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You did a great job investing in Dubai, so I hear.

At the right time and in the right places you made a fortune. Excellent succes story Arnie.

Did you always work in property development/brokerage firms? Or is it something you do on a side basis, next to a 'regular' job back in the 80's?

Arnie,
I agree with you on your opinions.
So you were quite lucky in 2002. Happened to be in the right place at the right time. You could not have timed it much better by buying in 2002 and selling in 2007. TIMING IS EVERYTHING!!
What were your buying prices in Sterling in 2002? Not familiar with dirham rates back then.

The guy I mentioned called Nick in Dubai Marina. I take it you've not come across him ?
He moved out in 2006. He has bought at least 11 properties to rent in 2006 and 2007, so his timing looks totally wrong. What sort of percentage would he have lost by now if he bought in 2007?
He had sold a pub chain in the UK and made sure he was a Dubai resident to avoid tax. He sold the chain for £28 million sterling , paid back the borrowings , leaving about £12 million to his name.
If you buy properties there, can you repatriate the cash as Sterling in the UK if you sell as a Dubai resident , or do you have to keep it in a bank in Dubai whilst a resident ? I know they have British banks like Barclays out there.

You say you converted from Dirhams to Sterling in Dec 2008. Did you have to leave that money in Dubai , or have you been allowed to bring it back to the UK ?
Is there any tax if you sell a Dubai property at a profit , then take the money out of the UAE and back to UK?

RedKite wrote:You say you converted from Dirhams to Sterling in Dec 2008. Did you have to leave that money in Dubai , or have you been allowed to bring it back to the UK ?
Is there any tax if you sell a Dubai property at a profit , then take the money out of the UAE and back to UK?

Investments in Dubai are tax-free investments.
The money Arnie made, he can take back to the UK at any moment in time. Problem is, the Sterling is falling like a rock and the dollar is in strong demand as the worlds reserve currency. That makes Arnie's decision to invest the money in Dubai Dirhams (pegged to the dollar) a very good hedging strategy. He collects 5 percent on that strategy a year and is not exposed to weakness of the pound sterling.

He should however remain awake, as the inflationary policy of the US government might show dollar weakness in a later stadium around 2010 and beyond. That would be the time to pull the money out for maximum value for your pound.
If the UAE economy continues to grow and the dirhams appreciates against the dollar (terminating the dollar peg) in the future, he might simply stay where the money already is invested. On the other side of the coin, when the UAE governments liabilities to real estate investments trusts and SWF's causes the Dirham currency to weaken further (seen by more price increases for commodities and food/energy), it might be time to invest in an economy that uses a more experienced monetary policy with greater restrictions on inflation.

I was gonna say the Euro, but I better keep my mouth shut as more trouble is coming from Eastern Europe's nations, causing more IMF help and more inflation of euro's.

Robbie,
So there is no block by UAE banks on taking money out of the country? Other countries have done that in the past. Of course, Barclays are in Dubai . They are recovering now after a calamitous share price drop. They shot up this week .
Royal Bank of Scotland shares were 14.5 pence each last Monday, after catastrophic drops since last October. They are 22 pence each tonight , so that is a nice 50 per cent increase in a WEEK!!
I only bought 5000 shares. I wish it was 50000 now, but I was afraid of taking the risk. RBS shares were £7...YES SEVEN POUNDS ...each just over 15 months ago.
So , even though they have had to be bailed out by the Government, I think that the HUGE SHARE PRICE LOSS has been overdone. I think they could go up quite a lot even in a recession. They are changing the WHOLE BOARD, who made the stupid decision to buy the Dutch Amro Bank not that long ago. That was the BIG catastrophe , added to sub-prime lending and the general housing market.
I could have run a bank better than some of these "EXPERTS" . What a load of *ankers [ not Bankers........a later letter of the alphabet ] the bosses have turned out to be!! Yet they get MILLIONS in BONUSES!!
CRAZY!!

Arniegang and Robbie. What do you think of RBS shares? Have the drops not been overdone?
As I say, I only stuck in £725 for 5000, because they are down to a penny share. The previous Friday, they were 12 pence at rock bottom.
They are going to run a TIGHT SHIP now , for sure!!
They are closing in less profitable countries. I have a feeling those shares can go up a LOT!!

