Tenants versus Landlords

Many moons ago, this was common conversation when a potential tenant was viewing an apartment:
Agent (on behalf of landlord) : “If you do not take up this apartment by today, the rental will increase by 5% tomorrow.” 1 day later, when tenant called agent, apartment viewed the day before was no longer available. You were considered lucky if you had the opportunity to even view one.

A neighbour from Hong Kong who moved into her apartment last year, had to replace the water heater (which is as big as NGV tank) when the owner refused to replace it! Too bad she didn’t think about keeping the old heater. I would be ‘wicked’ enough to reinstall the old heater when it is time to move out! A Japanese neighbour was seen rushing out from his apartment one morning, and demanded the management building to send a maintenance guy immediately, as water was leaking and pouring down from his ceiling, but the maintenance people said he must bear the initial cost of AED200 per 1 hour visit! All these are some of the ridiculous stories many of us had heard over the past many months.

The Shift of Power has already begun, perhaps since January 2009.

Todate, the rent has fallen, ranging between 20-50% or even more, depending on the area.

Today, even the birds are happier, I can actually hear the birds chirping very loudly in the morning, Happy tenants, new arrivals or those who are still able to keep their jobs are seen carrying long check lists when viewing new places to stay.

There are still some arrogant and stubborn landlords though, just ignore them. They are still in denial mode.