed it while it lasted a fascinating place. Full of contradictions and it's fair share of bullshit.

I wish you the best of luck if you have invested. So whenever you see http://www.iloveqatar.net/images/logo.png you can be assured that I have managed to turn that frown upside down.

Cheers all

oh, this is baaad. I certainly found your opinions to be accurate and valuable, and never insulting or remotely disrespectful. I wish i had followed your advice last year and put my flat for sale before it was too late...

:( it sucks. Already very hard to find thruthful information about our property...

@avid, I hope you're not referring to me....

If you even take a look at the website you'll note that the it is hardly from a love qatar only site. We talk about serious issues, what we hate, and how to make Qatar a better place. I created the website to make Qatar a better place, that's why the company focuses on Environmental Issues, we've pushed for better road safety awareness (where you already see the signs), created a charity to support the labourers who are building Qatar, supporting organizations like Think Pink Breast Cancer Awareness and Anti-Racism etc....

You'll also see that I agree with many of your comments, look at the page before this for example.

email from DAR re car parking space. Any thoughts ......I thought it was expensive given the state of the economy around the world. Anyone know how many spaces were sold. Cheers

Subiect: Purchasing of Parking Space Allotment
Due to the request of some of our clients for purchasing more than one
parking space allotment, and while you haven't purchase a parking space
allotment for your flat at the Lagoon Plazatower (B) till now, we
would like to inform you that you are entitled to purchase a parking space
allotment for the same period of your property allotment during a month from above date, kindly note
that the price for the purchase a parking space allotment is Qrs. 50,000 (fifty
thousandsQ atariR iyals).
Thank you for being one of our valued customers we appreciate your
cooperatingin this matter.
Yours Faithfully,
For Dar Investment & Development

That's basically throwing good money after bad. Wait till the thing is finished and you have someone renting before you even think of spending another penny on this place.

And that price is the same as when I brought in 2007 even at HALF that price it's still a rip off. Who the fuck charges to park your car. The Pearl don't.

BTW there seems to be a BIT of progress with the Mall but apart from that not much seems to have changed. Yet again hardly a person on site the other day. The mall won't be finished at this pace till next Autumn. And I am guessing it won't have many shops either.

^^LoooL! Charging for a parking space is normal in almost eveyrwhere! I pay 1000 DH per year for a parking; and that is in my crappy apartment in UAE. You pay more for premium parking space. Cant believe you haven't heard about paying for parking.

It not the done thing in the U.K. over here it's just another money making scam. Wait for the "your apartment is bigger than planned give us 50,000 Rials please or we cancel" Scam. That's next along with the Qatar cool connection charge scam.

@Avid, parkings are usually included in the price. They shouldn't have said it's 1 mil +50k for parking they should have said 1mil and 50k for the apartment, we'll knock of 50k if you don't want the parking

@hala, I got a parking included in my apartment in the uk

@RBJ, I suggest taking the parking. Nobody will rent without you taking one. People are already asking for 2,3,4 parking spaces and if you don't take yours someone else will and then you'll be stuck.

Good luck all, please let us all know when the apartments are handed over. Anyone rented theirs yet ?

Photos of Lagoona mall

http://iloveqatar.net/forum/read.php?26,7212

Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SjgfKO4Rvd4

thanks amnesia

by the way, the video has been removed :(

I know, someone claimed one of the videos was theirs (which was actually an ILQ created video!) And google shut down the channel for now! I'm trying to get in touch with them but they're taking their time replying.

Anyone rented or had a sniff of interest ?

Not too sure anyone has advertised. Gulf Times classifieds dont have any adverts neither do any of the real estate companies. Problem is advertising a rent on an apartments when you dont have a date they can move in.

I did see one advert back in the Gulf Times I think a few pilots have brought there. They were advertising 3 places. Cheapest was about 18K. I think they were being a little optimistic. This weeks Gulf Times there were adverts for 320 "BRAND NEW F/F APARTMENTS" and a 230 "BRAND NEW F/F VILLAS" The flats were pretty much all maxed out at 12K.

Villas now are 15K but I had someone offer me a load recently for 12K and they were asking for 18K. A real sign of the times.

@avid, surely you've factored in location right ?

Also I had a bit of an update that they're saying May 26 everything will be done.

Hello,

i obviously havent' advertised yet as it's difficult to let an appartment when you don't have an official move in date.

I still think I will put my one bedroom flat for 10,000 and see what happens?.

amnesia, how sure are you about that date? Haven't heard anything about an official hand over date yet, only vague clues such as "around june or july"... which makes it sound like it will go on forever till it sqeezes the last riyal out me :(

anyways...

How is the mall looking lately?

@icp, never said I was sure :P You can't be sure here. A CFO told me that he was told by a head at Kahramaa that water and electricity is almost going in and that the 26th is the move in date.

The malls looking alright actually. The glass is all going up.

Not seen the Mall recently will pass by later this week.

Certainly location is important but as anyone knows traffic on the road into town of a morning is pretty bad. That area would suit people working at Ras Laffan. as it's easy to get out onto that road.

The problem is though the lagoon plaza flats were terribly small, and as I once wrote before lack a "wow" factor that would make them worth the premium.

in its current state, you are right the road from Al Kh

I live in the embassy area by the hungarian embassy and when I leave for work (at 7) there is traffic but once I pass Rainbow roundabout it's smooth sailing (or as smooth as it can get for most roads in Qatar).

It takes me 25-30 minutes from Airport Road to my office (in Westbay) and 15 minutes from Dafna to Westbay if I leave at the same time.

Anyway, what I meant to say was that with the new expansion, (there's a thread on here somewhere) it'll be great. Add onto the fact that the public metro system is quite close to the towers too.

I can't say that the Lagoon plaza flats are terribly small.

My colleague's apparntment in Melbourne is 55Sqm (studio).

My two bedroom apartment in England was 86sqm.

My apartment here is 146sqm (comes to 126 actually since they count the hallway).

The apartments as they are probably wouldn't be worth a premium with the current fixtures however I'm personally budgeting 50-65k to add parque flooring, redoing the bathrooms, and furniture.

Yeah the problem is I used to live in a huge 3 bed flat in Al Sadd and it was only 10K and that was in 2006.

The metro is a red herring seriously how long do you think it will take to even START. There is no way they will even break ground before 2010. Unless you know something I don't. Plus the metro is totally pointless as no one will use it. Qatari's won't use it. People won't put their children on it to goto school. And kids being driven to school in the morning is most of the traffic.

The problem you have is the rents on bigger places is coming down fast, I have written about the type of people coming to Qatar on another part of this forum. The type of person coming here generally have families and they want outdoor space. These apartments are totally unsuitable for families.

I agree spending some money doing the place up is a good idea. Don't you feel cheated though ? You spent a lot of money on the place and you have to decorate it !.

I was totally disgusted at the state of the place. Also don't compare what you have stayed in other countries to here. If I move to central London I expect to stay somewhere small.

People moving to the desert don't and won't.

I'll use the metro for sure. Especially if they have convenient stops.

Especially once the heart of Qatar is done (there aren't that many roads to drive anyway according to the designs). From an investor's point of view. People outside of Qatar don't think "who'll use the metro", they think, 'oh it's conveniently close to the metro'.

I can't really comment much. I understand you have your views bro but in the UK loads of families live in apartments, that's the same in many western countries.

Additionally, there simply aren't enough villas and homes to satisfy everyone and most of the people who come over here are sacraficing what they 'want' anyway to get a better income.

I'm an apartment person and being by the sea and the pearl and that little area is fantastic.

I wish they asked me before putting anythign in and gave me an option. In an apartment I bought in Colchester I had some choices. In my apartment in Spain they didn't and I had to spend money redoing it.

I will compare my other investments to each other. You're saying that in another country I can get a smaller apartment, lower quality, many issues (52 in ONE brand new appartment by Barratts), and it's fine, but over here I need to expect the best of the best? In a developing country? Common man, let's be fair with our opinions now.

With the lagoon, sure I wasn't very happy with the finishing and the fact that I had to spend more to make it look better, but I made around 500,000-700,000 profit in a short time span.

My other investments made nowhere near that much in the same period.

Photos of Lagoona mall

http://iloveqatar.net/forum/read.php?26,7212

I'm sorry guys but, considering the exterior renders and all, the interior of the mall is surprisingly hideous. It's the same old REALLY shiny brown/cream marble crap that's been mall-interior-by-default of every khaleeji mall since 1979. If we (khaleejis) insist that malls are the only solution to creating public, pedestrian spaces then we need to think about this a little bit more and stop spending millions of dollars on tired old tat like this.

And what is up with those awful finishings in the apartments (or offices)? Why would you try to build something that only looks interesting on the outside and fill it with your run of the mill butchered-by-a-muqawil 3rd world interiors with no regards to finishings, details or materials?

I'm sorry if I seem too critical or something bas sij 7aram what they've done to this building.

