Law Firm forming a group of Sweet Homes investors
Fellow investors with Sweet homes/R Holding
I am the principal of a law firm in Bahrain with over 35 years experience, a GGC Centre Arbitrator and Expert and a member of the UK Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb). I am also an experienced real estate investor. I have bought a flat in Paradise Lakes (PLs) and 2 flats in Rainbow Towers (RTs) from Sweet Homes (SH) during the relaxed time when confidence in Emirate City was prevailing. The contract for PLs was straight forward and fair to both parties, however, the RTs contract had many unfair clauses, but it was take it or leave it case at that time.
I have been monitoring the dialogue in this forum and know how all of you feel with the present sad and precarious situation. Our investment with Sweethomes is now at great risk. We are all going to lose all what we have paid if we do not take serious and professional action to protect our money. In PLs case SH has failed to deliver in time and I have stopped paying installments beyond delivery date but (SH) are still claiming installments and charging interest. When I noticed from my frequent visits to the site that RTs were way behind schedule I have also stopped paying. In the case of RTs it is a very tricky situation due to grossly unfair clauses in the contract where SH have given themselves the right to charge late payment interest of 5% per month. This would amount to about 70% per annum in a compound calculation for an amount outstanding for one year. This charge, which they are applying in their payment demands could in one year eat the money you have paid. As a lawyer, I know that their plan is to give you notice of termination as soon as the interest becomes equivalent to what you have paid and strike you off their register. The only way to protect your hard earned money is to have professional legal representation that would need, from my experience of a similar case I have been part to in the UK, the support of experts, surveyors and accountants; and that would be very expensive. I suggest that you authorize my law firm to act on your behalf so that we can form a large group of investors with SH in Emirate City immediately. A large group would mean that costs will be shared and become affordable to everyone. Probably as low as AED 3,000 per unit. If you wish to join the group please write to me on mohamed.alkhateeb@hotmail.com. My firm will, of course, try to find an amicable solution with SH where payment is linked to construction progress decided by our experts and surveyors and no interest charge, before restoring to arbitration or litigation.
Please tell all your fellow investors about this offer and spread the news as much as you can. The sooner we have enough members in the group to start action the more chance we have to protect your money.
(Please refrain from posting multiple heading topics of same subject. your other 2 have been deleted. i will leave this one here for you and those who wish to engage with you on the topic to discuss - Musafir).
Sounds fishy
They say: once bitten twice shy. The message above, particularly in the ongoing dishonesties, is NOT very convincing at all. What is the name of the so called Law Firm?!!!! What is the address and details of these Law Firm?!!! If the proposer owns the Firm as he claims, why cannot he uses his own Law Firm to fight his own case fitst?!!! Why the proposer uses hotmail address?!!!
Fellows! Be careful with any shaky proposal which is not supported by hard-facts.
in principal sounds
in principal sounds interesting
however Mohammed you should provide more details of your firm, name address, telephone number, authorised body regulating you (CIArb per se is not a lawyer).
are you aue qualified or on the rolls of the uk law society, or bar council (do you have practising certificate from either body).
it appears what you seek if to obtain details of potential clients, which perhaps you can then take to your employers, or partners, (or an associate at a firm who you can liase with, with commisison) and entice them of the potential of viable work. for them to consider undertaking.
whilst in principle nothing wrong with that, and granted group action would reduce costs, along with legal research costs being spread, greater transparancy needs to be exhibited by you, so that those who would consider partaking in your (or those you are going to refer, or associate with) services can make a balanced decision on your(your associates ) expertise and price /benifit analysis.
from your comments, it appears if all goes well, then you would seek to negotiate with the relevant developers on settling this, and based upon such precident, seek to ensure similar settlement on priniciple for others who sign up with you, for the same development.
then if no settlement (either in whole or indivdivual cases) resort to legal redress.
i think fishy
as far as i understand, ( and also confirmed with lawyers too )that no collective case will be taken in court, each case must be individual and separate court fees will be required.
also i feel that this offer is not from an reputed law firm, just from a broker who will go with list of investors to any other law firm and just in the name of initialising process will charge handsome amount collectively..
anyways.. this is only my thoughts i may not be right but would like to suggest that before giving any more money to anyone must be sure about their intentions...please!!!
thanks
Identify yourself
If you were serious you should have identified yourself. Do you have a good explanation of why you have chosen to hide you? I prefer to avoid cooperation with someone who is hiding all the time. This precious experience comes after having been cheated by Ajman developers.