Could be a GOOD TIME TO BUY RBS SHARES!!

Before they were split 3 for 1 for Amro, RBS were over £20 ....yes TWENTY POUNDS a share !

I should imagine that some patriotic Scots......investing in THEIR OWN BANKS OF RBS AND HBOS , have lost their LIFE-SAVINGS since last October!
Many Scots nationalists would have every penny in those two banks, I bet!!

NEVER, EVER PUT ALL YOUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET!!

RedKite wrote:Robbie,
So there is no block by UAE banks on taking money out of the country? Other countries have done that in the past. Of course, Barclays are in Dubai . They are recovering now after a calamitous share price drop. They shot up this week .

Accounts in UAE will only be blocked if you get unemployed and your former companies sends a letter to the bank confirming that. This way your funds are blocked and you can't pay off any liabilities you have. A flaw of the blocking system... I know.

Royal Bank of Scotland shares were 14.5 pence each last Monday, after catastrophic drops since last October. They are 22 pence each tonight , so that is a nice 50 per cent increase in a WEEK!!
I only bought 5000 shares. I wish it was 50000 now, but I was afraid of taking the risk. RBS shares were £7...YES SEVEN POUNDS ...each just over 15 months ago.
So , even though they have had to be bailed out by the Government, I think that the HUGE SHARE PRICE LOSS has been overdone. I think they could go up quite a lot even in a recession. They are changing the WHOLE BOARD, who made the stupid decision to buy the Dutch Amro Bank not that long ago. That was the BIG catastrophe , added to sub-prime lending and the general housing market.
I could have run a bank better than some of these "EXPERTS" . What a load of *ankers [ not Bankers........a later letter of the alphabet ] the bosses have turned out to be!! Yet they get MILLIONS in BONUSES!!
CRAZY!!

Arniegang and Robbie. What do you think of RBS shares? Have the drops not been overdone?

I don't know if Arnie's active in the stock market. I surely am.
Anyway, financials are not sound momentarily. Investing in financials is just pure speculation. Sure, there can be money made with a small bet.

As I say, I only stuck in £725 for 5000, because they are down to a penny share. The previous Friday, they were 12 pence at rock bottom.
They are going to run a TIGHT SHIP now , for sure!!
They are closing in less profitable countries. I have a feeling those shares can go up a LOT!!

Could be a GOOD TIME TO BUY RBS SHARES!!

Before they were split 3 for 1 for Amro, RBS were over £20 ....yes TWENTY POUNDS a share !

I should imagine that some patriotic Scots......investing in THEIR OWN BANKS OF RBS AND HBOS , have lost their LIFE-SAVINGS since last October!
Many Scots nationalists would have every penny in those two banks, I bet!!

NEVER, EVER PUT ALL YOUR EGGS IN ONE BASKET!!

I start to wonder if you really are 60 years of age. Cause your reasoning for stock market investments and use of CAPITAL letters is pointing at 20 years of age...!!!

Anyway, you know how it works; Results from the past offer no guarantee for future profits.

Like you said, unprecedented crisis, so all historic results were actually inflated.
If the banking system is to be regulated without the common leverage. Bank shares will never reach the same 'value' as before. Having said that; the US government is probably going to set up a BAD BANK, which will have funds for troubled assets worth about $2000 to $4000 billion US dollars. This might revive some shareprices of the financials probably...

Arnie, what you think of properties in Abu Dhabi?

Bad Bank has not yet been approved, due to the public outcry of savings
Wall Street ass, they in turn being so arrogant and ignorant by taking $20
billion bonuses despite running all the financial institutions into the ground.
I myself will probably change my mind by thinking let start all over with a clean system and let them fail, securing the deposits, move them to new institutions with a clean record and management. No taxpayers money for bonuses!
I dont have the answer. but we are getting frustrated with those selfish
arrogant bankers. WSJ and NYT cover the current mood in the States
together with the comments by their readers quite accurately.

Nucleus wrote:Arnie, what you think of properties in Abu Dhabi?