The metro is not going to even begin before 2012. And won't make a bit of difference to traffic. In fact it will make it worse as the metro will have to pass by busy intersections.

There will never be an underground here. Locals will never use the metro. Wait till Dubai's mono rail starts up and no one uses it except tourists. Then it will be cancelled.

Forget the metro and any sane person knows that EVEN IF they started the metro TODAY it would not be finished for 10 years !

I think I posted before there was 320 "brand new" apartments for rent on 1 page of the gulf times. AND 230 "brand new" Villas for rent immediately. This was on two pages of the paper. That's not a shortage. Doha does have a shortage of affordable accommodation but are you going to rent your place for an affordable rent ?

Did you see this week the survey that said property prices have fallen 40-70% in Qatar and sales are at a standstill. See Arabian business I copied and pasted into the Pearl thread.

who doth request frozen animations taken the day of yester?

@avid, I'm talking from three points of view, the investor, the national and the person who'll be living in the tower.

Trust me, just saying that a metro will be there is enough to convince many that it's a good point. As Warren Buffet says, with a real estate investment, just hold until you can't hold no more.

I seriously don't know how it will make the traffic worse (it will when it's being built in areas probably), it isn't a tram link...

Avid, you know that I like to hear different views, however sometimes you treat opinions as fact.

Doha isn't Dubai. So far I think the world's seen that there are some major differences, but inshallah the country will learn from that city.

My honest opinion is that the Zig Zag has two things going for it. Location (a very important factor) and exterior design.

I didn't see a survey that said properties in Qatar droped 40-70% but I did see an article which said it 'could'.

I'd say that my properties have dropped from it's peak by around 20%. Overall I've made a nice 80-100% on various investments.

That being said, a property is only worth what people are willing to pay. If nobody's buying then guess what that means :P

Arabian business is a great source of info.

You are in a great position being a national, you don't have to worry about all the short term problems, the metro may very well be built in your lifetime, you have the rest of your life to see it happen.

Who knows one day Qatar might actually be able to compete on a regional basis with Dubai you have enough time to see it happen. (EDIT: Dubai is falling so fast that the time frame could be shorter but it's a bit like winning a race because the other guy dropped dead in sight of the finish line)

For investors and non nationals who don't benefit from hand outs, jobs for life and free villas and land we are concerned more on a medium term basis.

You can't rent your apartment now in the basis there will be a metro outside when it's still at an early concept phase, as the person you are renting to probably only has a 3-6 year plan to stay here.

You certainly could SELL to a national on the metro being built there because they are likely to actually see it. Same as you could sell stuff to locals at al khor as they would be able to see it built.

Everyone I know who is an ex-pat has a plan, a time scale to stay here save as much as they can and leave. That's not actually a good way to try and build an economy maybe the people in charge will realise this and make us more welcome and give us more freedom. Until then Qatar will always be built on short termism.

Avid + KWT - Loving your work!

It really does seem to be a culture that has begun to rely solely on expat labour / skills and with this comes the side effect of what avid calls 'short termism' which for me is bang on the money.

Qatar needs to get a proper, very thought through vision and gets everyone behind it as opposed to keeping everything a secret and then changing direction frequently. The only constant is the continuing mixed messages which do no good for the long term ambitions alas.

With such resources and such a small populous surely this isn't a step too far and a perfect foundation for the future. It would appear that the many of the leaders are so dedicated to taking advantage of personal pursuits and not the greater good.

I hope they can pull the ship around ...

^^ kUsug2vNVj8



Certainly no jerks like aviduser from whatever craphole he comes from to be telling us about our country.
P.S. Yes, that will certianly be his last post here or anywhere in SSC.

Aviduser,

I have been trying to sell my shiny new flat in laggon plaza for quite some time now with no luck...would you buy my property?

On a serious note...the reason I log on to this forum is to keep up to date with my investment, and there are two users that are really helpful at providing info: aviduser and amnesia...Please bring him back, he still needs to get back to me re: lagoona mall.

amnesia, any news regarding hand over dates?

Qataruser, you are AVIDUSER! STOP REJOINING SSC! LETS GET BACK TO TOPIC; NO MORE AVIDUSER CRAP ANYMORE! RULES ARE RULES AND IF ANYTHING IS OFFTOPIC IT WILL BE DELETED!

can someone give me a list of this mall shops ????

@avid, I NEVER received ANY Handout, where's my free villa? They give us an interest free loan up to 1.2m and it's only up to 600k with the second 600k in certain situations. Then the land they give you could be in a remote location and add on top of that a villa costs much more than 600k and you see that we're not given free money as many people think!

I'm surprised that you even think so! I seriously didn't expect you to be the type of person that believed in that rubbish.....

Also I was not saying the metro was going to be a renting point now, I was saying it's a selling point.

I have MANY expat friends and yes they all have a time frame for being here. Most say 2-3 years and end up being here for 10!

Believe it or not, the average investor isn't a person who just so happens to be in Qatar and decides they want a place. There are MANY reasons.

For my colleague, rent for a nice apartment and convenient location to work was 16-20k p/m

He bought his apartment and is paying 11k now. Plus he has the chance to get his money back when he finally leaves.

For me, I'm planning on renting to pay off the mortgage until I get a nice price I like then sell.

@davy, with a country of only 200,000 nationals, what do you expect? We do need an expat work-force and Qataris are also becoming much more educated. In my work-place 3 years ago many Qatari's were FIRED just because they weren't capable. It was an eye-opener to many.

When I see some individuals arguments, it seems to me that there is a focus on just attempting to assess the situation from one point of view.

There are many forms of investors.

Short term flippers
Those who want to survive on the left overs after rent
Those who want to live
Those who want to hold and sell

Then there are many reasons to enter into the investment
Faith in the system and progress
Location
Facilities
Future Plans
Comparison to home country
Stablity
RISK


Looking at rents in the Westbay area I don't care what anyone says, it's not going to go below 10k for a 2 bedroom. I am adamant!

If you want to call me a Qatari just being nationalistic, then you're probably just pulling at strings just to find a negative point of view and you're not going to listen to logical opinions. I've purchased properties in different markets and as an investor I'm not loyal to any investment which isn't going to give me a return.

yes I've felt there's a change in Qatar. Yes I'm having issues selling some of my offices because of the lack of interest. YES I believe things will get better. Those who purchased, got greedy and wanted a quick flip will suffer, and to be honest, those are the uneducated investors which lose out.

37 new photos here.

http://iloveqatar.net/forum/read.php?26,936

Feel free to copy them here, I was just feeling lazy. Took hallway, two apartments, the view, the front and the exterior including a portion of the mall and the water feature.

Those photos dont look too bad, is the finishing better than you expected. Thanks for posting them

flickr:

http://i44.tinypic.com/zy6fqx.jpg

http://i40.tinypic.com/xkyo8m.jpg

If you scroll up and down, you can actually see them dance! lol

These towers need to wash up, they look very dirty.

hahhhhahaa.....this is hilarious...good observation

any news on a confirmed handover date from anyone please I think Dar's email has gone down ( since 2006) as they dont bother to answer

yup, i'm also anxious about hand over .... I hear there'll be an inaguration party end of this month ? (to which of course I, the poor owner of an apartment ,haven't been invited). Other than that, we were told that hand over will take place in june, although no official date just yet.

amnesia?

You guys should be ashamed of yourselfs. and you can delete my post too. i'm out of here.

??????

wot ?

??????

I have put a number of posts on here which have been deleted with no explanation, no racist, nothing sexist etc etc just basically stating the without aviduser there is not really any updates of progress for the many people who read these forums for information. I presume this post won't last long either.

I have put a number of posts on here which have been deleted with no explanation, no racist, nothing sexist etc etc just basically stating the without aviduser there is not really any updates of progress for the many people who read these forums for information. I presume this post won't last long either.

And when I say a number of posts .....I mean two

icp77 is the same as rbj? i am so confused now? in either way....take it easy...

icp77 is the same as rbj? i am so confused now? in either way....take it easy...

No rbj isnt the same person. Since aviduser has been banned I have put a couple of entries on in relation to the lack of information coming through on this forum. It is supposed to be an information forum and there is none coming through. The banning of aviduser has meant that a lot of news is not being posted because others do not know the information. This is a shame because there are many readers of SSC who are interested in the progress etc etc. My point is that my entries asking this question or stating this fact is now also being deleted without any reason

If this was true, since i personally haven't seen anything, but i am really sorry to hear that....i am not very familiar but i am assuming the only person who is authorized to delete any posts is Hala Wala......and no offense to anyone, but there shouldn't be any post deleted from any threads unless if its off topic....there must be freedom in posting anything that is related to the thread topic....but anyhow, i am sure this wasn't done on purpose, it must have been an accident....

