#APPROVED: PALM SPRINGS, 19F Res (Palm Jebel Ali)

[nasim50]

Too right, slay the bastards in the press

[Hanna]

Hi Guys




I have written a lot about Damac in the Ocean Heights blog over the years
and my feeling's are like most of the bloggers,to my mind they are a shady
company from top to bottom that have big contacts in the Government.
I raised the alarm when I had inside info about them joining the RERA list and how all past past projects from 28.12.07 where excempt which was defeating the purpose this was set up for,the Government gave them an exemption why, because they have no funds and going from new release deposit's to new release deposit's.They have built two buildings over the last 4-5 years out of loads of new releases masterminded by the slick Scotsman Peter Riddoch.

I will be very surprised to see Ocean Heights completed after 4 years of delays,the cost to build this project must have went through the roof and we could be next to see a letter drop the door. I rue the day I took anything to do with Damac and there shoody business practices.

There Dubai CRM has moved on since last month coincidence or what. I don't think so he has timed it right
because he didn't want tainted when the S--T hit's the fan

I have found that the law is geared towards the locals and can be very difficult and costly to win a case in Dubai escpecialy with Government backing.I have said many times the property law system is in its infancy and does tend to look corrupt.


I agree you have to do something the trouble is how to you get the list of all the people that bought in Palm Springs. Damac love that everyone is divided and will find it hard to join up and fight them.One way is to try and get a big UK newspaper add but that doesn't capture all the other nationalities that have bought into the project there could be 10-20 different countries involved.


The contract looks simple and easy to define but they have been smart enough to cover most of there bases.I know because I have already been to a English Lawyer in Dubai and they were not to keen on giving assurances on winning a case in Dubai.


Forget about the newspapers in Dubai the Government control them all the last paper was taken over by them 2 years ago it was called the khaleejtimes and they were hot on Damac that hot the Goverment took them over,So what I am saying that are in cohoots with Damac at the highest level.

[houshang]

Nakheel has distant themselves from controversy created by Damac for Palm Jebel Ali by strongly reaffirming today that not only the Palm Jebel Ali is well on track but they will be offering premium villas to investors which will be
ready in 2010.
This is very reassuring from the Master Developer.

[turbo]

It might be worthwhile for every investor to contact the following (list taken from http://damaconcovered.wordpress.com/write/ ):

Dubai Ministry of Finance & Industry
P.O.Box: 1565
Tel: 04 3939000
Fax: 04 3939738

Email: mofi@uae.gov.ae
Website: http://www.uae.gov.ae/mofi/

Minister of State for this department is H.E. Dr. Mohammed Khalfan bin Kharbash

Dubai Government’s Department of Tourism & Commerce Marketing
11th Floor, National Bank of Dubai Building
Baniyas Road
DeiraDubaiecomplaints@dubaitourism.ae or
info@dubaitourism.ae
website: http://www.dubaitourism.ae
UK & Ireland Office
First Floor
25 Pall Mall
London
SW1Y 5EATel : 0044 207 839 0580.
Fax : 0044 207 839 0582
e-mail: dtcm_uk@dubaitourism

Government of Dubai Real Estate Department
http://www.realestate-dubai.gov.ae/
P.O.Box 23073
Dubai
U.A.E.Tel. : 04-3986666
Fax : 04-3988111 Dubai Quality Group
P.O.Box: 9278
UAETel : (971-4) 343 1950
Fax : (971-4) 343 1970
E-mail : info@dqg.org
Website: www.dqg.org

Government of Dubai Land Department
Tel: 0097142222253
Fax: 0097142222251
Email: info@dubailand.gov.aewe
website: http://www.dubailand.gov.ae/

[tictaco]

Just to let you know that 98% of people who bought Palm Springs apartments were British.
Also, Damac are completely wrapped up with the Sheik so you will not get anywhere with taking Damac to court in the U.A.E. - the best way to make them listen is negative press in the UK.
However, if you create negative publicity and get your apartment back, then you will have helped to destroy the market and your property won't be worth as much anyway.
There is no way you can come out of this winning in my view. Best just chalk it up to experience, take your money and move on. That's what I'm going to do.

[nasim50]

Don't talk shit.

Clearly you're a Damac employee.

Go fuck off to another place such as hell.

[tictaco]

I don't think I warranted such an offensive reply. I'd appreciate it if you could refrain from being abusive - it's really not necessary or helpful.

I certainly do NOT work for Damac. I am just trying to be realistic.
Everybody who has invested in Dubai in the last 5 years knows that it was a risky punt. We all knew the property laws weren't in place and that the Sheik can basically make up any law he wants whenever he wants. The property market is naive and undeveloped and therefore highly risky.

