Realty Talk: Some useful details when buying a Springs villa

One of the most actively sold projects currently in Dubai is The Springs development by Emaar. The reason is that the majority of The Springs phases are now nearing completion and people are occupying the villas.

The buyers are mainly end users as speculators and investors have already offloaded, having either made their money or holding on to rent out the property. It is much harder now to find a Springs property for which a quick gain can be made, known as "flipping".

This is because prices have stabilised somewhat although they are on the whole still increasing. Most properties are now being sold at 50 per cent to 60 per cent higher than the original prices, known as the "premium".

Transfer process and fees
Emaar has recently changed their transfer process and fees. It was 1.5 per cent of the original price and a single visit to their offices. It is still 1.5 per cent of original price but only if possession has not yet been taken, otherwise it is 1 per cent of the selling price. However, two visits are now required before any transfer can take place.

The first visit is the pre-approval stage of all the documentation and the second visit, usually around two weeks later, is when the money changes hands and the actual transfer takes place.

This obviously delays the whole process and can create problems as it leaves a two-week window for either party to change their minds, (which unfortunately happens quite often here in Dubai).

Types of properties available
The Springs is made up of only villas and there are eight types available. All are variations on 3 bedrooms except the Type 4s which are 2 bedrooms plus a small study. Each type is either an end unit or middle unit i.e. E or M suffix.

Therefore, a T3E is a Type 3 End unit and a T4M is a Type 4 Middle unit. The middle units are attached to villas on both sides and are smaller plots; the end units only have one villa attached to them and have larger plots.

The square footage of the built up areas is as follows starting with the smallest: T4M=1,647, T4E=1,793, T3E=2,246, T3M=2,455, T2M=2,532, T2E=2,693, T1E=2,904, T1M=3,043. Model villas of T4E and T1E are shown in the Street of Dreams.

There were originally eight phases of The Springs, each having up to four communities A, B, C or D. It is worth getting a map of the overall project to see where each phase is.

Emaar has changed all the original numbers as there are now 14 Springs communities numbered 1-15. There is no Springs 13 (someone at Emaar is superstitious)!

The original plot numbers have been given new street and villa numbers, so in order to identify a villa you need the Springs number, the street number and the villa number.

Each Springs area has several villas with the same number, it is therefore essential to get the street number. The old phase and new Springs numbers are as follows: Phase 1A=15, 1B=14, 1C=11, 2A=12, 2B=9, 2C=10, 3A=8, 3B=7, 4A=6, 4B=5, 5=4, 6A/B=3, 7A/B/C/D=2 and Phase 8 = Springs 1.

What determines the price?
There are three main factors determining the prices of each type of villa on The Springs. They are the phase, the row, and the view in other words, location, location, location.

Where have you heard that before? Phases can determine how close you are to the exit off the development on to the Shaikh Zayed Road.

This is important as traffic queues can be very long. The row means you are in a single or double row. A single row is better as you are not directly overlooked at the back, and the last is the view are you overlooking another house, a park or a lake.

Lake views tend to be the most expensive. It is a personal preference whether you want the view at the front or back, and if a park is better for you than a lake, especially if you have children that are likely to be playing there.

How much are you likely to pay?
When properties were first being re-sold in Dubai the prices were based on a percentage above the original price which became known as the premium. However, as phases in The Springs were released at higher prices, each time for the same type of property, premiums were not necessarily a good indication of value, and buyers started to look at the final price.

This makes a lot of sense; for example, a springs T4E on phase 7 at 10 per cent premium may look like better value than a T4E on phase 1 at 20 per cent premium. But the original price of the phase 1 was only Dh487,888 as against Dh587,888 for the phase 7. So the price for the phase 7 property is Dh646,677 and the phase 1 is Dh585,466.

In other words, the villa with 20 per cent premium is Dh61,211 cheaper than the one at 10 per cent premium. This might seem obvious, yet I used to have a real task trying to explain this to clients who would say the premium on the phase 1 property was too high.

This would only have an adverse effect if the buyer needed to finance the bulk of the asking price as banks were not lending on premiums until recently, then the phase 7 would be more affordable.

If you scan the papers now you will see that original prices are rarely mentioned, which is in line with the international market where the original price is never discussed and is only ever visible on the title deed.

Type 4s range from Dh750,000 to Dh1 million, Type 3s around Dh1 million to Dh1.2 million, Type 2s from Dh1.2 million to Dh1.4 million and T1s from Dh1.4 million to Dh1.7 million.

What to do next?
When looking for a property, call several agents, scan the papers, and do not forget to ask for the all inclusive price, which includes the net price to the seller, the transfer fee and the agent's commission.

Often prices in the paper are only the net price to the seller. Always check the location and look inside the property if at all possible. When parting with any deposit, make sure you have an official receipt detailing the property with the all inclusive price and have seen a copy of the original sales contract.

If you are financing get this pre-approved before looking for your dream home.

The writer is a senior property consultant.