#COMPLETED: SILVERENE, 35F+25F Res (Dubai Marina)

[johnnyinspain]

Yes, you are correct on both counts. The figures you quoted are net returns to the owners

Re-sells are very very healthy in Silverene right now...

Originally Posted by rags

Learnt that a 33rd floor apt (half-floor) in Tower A was resold for 7M to a young Saudi and the penthouse (whole floor) was bought in resale for, if I remember correctly, 16M by an Egyptian, both recently.

[johnnyinspain]

I am interested to know where everyone is on this size reduction issue? I have a meeting with Cayan next week.
Thanks

Originally Posted by True Blue

Ouch!

Well 1214 to 1067 is a reduction of 12.1% therefore you should still be entitled to compensation.

That will be a sore one for Cayan as the reduction is on the balconies which will not have a significant saving on the construction cost.

[jeetha]

Ask them where did reduction come from ....For the one bedrooms without balconies?

[shanesilver]

Met with Cayan couple of days back to understand the difference in the sq foot, the main customer service manager wasn't in so spoke to one of the girls instead. She tells me the drawings had some issues and had to be redone in accordance with the land department plus some of the service areas and maintenance shafts had to be excluded from the original sq. ft. hence the difference.

Sadly, they are not offering any form of compensation at all as they feel this is beyond their control and if you do have any grievances they you need to register a formal complaint with the court.

On the BTU meters installation, they say these will be installed shortly but they will still collect the a/c charges for now and will tally this against actually usage at the end of the year and reimburse the difference back.

[True Blue]

It doesn't matter if it out with their control, there is a binding agreement which is very generous extending the variation to 10%. Would they hand over the keys to anyone who says that due to circumstances outwith my control, I can't pay any more than 90%. Not a chance.

Terrible attitude to adopt after building up a decent reputation then throwing it down the toilet.

[jeetha]

Originally Posted by True Blue

Terrible attitude to adopt after building up a decent reputation then throwing it down the toilet.

Very bad of Cayan.

But storage space... sort of makes up for the loss.

[jeetha]

Good news.

Deeds are ready for collection.

[methodinmadness]

Originally Posted by jeetha

Good news.

Deeds are ready for collection.

Unfortunately not. They are now saying the end of December!

[jeetha]

Originally Posted by methodinmadness

Unfortunately not. They are now saying the end of December!

Maybe they are doing few at a time.

[methodinmadness]

Did anyone already receive their Title Deeds yet?

[rags]

Arabtec wins a big contract in Qatar:
http://www.meed.com/3161150.article

[podium]

Yes a number of people have received their deeds, they should all be through quite soon.

[perrix123]

I am still awaiting my title deed for my 2 bedroom apartment in tower B.
I have been told only last week that they aren't ready yet and should be by the end of Dec. I do not know why it has taken so long to get the title deed to us. Its been over a year since handover.
Plus any news on the size reduction this is greater than the 10% allowance therefore we should receive the difference back.
Is there a Silverene Owners Association?

[J39]

Originally Posted by perrix123

I am still awaiting my title deed for my 2 bedroom apartment in tower B.
I have been told only last week that they aren't ready yet and should be by the end of Dec. I do not know why it has taken so long to get the title deed to us. Its been over a year since handover.
Plus any news on the size reduction this is greater than the 10% allowance therefore we should receive the difference back.
Is there a Silverene Owners Association?

No, but as it has been more than 12 months since handover, we should have formed an Interim Owners Association.
We should be looking at service charges, where the money is being spent and what improvements need to be made.
These are our buidings now, we need to take control.

[perrix123]

I agree This is a brand new building so there cant be much in the way of repairs etc plus was built by Arabtec who do have a good reputation.

I have leased my apartment out.

For all you residents of Silverene it would be good to hear you opinion on the building and what it is like living in Silverene. Any issues we should know about.

[madmaniac]

Originally Posted by perrix123

For all you residents of Silverene it would be good to hear you opinion on the building and what it is like living in Silverene. Any issues we should know about.