Well my point has been made now , hopefully these accidents wont be happening on more than one occassion in the future and we can get back to more information about why we are all here which is the construction, completion and handover of the zigzag towers which will in my opinion be a fantastic place to live and socialise. Anyone got an update on the handover of keys so we can all actually go and live there.

Qataruser, you are AVIDUSER! STOP REJOINING SSC! LETS GET BACK TO TOPIC; NO MORE AVIDUSER CRAP ANYMORE! RULES ARE RULES AND IF ANYTHING IS OFFTOPIC IT WILL BE DELETED!

RBJ, I wrote earlier that no more aviduser Crap, or it will be deleted. So, your posts were deleted. I said so earlier if you just go back a page. Aviduser violated the rules, and hence he was banned. Its a shame that he violated the rules; he could've been helpful with somethings. So, anymore posts about WHY AVIDUSER was banned will be deleted.

Any posts about the actual tower will be welcomed :)

But why was he banned? No one really seems to understand?

I love zig zag!

But why was he banned? No one really seems to understand?

Well he understood and that's more than enough. He acknowledged himself his mistakes here: http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showpost.php?p=36108163&postcount=1
Finally one thing on which he was right :lol:

And enough to close the discussion about this troll.

RBJ, I wrote earlier that no more aviduser Crap, or it will be deleted. So, your posts were deleted. I said so earlier if you just go back a page. Aviduser violated the rules, and hence he was banned. Its a shame that he violated the rules; he could've been helpful with somethings. So, anymore posts about WHY AVIDUSER was banned will be deleted.

Any posts about the actual tower will be welcomed :)
Were you bullied at school:ohno::ohno:

No need to ban me as well for not following the party line..... I shall be observing this forum from the sidelines from now on.

Ditto.

Ditto

I haven't heard anything yet. I just want to freaking move in!

http://i43.tinypic.com/2s1pqxk.jpg

awesome picture.

Here's the latest with Dar.

1) They now say that they're waiting for permission from Civil Defense
2) They said end of June. (Who bets on July?)
3) They still have around 10 floors to finish to clean up
4) The water has gone in the water feature
5) The car park looks done
6) Water and electricity is sorted
7) The mall looks like it'll be a while.

We're all going to ask for our penalty fees remember that!

They're already 1 year late! That's 12,000 QR for us each!

12,000x750 apartments = 9million QR to hurt them as much as they hurt us!

Got an email from Dar!

They said handover date and final inspection is 12th of July

Dear Valuable Customer,
DAR is pleased to inform you now that all the services were being connected to the towers.
Kindly, note that the final inspection/final handing over for the residential units will start on 12/07/2009.
Therefore, you are urged to complete the following:
· Signing your purchase agreement (in case you did not).
· Completing the remaining balance on the process of procurement (if any)
· Making sure of paying the 1% amount, this represents the value of the cleaning, security, reception services …etc for the common areas for the first year.
· Making sure of paying the amount of Q.R. 2000 that represents deposits for installing the electricity and water meters.
· Making sure of completing the purchase of a car park (if not been done before).

Our customer care team will be available to serve you in our offices located in the D-Ring road-near Peninsula Newspaper Building, for you to obtain your handing over appointment along with the handing over voucher that authorizes you to have your apartment.

Should you have any further clarifications of any kind, please feel free to contact our Customer Care team from Sunday to Thursday (8 a.m. – 6 p.m.) at the number 4289888.

..

electricity to go on in two days.

A/C to go on in two days.

You can move in your stuff from now if you like! (not announced because they don't want a flood of people)

Did anyone get their keys today and move in

nope

I don't see the picture. Any idea what kind of shops are going to be there other than zara, pull and bear and quick silver?

I have no idea, except that 51 East are making all the decisions.

lol yeah 51 east is having a really big part in this shopping mall..

We did our 2nd inspection last week.....still poor quality of work and internal fixtures and fittings. Only about 10% of the work we identified has been done, and that very poorly. Dar keen to handover irrespective of whether the work is done or not - obviously to avoid any extra delayed penalty payment liability. Have written to Dar requesting payment for delayed handover.....they ignored this. Dar still very bad at doing any thing on buyer's behalf - we are left chasing the engineer to find out if snagging is being done, and if not why not.

Alright guys, in order to get a communal 'voice' in order to get our penalty back, I'm collating everyone's information to put in a formal letter.

Go to this thread on ILQ

http://iloveqatar.net/forum/read.php?26,936,8910#msg-8910

Create a quick post stating how you feel, and make sure you fill out your details correctly in your profile.

I'll then put it all in one letter and then personally take it off to Dar. If they refuse to do anything or make a fuss, I'm prepared to take it further.

I think we shouldn't have to pay the 1% until they pay us our penalty.

We have just had a friend pop round and view our apartment. She was very impressed with the finishing, states the outside still looks like a building site but she was generally impressed with the inside and more importantly the potential of the whole develoment when it begins to mature over the next few months. I am out in Aug to really inspect it and pull it around a bit. The windows are absolutely filthy. Anyone know when and how often they will be cleaned .cheers. Also anyone actually living there yet or still a very slow soft opening as they say in the trade

I went two days ago and it's not bad, however there was leaking from the ceiling in three different apartments. And rust had stained the marble.

Nobody is living there at all. Nobody got any keys.

Just wanted to contribute update from our side:

I inspected our apartment in APR09. wrote a very detailed report as there were numerous issues that needed to be rectified. Knowing how DAR work; I included photos of the 37 areas that needed attention.

I visited again in JUN09 and was shocked that everything was rectified. I got to know the guy downstairs in tower A responsible for this area - he stated our apartment was done properly as we provided Photos of the areas that needed to be fixed - made is very easy for the contractors to knw what the problem areas were; he said the contractors find it difficult to understand written English from other apartment inspections either coz of bad English or too good English!

Anyway, we rcvd our letter stating we can arrange a handover of keys by paying 1%, any outstanding and the utility deposits. We also want to purchase a car park space. However, I refuse to part with any more cash to DAR until they clarify the situation with the Penalty. I even offered them to deduct the penalty from the car parking charge. there has been no reply to my 3 follow-ups. So we wait before handover.

On my last visit I enquired about the RP; they said after handover they will pass us a certificate that we need to use for the RP process which will be clarified after SEP09 (I have heard from my Bank that no process has been finalised for any development even the Pearl - could take 1 year)......

From visiting the development; getting better from outside.....windows were filthy but due to building work going on around area. Tower A had window cleaners cleaning and looked pretty nice (scary job!).....

Inside...both towers looked like any development that was finishing off the last items. Not too bad.....cosmetic items. No Electricity/AC/water was switched on. Elevators working.

I was told one apartment was rented out already (I'm not convinced....but hey!)....they were fixing the AC etc in that apartment.

As we dislike the bathrooms they have used and other items i.e. lights, kitchen etc, I viewed some other apartments where the owners had changed some of the bathrooms...looked much better. the show apartment in TA looked nice (3 bed of course).....

So that's what I know....areas we're waiting on are clarification on penalty, 1% and switching on of utilities i.e. communal AC etc. before we handover keys. Looks like RP is a long way from being settled....

Sorry for the long post....just thought I'd provide an update and hope it's helpful.

I'm on standby to visit and finalise handover - but waiting for a reply on penalty.

Good Luck to all.

I cant get over to Doha until mid august from UK. So I emailed DAR and said '' please can I come over on 24th August at 10am and pick up my keys and pay the utilities etc etc.'' The reply I got was ' Just turn up at our office and we will give you the keys starting on 12th July'' Thats strange I thought they must have an appointmenst system for handover otherwise everyone would turn up on the 12th July at the same time causing absolute chaos. So I emailed them again'' Do you have an appointments book for handover because I am only in Doha for 2 days and want everything to run smoothly , Is the 10am slot on the 24th taken if not could you pencil me in?'' The reply ''Just turn up someone will see you, dont know who, but someone will be around to help'' How did others get the keys for their handover, I was hoping by Mid August the place would be buzzing with residents and I would be one of the last to get the keys.Is anyone else getting any help from them at all. Also when we pay for connection to the utilities is it a case of just turning on a switch or will that take weeks as well, not to sure how the connection system works in Doha.Any other tips that I need to consider before coming over greatfully received as I get the sneaking feeling 2 days will not be long enough to get what I need sorted out.... more like 2 months.Thanks

Mental block on my part what is RP ?

And are they still asking 60k for the car park or are they now negotiating on that price ?

20k sounds ok but not a riyal more

Cheers

got it residence permit.......mental unblock

http://img515.imageshack.us/img515/7079/12960430.jpg


http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/4678/26070358.jpg

any idea when is the mall going to be ready?

Mall is advertised to be ready mid 2010

But here's a big update!

1) A person from one of the developers let slip that the towers didn't get CIVIL DEFENCE CLEARING! They HAVE to get the clearing to hand-over keys.

So it's likely to be hand-over by end of September.