I dont really follow the market in AD, sorry

Robby,

I wish I was 20 again!! ?? I use CAPITALS for emphasis , that's all. Why the fuss? You cannot shout in print . A physical impossibility !

I mention RBS because they are now a penny share. Yet how can they go bust? Brown is from Fife and Darling's from Edinburgh....BOTH SCOTS!!

RBS was THE BANK of the Scots [ Get the meaning of the capitals??]
Millions of patriotic Scots are losing LIFE SAVINGS by being shareholders in RBS .
Brown and Darling will BUST A GUT to keep it private, so that new, better management can run a tight ship and build it back up painfully and slowly.......so that SCOTS DO NOT LOSE EVERYTHING!!

If the Scottish investors lose everything and the bank is TOTALLY nationalised........IT WILL BECOME AN ENGLISH BANK ,NOT A SCOTTISH ONE, because 50 million of 60 million in UK are ENGLISH.....only 5 million are Scottish ! Royal Bank Of Scotland OWNED by English people? That won't suit many Scots.

Scotland will blame Brown and Darling for the fiasco.....AND LABOUR WILL LOSE SEATS AND POWER IN SCOTLAND !! A CATASTROPHE for Brown, Darling and all the SCOTS WHO RULE ENGLAND FROM A SMALL BASE in Scotland !!

Don't you see, LABOUR SCOTS, hold a disproportionate share of UK POWER!! ??
Scots Labour Party will want to cling to that power , not ANTAGONISE Scots voters!!
SCOTS WILL FLOOD TO THE SCOTS NATS PARTY!

Brown and Blair will be hoping that FROM A SMALL PRIVATE BASE, RBS will gain in profits . They will then hope that RBS will repay the Govt gradually.
They will want Scots investors to regain some of their money. Many Scots will have been almost wiped out!!
You can guarantee that kilt-wearers will have savings wrapped up in RBS and HBOS !! They are THEIR NATIONAL BANKS!!
Scots are VERY PATRIOTIC!!

RedKite wrote:Robby,

I wish I was 20 again!! ?? I use CAPITALS for emphasis , that's all. Why the fuss? You cannot shout in print . A physical impossibility !

I mention RBS because they are now a penny share. Yet how can they go bust? Brown is from Fife and Darling's from Edinburgh....BOTH SCOTS!!

RBS was THE BANK of the Scots [ Get the meaning of the capitals??]
Millions of patriotic Scots are losing LIFE SAVINGS by being shareholders in RBS .
Brown and Darling will BUST A GUT to keep it private, so that new, better management can run a tight ship and build it back up painfully and slowly.......so that SCOTS DO NOT LOSE EVERYTHING!!

If the Scottish investors lose everything and the bank is TOTALLY nationalised........IT WILL BECOME AN ENGLISH BANK ,NOT A SCOTTISH ONE, because 50 million of 60 million in UK are ENGLISH.....only 5 million are Scottish ! Royal Bank Of Scotland OWNED by English people? That won't suit many Scots.

Scotland will blame Brown and Darling for the fiasco.....AND LABOUR WILL LOSE SEATS AND POWER IN SCOTLAND !! A CATASTROPHE for Brown, Darling and all the SCOTS WHO RULE ENGLAND FROM A SMALL BASE in Scotland !!

Don't you see, LABOUR SCOTS, hold a disproportionate share of UK POWER!! ??
Scots Labour Party will want to cling to that power , not ANTAGONISE Scots voters!!
SCOTS WILL FLOOD TO THE SCOTS NATS PARTY!

Brown and Blair will be hoping that FROM A SMALL PRIVATE BASE, RBS will gain in profits . They will then hope that RBS will repay the Govt gradually.
They will want Scots investors to regain some of their money. Many Scots will have been almost wiped out!!
You can guarantee that kilt-wearers will have savings wrapped up in RBS and HBOS !! They are THEIR NATIONAL BANKS!!
Scots are VERY PATRIOTIC!!

I understand.
If you really want to express yourself, you don't necessarily have to use CAPITALS, as this is more like screaming. You should consider using the "apostrophe" to emphasize a text or double meaning.

Repeated use of capitals looks like shouting and panic like behaviour. Hence my replies. Nothing personal my friend.