Hi perrix,

as a resident in a 1BR without balcony on a middle level towards the Marina (**03/**04), I can give you a feedback on what I think of Silverene so far.
Keep in mind it is my first apartment in Dubai, so maybe I am too picky.

Problems I had so far:
- Leakage in 4 different places in my apartment. One larger leakage when people moved in to the apartment above me and it turned out that the drainage of the A/C above was sealed shot with concrete... That one was quite a bitch...
- Two leakages in both the main bathroom and the kitchen from my A/C unit. Nothing major, A/C pipes got insulated. Guy that fixed it told me it is the same problem in every apartment.
- Some watery/gluey stuff oozed through the outside window. A chinese guy that works for the contractor that built the facade came and two more were on a thing outside. They sealed it and left my windows in a dirty state (from the outside of course)
- Speaking of clean windows: I could not look outside anymore because windows got cleaned the first time since the building was finished. Paying the extra 10k in contrast to a 1BR to the other side hurts double then. Lots of complaining and promises over promises that it will be done "next week/month". Crane was broken, weather too hot, I heard it all.
- All transformators in the ceiling are of very low quality and break - in my bathroom it was completely dark. Then they did not have spare ones... not a nice time! Again, the guys fixing it told me it is the same problem in the whole building...
- Hob in the kitchen is a joke. You can not power two fields full power at the same time. How to properly cook there is completely unclear to me.
- A/C in the winter is a nightmare. It is way too cold and trying to convey this to the people doing the maintenance is a nightmare. They simply do not understand :/ Problem is that there is cold air generated in a central A/C unit in the mechanical floor. Since it is cold outside, no one needs cold air in their apartments. So the air pressure is high and pushed into the apartments, although the A/C is out. Having 20°C is not what i expected, neither do i enjoy the noise.
- All sunshades in the pool area broke from the wind and seem not be replaced. The pool is nice, although a bit flat - but that is known already I think.
- Availability of the access cards was also very very late. And now that the access cards are there, I am wondering that still people are able to put these "massage" and maid cards under my door - how do they come in?
- Worst things to the end: There have been uncounted numbers of fire alarms, and even the ones that wake you with an alarm over your bed at 4 in the morning. No one is reacting to them anymore. You can be sure that what has happened in JLT would cause lots of dead people in Silverene because no one would leave their flat. I blame management of the building for that one. At least we have gone from daily alarms to only weekly ones, but this is a long way from feeling safe. In fact this is most probably the reason I will move out. Not that in other buildings the fire alarm is flawless, but at least I do not need to be concerned every time it is going off.



Besides that, I like the building.
- The supermarket downstairs is great - no non-halal though, but Waitrose in Marina Mall is just a one-minute walk away.
- Access to SZR and Media City is great, there is a metro in front of the door and the Marina Walk is also there.
- View is spectacular, I love it!
- Finishing (especially of the bathrooms) is great (the 1BR has a shower, try to find that anywhere else in Marina!)

Hope that gave you an impression
If i remember anything else, I will update accordingly.

[J39]

Generally I agree with Madmaniacs comments. I have had similar issues with the aircon. I have not had problems with the lighting transformers but have had to replace a number of the lampholders which are very poor quality.I am stocking up with both transformers and lamp holders as there are are 48 of them in my three bed and so far I have only replaced about a dozen.
There is still some work to do around the building. There is what I think to be an unfinished plant bed near the pool which has stood empty all this time.
As for the sun shades , they were never going to survive the winds. They need to be replaced with a number of much smaller sunshades rather than the cumbersome giants we had.
The cleaners are doing a decent job, the security staff are good and the reception staff helpful and friendly.
The area around Silverene is buzzing. The supermarket, the new gym/dance/martial arts studio etc have filled all the empty retail units at the foot of the building. The RTA boat and a couple of dhows dock outside the entrance to Silverene so the area is always busy [ compare it to the opposite side of the marina where most of the retail units are standing empty ].
I would like to see the reception area improved, the wallpaper just does not do it for me. The area could be much improved with marble, granite or slate. The public areas , especially around the lifts want repainting.
I think free wi-fi in a public area would go down well with both residents and their guests.
I would also like a much better explanation of the recent very heavy service charges.
All these points are small niggles in an otherwise very good building. We can address most of these points once we have set up an Interim Owners Association.
Fortunately, we have bought into a well built quality building which is more than can be said some of our near neighbours across the water.
For the benefit of absent owners , I think it fair to say you should have no serious worries.