2) Some people got their keys and some moved in but ILLEGALLY. Meaning Dar doesn't say anything if you move in now, (if you're one of the lucky ones with a/c) but they are not liable for anything!

3) Parking costs 50,000 QR. I paid for mine and I'm STILL waiting for the certificate that states which one is mine.

disaster what a bunch of idiots, where did you get this info from and have dar confirmed it

info from the developer not dar.

Dar will never confirm.

Is there any life at the zig zag we are nearly 3 weeks after handover or is it dead with no atmostphere. I am over in 3 weeks to see it for myself, looking forward to it but a bit apprehensive it may not be very lively

still haven't passed civil defence clearance. Someone said it was due to the parking lot.

I was there yesterday cleaning and putting in the kitchen appliances. According to them 20 people moved in.

THey said I could move in right now if I wanted. They didn't talk about the keys or anything as if it didn't matter.

A/c and electricity work.

One thing that I found strange was that they didn't have ANY piping or electricity sockets where the washing machine and dishwasher go.... the guys who came over to do it couldn't do anything....

I ended up going with a nice stainless steel kitchen and myself and 3 others bought the stuff through my account to buy in bulk. Ended up saving ALOT.

I must say I had a good impression of this development while visiting it. There is for sure quite a few finishing issues, which stand out because no furnishing is done, no appliances installed, etc, but once furnished and painted to the owners taste (recommend light colors like blue, yellow and green), the apartments will look great. The windows are so large and make the apartments bright. The view is also great wherever your apartment is (both views on the Lagoon or on the Pearl). I was positively surprised and especially felt it was something new for Qatar...

I must say I had a good impression of this development while visiting it. There is for sure quite a few finishing issues, which stand out because no furnishing is done, no appliances installed, etc, but once furnished and painted to the owners taste (recommend light colors like blue, yellow and green), the apartments will look great. The windows are so large and make the apartments bright. The view is also great wherever your apartment is (both views on the Lagoon or on the Pearl). I was positively surprised and especially felt it was something new for Qatar...

I had heard from other sources that they were pleased with the development..... and certainly its potential after it has bedded down in the next few months. Stick on the mall, a few cafe's etc and it will be excellent. Will reserve my final judgement for when we are over on the 25th. Anybody tried or had any luck with tenants or is that market a bit quiet. See there are a few ads in the gulf classified section quite expensive compared to everywhere else in Doha.Will post again soon when exactly I will be in the flat to clean, anyone wanting to pop up more than welcome to chat and put faces to strange internet names

cheers

the place is looking fine since they're finally taking care of the initial issues.

(A bit slow though and I imagine cleaning the tower will be forever).

Still, I feel like I expect higher quality for what was advertised.

Additionally, be warned, although there are spots for the dishwasher and washing machine, they built the depth EXACTLY to the depth of the equipement without leaving space for the pipes! So now all my stuff sticks out :(

Hey everyone,

I live in the States and read this forum almost every 2-3 days to find out what's going on with my apartment in Lagoon Plaza.

Yesterday, I went to check it out. All in all, they've done a good job with the snagging. I had sent them a list around 4 months ago and found most items had been completed.

Here's the issue: they are charging QR 50k for a single parking spot!!! Correct me, if I'm wrong - but doesn't this seem exhorbitant?? Are any of you choosing to not buy a parking spot? What are the options available to us?

Thanks everyone - all of you have been incredibly helpful to someone who lives so far away from the Lagoon Plaza action.

it is indeed a lot.

They were charging 10k in the beginning. I ended up paying 50k because I bought it after they raised the price...

If you do'nt buy a parking spot you're screwed. There are 750 apartments and 740 spots apparently and the government have already said that all cars parked outside or on the street will be clamped.

That is genius. Build 750 apartments and then underspec the number of spaces. Who is building all this crap and who is letting them do it?

I am going to offer them 20 k take it or leave it. Failing that you can rent a space there will be loads to let..... failing that do what most expats do, slip the boy on the gate a few quid get a pass and your all sorted. Works everywhere else in the M.E so why not zigzag

3rd inspection yesterday.......almost there with snagging list. Some things repaired quite well. Others not - such as scratches to black marble work surface in kitchen. All in all our expectations of a quality finish have decreased dramatically. Will just be content to take delivery now.

Inspection yesterday revealed a leak from the a/c in one of the bedrooms, which has damaged the false ceiling and one of the walls. They can stop the leak, but can not repair the physical damage until the a/c has completed tesing and commisioning. This may be months off, given my experience of this work elsewhere in Doha and the Gulf.

Re. parking - paid 50k for a parking space and will now push Dar to provide details of allocation. Perhaps this comes with hand-over documentation?

What about service/maintenance charge? Received notice to pay this (1% of value of property) by end of May. Now we are in to August and looking like a September handover, so by my reckoning there should be 25% to come off the service charge.

Penalty payments for delayed hand-over? I have asked Dar about this on several occasions and simply been fobbed off. The last response I had was that "Sheikh will look at this once all the apartments are handed over..." WTF? I believe my entitlement is as per the contract - QR1,000 for every month delayed, with a 6 month grace period from hand-over date stated in contract. That means Dar owe me QR6,000. I intend to net this off against the service charge as well. It's my intention to try anyway, although I don't think I'll get any where with this.

Anyone else with similiar experiences as mine and looking to recoup something from Dar?

@davy, that's what happens when there are no land law courts.

@rbj, it'll work temporarily until people move in and everyone wants their own space

@conrad, I still haven't received anything and I paid 6 months ago for it.

the maintanence charge is 1%. I'm not paying until they pay the penalty which they said will be approved and determined from Friday.

I've gone and told them that I'm paying NOTHING until they tell me what the penalty amount I'm getting is in writing.

They say "take the key", i said NO! Then you'll say I've accepted the place as is.

My issues are to do with cracked marble, door frames need to be replaced, electricity sockets not working, and the silicon.

In the bathrooms there were some severe leaks that were fixed but the roof stained. They said it's all done now and will paint all the walls.

Hope they're not stupid and paint the walls I painted myself!

Here are some pictures

http://iloveqatar.net/forum/read.php?26,936

Sounds like thats what happens when there are no standards, accountability, no responsibility and an undeveloped country masquerading as a developed one. I think it's a case of trying to run before you can walk, symptomatic of the entire place id you ask me.

since when did Qatar masquerade as a developed country?

Everybody, including the people in Qatar know it's a developing nation.

It's the expats that come here expecting to see Europe.

Either way though, Qatar's the type of country that waits for a shit storm before doing anything. It's reactive rather than proactive.

well I cant wait for the very unpatriotic Qatarson333 to read those last couple of posts I am sure he wont even make a reply.ha ha ha

Amnesia - your issues with the finish of your apartment echo mine. I couldn't believe the condition of the woodwork. Every single door and frame was damaged. They have repaired and painted most of it. Very poor standard of finish. I have given up now on hoping to obtain a quality finish. I'll do most of it myself at some point, and have lowered my standards and expectations considerably.

I think Qatar is a great place. Just going through a period of immense change very quickly. I certainly don't expect the same quality and standards as in the West. But, when we are paying Western prices for something, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a similiar level of quality.

I hadn't thought to check the electrical outlets...will do this when I'm back for (hopefully) final inspection on Thursday. I've been making finance repayments since May 2008 - which was when I was originally told it would be handed over (by both Dar and QNB). When Dar finally gave me a written copy of the contract (after I'd signed up for finance with QNB) it stated an August '08 hand-over. Then of course there's the 6 month grace period clause they give themselves. What this means is that from May '08 until now I've been making monthly finance repayments, while unable to either live there or rent it out. DAR and QNB were in this together....lying (yes) and misleading right from day one. The positives for me are that I have learnt some good lessons about buying property in the Gulf! And would never deal with DAR again!!!

But, when we are paying Western prices for something, I don't think it's unreasonable to expect a similiar level of quality.

You actually have to pay more in Qatar for a similar level of quality. The cost of developing projects here is definitely higher, especially since all these projects have been developed at a time when commodity and material prices were skyrocketting. For the same amount of money you would have invested in Europe, you will have less here, it's mathematic.

davyboy, there is no masquerade. Qatar is a developing country by all measures and standards. All sources will tell you so. Maybe you have your own rating system but all existing sources and reports would prove you wrong.

It's reactive rather than proactive.

I love this quote! Simply defines Qatar.

Awesome quote. Nicely summed up. The usual case with most reaction is the tendency to overreact. As for proactivity, not something I have had the pleasure of experiencing often since being here.

Yes definitely a nice quote amnesia. Actually people are this way because competition is not intense in many sectors. The cake has been big enough for everybody to be happy. But things are changing as the demand supply gap is narrowing. It will of course go further and all this will be pretty interesting to witness, and ultimately for our benefit of course :)

At last, someone agrees with me about competition leading to improved customer service, prices and a healthy local economy. Hurrah.

well I cant wait for the very unpatriotic Qatarson333 to read those last couple of posts I am sure he wont even make a reply.ha ha ha

and why are you putting me into this ? i have NO RELATION to this topic anymore, i am not an investor but i am just viewing to see the "drama" thats going on here...

and whats wrong with the last couple of posts ?? yes we are a developing country so WTF is the problem ?!

i think this is what happens when you allow expats to invest in properties here in Qatar, shouldnt have been done...

