Palm Springs Investors Group

Nakheel’s Comments

Posted by Lee, Dubai, UAE on 1 April 2008 at 20:10 UAE time

This is getting interesting!! Damac says one thing and now Nakheel has come out and contradicted Damac’s “story”. Hmmmm? Who should we believe???

The Dubai government needs to quickly get involved or this story is soon going to become world news. If the group of UK investors proceed with taking Damac to court the UK press is going to be all over this story and it will not be good for Dubai’s reputation or image.

Confirmation

Posted by Ilyas, London on 1 April 2008 at 20:25 UAE time

And Damac were trying to blame Nakheel all along… Simply a case of – how can we make more money – by stuffing the investors and taking their share of the rise in property prices!

Palm Cancellation

Posted by Fred, Dubai, UAE on 2 April 2008 at 08:01 UAE time

I’m afraid greed sometimes backfires, for every one investor that may lose money, there are possibly 5,000 others who are waiting for the bubble to burst and help reduce the over inflated housing market and give others a chance to live and work in Dubai.

Palm Cancellation

Posted by prahlad, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates on 2 April 2008 at 09:59 UAE time

The probem has got to have its genesis in the turmoil currently facing the construction industry which is bleeding on every front for reasons outside its control. Acute scarcity of resources – notably materials and manpower – coupled with escalation of costs to levels beyond belief on the one hand and fixed-price contracts on the other, have all had a devasting effect on the industry. Palm cancellation is, in my veiw, just tip of the ice-burg.

Palm Springs

Posted by Sanjay Amar on 2 April 2008 at 10:03 UAE time

While people talk about potential losses that may arise on account of the shelving of this project, there are damage control measures one could look at.

One idea that immediately comes to my mind is holding the subject land on which the property was to be constructed in trust for the registered buyers of the property, liquidating the land at current values and making proportionate payments.

At least the registered buyers could benefit from the appreciation of the land.

This could be a better solution than the two alternatives offered.

And, if payments have been made to Damac on percentage of completion basis, the damage would be minimised further.

Believe Nakheel

Posted by Riham, Dubai, UAE on 2 April 2008 at 10:49 UAE time

Believe Nakheel! I do realise that they are late on a few projects, but as a buyer, I’d just purchase from them or Emaar. The only two developers I have trust in and I’m saying this as an expat! Have never believed Damac and am sure it is to do with greed. All the money from the downpayments was probably “snatched” up and spent a long time ago….perhaps this is just the beginning of a complete breakdown! Raffle draws on private jets, islands, luxurious cars, etc to attract people? Good idea, sure…but for how long? I can just imagine how many projects are financed to completion in Dubai from the money received as downpayment for newly announced ones…how can you break even then or make a profit? No way….I can just imagine what kind of strict controls the Dubai Government will introduce soon for private developers. Am sure they should start off by asking them to deposit hundreds of millions of dirhams as a safety deposit to protect buyers!

Palm Cancellation

Posted by Sussex Sheikh, London, UK on 2 April 2008 at 13:51 UAE time

There is an old Latin phrase ‘caveat emptor’. This applies as much in Ancient Rome as it does in 21st Century Dubai.

Caveat Emptor applies to homeowners only!

Posted by Samer Helmy on 2 April 2008 at 15:33 UAE time

caveat emptor is the latin origin of the well-known doctrine of “Buyer beware”. That applied in the old days and today to homeowners selling present property to other individuals, and it was against the state of a property as it was the buyer’s responsibility to inspect the unit and decide if the price is worth it, basically that there is no warranty. Developer’s responsibility to actually build the unit is NEVER under caveat emptor, it is a contractual obligation to deliver that Damac in this case clearly violated and is simply counting on investors to bend over and let it slide. As a matter of fact, even in defects and quality issues, the developer (builder-seller) STILL cannot be protected by caveat Emptor as they are responsible for what they build. Today for example in the US they have what is called Implied Warranty of Fitness that developers HAVE to deliver the property free of any defects.

Greed or whatever, the investors invested and signed a contract that forces the developer to build if he can, and the fact that DAMAC did not put in the foundations for over 4 years before Nakheel reorganized the plots is not the investors fault. I say take them to court and make them pay full damages.

Regards,
Samer Helmy

Source: ArabianBusiness.com