Emaar joins hands with three institutions to offer easy finance on homes

The property developer will extend the finance scheme through end-December, 2006 for studio, one-, two- and three-bedroom apartments in its landmark developments - Downtown Burj Dubai, Dubai Marina and The Views.

"This is one of the largest sales initiatives undertaken by Emaar," said Bahiya Kayed, Assistant Director of Sales, Emaar Properties. "Through our partnership with the three financial institutions, potential buyers can own a home at any of the three Emaar projects under easy finance terms."

The sales roster features apartments in The Residences I and II, Burj Views, South Ridge, The Lofts, 8 Boulevard Walk and The Old Town at Downtown Burj Dubai; Marina Promenade, Park Island and Marina Quays at Dubai Marina; and Fairways and The Links at The Views.

"All the apartments offer the dual advantage of easy accessibility to the nerve centres of the city and great views," said Kayed. "Downtown Burj Dubai is situated in the heart of Dubai; and The Views and Dubai Marina are in close proximity to the Dubai Internet City, Dubai Media City and Knowledge Village. They also offer spectacular views of the golf courses and the waterfront, respectively."

The key driver behind Emaar's current marketing tie-up with banks is to ease the burden of rising rents on prospective home-owners. "The terms of finance with banks ensure that with a minimal down payment, they can own their dream home. The mortgage payments will be less than the rent they would normally pay in similar living environments thus giving them a double advantage," added Kayed.

Amlak Finance, Mashreqbank and RAKBank are the financial institutions supporting the sale of Emaar homes. Amlak will offer financial assistance of up to 96 per cent of the property value to UAE residents for a tenor of up to 25 years and a maximum of 90 per cent of the value to non-UAE residents for tenors of up to 15 years. RAKBank provides UAE residents up to 90 per cent of the property value as home finance for tenors between 20 and 25 years and up to 60 per cent of the value to non-residents for a tenor of up to 20 years. Mashreqbank offers UAE residents up to 90 per cent of the property value as home finance for 20 years and up to 75 per cent of the value for non-residents.

"The sales process has been effectively streamlined to have minimum documentation," added Kayed. "Potential investors will only have to submit their current-dated salary certificate addressed to the concerned bank stating designation, length of service, breakdown of salary and job confirmation; passport; six months personal bank statement where the salary is credited; pay slips; cheques; and bank liability letter. Additional documents are required for self employed individuals. All these documents must be presented in original."

Emaar now has a central sales office where customer representatives from Emaar and the banks will be at hand to assist investors and home-owners on sales and easy financial support. "The response to all our earlier finance schemes, through renowned banks in the UAE, has been overwhelming," said Kayed. "We are now extending the facility to encompass our up-and-coming projects in Dubai."

"Emaar's properties enjoy high brand equity among the investors," said Nabeel Malik, Chief Marketing Officer, Mashreqbank. "Apart from the high rate of returns, these properties are a wise investment option as they help residents save on their rent costs."

Emaar has handed over more than 14,500 homes to Dubai residents. The company is the pioneer of master-planned communities in Dubai - a concept that Emaar now extends to emerging markets such as Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Morocco, Tunisia, Turkey, Syria, India and Pakistan.