... well, it's different horses for different courses, if some people are happy being overcharged and accept substandard products then that is their business.

I think the watch word for the next few years is going to be oversupply.

Qatar Son 333 - Maybe we shouldn't allow Qataris to invest in properties in the UK......?

@conrad, come now.. that's not the correct way to react.

Anyway, I work for Vodafone and I can say that with what's growing between VF and iLoveQatar.net and the similar goals to create competition, positive change, and open-ness; things can only get better. (don't forget, it's the Emir who brought vodafone in, so obviously he sees the benefits of competition)

^^ more like Qatar foundation (shiekha Moza...) but thats another topic...

Pot, Kettle, Black.

It appears to be that the Emir's vision seems to get lost in poor communication and blockades in a layer of Qatari society that appears to be resistant to change. I am sure this will change but I have a feeling it's going to be generational and that takes a great deal of time.

Maybe the welcoming of Vodafone in the communications sector is an attempt to increase the communication as much as the competition.

When competition is introduced into the marketplace those who had monopolies tend to fall into second place as complacency has set it, they have become used to the lions share and as a consequence are lazy to react to the market and it's new players.

An example of this is BA reducing their fares, 1/2 the price of QA and today QA announcing reduced fares a little after the horse has bolted, but are still significantly over the price of the BA offer.

Anyway, this is all a little off topic ...

^^ BA is always more expensive than QR. I always fly QR when I go to London because British stops over in Bahrain and is way more expensive in Business Class. Why should I choose BA all the way, when QR is the amongst the world's top ten carriers?

Secondly, Qatar is not resistant to change.

Vodaphone came to increase the competition between companies as to bring prices down. When Vodaphone made its international calles 50 DHs per minute, Qtel retaliated at made theirs 29 DHs. That is called fair play. Look at the British Airways/ Virgin Atlantic adds over the past.... 20 years!

Qatar has showed positive change in its educational, communication, aviation, industrial, tourism, and manpower sector in almost every way.

... off topic.

^^ now you realise ?

Why doesn't Dar respond to my emails? Four inspection visits to apartment since 28th April, many items still not rectified, two visits to Dar office, and six emails to Dar since April 28th, and only ONE response from Dar. I am dealing with a sales agent called Alaa......he seems to ignore all email communication. Is anyone else having the same problem? Is there someone else I should be dealing with?

Alaa (i see now why they are ignoring you)

@Qatar_son, Qatar foundation is the investing company, the Emir was the one who showed interest.

THat's dar, ignoring people :P

Hope you're all asking for penalties!

Managed to get a response from Dar on Wednesday....I forwarded 30 copies of my unanswered emaile to them with a 10mb attachment....had a response within 2 hours!

^^ if anyone needs an urgent response do what conrad did =P send 30+ of the same email (that would probably get their minimal attention...')

I have just got back from lagoon plaza . I took about 20 photos of the towers and the inside of the shopping mall. In a word ' impressed'. Could someone please tell me the idiots guide to getting photos on this forum and I will put them all on. thanks

go to www.imageshack.us

then browse all the photos you need to upload...

press start upload

then you will have a gallery of the photos you have uploaded...

press one photo at a time to get into the page where you need to scroll down abit and on the right side you will find the links copy/paste the one for fourms (not thumbnails please =P)

OK so I have got to the last page. I have a choice ....links to share this page,embed this image and imbed this image as thumbnail.Each of those has various url links . Stuck at this point. How do I get the photo onto this SSC page from here. Thanks

Embed this image and choose fourms =D

http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/5179/001sdo.jpg (http://img199.imageshack.us/i/001sdo.jpg/)http://img199.imageshack.us/img199/001sdo.jpg/1/w320.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img199/001sdo.jpg/1/)

http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/7630/001wvj.jpg (http://img188.imageshack.us/i/001wvj.jpg/)http://img188.imageshack.us/img188/001wvj.jpg/1/w2592.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img188/001wvj.jpg/1/)

Ok as you can see I have downloaded this particular picture .... the first I pushed the resize button and it came out small, second time I didnt and it came out massive. I preseume there is a way of getting it to fit this screen. I have 30 photos to put on.any help please before I download the rest

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/9499/003sim.jpg (http://img530.imageshack.us/i/003sim.jpg/)http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/003sim.jpg/1/w320.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img530/003sim.jpg/1/)

...

Ok lets start with the shopping centre. Access is easy you just walk in and have a good look around. My opinion is that it is very big. They have done quite a lot of the marble flooring and have put protective layers over it. The floor looks fantastic. As you can see they are a long way off finishing it... I would say 18 months until it opens.There are plenty of shops and will in my opinion be very impressive when completed. Lack of workmen due to Ramadan but at least meant I could wander around unhindered.

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/9499/003sim.jpg (http://img530.imageshack.us/i/003sim.jpg/)http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/003sim.jpg/1/w320.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img530/003sim.jpg/1/)


http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/2097/005tyu.jpg (http://img15.imageshack.us/i/005tyu.jpg/)http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/005tyu.jpg/1/w320.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img15/005tyu.jpg/1/)

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/4421/006enw.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/i/006enw.jpg/)http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/006enw.jpg/1/w320.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img90/006enw.jpg/1/)


http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/7708/007xux.jpg (http://img530.imageshack.us/i/007xux.jpg/)http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/007xux.jpg/1/w320.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img530/007xux.jpg/1/)

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/3452/034z.jpg (http://img530.imageshack.us/i/034z.jpg/)http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/034z.jpg/1/w320.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img530/034z.jpg/1/)

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http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/5194/008wbs.jpg (http://img10.imageshack.us/i/008wbs.jpg/)http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/008wbs.jpg/1/w320.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img10/008wbs.jpg/1/)

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/429/009aqp.jpg (http://img530.imageshack.us/i/009aqp.jpg/)http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/009aqp.jpg/1/w320.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img530/009aqp.jpg/1/)

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/4145/012nyf.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/i/012nyf.jpg/)http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/012nyf.jpg/1/w320.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img90/012nyf.jpg/1/)

http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/3307/014ugr.jpg (http://img8.imageshack.us/i/014ugr.jpg/)http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/014ugr.jpg/1/w320.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img8/014ugr.jpg/1/)

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/7462/029asq.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/i/029asq.jpg/)http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/029asq.jpg/1/w320.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img90/029asq.jpg/1/)

http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/7500/032o.jpg (http://img90.imageshack.us/i/032o.jpg/)http://img90.imageshack.us/img90/032o.jpg/1/w320.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img90/032o.jpg/1/)

http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/3936/041e.jpg (http://img530.imageshack.us/i/041e.jpg/)http://img530.imageshack.us/img530/041e.jpg/1/w320.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img530/041e.jpg/1/)

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/5111/042cee.jpg (http://img24.imageshack.us/i/042cee.jpg/)http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/042cee.jpg/1/w320.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img24/042cee.jpg/1/)

http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/2551/050nfh.jpg (http://img15.imageshack.us/i/050nfh.jpg/)http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/050nfh.jpg/1/w320.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img15/050nfh.jpg/1/)

I am quite happy to knock DAR as they have been useless. Even the handover paperwork was done by an IT supervisor who knew nothing. Their salesteam or troubleshooters work at the base of tower B in an office and hand the actual keys over. It all went fairly smoothly. I was actually very impressed by my apartment. A couple of things wrong but nothing major, only 2 or 3 things on a snagging list. The walls need a good paint as their painting needs a bit to be desired as they must have only put one coat of paint on. Plenty of peole milling about , speaking to others in the lift etc most seem quite happy with what they have got. People moving in all the time. I think it will be a good few months until it really gets itself sorted out but the potential is brilliant with the coffe shops, mall etc all open I think it will be areal success. Any questions please pm me as I was there for 2 days having a good nosey around in other apartments, the pool area, shopping mall etc etc.

