How Foreigners Get Mortgages in Dubai

Hello everyone. My name is GG Benitez. I'm a licensed realtor and a certified international property specialist here today with my partner in Dubai, Ahmed Ashak. Thank you for having me here. Gigi, and welcome to Dubai. It's always a pleasure to see you. We are going to be able to speak today with a mortgage broker, Isaac Matty, to be able to share many of your questions that you have about financing for your property in Dubai. Please remember to like and subscribe. We'd like to welcome you, Isaac, to the podcast and ask you to actually introduce yourself and what you do. My name is Isaac Matti. I am one of the mortgage brokers here in the UAE. I specialize in residential and commercial mortgages. A little background about me is I am a Canadian Iraqi, born in Turkey, raised in Canada, lived a few years in Belgium, and finally living the dream life here in Dubai. What brought you to Dubai? First of all, Dubai is the world inside of a city. There's over 190 different cultures and ethnicities here in the city. What really attracted me here is when I made my first visit back in 2015 or 2016. I don't remember. It's just that the safety, the simplicity, the easy way of living here was maybe the most important thing why I came to Dubai. As time went on, I fell more in love with the city, and I'm actually happy to be here and happy to be another fellow Canadian. I know who ever imagined that I would finally meet someone from San Diego after 24 years. Isaac, I know exactly what you mean because I came to Dubai 24 years ago just simply on vacation. When I came, I landed 2 days later. I knew this is it. This is it for me, and I decided not to go back. I did not even go back to sell my home. I called my father, gave him the power of attorney, because I was afraid that if I do go back, I might change my mind and not come back to Dubai. So guess what, I didn't. I say it's been 24 years. I got married, have my kids born here, and I think this is it for me. I was telling Gigi I think retirement and getting old is definitely in Dubai for me. One of the biggest aspects was like you said, the sense of security. You will agree with me, especially in San Diego, you basically just work to live and live to work. The other thing is you guys are probably familiar with it as well. The weather's beautiful in San Diego. May I say the best weather in the world. In Canada, though, the winters are difficult because you are from Toronto, Canada, as well, right? Yes, the weather is not great 6 to 8 months of the year. You're just like bundled up and not hibernating, but I would say just trying to keep warm. We're here, it's like 12 months a year. You can go out, you can go to the beach, you can swim. You're just enjoying the weather on a daily basis. Well, the other thing is a lot of people will say, and even myself because I'm very used to the San Diego climate which is beautiful, and I always wonder how you guys handle the heat in the summer. But Dubai has really created an indoor living that is year round. You're not stuck inside your house because the malls here are not a shopping mall. It's a whole lifestyle with an aquarium, an ice skating rink, a ski slope, restaurants. So you can spend all day in what's called a mall. But Dubai is really doing such a wonderful job of making sure people stay active even during the summer. When you were saying simplicity, I wanted to ask you about that because I don't see by simple. So what did you mean by simplicity? What you see on Instagram is not the full picture. It's not the glam. It's not the expensive cars. It's not the expensive super mansions. There is a life aside from that as well. You can just pick up your life from San Diego and just put it in a nice modest home here. Live your simple life as you did back home, raise your family, enjoy the weather, go to work, come home, cook your dinner, and enjoy the perks of the luxurious life as well here and there. But it's not always about that glamorous life. There are so many people that actually will say, oh, that haven't been here. Dubai is just a Vegas on steroids. But after coming here, there's nothing. I mean, I could say that there's an aspect that's Vegas like if that's what you're looking for. If you're going for the clubs and the night life and the shows, there is that, right? Of course, of course. But what drew me, and it's a year ago this week was my first time ever visiting Dubai, was happy anniversary. Thank you, thank you. Actually, my favorite part is the Deira, the old Dubai. Yes, the Deira side. Which, by the way, a lot of I would honestly say majority of the expats have never even been to that part. The red line draws right in between JBR Marina and downtown. That's it. Majority of the expats never go beyond downtown area towards the old Deira Dubai. But that's where I feel like you feel the culture pulling you. Like, have you been to the Arabian tea house? Not really. It's in what is called the Alfahidi neighborhood. Yes, and that's where you feel like you've been transported back in time and you get to really see the Emirati and Arab culture. There's nothing Vegas about that. But like you said, if you want the glamorous life and you want that, it's here too. I mean, Dubai just really is almost like a utopia to me. It has