Make a fuss with whoever you want. You will not win a legal case in Dubai and may risk the long term damage to a market that you want to preserve. Yes Damac are wrong to do this and it is not the way to treat customers and will undoubtedly hurt their long term business reputation. I certainly won't invest with them again, or with anyone in Dubai. I'm just going to take my money and run and be thankful that I won't be left with a property that I can't sell in 3 years and is worth less than I paid for it because the market is saturated.

All I'm saying is...some you win, some you lose.

[nasim50]

Yes you're a Damac employee

No one would say what you have said to let just Damac get away with it and "take my money and run"

Do no try to influence any of the investors here to get their money back from Damac.

You have your opinion keep it too yourself.

[james l]

What has happened is a disgrace and it is hard to believe what they are trying to get away with this, but my experience todate in Dubai is that the law is away behind and is always with the developer. I believe this is the first of many developers to go down this road, Dubai is sinking until currency problem is resolved. Investors should unite but if others are risk adverse then take the money and move on, no winners here, it is just a mess and off plan purchase is now risky, if you can see it then perhaps consider purchasing,
I wish everyone the best in this difficuly situation

[FISHY]

Originally Posted by james l

What has happened is a disgrace and it is hard to believe what they are trying to get away with this, but my experience todate in Dubai is that the law is away behind and is always with the developer. I believe this is the first of many developers to go down this road, Dubai is sinking until currency problem is resolved. Investors should unite but if others are risk adverse then take the money and move on, no winners here, it is just a mess and off plan purchase is now risky, if you can see it then perhaps consider purchasing,
I wish everyone the best in this difficuly situation

we must stay united and fight unfair develoer like Damac who cheats their investors and it will be a test for Dubai as a whole and its reputation for outside investors to buy there.

If we win this case ,it is not only good for palm springs investors but for Dubai as a safe place to invest your money in but if we lose I definitly will never buy or visit Dubai again and would certainly advise others the same.

If we do not do anythng we will never know how safe is investing in Dubai and we help to set a precedent for other developers to do the same with other investors.

We must remain firm, steadfast and fight Damac,no matter how long it takes (we already waited more than 4 years!), even if it takes going to court,I am prepared myself to put money towards it. WE MUST PREVAIL.

[Dud Banger]

Originally Posted by tictaco

Just to let you know that 98% of people who bought Palm Springs apartments were British.
Also, Damac are completely wrapped up with the Sheik so you will not get anywhere with taking Damac to court in the U.A.E. - the best way to make them listen is negative press in the UK.
However, if you create negative publicity and get your apartment back, then you will have helped to destroy the market and your property won't be worth as much anyway.
There is no way you can come out of this winning in my view. Best just chalk it up to experience, take your money and move on. That's what I'm going to do.

I don't agree 98% of purchasers are Brits, but even if they where, do YOU or people such as yourself think "Brits" are around UAE to be ripped off, ? I don't think so! The developers are are not slow in promoting the fact England footballers have purchased property throughout PJ as a mass marketing publicity stunt.

We shall shortly see what Damacs hand (if any) is going to be, and believe me us "Brits" will not take shit lying down. So it is best for all parties to mediate and see sense. All we want is an opportunity to be in PJA as our existing contract states! We have waited four years for this.

[AWE!]

Originally Posted by tictaco

Just to let you know that 98% of people who bought Palm Springs apartments were British.
Also, Damac are completely wrapped up with the Sheik so you will not get anywhere with taking Damac to court in the U.A.E. - the best way to make them listen is negative press in the UK.
However, if you create negative publicity and get your apartment back, then you will have helped to destroy the market and your property won't be worth as much anyway.
There is no way you can come out of this winning in my view. Best just chalk it up to experience, take your money and move on. That's what I'm going to do.

Could you please advise from what information you know that 98% of investors are british? and where can I find this information?
Your reply is awaited.

[AWE!]

Originally Posted by tictaco

I don't think I warranted such an offensive reply. I'd appreciate it if you could refrain from being abusive - it's really not necessary or helpful.

I certainly do NOT work for Damac. I am just trying to be realistic.
Everybody who has invested in Dubai in the last 5 years knows that it was a risky punt. We all knew the property laws weren't in place and that the Sheik can basically make up any law he wants whenever he wants. The property market is naive and undeveloped and therefore highly risky.

Make a fuss with whoever you want. You will not win a legal case in Dubai and may risk the long term damage to a market that you want to preserve. Yes Damac are wrong to do this and it is not the way to treat customers and will undoubtedly hurt their long term business reputation. I certainly won't invest with them again, or with anyone in Dubai. I'm just going to take my money and run and be thankful that I won't be left with a property that I can't sell in 3 years and is worth less than I paid for it because the market is saturated.

All I'm saying is...some you win, some you lose.