You have described yourself as a professional and you are principal of law with 35 years experience .
I would think that the someone with these qualifications were able to handle a dishonest, selfish and rotten Ajman developer.
PLT
Dear all
I think almost all of investors of Paradise lakes towers stop payment of after completion.I did so and did not pay since Jan. becaz delivery time was Dec.2008.
I have not receive any official letter from Sweethomes to inforce me to pay just at that time they asked me to keep paying and in response i informed them that payment will be after completion.
Also according to new rule , non of developers can cancel contract without court's decision.
I think it should not be any problem.
And we should not expenss money to claim , they did not compete and we did not pay.Tit for tat.
there is not any afficial action from them to cliam or cancel the units.
Best Regards,
Farzad
Lets make a united investors front for the Towers
I appreciate the concern and initiative of the law firm from Al Khateeb. I have visited the developer’s office before and am aware how troublesome and nasty they can be, if we do not provide a united front. As requested by the other investors of these towers, please provide your full details and credentials in order to form this united front. I was waiting for a united investors group for these towers for a long time as the best option.
THE FOLLOWING IS A STANDARD REPLY THAT THE INVESTORS IN THESE TOWERS CAN GIVE:
"Please kindly note that no amount is due to the developer, as the developer has 2 years delay in the project completion, and accordingly the payment is rescheduled by 2 years. However the follow delay charges are applicable to the developer:
Penalty amount to the developer for 1 year delay in completion: approx. 10% of the total value of the property. (LOSS OF RENTAL RETURNS FOR 1 YEAR DELAY)
The developer needs to pay an immediate payment of penalty amount of -------AED to each investor account in their bank accounts ( like National Bank of Dubai, HSBC etc. ) using an account payee (crossed) cheque. "
In the long run, the united investors front (with highly qualified professionals from different fields like Engineering, finance, law etc) from would help in the successful completion of the projects, and prove to be benefecial to even the developers.
Forming a Group of Sweet Home Investors
Dear investors with Sweet Homes,
Further to my message of yesterday, I would like to thank those who made positive remarks and shall answer their questions. However, you must be aware that developers are using your forum to send sabotage messages to confuse you and prevent any effective and collective action that would put you in a strong position. They would like you to remain in your present state of helplessness until your investment is lost with no proper defense. Please read my original message posted yesterday carefully. I have used my full name in my e-mail address (Mohamed Alkateeb). My business e-mail is khateeb@batelco.com.bh but I prefer to use the hotmail address mohamed.alkhateeb@hotmail.com because I know from previous experience with large litigation groups that the amount of correspondence shall be overwhelming and will require large storage capacity. My Law Firm ( Alkhateeb Attorneys and Legal Consultants) is registered in Bahrain under No. 77721001, with offices at Reem Tower in Juffair, at the centre of Manama, Bahrain, P. O Box 26067, Tel 0097317810600. I am a Bahraini and GCC citizen and I am the owner of the Firm. I shall be acting on your behalf myself and will not seek anybody else except for supporting services. My aim is not financial gain but to find an effective way to deal with the deadlock we have with Sweet Homes. Nobody will listen to us if we do not speak with proper legal authority and as a large group. This is an opportunity for you to take meaningful action and have some peace of mind. Our action could be useful to Sweet Homes too, as at present they are not listening to reason and are acting against their own interest. The Government of Ajman authorities, I am sure, will co-operate with me, as they encourage GCC investors and would like to resolve issues like this to maintain confidence in the Ajman projects and realize the dream of Emirate City. The Rainbow Towers contracts stipulate arbitration, and that will be, if needed, much less expensive than a court case for a large group. Arbitration costs are paid according to efforts and time spent by the arbitrators while court fees are linked to the value of the collective claim plus lawyers costs. The task ahead is huge, so let us not waste any more time. Serious investors who would like to join the group should write to me at the above e-mail address with details of their investment with Sweet Homes to start exchanging messages within the group and avoid revealing our strategy to developers' collaborators on this Forum. I shall be happy to answer any serious questions from real investors, but please let us not reveal all our cards and get down to action. M. Alkhateeb
I feel Mr. M. Alkhateeb can
I feel Mr. M. Alkhateeb can take a leading role to group all sweet homes investors together and arrange a meeting with SH management and try to find amicable agreement for both. We can still try this because SH still exists and doing the job but very slow, as if the completion dates is Dec-2011. If this effort is a failure then proceed with legal action as described in previous posts.