everything, and that safety, the security, and what we're here to talk about, the financial opportunities. Of course. So just to go through, and I don't know if you know exactly what happened with me, Isaac. I came here a year ago. I have owned a PR firm for 15 years. I was actually not in real estate, and I came here to visit one of my best friends that lives here, Zanab, who actually works in the Palm, Jabel Ali. But again, I had no interest in that. But after I saw with my own eye how Dubai is the diversity walking in JBR and hearing all the languages being spoken, and feeling so warm, so welcomed, it did not matter what my religion is, it did not matter what country my parents are from, it did not matter what the color of my skin is. I felt a peace, a welcoming, and a unity, and it pulled me, and I said I need to find a reason to keep coming back. So how do I explain to my husband that I want to keep coming back to Dubai? And then what do I discover that real estate is one of the top sectors in Dubai. It's actually not oil and gas, right? Of course. So people, we're not oil dependent. People don't know because a lot of people, the westerners may lump Dubai in with the whole UAE, et cetera. But you're not oil dependent. Tourism is huge, of course. Actually, Dubai is a top global destination year after year according to CNN, Forbes, and TripAdvisor reports. But the real estate, the opportunities here. I came back in February and March and aligned myself with Ahmed, who is my partner here. You've been doing real estate for how long now? Almost, I would say, 10 years now. Started back in 2002. So I definitely got to experience the highs and the lows. No one will forget 2008. But yes, a lot has changed since then, and the direction we've seen Dubai's government moving is basically they want to make sure that Dubai is no longer a place for expats just to come and invest in or do business. They want Dubai to be their second home. That's what we're starting to notice, and Gigi is a great example. I mean, she came here on vacation as well. She fell in love with the country, she loved what it had to offer, and the next thing you know, I get a call. Ahmed, how can we work together? Let's do this. Let's connect. What is happening is, if when you look at the top nationality buyers in Dubai, upon further research, Americans, which I'm Arab American and I live in San Diego, are not even in the top five buyers. So opportunity, Americans are missing out there. There's a huge market in America, and there's a huge slowdown in the real estate industry in America. Absolutely. But people still need to plant their money and have it work for them and diversify their investments, and that's where Dubai comes into play. So with that, I would really like to get your perspective on what you're finding. What the differentiators are between the markets of Canada, where you're from, and what you know about the US market and here in Dubai. What's drawing investors and residents? It's pretty simple. Inflation has played a major factor back in Canada. I'm pretty sure it's the same as the states. The housing market has become unaffordable right now for the everyday middle class family. Affordability is one. Eligibility on financing is another factor, and just making ends meet has become difficult. Keeping aside that, there have been a lot of other added taxes like the carbon tax, which has also decreased being easier back in Canada. Here in Dubai, for example, you don't have to worry about taxes. That's the first thing. No taxes. Second thing is housing is a bit more affordable here then what you get in Toronto. You can get a three to four bedroom townhouse in the city of Toronto for about a 1.5 to you know, 1.6 million. You can get, let's say, a semi-attached villa here, four bedroom plus a maid's room, for maybe half the price of that. So a lot of people are actually trying to make the move here because of being much easier. It's also a great place to raise your family as well, and you know enjoy eight months of the year here and go back to Canada and enjoy the summer back in Canada, which is pretty much what a lot of people are doing as well as myself. Isaac, when Gigi and I met you first, you said something that really made us decide and actually we fell in love with you after we noticed that one point you had made was the difference between you and the other mortgage lenders is that you are a problem solver. You create solutions. That's what we loved about you, because that's, to be very honest with you, that's the American way. The customer service is one of the most essential tools for our clients. What I have noticed is an almost transactional mindset here in Dubai. So what I have really wanted to do, because in the US it's relationship based, it's not about one transaction and goodbye, it's how do you guide these investors or these purchasers through the process, stay with them, make them feel that you have their best interest, and even after the transaction, as we've done with our clients, is to continue to be there and guide them. So with you having been in the industry, Ahmed, for 18 years, obviously you know you understand the market very well. And because you were a businessman back in America as well, you understand the American mentality. And that's