Hi tictaci

It is curious that your first contact with this forum is in march 2008 and I for one would like the chance of speaking to you before you made the rash decision of accepting what in any civilised country (of which I still consider Dubai to be) an immoral and illegal(according to contract) act.
Please pm me I will be happy to explain that actually taking Damac to court and winning will actually enhance Dubia's reputation as a place to "DO" business and where the "RULE OF LAW" is upheld.

[Hanna]

Originally Posted by Dud Banger

I don't agree 98% of purchasers are Brits, but even if they where, do YOU or people such as yourself think "Brits" are around UAE to be ripped off, ? I don't think so! The developers are are not slow in promoting the fact England footballers have purchased property throughout PJ as a mass marketing publicity stunt.

We shall shortly see what Damacs hand (if any) is going to be, and believe me us "Brits" will not take shit lying down. So it is best for all parties to mediate and see sense. All we want is an opportunity to be in PJA as our existing contract states! We have waited four years for this.

Hi Agree


How could tictaco possibily know how many Brits have bought there unless he has access to the sales spreadsheet,if this was the case I would say he was a Damac employee.Also he made a statement about 'Make a fuss with whoever you want. You will not win a legal case in Dubai and may risk the long term damage to a market that you want to preserve'.this is the exact same laungauge Damac people said to me at a function.So this leads me to believe he is a Sad Damac high ranking employee.



This was from an article I read today the word is getting around slowly :


Dog Corneramac’s attempt to ‘buy-back’ its Palm Springs project (Palm Jebel Ali) , 5 years after its launch, will surely go down as one of DUBAI’s greatest disgraces. While Damac is not owned by the Dubai government, it presents itself around the world as ‘Dubai’. What has happened here is that Damac sold out the project 5 years ago, and cannot now build it without incurring a significant loss. It is attempting to buy out all of its customers and offering to pay them 6% per annum on the sum invested. There are other Developers who find themselves in the same position, but are not resorting to these DISGRACEFUL tactics. These people don’t deserve your money. A real case of ‘I will only play this game if it suits me’ and ‘expect me to go home if I am not winning’. Surely Damac are bigger than that ?

Sadly, no. And to make all you poor Damac clients feel even more irritated, Damac have either sold the land they were going to build Palm Springs on, at a very enormous profit or they will launch a new project – when things are ‘quieter’. Yes, this is how Damac are. Just not to be trusted. You are not valued by them. You are just an easy profit target, who can be abandoned when they have your money. You are just potential victims of their equally disgraceful pricing strategies. This is one incident that needs to hit the international newspapers. I am not sure Sheikh Mohammad knows what is going on here. And he would NOT be happy with the damage the decision will have the hard earned, and deserved, respectable reputation of Dubai. It is time Damac.

[tictaco]

Not long after I bought the apartment, I asked Damac what the nationality breakdown was for purchasers at Palm Springs for my own interest and with a view to who the future market might be, and was concerned to be told that it was 98% British.
I have also since read articles that say the majority of buyers in Duabi are British. The reason that I was concerned was because I could see the future Dubai property market being interminably linked to the UK property market - much like Spain is today - hence all the property bubbles and corrections that happen in the UK are likely to be mirrored in Dubai - not good for an investor looking for a diverse portfolio!
I am 100% behind everything that has been said on here about Damac; it's corrupt, despicable behviour and if you have the appetite for a fight then go for it. All I am saying is that for me, as a small time investor, it was a gamble that hasn't paid off and I can't afford to have my money tied up any longer. I also think that this is the beginning of the end for the Dubai market, and you only have to look at what's happened in Leeds and other UK cities to see what over-supply does to a market. I think there's money to be made in Dubai if you can ride it out for the next 10-15 yrs but I personally can't wait that long.
This will be my last post on this forum, since I am obviously upseting people which was not the intention.

[DiamondGeezer]

I am glad to hear that my fellow investors and our supporters are generally of the same opinion ie that we will fight it out. My inderstanding of Palm Springs when buying was approximately 50 to 60 % were british buyers. The UK is the most important market for Dubai and I dont think even Damac are going to be eventually allowed to get away with this robbery - as long as WE follow this through to the end. The courts are obviously just one option that we are going through. I also know of some journalists who will just love to put some attention on Damac and what they have done.

So what it comes down to is that do you think in the end with all the money involved for the developers in Dubai, are they going to risk one rogue developer to get away with thiss? And how are Damac going to feel if in every property show they do and when they launch any new projects we have people distributing leaflets just telling them how we got conned with Palm Springs?

Im quite convinced that with the investors group we have in place, and the sterling work they are putting in we are going to get something very positive. Anyone who wishes to run away luckily seems to be in a very small minority!

