sq feet sq feet par likha hai, khareednei walei ka naam.

JERRY: So tell us about the trip. How's Dr. Reston?

ELAINE: Oh, he's fine.

JERRY: Things are good?

ELAINE: Yeah, you know (scratches cheek)

JERRY: Uh oh.

ELAINE: What, Uh ih?

JERRY: Did you see that?

GEORGE: Yeah, I saw it.

ELAINE: What?

JERRY: It's a tell. You gotta tell.

ELAINE: What tell? What's a tell?

JERRY: When you ask someone about their relationship and they touch their face you know it's not going too well. Go ahead ask me how it's going with somebody.

ELAINE: Um, uh, who's it going with, uh, Alice?

JERRY: Good, going good (scratches chin) And the higher up on the face you go the worse the relationship is getting. You know it is like - pretty good - not bad - I gotta get out.

ELAINE: How high did I go?

GEORGE: You almost did the nose.

- taken from seinfeldscripts.com



this doesnt apply to just relationships. it applies to everything. fastforward to present day.

M: So did you like the property?
me: *scratching left ear* then *scratching right ear*
M: wats wrong with your ear?

=)

so, last week a friend told us he was going to go see the newest property on the block. the marinas at the palm jumeirah. (man made island in dxb) at least thats what i think its called. and since we are always in the 'un-know' (ok i know there is no such word) of things happening in our beloved dubai, we decided to tag along just to see whats happening and whether it is much ado about something.

i have been to few of my clients offices who have been property developers.

theres been one property office in bangalore which impressed me with their large mahogany conference tables and plush red sofas. (i am easily impressed)property offices at least three years ago in mumbai sucked royally. very little space, no such thing as a conference room. the sales staff is middle aged, mostly wearing safari suits, or at the most a striped shirt. and the conversation is filled with variations of "leilo, bhaoo upar jayega" (take it, the price will go up). of course, now its quite different, the sales staff is much younger. they especially hire the "good lookers". and most are dressed in suits. all wear a tie. and the sales staff will come to you and take you out for coffee or lunch depending how big the deal (corporate or individual). likewise the quality of the paperwork, their prepartion will vary. and they will all have the latest top range high funda cellphones. which will ring every 10 mins.

not to be left behind this property's sales office has all the works.

peacocks roaming freely in the park. layout of the property in those lego sort of things you used to play with. (god knows what the word is). the 32-teeth-, 100-watt smile stafff. with the european accents to go. some fake some real. high tech security. people serving you juices before you even sit down. touch screens to view the property.

despite all these changes, theres one thing that stays the same. no matter what property you are buying, its always the "last few" and the sales person will always tell you that "if you come tommorow, it wont be there. Then please dont tell me." they are quick to add, the 'i-told-you-so. ' and they will always give you an example of some guy who came yesterday but now that he has come today the property was gone. or like the person who was few seconds late and they missed out. they had the loan papers, the paperwork and they were just about to sign the dotted line when it got sold out. sales psychology at its best. irrespective of whether you can afford it, you imagine yourself in that person's shoes and you sympathize. lol. so in one week apparently in 6 buildings each of 18 floors i believe, only the ground floors are available. i really really doubt the validity of this. im so sure they are keeping some floors on hold so that they can sell it later at higher prices.

khayr, here are some pics i took of their model apartment, which i thought would be on the real property. it is NOT. should read between the fine print. but each apartment has their own terrace/balcony and each overlook part of the arabian gulf. i liked the bathroom the best its almost as big as the bedroom.

and now to be all random since thats my speciality. a chirpy welcome to the bunty and babli of our home.