also, Isaac, what I really love about you is that you're Canadian. So you understand the Canadian market. But because you also have family and friends back in San Diego and deal with a lot of American investors, is that you understand it. It's a different. You have to serve people not just based on where you exist and you're trying to sell. I know that's where you and I have had a conversation like this is how it works in Dubai. Right. Which I understand. However, we're trying to serve American foreign investors investing in Dubai. So because they are the quote unquote customer, we have to really be specific to them. No problem. And maybe Gigi, maybe that's one of the reasons why no one has been successful enough to tap into the US market all this time because of that mentality. This is Dubai. This is how things are done. Take it or leave it. You've been really spoiled with business. I mean, when you have people, you know, the British, the Russians, the Germans, the Indians that are coming in here, and you don't have to really sell them because they are sold on Dubai. They're sold right. We know that products launch and they're sold out within hours. You have a queue and a line of people waiting overnight to get their hands on an opportunity either for investment or to live. Whereas, Isaac, you may know with Americans and not even Canadians now. Are sold. But with Americans, I'm still trying to help them understand what is happening in Dubai and that it is a real thing and it is a safe investment and is a lucrative investment and there is no bubble risk right now according to the UBS study that just was disclosed, with Dubai still being a fair buy. What do you find that Americans and Canadians are. I don't know if it's different. You will, you can let me know because you're familiar with both. Some of the most commonly asked questions and differentiators when they're coming to mortgage here as investors? The first thing is, can I get financing? Absolutely. Foreigners can get up to 60% financing from the bank if the property is under 5 million dirhams. If it's over 5 million dirhams, they can get up to 50%. I find that the lack of education on financing and the real estate market to the Americans, to the Canadians, to the West is a very great area. It's a very great opportunity that we're all sitting here and that we're going to address this issue. Agreed. And the other question is, if I get a property there, am I eligible for a visa? Absolutely. There are different types of visas that you can get. You don't have to worry about your residency and staying here long term. So that's the second question we get. The third and final question is, what if I sell my property? Then what happens? Just like your mortgage in the states or in Canada, you pay off your liability. Your mortgage is clean and clear, and you can sell your property. It's more or less the same process. The only difference is just do it in a structured manner and get proper advising from a good real estate agent as well as a proper mortgage broker that can guide you step by step of the way. Isaac, I want to clarify something. There's a difference between, for example, a Dubai resident when he wants to apply for a finance mortgage versus someone who does not live in Dubai who does not have a residency. So what is the difference between them two when they want to come to the same bank and apply for a mortgage? How different are the rules for these two different categories? It's pretty simple. Being a resident doesn't mean you just have your residency visa and you're living here. Being a resident is also classified as working or owning a business that's operating and earning profit here in the UAE. That makes you a resident. So being a resident, earning an income, having a business, can get you up to 80% financing from the bank, whereas if you're a non-resident, you can get up to 60%. That's one aspect of it. The second thing is being a resident exposes you to different rates, different, lower rates than what you would get as a non-resident. Significantly, or is it well? Today's market, let's say if you're a resident, you can get rates as low as 4.24% fixed for 3 years. 4.5% was a recent one I got for a resident. A non-resident is still somewhere around 6.5 to 7%. Both of those are significantly less than Canada and the US. We're at, I believe, it's at 7.8% to 8.5%. I think rates decreased slightly, and everybody was very excited in the states about that, but it's still much higher than what it is here now. Isaac, coming from the US, we know we're always looking for the bare minimum down payment when we're financing our project. USDA mortgage basically asks zero down. These are for the low income people. Long-term, almost 30 years of finance time. Do you think that Dubai banks will ever get to that stage where they will not ask for such a big chunk down payment to the non-residents? So currently we're seeing that they're giving 60% loan to non-residents. So 40% down payment is quite the big chunk of money. Do you feel Dubai banks will start being a little bit more lenient towards that so that it will be much more attractive? That's a very good question. Earlier this year, there were a few banks that were offering up to 75% financing for non-residents. Wow. Yes, for specific nationalities, passport