EOI vs No EOI: What Dubai Investors Must Know

The following is a short compilation from different episodes to conclude season 4 of The Dubai Connect, as we will be starting a new season very soon. This episode, however, focuses on the EOI, which is the expression of interest and what makes this a very crucial and important part of landing a successful real estate investment in Dubai. So this is actually one of the obstacles that I've had, is to really help counsel about off-plan, why that's the better investment in many cases because you're getting in 20 to 30 percent less expensive. But then what I'm having a hard time with, remember how you just mentioned that everything is selling even before launch day? Correct. Is that significance of the EOI and a strategy to make sure to secure the prime unit and a unit at all? Because how many real estate agents do you have competing for how many units that are being launched at a time? Okay, we have about 18,000 real estate brokers in Dubai. These are the legal ones that we have. There's always the references and people who are not listed who are working in the market. But the point is not about the 18,000. You have to remember we're selling to the world. Right. So when you're selling to the world, we will have a significantly larger number of people operating from within the business. When we are launching units, the number of units that's launching 60 to 80,000 units is a walk in the park that we're launching. Because the requirement in Dubai is between 60 to 80,000 units every single year for the next 17 years. So it's first come, first serve. So the sooner you fill out your EOI, the better chances you have of being on the top list. Exactly. And you are one of the things in your that you always get the base price. And that's why smart investors always. That's a good key factor, by the way. We explain that. Expand on that. Okay, because always the developers are basically on the pre-launch, they set the base price. Okay, starting with that's the base. After certain time, the price start to increase. Let's say like after a few months or some of the other per few weeks, they start to increase the prices. Or comes on the day one, actually might save 3 to 6 percent on the price. Because let's say if the project got, if the project reached 50 percent, the price is not going to be same as day one. Got it. You got the point. So that's why you are saving already minimum 4 percent on the price. Just by booking it through the EOI. Yeah, really simple. That expression of interest. Let me just quickly talk about the expression of interest phase. Now, it's not probably one of the most important. It is. Okay. First of all, it's not with all projects. Okay. I mean, some projects you might go to a direct booking reservation. Right. Okay. And of course, depending on what is the payment, using a bank transfer. Okay. So even with having an expression of interest, you can still use the proof of payment from the bank that the money has been wired. Correct. But that EOI is one of the most important strategies. May you share a little bit about what happens if you miss out on that EOI? Well, first of all, the expression of interest stage. It's like an option. If you're into stocks or whatever, it's like an option. You can convert it if you're satisfied with what you're going to end up buying. But it is important because it's like you're guaranteeing your first place in the queue. And not only that, you're getting very attractive prices, initial price. Exactly. In addition to that, sometimes the developer would have a promotion before the official launch. And that promotion could mean a number of things to your investor. Could mean reduced prices, but also a different extended payment plan. So these are all the benefits. And then as I said, you're the first in line. You get to choose the unit you want. And it's fully refundable. It is. It's fully refundable. They've definitely learned the hard way. Going through the same challenge that how important it is for you to fill out that EOI. And if you say when we say to you, it's coming out and it's launching, let me think about it. It's gone. It's gone. Yes. There's no point of view even to sit and think about it with all due respect. With all due respect. Yes. With all due respect. It is not a sales pitch. It is the fact and they are learning it hard way. We're not trying to offend anyone. So I don't want anyone to take this personally. But seriously, if you feel you have to sit, wait and think about it a few days. With all due respect, you've lost your opportunity right there and then. Absolutely. So what my hope is, Ahmed, is that by creating more educational content like this and helping people to really absorb it and understand it, do their due diligence, ask the questions beforehand and then say, okay, we understand now. We get it. Let us know what we need to do. And we're seeing that that's been successful. So with that, remember that you have to be strategic with talking to your agent ahead of time to prepare and to secure that EOI and to be ready. Because this is not something that is going to sit around and wait. Right? So that's one of the most important things. Please make sure to like, subscribe, and follow, and stay tuned for the next episode of The Dubai Connect Podcast. Thank you.