I have worked it out now how to get them the proper size, will post them tomorrow so it will be easier to see.

http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/6840/001kxq.jpg (http://img442.imageshack.us/i/001kxq.jpg/)http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/001kxq.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img442/001kxq.jpg/1/)


http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/966/003ymx.jpg (http://img8.imageshack.us/i/003ymx.jpg/)http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/003ymx.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img8/003ymx.jpg/1/)


http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/4831/004l.jpg (http://img442.imageshack.us/i/004l.jpg/)http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/004l.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img442/004l.jpg/1/)


http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/1614/005cci.jpg (http://img8.imageshack.us/i/005cci.jpg/)http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/005cci.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img8/005cci.jpg/1/)


http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/4677/009ibt.jpg (http://img8.imageshack.us/i/009ibt.jpg/)http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/009ibt.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img8/009ibt.jpg/1/)


http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/7378/010cyf.jpg (http://img10.imageshack.us/i/010cyf.jpg/)http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/010cyf.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img10/010cyf.jpg/1/)


http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/388/012abm.jpg (http://img12.imageshack.us/i/012abm.jpg/)http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/012abm.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img12/012abm.jpg/1/)


http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/6722/014mwv.jpg (http://img4.imageshack.us/i/014mwv.jpg/)http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/014mwv.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img4/014mwv.jpg/1/)


http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/4945/015kkw.jpg (http://img10.imageshack.us/i/015kkw.jpg/)http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/015kkw.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img10/015kkw.jpg/1/)


http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/270/019yea.jpg (http://img4.imageshack.us/i/019yea.jpg/)http://img4.imageshack.us/img4/019yea.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img4/019yea.jpg/1/)


http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/8461/023hwv.jpg (http://img10.imageshack.us/i/023hwv.jpg/)http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/023hwv.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img10/023hwv.jpg/1/)


http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/1500/029l.jpg (http://img442.imageshack.us/i/029l.jpg/)http://img442.imageshack.us/img442/029l.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img442/029l.jpg/1/)


http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/6517/030nyo.jpg (http://img10.imageshack.us/i/030nyo.jpg/)http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/030nyo.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img10/030nyo.jpg/1/)


http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/3818/031yvr.jpg (http://img268.imageshack.us/i/031yvr.jpg/)http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/031yvr.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img268/031yvr.jpg/1/)


http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/1294/032nhp.jpg (http://img10.imageshack.us/i/032nhp.jpg/)http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/032nhp.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img10/032nhp.jpg/1/)


http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/2800/033slj.jpg (http://img10.imageshack.us/i/033slj.jpg/)http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/033slj.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img10/033slj.jpg/1/)


http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/1168/034gzi.jpg (http://img10.imageshack.us/i/034gzi.jpg/)http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/034gzi.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img10/034gzi.jpg/1/)


http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/5295/035oxk.jpg (http://img268.imageshack.us/i/035oxk.jpg/)http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/035oxk.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img268/035oxk.jpg/1/)


http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/9613/036rsu.jpg (http://img10.imageshack.us/i/036rsu.jpg/)http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/036rsu.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img10/036rsu.jpg/1/)


http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/8282/037ayo.jpg (http://img512.imageshack.us/i/037ayo.jpg/)http://img512.imageshack.us/img512/037ayo.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img512/037ayo.jpg/1/)


http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/6258/039ogb.jpg (http://img10.imageshack.us/i/039ogb.jpg/)http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/039ogb.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img10/039ogb.jpg/1/)


http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/671/040qxt.jpg (http://img12.imageshack.us/i/040qxt.jpg/)http://img12.imageshack.us/img12/040qxt.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img12/040qxt.jpg/1/)


http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/7594/041msk.jpg (http://img8.imageshack.us/i/041msk.jpg/)http://img8.imageshack.us/img8/041msk.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img8/041msk.jpg/1/)


http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/8333/042pzd.jpg (http://img268.imageshack.us/i/042pzd.jpg/)http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/042pzd.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img268/042pzd.jpg/1/)


http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/5671/044zih.jpg (http://img268.imageshack.us/i/044zih.jpg/)http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/044zih.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img268/044zih.jpg/1/)


http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/880/045sri.jpg (http://img268.imageshack.us/i/045sri.jpg/)http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/045sri.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img268/045sri.jpg/1/)


http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/1558/046kif.jpg (http://img10.imageshack.us/i/046kif.jpg/)http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/046kif.jpg/1/w480.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img10/046kif.jpg/1/)


http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/117/047cjx.jpg (http://img268.imageshack.us/i/047cjx.jpg/)http://img268.imageshack.us/img268/047cjx.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img268/047cjx.jpg/1/)


http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/2163/048plx.jpg (http://img10.imageshack.us/i/048plx.jpg/)http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/048plx.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img10/048plx.jpg/1/)


http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/9026/050ymx.jpg (http://img10.imageshack.us/i/050ymx.jpg/)http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/050ymx.jpg/1/w640.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img10/050ymx.jpg/1/)

Thanks RBJ for sharing photos. Have you got the keys already?

yes got the keys and a friend has moved in, all white goods delivered and curtains ordered etc etc

I have had a couple of PM's re handover and the procedure. We got a letter stating handover was starting in July, I think everyone got that. Personally I emailed DAR asking for a handover slot, they told me I didnt need one , just turn up at their offices and it would all be sorted.I arrived paid in cash the connection fee for elec and water and the 1% maintainance fee for year 1. Apparently the Pearl has to pay 18000QA for water and elec connection so because we are on the mainland we have got a fairly cheap one off connection charge.Handover is a simple as them signing a form and giving you a voucher. I also got a letter ( after insisting on some type of letter)from them stating that they owed me 6 months penalty fee which would be dealt with for all apartments in due course.( I heard from my contact in the bank in qatar that Dar are re locating back to Dubai and closing the qatar office after handover of the zigzag so hopefully it will still be paid eventually) . Once you have the voucher you go to the bottom of tower A where DAR have an office for keys to be handed over. The chap there says he will be on site for the next month at least handing keys over. There were lots of people there taking possession of their keys. I spoke to many of them and they all seemed fairly happy with their apartments. The chap from DAR has a diary with each aprtments details. We only had two snags, a nail in the grouting and a wonky cupboard which he says would be fixed in days.I had a good look round other apartments as they are all unlocked until the keys are handed over. Most apartments were good but needed a paint as it looks like the construction company only put one coat on the walls.It was as simple as that really. Pay your money get your voucher, go to tower B ,swap it for the keys and you are done.I was really impressed with the potential of the shopping centre and the towers. Give it 12 months and it will be a fantastic area to live, everyone in doha seems to know the towers. Most of the people I saw there were expats either renting or owners. I saw a few local people who told me they were going to rent out the apartments to expats. There were plenty of real estate agents showing people around as well. Everytime you went into a lift you were there with someone moving in on that day.I though the shopping centre was huge and the marble on the floor which was been covered to protect it was top end stuff, when it goes live that to will look great. Live in a bit of a building site for a few months but the potential is fantastic. Re the car park space they wouldnt come down from 50,000qa and said they had a waiting list . I didnt believe them but didnt buy one either.I had three different people ask me to buy one which is a strange sales tactic for something you can sell easily.The West Bay area is beautiful, next to the 5 star ritz hotel , grand hyatt, and doha golf club. If you own in this development well done, DAR are useless but to be fair the zigzag towers are great and I am really pleased we kept ours , stuck in there and didnt sell.

^^ Thanks RBJ, seems like DAR really pulled it off at the end, especially after the bad publicity they recieved. Congrats on your new home! Yes the area is definetly great as these two towers are in the center of all the upscale development like the Ritz, Grand Hyatt, The Pearl, Lusail, and the Golf Course as you mentioned before. But is the entrace, reception area and parking space (not the ones for sale, but where u normally park, are they all complete? or does it still feel like you are entering a construction site?

^^ Thanks RBJ, seems like DAR really pulled it off at the end, especially after the bad publicity they recieved. Congrats on your new home! Yes the area is definetly great as these two towers are in the center of all the upscale development like the Ritz, Grand Hyatt, The Pearl, Lusail, and the Golf Course as you mentioned before. But is the entrace, reception area and parking space (not the ones for sale, but where u normally park, are they all complete? or does it still feel like you are entering a construction site?

To be honest a bit of a building site but....... I would be happy to move in myself and watch it change on a daily basis. Example only one lift working in tower B out of 6. The others will come on very shortly. In the other all six are working. When we were there windows were being cleaned by absailers, you would go away for a couple of hours , come back and you could visibly see some difference as they moved along the window. Oh the chap said windows were to be cleaned by automatic cleaning contraption every 3 weeks.I would imagine for the next few months you will be sharing lifts, communial areas with the workmen. Of course after ramadam and when the midday heat subsides a bit hopefully they will take advantage and really get moving with things.

Thanks Rbj! for all this useful information....very helpful.

I'm glad your happy.

I'll be happy once they finish cleaning the hallways, allocate my parking space and sort out the internet and satellite.

QTel said they had to rewire the whole building because they put in fiber optic cabling which is only used for businesses.

As for the satellite I'm stuck with a few channels.

I am pissed off at the fact that they build the counter tops TOO short in depth so all my equipment sticks out.

Ah well. Just feels good to be in the apartment right now. I've spend 65k so far on furniture, cleaning, curtains etc...

I've had dar replaster my walls due to serious cracks, I need the silicon to be put around the air vents, I still need the kitchen roof tiles to be replaced and the ceilings in the bathroom to be sorted.