holders. They are going to re-engage that product again. We don't know when and what nationalities will be eligible for that. But it's still in the talk, a way to encourage. It's still encouraging. I think it's that you remember last time when we met, I mentioned something. Dubai always has a hidden ace card in its sleeve, and it only uses that card when it really needs it. So I think this is again one of those things that they will only pull that ace card when the time is right. Correct. Where it will be much more, pretty much everyone will be more eligible to get that sort of finance. Of course. But don't forget one more thing. The mortgage game here in Dubai is not as complex and not as big and vast as it is in North America. Exactly. The market is still at 38 to 40% of all transactions. So there's still a lot of room for growth, there's still a lot of room for advancements, there's a lot of room for improvement. The other thing is mortgages and financing being so such of a new concept here in Dubai. Yes, it actually started during pre-construction. That's when exactly the mortgage started kicking in. So in reality, the banks are still not up to par compared to the US and Europe to exactly follow up with those old school transactions in time. It will. Exactly. It will hopefully be up to par as the West. But we're getting there. Every day is an improvement for the banking system. But Isaac, one of the biggest reasons I would also say is that majority of the people prefer to buy direct from the developer based on their payment plan. So now we're talking about off-plan, right? We should explain a little bit for someone who maybe hasn't tuned in. What is an off-plan? When people are buying off-plan, obviously they're buying it directly through the developer and going as per their finance plan, which is pretty much anywhere from three years. Some developers such as Damac comes out with six to seven years payment plan, which is interest free, by the way. So people, since day one when I started in the industry in 2002, and that's exactly how it's spent, 50/50. You pay 50% all the way up to construction and 50% upon handover. So people have been comfortable with that thought process that, okay, this is it. Three years we got to come up and pay 100%. And the second buyers are the cash buyers. They're cash buyers, and they don't care for a finance. I think that's one of the reasons that we've been so comfortable in Dubai where the banks, I should say, were so comfortable that people prefer to buy cash. They're happy with the three years. Let it be that way. But COVID is what changed everything, because it's the end users that we are seeing now that are coming into the market, Dubai residents who are like, why are we renting and paying all this money? Why don't we start buying our own property? But the problem with these people is that they don't have that kind of cash saved up to pay off in three years. And this is where the banks two years ago said, you know what? Let's accommodate the residents right now and start making finance more feasible. So do you see that now basically the trend is getting and picking up higher? Because last time I read the stats, which was about a year ago, since COVID, bank mortgages have kicked up to 40%. That's a lot in one year time. That shows you how many people actually who are living in Dubai actually prefer to buy versus rent now. Of course, because rent today is extremely extremely high at the moment. You can rent and pay somebody's investment off. Or you know, invest in yourself. Mortgaging is 20 to 25% cheaper than renting somebody else's property. At the same time, you're adding value to your asset. There's a chance of capital appreciation. There's all these doors that are opening up to you where they weren't available a few years ago, like you said. But again, mortgaging something is just as saying you're renting a property for yourself from yourself, which is an added value to your own investment. 100% I agreed. So let's go into though what you were mentioning off-plan and let's talk about off-plan opportunities. Not everybody in the United States is familiar with off-plan. Miami has a strong off-plan market. So off-plan just is pre-construction, right? And here you get to, and it's a really hot part of the segment here. I don't know exactly what the percentage is right now, but at least half of real estate is through off-plan, which the advantage is you get in at that pre-construction pricing. As you mentioned, you're on a 0% payment plan with the developer during the construction process. Typically you put the 20% down and then the 4% Dubai land department fee, right? Correct. And then 6 to 9 months you make your next payment typically, but depends on the developer. Depends on each developer. Yeah, it varies. So at that point, there's no necessity for the mortgage broker. Because you have a pretty good deal. When do you step into that equation? We step in at the time of handover. So when your handover payment is due and your property is ready to be handed over, you receive a letter from the developer saying that your property is going to be handed over on X date and X amount is due on X date. So that's where the bank will come in and say, hey Mr. Smith or Mrs. Smith, let's start your mortgage