As for RBS. Its like some sort of Belgian national share as Fortis Bank was, right? Its tough out there, I'm feeling with ya.
On Seeking Alpha I read some analysts reasoning of the pound going parity with the dollar down the road. Its almost 1:1 with the Euro as we speak. However, the dollar parity seems very pessimistic!
I wonder how bad the UK's economy really is. Lots of toxic investments not yet on the corporate balance sheets...2009 wil clear most of the clouds for sure.

Robby,
You say that capitals "look like screaming". I disagree ! That is only in the mind of the READER, not the writer . WHY should they "look like screaming" ? It's crazy!!
The printed word.........whatever its size, does not emanate ANY sound, so why does reading capitals upset you? It is not logical!!

I wager that when you pass a huge advertising hoarding ......with MIXED upper and lower case phrases , as they do in advertising , that you do not say........"That upsets me !! That poster is SCREAMING at me? I bet you hardly notice the various letter sizes on a 10 metre poster or hoarding !! Think about it!

This is a PSYCHOLOGICAL matter. A reader should look at his OWN mind, not that of the writer ! Why is it that the reader cannot read VARYING print sizes ?? Why does it disrupt you and your perception?

NO noise comes from the printed word, even if it is 2 metres high.
Does the HOLLYWOOD sign in large capitals upset people psychologically ?

I am not a Scot, so I am not tied emotionally to RBS. But the Scots are 5 million out of an UK 60 million, with 50 million in England. Yet Scots have been ruling the UK disproportionately for years under Labour.
Blair, Brown, Darling.....all Scots.

If RBS is not nationalised , it can climb back up a fair way. The board who bought your DISASTROUS Dutch Amro , are being sacked , and new people brought in to run the bank frugally. You mention "toxic" . Well over-valued property in Dubai was part of that malaise.
Property was inflated almost everywhere as people borrowed 7 times salary.
I have been preaching UK fall in house prices since 2002. It was ALL CRAZY!!
I reckon they will fall another 20 per cent.

As for HOLLYWOOD. Thats a mediasign. Media screams to be HEARD, you know! The TV goes louder when the break arrives. You got my point.

Its in the quality of the writer to express himself without losing his audience. Therefore the newspaper doesn't allow them, as well as many fora around the world.

I mostly skip em, to be fair. Ask someone around you, what they think about CAPITALS IN EVERY LINE OF TEXT I WRITE.... No point in that, is there HighFlyer?

The trouble with the pound is that it is a small currency compared to the dollar and euro, allowing to financial speculators to manipulate it.
I see that southern European countries are now called PIIGS. They are Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece and Spain [ PIIGS]. They cannot keep up with northern Europe , so the strong Euro is causing them a problem.
Shoppers are flooding in from Eire / Southern Ireland to shop in Northern Ireland. It must be hitting their exports to the UK.

The main trouble with the UK as well, is that banking is such a MAJOR part of the UK and London economy. Finance is the biggest sector.
That is another reason there is trouble.

Wow, this thread went from the decline in the price of villas in Dubai to banking and cyber etiquette.

Yep, way off target.
The only aspect that lines up with depreciating villa's is the currency aspect.

RedKite, open a new financial thread if you like...

http://www.arabianbusiness.com/545291-d ... --research

This is a more up to date version of current problems

sage & onion wrote:http://www.arabianbusiness.com/545291-dubai-office-prices-will-fall-by-35---research

This is a more up to date version of current problems

Landmark properties have no expertese other than b eing a large estate agency group in Duabi. Personally i wouldn't take too much notice of their predictions.

They cant be that smart as they still have 3 offices open in the Marina selling probably 1 property a week between them.

Interesting to note they are trying to protecting the Villa market, which in all reallity is going to be hit the hardest with the exodus of expats.

arniegang wrote:

sage & onion wrote:http://www.arabianbusiness.com/545291-dubai-office-prices-will-fall-by-35---research

This is a more up to date version of current problems

Landmark properties have no expertese other than b eing a large estate agency group in Duabi. Personally i wouldn't take too much notice of their predictions.

They cant be that smart as they still have 3 offices open in the Marina selling probably 1 property a week between them.