me too
me too, I dont think its abig loss if we try, but seems that Mr.Khateeb focus is RTs rather than paradise lake! we will see
Dont appoint any lawyers!!
Read the Xpress Newspaper article, a lawyer himself says: pursuing a property-related case is akin to “throwing good money” as there is no guarantee you will win the case, in my opinion the government will be on the developers side as much as possible.
Published: September 24, 2009, 08:59
Realty issue: ‘I’ve been conned’
http://www.xpress4me.com/news/uae/dubai/20015019.html
Atena Yazdi, 33, who invested over Dh15.5 million in numerous off-plan properties in Dubai, can easily be the poster girl for the real estate downturn.
Like many investors in Dubai, the receipts and papers she holds pertaining to her purchase of off-plan units don’t mean much now.
Frustration
When the British-Iranian moved to Dubai five years ago from London, she bought properties only from reputable developers — in some cases entire floors of buildings off-plan — with a view to selling them to retail buyers.
With nearly 150 property projects cancelled in Dubai alone, according to property think-tank Proleads, thousands of investors like Yazdi are currently trying to find ways to recoup their money. However, most of them find themselves clueless.
Yazdi said: “I’ve been conned… completely frustrated. This is not fair to people like me,” she said, while showing receipts of her down payments. The mother of two admitted facing bouts of depression and has started taking sleeping pills in recent times.
Yazdi contemplated filing a court case which is estimated to cost Dh30,000 in filing fee for each of the 120 units she has bought from defaulting developers — in other words a total of Dh432 million. “If I go to court, it will take at least a year and there’s no guarantee that I’ll get my money back, so it won’t help my case,” said Yazdi.
Disappearing act
During the peak of Dubai’s real estate frenzy, Yazdi said she did her “homework” by choosing only reputed developers. Now, those developers are not talking to her or are nowhere to be found.
“This has been a nightmare for me. A year ago, I sent two letters to the authorities about my predicament, but got no reply.”
On November 7, 2007, she paid Dh2.55 million as deposit for 82 units in a boulevard in Jumeirah Village. Twelve days later, on November 19, she paid another Dh3 million as down payment for 42 units in another tower nearby.
“No work has been carried out on these two projects,” she said.
Since 2007, Yazdi has written cheques worth Dh6 million for three floors in Exchange/Downtown Heights (Emirates Residential), whose chief executive has allegedly fled the UAE. In July 2008, she paid Dh3.8 million for eight units at the PKS Residence sold off-plan by ACI, the same developer behind the Niki Lauda, Boris Becker and Michael Schumacher towers, which have either been cancelled or put on hold. Ali A. Behboudi, Yazdi’s lawyer, said pursuing a property-related case is akin to “throwing good money”.
The emirate’s arbitration court reported that there are over 180 claims filed with them, with a backlog of claims totalling Dh18 billion, Building magazine said.
Law on refunds
In May 2009, Dubai issued Law No 9 on refunds for investors who default on their payments. If a developer has completed 80 per cent of construction, a defaulting purchaser is liable to lose all money paid till that point. If a developer has completed at least 60 per cent and the buyer defaults, it can keep 40 per cent of the purchase price.