[Dubai_Steve]

Originally Posted by madmaniac

Problems I had so far:
- Leakage in 4 different places in my apartment. One larger leakage when people moved in to the apartment above me and it turned out that the drainage of the A/C above was sealed shot with concrete... That one was quite a bitch...
- Two leakages in both the main bathroom and the kitchen from my A/C unit. Nothing major, A/C pipes got insulated. Guy that fixed it told me it is the same problem in every apartment.
- Some watery/gluey stuff oozed through the outside window. A chinese guy that works for the contractor that built the facade came and two more were on a thing outside. They sealed it and left my windows in a dirty state (from the outside of course)
- Speaking of clean windows: I could not look outside anymore because windows got cleaned the first time since the building was finished. Paying the extra 10k in contrast to a 1BR to the other side hurts double then. Lots of complaining and promises over promises that it will be done "next week/month". Crane was broken, weather too hot, I heard it all.
- All transformators in the ceiling are of very low quality and break - in my bathroom it was completely dark. Then they did not have spare ones... not a nice time! Again, the guys fixing it told me it is the same problem in the whole building...
- Hob in the kitchen is a joke. You can not power two fields full power at the same time. How to properly cook there is completely unclear to me.
- A/C in the winter is a nightmare. It is way too cold and trying to convey this to the people doing the maintenance is a nightmare. They simply do not understand :/ Problem is that there is cold air generated in a central A/C unit in the mechanical floor. Since it is cold outside, no one needs cold air in their apartments. So the air pressure is high and pushed into the apartments, although the A/C is out. Having 20°C is not what i expected, neither do i enjoy the noise.
- All sunshades in the pool area broke from the wind and seem not be replaced. The pool is nice, although a bit flat - but that is known already I think.
- Availability of the access cards was also very very late. And now that the access cards are there, I am wondering that still people are able to put these "massage" and maid cards under my door - how do they come in?
- Worst things to the end: There have been uncounted numbers of fire alarms, and even the ones that wake you with an alarm over your bed at 4 in the morning. No one is reacting to them anymore. You can be sure that what has happened in JLT would cause lots of dead people in Silverene because no one would leave their flat. I blame management of the building for that one. At least we have gone from daily alarms to only weekly ones, but this is a long way from feeling safe. In fact this is most probably the reason I will move out. Not that in other buildings the fire alarm is flawless, but at least I do not need to be concerned every time it is going off.

Do you mean the ones above the ceiling or just some small pipes into the unit?

How much did it cost you to lag the pipes? or did the contractor fix it for free?

Are the problems with fire alarms going off all the time related to the condensation in the A/C pipes?

Must say I expected better here after all the Cayan quality hype.

[madmaniac]

Originally Posted by Dubai_Steve

Do you mean the ones above the ceiling or just some small pipes into the unit?

I am talking about the ones above the ceiling.

How much did it cost you to lag the pipes?

I complained before the warranty period ended, so I did not pay.*
That is by the way another major issue. They expect me (as a tenant!) to pay for things that are clearly not my fault, e.g. the non-working AC. The guys repairing the transformators told me all owners will now also have to pay for the broken lights.
I do not know how it works in Dubai otherwise, but I would expect either Cayan or the owner of my apartment to cover these charges, it is definitely not my fault and from a tenant perspective I am willing to pay for light bulbs and other small things that are to be fixed by me, but not serious things. I assume they would also charge me for a water leakage now...