The bathrooms are hideous so it looks like I'm going to have to remodel it all.

... unlucky!

more crap to deal with. I woke up today smelling an awful stench. Turns out that they didn't seal the garbage shoot properly and the foul garbage fumes were getting into the air ducts and being circulated into apartments -_-;

They said that they would 'try' to fix it by tomorrow.

What's worse, in the guest room, the window cannot handle strong winds.
Today was quite windy and I dont know how the hell, but it blew the window open even though it was locked. Yep! The guest room is now covered in dust :)

Anyone heard anything about the late fine. I have emailed but they say it is in hand awaiting instructions from the owner. Interestingly I still owe 5% of the purchase price, I have linked that with the fine being paid to me. Will let you know how it goes.

On a brighter note our tenant is absolutely delighted with the apartment. We put the curtains up( blackouts) , a dishy, washing machine , cooker ( electricity only) and a fridge freezer. All delivered and fitted no problems. The workman have done all the jobs and are cleaning or buffing the floor which apparently looks brilliant.Even the tv is being connected with all services this week end.

DAR are still useless and I can see them messing around with their fine and finding every excuse not to pay, except of course I still have 5% which they are not getting until I get the money in the bank.

Any other stories to tell there are 800 apartments there surely others have some things to say as well instead of just reading what a few write down.

Dear Dar,

I refer you to the 14 emails, as copied below, I have sent to you since the first inspection of Apartment XXXX Tower B in April 2009.

Since then the apartment has been inspected a total of four times. The required rectification work has still not been completed. In addition there has been water damage due to a fault with the air conditioning.

On many occasions my emails to Dar are simply ignored.

Can you kindly advise how I can go about resolving the last remaining items with my property and take handover?

Thank you.

just be glad your bathroom doesn't smell like garbage.

Hello everyone i would like to get the feedback from those who are living there, if they know when the shopping mall would open, whether there will be small shops (grocery, laundry, hair salon) to open prior to the mall opening. Also we need to know what's the deal with the Gym and the swimming pool (we have been told that it needs another month only).
Any comments or advice would be appreciated.
Thank You.

new thing to mention, I can smell my neighbours food through the vents...

depends what they are cooking................. might overpower the smell of garbage in your bathroom. My tenant is delighted but maybe she doesnt cook ???

no smell anymore (Garbage), just food. So far food smells good so no complaints here :P

Still the Garbage smell come out of AC ducts and the bad smell of neighbors cooking!!!!!!

i am and a lot of friends on different floors very angry with the situation!! Remove it asap.

A lot of Water come out of my AC ducts and the facade. AC is not good dehydrate and this is the result of water on facade and my ceramic tiles on the Bathrooms.And now we have scum and mildew on the Ceiling.

NO Gym,NO Sauna,NO Pool and NO Restaurant there. How we can Living??????

I spoken to my neighboor in the states dont come now.......:-((((((((

anyone got their late penalty fee yet ?????????????????????? or any news on it

Is the shopping mall finished yet , has anyone had a look

2010 and the place still looks like a dump, three of the elevators don't work because of water leakage, and the hallways are filthy.

The gym is a joke. It's as big as my living room.

You know what? I totally forgot about the late fee! I need to call them once I have some time!

^^ sue them if youy have time...

this is simply unacceptable

I do need to sue them. Time is the problem.

Sue them (Dar?) for what and how and where? Not sure that financially it's worth even trying....lawyer requires initial QR500 consultation fee to start. When I used a lawyer here 2 years ago for a rent dispute I paid fixed fee of QR10,000, and even though I won the case the fee was non-recoverable.

I'm still tyring to complete hand-over of my apartment - been going on since April of last year. Have just received a notification about paying for utilities (Kahramaa deposit QR2,000, etc). Dar still not able or prepared to rectify last remaining snags, such as damaged (and very poorly repaired) wood surround on one of the doors, and scratched marble work-top.

However, the engineer (Moh'd) being very helpful in making changes to the apartment (removing bidets, installing laundry, etc). Probably helps that I am using engineer recommended carpenter to build and install cupboards, wardobes, and other items.

And no news from Dar regarding late penalty payment. Although, they are still after service charge payment. And no explanation how this will be calculated due to late delivery. The stalemate I face is until I pay the service charge Dar will not hand-over....and I need to move in at end of the month as am moving out of my villa.

But, at least the building hasn't fallen over so far! :)

@conrad, I'm a lawyer myself :P

Amnesia....sue Dar for what? Breach of contract? The sale agreement is as leaky as a rusty boat!!! :)

has anyone rented or going to rent out a parking space in tower B , if so how much

I could indeed sue them for breach of contract.
Deception.
Failure to provide services based on management agreement.
Health and Safety issues. (Go ahead and read my blog for the latest, burst pipes, water leaking into elevator electricity box, fire alarms going off at least once a day, using the garbage chute area as a toilet, and my favourite, people pissing in bottles and leaving them in the underground parking.)

I've sued two property developers so far on breach of contract and despite what people think might happen, I've won both cases.


@RBJ, I didn't rent out any parking. Parking comes with the apartments I rent :)

I ended up spending an extra 30k to get the finishing perfect and furnished with top quality furnishings. That should at least get me what I expect.

^^ are the beds from king coil =P

absolutely, King Koil all the way :P

WOW! I Like The Pic's ...

Some pics for your enjoyment taken 3 days ago, any questions please post and I will reply. Shopping centre at least 18 months away from completion.There is a new British run management company just fitting all their computers in on floor 3 of tower B who are taking over sorting out the problems. Personally I havent had any but I am sure they will be busy.

http://img535.imageshack.us/img535/3900/ssl13262.jpg (http://img535.imageshack.us/i/ssl13262.jpg/)

http://img576.imageshack.us/img576/3655/ssl13261.jpg (http://img576.imageshack.us/i/ssl13261.jpg/)

http://img251.imageshack.us/img251/8010/ssl13260u.jpg (http://img251.imageshack.us/i/ssl13260u.jpg/)

http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/2686/ssl13258.jpg (http://img59.imageshack.us/i/ssl13258.jpg/)

http://img231.imageshack.us/img231/6696/ssl13257.jpg (http://img231.imageshack.us/i/ssl13257.jpg/)

http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/2935/ssl13255.jpg (http://img707.imageshack.us/i/ssl13255.jpg/)

http://img24.imageshack.us/img24/7604/ssl13253.jpg (http://img24.imageshack.us/i/ssl13253.jpg/)

http://img339.imageshack.us/img339/9495/ssl13250.jpg (http://img339.imageshack.us/i/ssl13250.jpg/)

http://img151.imageshack.us/img151/3655/ssl13261.jpg (http://img151.imageshack.us/i/ssl13261.jpg/)


http://img208.imageshack.us/img208/3900/ssl13262.jpg (http://img208.imageshack.us/i/ssl13262.jpg/)


http://img693.imageshack.us/img693/2922/ssl13263.jpg (http://img693.imageshack.us/i/ssl13263.jpg/)


http://img689.imageshack.us/img689/5355/ssl13264.jpg (http://img689.imageshack.us/i/ssl13264.jpg/)


http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/1999/ssl13266.jpg (http://img408.imageshack.us/i/ssl13266.jpg/)


http://img263.imageshack.us/img263/423/ssl13267.jpg (http://img263.imageshack.us/i/ssl13267.jpg/)


http://img195.imageshack.us/img195/6393/ssl13268.jpg (http://img195.imageshack.us/i/ssl13268.jpg/)

Ok one point that was absolutely apparent when I was there you do not need a car parking space for 50,000QA. The underground car parks are empty with only a few cars there and very few with signs ups tating they were reserved. There were hundreds of them just empty. DAR obviously cant sell them so dont but until they bring down the price by at least half.

Also there is massive space outside to park like I say the shopping mall will be 18 months to 2 years at least so plenty of parking until then. If you are watchimg DAR you need to reduce the price and people may buy but not with these pictures.

http://img528.imageshack.us/img528/1257/ssl13269.jpg (http://img528.imageshack.us/i/ssl13269.jpg/)

Front of mall

http://img19.imageshack.us/img19/741/ssl13271.jpg (http://img19.imageshack.us/i/ssl13271.jpg/)

underground car park....empty

http://img706.imageshack.us/img706/2812/ssl13272.jpg (http://img706.imageshack.us/i/ssl13272.jpg/)

and again the other way

http://img10.imageshack.us/img10/4177/ssl13273.jpg (http://img10.imageshack.us/i/ssl13273.jpg/)

outside FREE parking

http://img377.imageshack.us/img377/7286/ssl13274.jpg (http://img377.imageshack.us/i/ssl13274.jpg/)

reception tower B

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/7517/ssl13275.jpg (http://img197.imageshack.us/i/ssl13275.jpg/)

http://img377.imageshack.us/img377/866/ssl13276.jpg (http://img377.imageshack.us/i/ssl13276.jpg/)
Gym tower B

Resurrection !!!!! :lol:

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2483/4463171544_d5f7b4331c.jpg

http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4026/4462394711_b60f0dd272.jpg

^^ You kidding me?
Khalas, it became from the past... History.

