Average rent: Rents are cheap, with studios starting at Dh30,000 and two-bedrooms available in the range of Dh70,000-Dh80,000. Pros: Rock bottom rents, private parking, landscaped open areas and proximity to Ibn Battuta Mall.
Cons: The electricity lines are too close to the buildings. Access to the area is a bit of a hassle too.
CAUTION: Check the apartment carefully before renting. Many units still have snags and defective fixtures and fittings. Image Credit: XPRESS Archive
Dubai: A new possibility to make rental payments by credit card has attracted great attention in Dubai's property sector. Under an offer by Landmark Properties, a property agent in Dubai, some units in the Discovery Gardens development can now be rented and paid "by any credit card".
Pioneer
"Currently one of the property owners with whom Landmark Properties works with is accepting monthly rent payments by credit card, with the deposit of a security cheque, for two buildings in Discovery Gardens," Charles Neil, CEO of Landmark Properties, told Gulf News.
He said that the offer is an "innovative agreement" between Landmark and its clients.
Originally it was understood that rental payment by credit card could only be made if the rent is paid for one year upfront to avoid issuing accompanying post-dated cheques.
For such cases, "Landmark Properties has an arrangement with some banks which lend clients up to a year's rent," Neil said.
Case-by-case
But terms can be negotiated "on a case-by-case basis determined by each property owner", he added, which also can include agreements for monthly credit card payments.
"It is anticipated that there may be further growth in this trend as landlords seek to attract tenants," Neil said.
The issue has been vigorously discussed by Gulf News readers since this paper broke the news on Saturday.
Various comments pointed out that the use of a credit card for regular rent payments would not be advisable especially for those who are already struggling with their cash flow, mainly because they risk high interest rates on outstanding credit card liabilities in case of late payments.
Others mentioned that regular rent payments are drawing down a large part of available credit on the card, leaving little room for additional payments or facilitating overdrafts that again come with exorbitant interest rates.
One poster in an expat forum on the web took the pessimistic angle on the monthly payment option, saying, "That's another fabulous way for people to get into trouble, once for not paying their credit card and again for bouncing a security cheque."
Air miles
However, supporters of the credit card option say that they had no problem with paying rent that way, as they are used to doing so with utility and other regular bills, as it would help them to ease the cash burden they face with annual payments.
Some welcomed rent payments by credit card as a way to build up air miles or similar loyalty points on their credit card account.