Are the problems with fire alarms going off all the time related to the condensation in the A/C pipes?

For one alarm that was going off 1 am, I went down and complained a lot - alarms had been going off for nearly 4 hours then.
They told me they had a water leakage in the basement (they had several of these, you should see the B2 level walls ) and it was affecting the fire alarm. Besides that I have no idea where the alarms came from. There is no apology or anything like that that I ever saw, except when I went to the Cayan office and complained there.

Must say I expected better here after all the Cayan quality hype.

I guess you need to see it in relation as mentioned by J39: Other places are so much worse in Dubai. Also I am coming from a country that has a reputation of being quite perfectionist.
I lived in other countries before and have made the same quality experience I made in Dubai.
The only thing that really scares me is the fire alarms. Mind my words: If there ever is a real fire in Silverene, a lot of people will be harmed. Especially after the recent fire in JLT and the catastrophe in Doha, I would expect the authorities to be much more serious about that.

[True Blue]

They could of course just switch the fire alarms off completely as I believe they have done in most other developments!

The problem with all Dubai projects is they are handed over immediately and there is no commissioning phase as is normal in other parts of the developed world.

I must say I have stayed in my Cayan apartments and have never experienced ac leaks or random fire alarms. I have had to replace several water heaters as they don't seem to last in Dubai due to desalinated water. It seems to be the norm everywhere and surprises me that they don't offer stainless steel cylinders to combat the corrosion problem.

I have suffered from transformer burnout and was surprised to find the standard transformers supplied were made in UK! I replaced every transformer and 50w halogen bulb with transformerless 240v GU10 bridges and LED 240v GU10 bulbs. As well as the energy saving benefits, the GU10 LED 6 watt bulbs are cool running and do not add heat to an environment you are trying to keep cool in summer. BTW, I bought all these parts and bulbs from reputable suppliers in the UK. I originally looked at supplies from Dragonmart but the quality of the GU10 bridges was really poor and had no earth, not suitable for kitchens and bathrooms.

No disrespect to you Madmaniac, but a lot of the initial problem is due to tenant AND maintenance personnel having poor understanding of the MEP snags and issues. The problems tend to be very minor but the handling of the issue is poor. Hence all the comments about it being the same in every apartment. For example;

Cheap halogen bulbs draw massive currents when they blow, these high currents will trip the breaker but the reaction time is too slow resulting in damage to the transformers and dimmer switches, if fitted. The fault was not in the transformer but instead in the cheap bulb that did not incorporate a fast blow safety fuse. So the maintenance man replaces the damaged transformer and fits another cheap non fused bulb and the same thing happens in 3 months.

Edit; found this on the net that explains why you should only buy quality branded halogen bulbs that are manufactured with burnout fuses built in;

Why burnout is sometimes so spectacular

When the filament breaks, an arc sometimes forms. Since the current flowing through the arc is also flowing through the filament at this time, there is a voltage gradient across the two pieces of the filament. This voltage gradient often causes this arc to expand until it is across the entire filament.
Now, consider a slightly nasty characteristic of most electric arcs. If you increase the current going through an arc, it gets hotter, which makes it more conductive. Obviously, this could make things a bit unstable, since the more conductive arc would draw even more current. The arc easily becomes conductive enough that it draws a few hundred amps of current. At this point, the arc often melts the parts of the filament that the ends of the arc are on, and the arc glows with a very bright light blue flash. Most household light bulbs have a built-in fuse, consisting of a thin region in one of the internal wires. The extreme current drawn by a burnout arc often blows this built-in fuse. If not for this fuse, people would frequently suffer blown fuses or tripped circuit breakers from light bulbs burning out.
Although the light bulb's internal fuse will generally protect household fuses and circuit breakers, it may fail to protect the more delicate electronics often found in light dimmers and electronic switching devices from the current surges drawn by "burnout arcs".

Ever wondered why a halogen bulb can appear to be fine with the filament intact yet it doesn't work? That's because the fuse went first and the bulb looks perfect otherwise.