Ajman Solution: Consolidation
I was just looking at the progress status of projects in Ajman published on ARRA website www.arra.ae. Most projects are between 0% and 20% progress. Many investors, on the other hand, have paid 50% or more and are being asked to keep paying. The worst case scenario is as follows: 1- Investors will stop paying 2- developers will run out of cash 3- construction will stop indefinitely.So worst case scenario everyone loses except if we all think out of the box...
If the situation stays the same it will probably end with me and you lost all the money we invested, developers will go behind bars and Ajman will be filled with concrete ghost towers which will eventually need to be demolished. I propose a creative solution that has been implemented in other halted projects around the world.
Let us think out of the box and find a fair and creative solution that will bring us all to safety. I suggest that we consolidate our investments and focus on a few towers and get it completed. ARRA will have a major role in providing a mechanism for this solution to work out. The value of each tower will be divided into equal shares. For example, 1000 shares valued at AED 10000 per share. If you already paid 50000 Dhs. this means you already own 5 shares. Through ARRA and the developer you can buy more shares or simply sell your shares to another investor. Investors are allowed to keep their apartments and continue buying shares equal to the value of the apartment. In case the investor is not interested in keeping his apartment or can’t continue the payment, he will basically own a percentage equaling to his invested amount.
Once the development is completed, ARRA and the developer will start renting or selling the apartments and distribute the profits to investors. When the market recovers after 6 or 7 years you can easily sell your shares and make some profit or buy more shares and own your apartment. I am one of the people who is ready to sacrifice owning an apartment for the sake of recovering my money, especially that I won’t get a resident visa anyways!!
I think this idea should be carefully studied by all stake holders. We can form a committee of investor representatives, ARRA and developers. ARRA and the developers should know that we all need to cooperate with them. After all we have put big faith in Ajman and we invested our hard earned money in this country that we consider as our second home. We ask you to be fair to us and to Please help us help you.
P.S. If anyone has any other creative solution please post it. No criticism please.
several solution if they are fair
there are several solutions available but the only condition is, AJMAN GOVERNMENT wants to play a fair role. and developers wants to co-operate.
unfortunately both are not fair. they have takeN our money against few pcs of papers ( contracts ) and now enjoying it till now. they prefer easy money than reputation, justice, morality.
so overall, no hope no solution possible.
whoever gave money to them ( including myself ) should learn lesson and instead of loosing more money, we must try to recover old money only by using united efforts.
1. publicity campaign : we should post this story to everywhere on internet, newspapers, tv shows . i think developers may not think but UAE government must be worried about this type of compaign.
2. police complaints : every investor should launch a police complaint against developers that they have our money and want to walk away with it
3. request to ajman ruler : send mails ( email and general mails ) letters, telegrams, messages by any ways to ajman ruler with a copy to UAE PRESIDENT AND PRIME MINISTER.
ABOVE SOLUTIONS WILL BE EFFECTIVE BY COLLECTIVE EFFORTS.
THEY JUST CAN NOT AFFORD TO IGNORE FEELINGS OF SEVERAL THOUSANDS PPL IF WE EXPRESS IT ALL TOGATHER.
ANYWAYS, I HUMBLY WANT TO REQUEST EVERYONE, DONT PAY ANYTHING NOW ON. DONT WASTE MORE MONEY OVER THE MONEY WHICH IS ALLREADY EATEN BY THESE CROCODIALS.
Investors, developers and ARRA We are in the same boat
Thanks newera for your post. i understand your frustration, but I disgree with you that ARRA and the Developers are intentionally doing this to investors. The situation is very complicated and it is beyond you and me. I agree with that we should stop paying untill a fair solution is implemented.
We ask ARRA officials to participate in the forum and discuss the issue with worried investors. ARRA is doing a great job in being transparent and showing the development progress for all projects including government owned. Mr. Omar Bargoothi is a smart person who I am sure is working round the clock to find a solution to this complicated situation.
Fairness is the key solution to this problem and by fairness I don't meen cancelation of contracts by developers. That is unfair to investors who probably paid their life saving into these projects. They were promised residency, lakes and unmatched life style only to find themselevs stuck with concrete ghost city. ARRA please interfere to solve the problem and act now and I assure you that you will find cooperation from investors. Please remember that fairness is the key to God's blessing.
Solution
Developers have spent our investments on their lavish offices and lifestyles.. All the money is gone in the most of cases.. Escrow accounts were opened with minimal amounts... Their only hope is to suck more money out of us... Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on ME!!!
We have a master developer and a bank which are both owned by the government of ajman. I think ajman bank should finance the rest of construction.. Upon completion and delivery we either pay the balance and get our units or the bank buys our shares... Isn't this how an islamic finance work?