But if less than 60 per cent of the project is complete, developers can only keep 25 per cent of the purchase price. If it has not been able to start work “without any negligence or omission on the developer’s part”, it may keep 30 per cent of money paid by the buyer up to that point.
paul66 you are always on SH side
you ask us before to continue payment as per schedule, you bring positive remarks for SH and now u ask us not to appoint any lawyer,
who are you?
who is paul 66?
who is paul 66??? FAHAD DERO!!!!!!Who else!!!!!!!
Investors have legal rights
Hi Paul66 (we dont know that you are Fahad Dero)!
Buying a home is one of the biggest asset we will ever own. Please understand that the investors worldwide know their legal rights especially when it involves big money like investment in property. You are right that most people go through life without any great likelihood of involvement in the legal system. They fulfill their obligations, jobs, duties and carry out their normal day to day activities. We investors have differing backgrounds, needs and expectations, yet we share a common concern for getting a fair compensation for the delays and unfilled promises. We do not want to make our properties and investment more complex and more litigious. But that does not mean that we will not protect our assets, and acquire knowledge of legal rights and obligations.
I DO NOT WORK FOR SWEET HOMES OR ANY DEVELOPER!!!
I completely understand your frustrations, I too am frustrated by the delays, I too am an investor in Paradise Lakes I have 2 apartments in Tower B8 and 2 other apartments in Dubai. I am only here to help others avoid making big mistakes by appointing a lawyer - THEY DONT BRING ANY SUCCESS!
I have a friend who is going through a lawyer, where project has stopped in Dubai Sports City and has paid over 60% and nothing is happening, he wants his money back. Not only will he not get his money back but has wasted thousands of dirhams in legal costs, and now he is sure he will not win the case as the UAE government normally always takes the developers side.
I ask you all DOES ANYONE KNOW ANY INVESTOR WHO HAS WON A CASE AGAINST A DEVELOPER IN THIS MATTER?.... I have not heard of anyone winning.
With Paradise Lakes - where payment is involved, I have said that I will continue to meet my side of my contractual obligation and make payments until DEC 2009 which is when the revised handover date was promised (and if investors remember in the Sweet homes/R-Holding letter they wrote "we will surely complete by DEC 2009"....bullsh*t!!!) I am not paying anything after this date until I get the keys to my apartment in my hands which is when I will pay all outstanding payments in one go. Fair is fair like i said.
So for those of you who think I work for Sweet homes or any of these developers - No thank you, I will stick to my current job as a Market Analyst in London.
Regards,
Paul
no legal rights in Ajman . U
no legal rights in Ajman . U r mistaken
going through legal
going through legal proceedings do not always guarantee success
and do always incur COSTS !!
each individual has to evaluate for him/herself options.
either sit tight and wait
keep paying up installments (fulfilling your side of bargain)
negotiate directly with developer on payment schedules (perhaps linked with construction - to arrange you to only pay further instalments etc, based upon strages of developlent)
raise complaint with ARRA, or try to get to sort out your specific problem with YOUR develeper
consider legal action through the courts.
a Lawyer is there to assist.
he/she is an advocate, a person there to help you in your case (he cannot perfom miracles)
he can assist in tryin to negotiate with the developers/ ARRA and also taking your case to the court.
the Advantage of a lawyer is that (depending how good he/she is) they are in a better position to advice you firstly on the strength weakness of any action you want to take (negotitate developer/ARRA or go to court)
and on each of these 3 steps they are being paid by you for their expertise and skills being better advocates in negoitating with developers/ARRA and speaking on your behalf at court.
additionally they can be a platform to represent group actions were costs can be spread out.
however (group investors can speak raise voices, without lawyers too and sometimes very effective when doing demonstrations and speaking to media)
so each person should consider what is in there best interest of what steps they want to take and do.
lawyers cannot work miracles, and they cost money, however they have skills which can be useful in speaking on your behalf, and trying to negiotate for you. its those skills that you would be paying for.