Interesting to note they are trying to protecting the Villa market, which in all reallity is going to be hit the hardest with the exodus of expats.

Don't say that m8

soz matey thats the reality of it.

The group with the highest disposable income are the first in the queue for the chopping block. This group also happens to be the only group that come close to even affording villa prices.

Mate it is of no consequence to you anyway. You own it so the value has no relevance to the Sages. Irrespective of villa values, your home is a paper loss or a paper gain. Anyway even if god forbid you lost your job you still have the means for a residence visa.

You are one of the fortunate ones that can ride this through

arniegang wrote:god forbid you lost your job you still have the means for a residence visa.

not really, at the moment.

Nucleus wrote:

arniegang wrote:god forbid you lost your job you still have the means for a residence visa.

not really, at the moment.

I was directing my comment to Sage, not you

arniegang wrote:

sage & onion wrote:http://www.arabianbusiness.com/545291-dubai-office-prices-will-fall-by-35---research

This is a more up to date version of current problems

Landmark properties have no expertese other than b eing a large estate agency group in Duabi. Personally i wouldn't take too much notice of their predictions.

They cant be that smart as they still have 3 offices open in the Marina selling probably 1 property a week between them.

Interesting to note they are trying to protecting the Villa market, which in all reallity is going to be hit the hardest with the exodus of expats.

and what diff are they from you ?

arniegang wrote:

sage & onion wrote:http://www.arabianbusiness.com/545291-dubai-office-prices-will-fall-by-35---research

This is a more up to date version of current problems

Landmark properties have no expertese other than b eing a large estate agency group in Duabi. Personally i wouldn't take too much notice of their predictions.

They cant be that smart as they still have 3 offices open in the Marina selling probably 1 property a week between them.

Interesting to note they are trying to protecting the Villa market, which in all reallity is going to be hit the hardest with the exodus of expats.

and what diff are they from you ?

uaekid wrote:

arniegang wrote:

sage & onion wrote:http://www.arabianbusiness.com/545291-dubai-office-prices-will-fall-by-35---research

This is a more up to date version of current problems

Landmark properties have no expertese other than b eing a large estate agency group in Duabi. Personally i wouldn't take too much notice of their predictions.

They cant be that smart as they still have 3 offices open in the Marina selling probably 1 property a week between them.

Interesting to note they are trying to protecting the Villa market, which in all reallity is going to be hit the hardest with the exodus of expats.

and what diff are they from you ?

well.............. put it this way

Some of us have taken our head out of our **** and some (mainly Dubai Estate Agents) still have their heads lodged so far up their ******** they cant get it out. They will eventually see the light.

The real estate agents in dubai, are akin to a car dealer that is trying to charge more for a 2 year old car with 50k on the clock than a brand new one.

arniegang wrote:

Nucleus wrote:

arniegang wrote:god forbid you lost your job you still have the means for a residence visa.

not really, at the moment.

I was directing my comment to Sage, not you

I know. I'm saying there is no residency visa for property owners, I hear they just coming up with 6 months renewable visa for property owners.

Nucleus wrote:

arniegang wrote:

Nucleus wrote:

arniegang wrote:god forbid you lost your job you still have the means for a residence visa.

not really, at the moment.

I was directing my comment to Sage, not you

I know. I'm saying there is no residency visa for property owners, I hear they just coming up with 6 months renewable visa for property owners.

You hear or you know?

acutally this trend is going to continue through 2010 before turning back around. real estate fundamentals do not support even today's valuations despite the 40%+ correction. read the morgan stanley report on dubai real estate, it is quite alarming to read. frankly dubai is still way overvalued. just look at the USA, even manhattan is experiencing a decline - something one thought would never ever happen in this lifetime

Sunil
http://www.dubai-information-site.com

sage & onion wrote:

Nucleus wrote:

arniegang wrote:

Nucleus wrote:

arniegang wrote:god forbid you lost your job you still have the means for a residence visa.

not really, at the moment.

I was directing my comment to Sage, not you

I know. I'm saying there is no residency visa for property owners, I hear they just coming up with 6 months renewable visa for property owners.

You hear or you know?

I hear, but it is from a reliable source. 6 months renewable visa should be available soon.