We came to find out two weeks ago that the school bus that will take Angela to her school is supposed to pick her up at 6.15 a.m. I initially thought that I had either heared it wrongly or that I had completely misunderstood the information. I had to verifiy several times and it was only until Mark gave me that look as if wondering whether or not I had ceased to understand simple English and symantecs that the truth sank in. They are picking her up at 6.15! Our place is barely 20 minutes drive from school and they''re picking her up 1 and a half hour early. That was then that I realize that the best thing for us to do is move to Al Nahda area, the boundary between the Dubai and Sharjah Emirate, where Angela's school is located. Even if it means having to pay 3 times more than what we're currently paying, I am moving to that place because it would mean that Angela is going to be 2-minute drive or even walking distance from her school.
Mark and me were already discussing the possibility of moving to a new house for almost a year now. The only thing was, we cannot decide the location. Mark wanted to move to International City to be closer to our work. I wanted to move to Al Nahda where, although much farther from our workplace, would be closer to Angela's school and will obviously make things easy for her. Since the children are too young to help in the voting process (the only thing they're helping us decide is which play area to go), we are always in deadlock. But the school's announcement about Angela's pick up schedule became the single catalyst that changed hubby's mind. He suddenly approve the idea of us moving to Al Nahda and did not even argue when we discussed the budget issue.
We spent the first day after we arrived from Germany house hunting. As typical as it is in Dubai, we couldn't find any. Aside from us, there was apparently a lot of other couples searching for houses in the same area as well that it finally looked like we were a convoy of vehicles roaming around the area searching for any available flats. We found one but couldn't decide on it yet.
I spent the following nights on the internet searching gulfnews for any available 2 bedroom-hall property to rent. I was somehow successful and found some which are worth visiting again. Several phone cards and phone calls, lots of exhausted energy and one very dusty car later, I finally found the one which I believed is perfect for our family. I took Mark there the following day and the moment that he walked in, I know that he fell in love with the place. I immediately called the agent to tell him that we liked the place and that we're taking it. Since it was Iftar time, he asked me if I could give him some time to break his fast, after which he will give me a call. I agreed.
Since Eid holidays( the holidays that follows the end of ramadan) is around the corner and people is simply anxiously waiting for the moon sighting, (no one exactly knows when ramadan will be, it depends when the moon comes out) Mark's group of friends (who are all car enthusiasts) had a meeting that evening to disucss their out of town trip. We firstly had dinner at the Noodle House after which he left me at Deira City Center while he went to the meeting which is conveniently located just opposite the mall. An hour later I tried contacting the agent but since Eid had apparently started, trying to get through the phone was practically impossible( try visualizing making a call or sending text message during christmas and/or new year in the Philippines).
When Mark and Me met after the meeting, he had informed me that the new modus operandi of some pretentious freelance real estate agents is to take money from individuals who are seeking to rent flats as "reservation fee". Since property in Dubai is very difficult to find, nevermind the one with amenities, people does pay this "reservation fee" in the assumption that their property gets reserved for them until they are able to get the final contract. Unfortunately, some individuals are taking advantage of this and are taking money from their "supposed clients"without really reserving the property for them. Since they are freelance, they are therefore not in possession of any official real estate receipts and they would only issue notes or confirmations written on a piece of paper that they have received some cash which they could conveniently deny later on. They simply disappear and when the poor victims try to get their money back, the landlord denies any acquaintance with the criminal and victims money disappears along with the ägent". What's worse, the agent's freelance status means the company is not liable for any of his criminal acts.
One Filipino couple had been a victim of this and the thief? She was another Filipina. Gone with the couple's hard-earned money. So much for Filipino camaraderie and support.
We received the warning not a moment too soon. I am afraid that the "agent" we're currently dealing with is one of those unscrupulous persons waiting for the next gullible victim. He is now insisting that I give him the deposit/reservation fee with a particular stress in the word "cash". I proposed that I draft him a cash cheque (the bank requires ID card and phone no. before they process the transaction making it easy to track stolen cheques/money) or a cheque issued in the name of the real estate. He said no, he wants it in cold cash along with the passport copies of my entire family. I insisted that he will get the deposit/reservation fee along with the cheque for his commission (AED. 5000) and the PDCs for the rental once I see and sign the contract which is duly signed and stamped by the real estate office. He said he has to inform the real estate that somebody is interested in taking the flat and the only way to ensure it is to pay in advance, a normal practice in Dubai, where money talks. However, due to the Eid Holidays, he will only be able to start with the processing on Saturday. I replied back that I prefer to go with him to the real estate office, pay the reservation fee there and submit my families passport copies directly to the administrative officer of the real estate and submit all other cheques and papers right there and then as well. He said that was NOT possible. hmmmmm.
Does this person really thinks I am that desperate to hand out AED. 2K and my entire family's passport copy to a complete stranger. Maybe I sounded to desperate on the phone so he had assumed it. Perhaps, in a place where crime hardly happens, people tend to be complacent and I can very well imagine that a lot of person would probably fall for such trick. After thorough discussion, Mark and me decided not to do it. It probably means that he is, after all, might be an honest person who's company policies and procedure is rather difficult to comprehend and we might really be risking losing a good deal (at AED. 95K per annum with free parking, the place was really a good deal in Dubai). But then again, I don't think it's a risk worth taking.
There are still other options we need to check. There were other flats which we already saw and were quite good as well. Since we're again going on an out of town trip tomorrow, I can only hope that the flats will still be there by the time we get back on Thursday. Searching for a new house in Dubai, can really be exhausting.
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