^^ I meant resurrection as in the thread :lol:

And the mall didn't open yet so it cant be "complete" yet.

Great Photos

From flickr

http://img205.imageshack.us/img205/7953/lagoonm.jpg (http://img205.imageshack.us/i/lagoonm.jpg/)

:cheers:

Hey everyone,

I was thinking of buying a parking spot. DAR doesn't seem to want to budge from their price of QAR 40k/parking spot. Does anyone know if they are selling for cheaper?

Does anyone know when the mall will be completed? Thanks.

lol you're lucky they say 40k. They made me pay 50k!

I am waiting for 25k, they havent even got rid of 10% of the spaces the place is deserted, and there will be parking outside for many years to come.

The whole area needs developing. You dont need a space at Dubai Marina you can park on the street although difficult at some times.... qatar is years behind them so parking outside is by far the cheapest option. Prices wont go up either .

Any news on the shopping mall , has any one been there recently

I heard the towers are being covered by 2022 World Cup adverts !? if so, should look nice from outside (although not fair for residents..)

It was mentioned some months/years ago.

Can anyone confirm if Zig Zag gots its fire safety certificate in the end, I seem to recall it was delayed in opening because of it but I'm not too sure

thanks

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I think it's bad location and too short
isn't it ????



but nice design!!!

I think it's bad location and too short
isn't it ????



but nice design!!!

Why would it be in a bad location ? its right beside 2 mega projects not to mention 2 resorts and in a lagoon area, with a possibility of a future metro station !! :)

I think it's bad location and too short
isn't it ????



but nice design!!!


i disagree wait 4 more years and see what will be arond itand on this location

when is this mall ever gonna open?

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/598396-dohas-lagoona-mall-to-open-in-q1-2011

Q1 according to this in todays Arabian Business paper, fingers crossed

I have just been hit with a aircon bill. standing order for 12 months totals 4800QA, service charge of 350QA and usage of 1500QA.So that 450QA each month for just having it there.

Is it right you pay for every month even though its not on and can you just have it for 4 months and then turn it off.

Ridiculous rates, cheaper to get a portable unit and just have it on when its hot..
Anyone else had any similar experiences

From flickr

http://img227.imageshack.us/img227/1183/51371874247e87dd3bf4b.jpg (http://img227.imageshack.us/i/51371874247e87dd3bf4b.jpg/)

@RBJ,
I'm not paying. We're around 20 people joining together for a law suit.

The point of this special cooling system is so that it's CHEAPER than normal air con.

I pay 200 qr a month for water and electricity in a normal home, that's 2,400 a year.

I say don't pay. If you want the name of the lawyer I'm using let me know.

http://img203.imageshack.us/img203/5590/5208784425f550a0be3cb.jpg (http://img203.imageshack.us/i/5208784425f550a0be3cb.jpg/)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mohamaj/5208784425/

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=404290&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

Time scale is a bit tight, maybe they got the year wrong should read 2013, or is there a lot of work going on there

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=404290&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

Time scale is a bit tight, maybe they got the year wrong should read 2013, or is there a lot of work going on there

I thought I posted the article! Anyways, you guys know better and I but the mall looks almost complete.

Judging by the floor plans, are they going to open a full-fledged Carrefour or a Carrefour express. I think its the best idea so far as there is no Supermarket or grocery store in the area. The nearest is City Center which is too busy.

I think it was called Carrefour Market or something.

The mall really looks great and it is so fantastic.

--------------
total hair re-growth (http://totalhairregrowth-com-review.weebly.com/)

^
^
did they open the mall !!!!!!!!!!!!

I don't think so, its still looks under construction when passing by. the areas around the mall needs to be cleaned up and landscaped ASAP.

have got our 1 bed in ZZ b sea view coming up in the next 2 months for rent. Anyone interested please pm me. I wont answer any questions on this forum because I know other users get frustrated, just pm me and I will give all details. thanks

Incredible view from Grand Hyatt.

http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/4154/5387758056b0bf6d69fdb.jpg (http://img9.imageshack.us/i/5387758056b0bf6d69fdb.jpg/)

Our washing machine and dishwasher really stand out and dont go right back to the wall in the kitchen.I know some forumers had the same problem in ZZ kitchens and were able to get a skilled person in to change the piping or downpipe behind the appliances.

Not living in Doha has anyone got a name or contact who is reliable that they know who has done the work in ZZ so I can get them in to resolve the problem.

thanks in advance.

PS are there any workman in the shopping centre or is is very quiet.

PPS if you have eurosport or similar record/watch the qatar cycling, a helicopter floats over the pearl and ZZ give brilliant shots, yesterday they did the whole area it looked great.

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=416999&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

Open in 2 months ?????????????????????

^^ They can do it I think, Me thinks its going to be like Villaggio (open but all stores still under construction...)

They want something like 40k per month for a small store and want it to be all luxury.
My opinion is that it is a big mistake. Leave the luxury to the pearl and turn this into a mid market mall with cool brands...

http://www.gulf-times.com/site/topics/article.asp?cu_no=2&item_no=416999&version=1&template_id=36&parent_id=16

Open in 2 months ?????????????????????

They want something like 40k per month for a small store and want it to be all luxury.
My opinion is that it is a big mistake. Leave the luxury to the pearl and turn this into a mid market mall with cool brands...

Walking through the the plaza between the two towers the other day, you could swear this project is at least 5 years old. Missing glass panels from the canopy of the restaurants, the finishing is atrocious. The mall is NO WHERE near completed. It looked more completed two months ago than today. The tiles in the floor is terrible, ect...

^^:ohno::ohno: I never liked this project...

^^ It actually had A LOT of potential:

cafes
boardwalk next to the lagoon etc.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pe3m4RPce7U&feature=fvst

ZZ from 1 min 12 seconds good birds eye view

http://img94.imageshack.us/img94/4012/5741664301c003a36ed9z.jpg (http://img94.imageshack.us/i/5741664301c003a36ed9z.jpg/)
http://img189.imageshack.us/img189/664/5741663673ed5a46714cz.jpg (http://img189.imageshack.us/i/5741663673ed5a46714cz.jpg/)
http://img59.imageshack.us/img59/1632/574217289608bef3e905b.jpg (http://img59.imageshack.us/i/574217289608bef3e905b.jpg/)

From Flickr

hi there? does lagoona bay mall ( 51east department store) already open? or when to open? Thanks

hi there? does lagoona bay mall ( 51east department store) already open? or when to open? Thanks

I am in Doha visiting ZZ and the shopping mall. Yesterday I had a good nosey around the mall. I think it will be at least 6 months before it is opened. 51East are fitting the store as we speak, it is very impressive at the front section of the mall on 2 floors. Plenty of workers on site.

The mall itself is very impressive , marble floor, and beautiful walkways with fountains etc. Most stores look like they are rented by big name stores, porche design, several jewellery shops, carrefour, many restuarants and coffee shops, agent provocatuer, mango,etc etc. It will be good when completed and the grounds outside sorted out.... which still look like a building site.

They are also building ( piling completed) a 32 floor hotel right next to ZZ tower B the side that overlooks the golf course. Not too sure I would be very impressed with that view. No photos I am afraid, we left it at home

I am in Doha visiting ZZ and the shopping mall. Yesterday I had a good nosey around the mall. I think it will be at least 6 months before it is opened. 51East are fitting the store as we speak, it is very impressive at the front section of the mall on 2 floors. Plenty of workers on site.

The mall itself is very impressive , marble floor, and beautiful walkways with fountains etc. Most stores look like they are rented by big name stores, porche design, several jewellery shops, carrefour, many restuarants and coffee shops, agent provocatuer, mango,etc etc. It will be good when completed and the grounds outside sorted out.... which still look like a building site.

They are also building ( piling completed) a 32 floor hotel right next to ZZ tower B the side that overlooks the golf course. Not too sure I would be very impressed with that view. No photos I am afraid, we left it at home
thank you so much for your info, I really appreciated. I am supposed to work at 51 east department store soon, darwish holdings hired people here in manila as sales personnel. were just waiting for the working visa and the plane ticket and hopefully we can be assign soon at ZZ. tc

Yes rbj I noticed the plot right next to the ZZ towers has pilling works done, what i dislike is that its very close to the ZZ towers, like the palm twins and the islamic bank....

But good to hear its a hotel, we need more of these :D

thank you so much for your info, I really appreciated. I am supposed to work at 51 east department store soon, darwish holdings hired people here in manila as sales personnel. were just waiting for the working visa and the plane ticket and hopefully we can be assign soon at ZZ. tc

Cool! Welcome to Doha! This place is supposed to be the flagship store, really huge.