Dubai developers start offering payment deferments

Dubai property owners are starting to get deferments on their upcoming instalments, as more developers in Dubai realise they need to offer some give-and-take after the COVID-19 imposed difficulties on buyers.

Until now, no developer has come out openly to say they have taken such a decision to delay payments. The best they have done is say they are looking into each buyer’s situation and will act accordingly.

The developers are willing to take a more lenient view in face-to-face negotiations. No one, least of all developers, want to see a situation where the buyer decides to exit after making the down payment plus one or two instalments.

Riyaz Merchant, CEO of Realty Force Real Estate, “If any buyer wants to make a request to the developer saying he has lost their job or currently has an inadequate cashflow and would like to defer the instalments. I am sure most developers are empathetic.”

There are other ways developers are trying to help out as well. “Emaar is allowing people to upgrade to a new and bigger unit in instances where they have no payments to make up to the handover. And when the new project handover will be two years later than what they have currently bought in.

“This gives them breathing space with the payment plans. Some options are being worked out and, after all, these are all good for the market,” he added.