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jaanei kyun logh ghar kareed thei hai...(dil chahta hai style)

so we went to see the palm jumeirah, after having read in the newspapers that people have gotten possession of their apartments. and one of the real estate agents we know offered to take us since some parts are restricted, something like that. i cant say that im spellbound by the work done and that it looks very awesome or something. we saw the shoreline apts and it looks very normal, nothing spectacular. no fancy architecture or anything. apparently there is a rumor doing the rounds that the canal that was being built has been scrapped. the signature villas on the branches of the palm are built so close to each other, almost like u can stick out your hand and touch your neighbours window.

however, the choknei wali cheez (suprise factor) is that its all built on water and that is truly remarkable. the real estate agent was like i think its still quite risky, especially after tsunami happened. even then not a single apt is up for sale from the original property development company, all are in resale.

we went to see another projects in the international city. its in the middle of nowhere, on the outskirts of the city, very sandy area of dubai. perhaps like 50 buildings or so, are all ready and hardly anyone stays there. even the real estate agent is like we dont know what is going to happen but we take a lot of risk, "jab tak chalta hai chalnei do"

recently a very famous construction company came under fire, after having promised investors that a 10% down payment is all they need and 90% would be financed by the loan giving company. the loan company refused on the basis that they couldnt guarantee the materials being used for the construction and of course whether the company was profitable enough. the construction company sent a notice to their investors that they are cancelling their contract. but not only that, that their 10% was not being returned. some pple fought it out and got back their money, some didnt. and some just couldnt.

the agent mentioned that there had even been a case where someone in sharjah had duped a whole lot of people in purchasing freehold property in one of the buildings. recent news came out that the man had no building, it was a fictitious office and he had ran away with many peoples hard earned money and perhaps their only savings.

its so sad, i cant understand how one can trick another and feel no remorse or no guilt. conversation grew randomn and we started talking about doctors duping others, something ive already written about. but what shocks me is that i used to think its perhaps poorer people, people who arent educated, people who perhaps have seen little less of the world and its ways that are easily duped. but surprisingly it includes those who are in a cut throat competitive industry, supremely educated are being duped. there is a "doctor" (read quack) in mumbai who apparently sells this miracle tonic. its made of certain chemicals, and can be used for any disease/illness. an uncle of ours who during his medical checkup was found to have 3 blocks in his heart swears by it. wat crap. how can there be one treatment for any and every illness. he has even tapes where a deaf and dumb girl starts talking after using his treatment. wat madness. my sister and my mom went to his "clinic" to check it out. which was in a very shady area. but neway, my sister asked him what degree do u have,w here did u study from. he replied zero degree. how can u cure something that you have no knowledge about? alrite, how about where you do your research? at these questions, he grew very agitated and irritated. at the end of the cross examining =), he asked my mom to take his cards and recommend her patients to him and send him some patients. first of all, no credible doctor will advertise like this or ask for recommendations so shamelessly, and if you're treatments are any good patients will get to know about this. H-uncle still thinks hes feeling a whole lot better after having gone to him. perhaps, they are vitamins which make you feel better. perhaps its psychological. but will vitamins and psychology make blocks go away. no. it wont. another "hakim" my aunty had gone to, used this oil to give massage, but not only that he would stand on the patients feet, imagine a 60-70kg man standing on an elderly's feet. it sounds so ridiculous.

sadly people will try anything for immediate relief. and sometimes they will make themselves believe that they are getting better. in this madness of living and trying to make a living we forget ourselves and we neglect ourselves physically and emotionally too. the people who are duping pple perhaps they are increasing their wealth, but im sure they are super stressed of being caught one day too. all this will have its toll on their health too. wat goes around eventually does come around

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a house on the river.

in the gulf news today, there was an article about an investor who while surfing online found this real estate website of dubai allowing him to make his purchase online and get a loan within minutes. apparently he rushed out, saw the building, rushed back home and bought two appartments. without even looking inside. wish, i could make such kind of go-with-the-gut-feeling on the spot decisions. anyway, for us its more like a think-think-think-keep-thinking-until-everything-is-gone. then we make the chalang. sadly, sometimes in an empty kuwa =) (well). the problem is everything is super expensive, and the property market in dxb is quite volatile. the laws arent too clear either. so naturally we are a little apprehensive.

at burjuman last week, we passed by the wild wadi real estate stall. which is quite an ambitious project. theres a prehistoric theme park, which will feature lifesize dinosaurs. i think thats very cool. but lot of pple think its just bunch of stuffed animals in a wide area. hmm. only time will tell, if this turns out successful. in the end, its risk is what it comes down to. if the risk pays off you strike gold, if it doesnt you fall down and try again.

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