Solution
Akhiabani has proposed a good solution which I understand all of would agree. Since non of the investors trust ARRA, developer and the Ajman Govt, not investors would be happy or even willing to pay any more and lose more as it seems looking at the current situation.
As both the Master Developer, certain developers, ajman banks and the land of ajman is owned by the govt. of ajman & if they are serious and honest, which I doubt, Ajman govt could defer the payment of land cost which is roughly 20%, the Ajman banks can issue loan to devopers, who inturn can complete the construction of the project and investors would be happy to play thier role by paying the remaining due amount at the time of hand over of the unit.
In this scenario, it will a win win situation, Ajman govt's reputation is saved, the Ajman rulers would be happy due to development in their owned state at others cost, deveoper gets paid and is able to deliver what he promised in the contract, th investor as he gets what he has signed for in the contract / paid for.
Hello everyone
I appriciate very much the good intention to find a solution proposed by amr.s, however I am sorry to say that this proposal is very ideally presented and making urealistic assumptions. Amr.s himself informed us at the beginning that developers achived very little if anything at all (0% - 20%) and investors have paid more than 50%.
My question is where are we going to get the"gone" monet from?
The second assumption was the shares and how it would be handled in a very fair way, however an impossible way! I am(and many investors) are ready to get 50% from what we paid. Actually I have talked with maney swap planners and offered the same i.e. giving up 50% of total paid in exchange to other projects with fair price. What they do in swap is actually getting all you have paid in addition to a price that is more than market price.
Therefore, the suggestion of our friend amr.s is valid only in a world of angels and saints. Unfortunatly, we are in a world of devils and roppers.
Swapping is not the solution
qwert I value your opinion and I understand your frustration. Swapping is not the solution. We all need to cooperate and act as one team. We still live in UAE, a country that has great potential and an attractive destination to millions of people around the world.
Unfortunately we are not living in a world of saints and angels neither devils and robbers, but in a world where money talks. Can you elaborate on how the share system will not be implemented fairly?
swapping is not the solution.. TRUE
Dear brother... If you haven't noticed, I am not saying that the share system you kindly suggested is not fair as you may mistakingly understood. What I said was doubting the possibility of implemintation. I said that your idea needs people who are saints or angels and I meant people who have no desire to benefit from other people's mesry. The second is that your idea is assuming surplus of liquidity so if anyone doesn't pay, then no problem, he can wait untill the end and construction will go on. The idea is also assuming that anybody who wants to sell his shares, will find the buyer. That is why I said that I am ready to sell my investment in Ajman with 50% discount. I have written to many developers and lawyers offering 50% discount of my investment portofolio and nobody even cared.
I appriciate your good intentions, it is just not applicable in a real world.
By the way I never said swaping is the solution. Actually, I am against all swapping plans which I think are all scams to steal whatever left money with investors.
Silent Majority Give Your Opinion
More than 300 read the post and only three posted their opinion on this very critical situation. If we all keep silent nothing will ever happen except loosing our hard earned money. After all if you need to be heard you need to make some noise.
why we are silent?
This is good question...for more than 2 years we are shouting in this forum, whats happened? Im sure for another 10 years nothing will happen, I lost hope in those people coz no body is listening, for me....I forwarded my complain to my God (Allah) and sure of his justice, the same time I recovered my money loss and the bank loan I took from hard woking and halal money, I turned my face away from this country toward another buisness, it was a hard experience and painful phenomina, the only gain I have is educational.....whom and how to trust others..........the only good thing I did was to stop paying at a reasonable time when many were consistently pushing for this, I lost more than quarter million AED, this is big for me......but at the end my conscious is clear unlike developers, master developers, ARRA, rulers and shiekhs and all who were part in this conspiracy and dirty game
Many people are undertaking
Many people are undertaking various steps. I agree shouting in this forum doesn't help at all. I am visiting my developer on a regular basis, I went to ARRA, I visited the site several times, I have been in contact with The National etc,. etc. and I am sure I am not the only one. Also telling the world what's going on is important: Look at this on Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ajman
The main problem with the Ajman issue is that it is overshadowed by much bigger problems in Dubai. In Ajman small investors lost their money, in Dubai big financial institutions. Just look at the Dubai Wolrd issue, this is huge, it had and still has an influence on the world financial market. The world is an unfair place and small people all rarely listened to. What's important is that what happened and happens in Ajman will NEVER be forgotten. Their is justice after all: I see Ajman emptying out, people leave and the downtown area is abandonded even on a business day. When Ajman emprties out the ruling family loses their income.
Dubai property investor woes on TV
http://english.aljazeera.net/video/201061694950451533.html