[Hanna]

Originally Posted by DiamondGeezer

I am glad to hear that my fellow investors and our supporters are generally of the same opinion ie that we will fight it out. My inderstanding of Palm Springs when buying was approximately 50 to 60 % were british buyers. The UK is the most important market for Dubai and I dont think even Damac are going to be eventually allowed to get away with this robbery - as long as WE follow this through to the end. The courts are obviously just one option that we are going through. I also know of some journalists who will just love to put some attention on Damac and what they have done.

So what it comes down to is that do you think in the end with all the money involved for the developers in Dubai, are they going to risk one rogue developer to get away with thiss? And how are Damac going to feel if in every property show they do and when they launch any new projects we have people distributing leaflets just telling them how we got conned with Palm Springs?

Im quite convinced that with the investors group we have in place, and the sterling work they are putting in we are going to get something very positive. Anyone who wishes to run away luckily seems to be in a very small minority!

Hi DiamondGeezer


I wish you all the luck with this case.

I have been writing sometime now about Damac and there shady practices, there were a lot of quite investors out that never gave me a reply,maybe they were under the impression that it can't happen to me well suddenly they now know it can, and I am sure there will be many more projects binned,this is the reason that the 'LAUGHABLE RERA' gave them an exemption on the the escrow accounts,they must have had a look at there books and said my God you 'asses' are burst what have you done to the reputaion of Dubai if this info get's out.Then comes the cover up within high places in GOVERNMENT AGAIN because this has been going on for a few years.

There is realy no excuse's the investors including myself can give, all we had to do was Google Damac and see what sites it throw up then you would have got a feel for what this company is about.

[DiamondGeezer]

Originally Posted by Hanna

Hi DiamondGeezer


I wish you all the luck with this case.

I have been writing sometime now about Damac and there shady practices, there were a lot of quite investors out that never gave me a reply,maybe they were under the impression that it can't happen to me well suddenly they now know it can, and I am sure there will be many more projects binned,this is the reason that the 'LAUGHABLE RERA' gave them an exemption on the the escrow accounts,they must have had a look at there books and said my God you 'asses' are burst what have you done to the reputaion of Dubai if this info get's out.Then comes the cover up within high places in GOVERNMENT AGAIN because this has been going on for a few years.

There is realy no excuse's the investors including myself can give, all we had to do was Google Damac and see what sites it throw up then you would have got a feel for what this company is about.

Hi Hanna,

This is the ultimate con they are trying, not a matter of delays, lack of compensation, but trying to cancel a project simply because the P jebel ali is changing. They are getting a plot, which is OUR plot but they are trying to rob us from the new plot. They also think they will get away with it but they seriously did not know the scale of the feeling. Remember that either investors have been waiting for 4 years, or even worse paid huge premiums. With the amount of shit that will hit the fan on this one it is going to create some serious ripples.

Out of interest have any of the investors got the sayings from Peter Riddoch where he went on about how much money the investors with Damac had made because of the appreciation of the property whilst it was still off plan? I need this for some stuff I am putting together on them.

Hanna if you have some info on previous cons pulled by damac please message me and I will give you my email address, though NOTHING can compare with robbing you of a plot!

[Hanna]

Originally Posted by DiamondGeezer

Hi Hanna,

This is the ultimate con they are trying, not a matter of delays, lack of compensation, but trying to cancel a project simply because the P jebel ali is changing. They are getting a plot, which is OUR plot but they are trying to rob us from the new plot. They also think they will get away with it but they seriously did not know the scale of the feeling. Remember that either investors have been waiting for 4 years, or even worse paid huge premiums. With the amount of shit that will hit the fan on this one it is going to create some serious ripples.

Out of interest have any of the investors got the sayings from Peter Riddoch where he went on about how much money the investors with Damac had made because of the appreciation of the property whilst it was still off plan? I need this for some stuff I am putting together on them.

Hanna if you have some info on previous cons pulled by damac please message me and I will give you my email address, though NOTHING can compare with robbing you of a plot!

Hi DiamondGeezer

That's the zip file sent.

[houshang]

Hi everyone

Launch of Palm Springs and the good response from UK investors gave Damac a solid platform to launch their other projects successfully in Uk and surely
would want to continue to do so, specially with projects like Sharm Al
Sheikh in Egypt. So they should really know that the decision they are making today is not only about the future of Palm Springs project but also about their future in UK market.With opening of more and more brunches in UK Damac is showing its desire to grow in this market.

I do not agree with comments regarding over supply of properties either in UK or Dubai. Housing market in UK is suffering moderately from credit crunch in US affecting bank lending,and Dubai market is very much a cash market with huge oil funds chasing too few assets.With more people wanting to live in Dubai the property market will continue to grow in Dubai for a very long time and If Damac wants to be part of it should ACT NOW!