process. Starting the mortgage process takes about a week or so. If qualified, if eligible, the bank will make the final payment to the developer. So if they are a Dubai resident, you're saying the process is roughly around one to two weeks? More or less, could be a bit less. Could be a little bit more. And if they're not, if they're not again, if everything's in order, it could also take about 10 to 14 days to get a pre-approval. To finalize, that can take up to anywhere between 3 to 4 weeks. Excellent. Before someone, let's say we're marketing to people about off-plan projects, do you come in and start having a conversation with them before we even get them into an off-plan? To say look, this is how much cash you have. So this is how much you should have to set aside for the next 3 to 5 years during construction? But then be prepared? Or is it too early in the equation for them to be talking about that? And we should wait to bring you in until that 3 to 5-year mark? Because the market's going to change and rates are going to change. Qualifications will change. Not only that, eligibility can change as well. A person's finances can also change after a month or two months. Rates can increase or decrease. So eligibility is just a great area. It's too early to actually discuss. But as a resident, some banks do offer off-plan financing. Okay. If for residents, if the property is, you know, near completion but not really completed, they will some banks will make trench payments okay to the developer until it's handed over. And that's not available for non-residents at the moment. Not, no. Okay, so that's the off-plan seems pretty clear. So it's for our foreign investors. Actually, there's one point we're missing out, which was out recently. What percentage? Recently I found out that if a construction has reached to a certain percentage, you are actually financing that project. It does not have to be fully handed over or constructed now. Tell me what condition does that category fall under? That'll fall under, you know, either off-plan or handover finance. If the project is 50% completed and 50% of the payments have been made, the bank will, you know, make the remaining 50% entrench payments as long as a property is going to be handed over in, let's say, 18 months. Wow. So you're saying that the property has to be constructed up to 50%, and they are qualified for the loan? Correct. But does that apply to all the developers? No, just some developers. Just to name a couple of them, Mr. being the top one, Damac, buy properties, and Emaar. So pretty much you're mentioning the semi-government correct? And is that for non-residents as well? No, okay. Residency, residency. And for handover, once the handover notice has been issued, the BCC is complete, BCC is building completion certificate. USR certificates are all up to date, and the last payment is yet to be made before you receive your keys. That's another type of financing that is offered by the banks for residents or non-residents, where the bank will just make the final payment to the developer. Perfect. Okay, now we switch over to resale, right? And so, may you walk us through the steps on how to gain financing for a resale property? Resale is pretty much straightforward. I always tell my clients, let's work on the financing. Let's secure the financing, and then start looking for property. Pre-qualification is correct. What we refer to it as, I'm sure it's the same here, right? It's not usually the same here. But this is what I advise my clients to do. Okay, the market is so hot that if you go in and find the dream property that you want, it's gone. It's gone by the time we get there. Yeah. So how long does that process of pre-qualifying them usually take, then? I mean, are you referring to it as pre-qualification? Pre-approval? Pre-approval. Pre-approval can take anywhere between 3 to 5 days. Okay, that's not long. Okay, so start with that first. So, okay, and then, so once we get the pre-approval, the client will be already in search of properties or knows more or less what he wants to purchase or she wants to purchase. Then the next step is securing the property, signing the documents. The contracts form A, form B, form S. Once those are set, then we move on to the valuation stage. The bank hires a third-party company to do an evaluation of the property to see what the current market value is. Okay. Then the bank will make its decision on what they will finance. Whether the valuation is below the property price, the bank will take the price of the market, the market price of the valuation, and finance that. If it's more or less the same, then they will take the selling price. Once that's sorted out, valuation report is received. We move on to the final offer stage. Once the final offer is issued to the client, client goes into the bank, signs the mortgage contracts, gets the loan dispersed. Checks are created. Then we move on to the transfer and your receiver keys. It's pretty much one, two, three done, done, and we're with you guiding you step by step of the way. Like I've mentioned, and you've mentioned to me as well, we're not here to sell something. We're here to educate you. We're here to help you grow and build your portfolio. And guide them. What do you ask for for people? What are the qualifiers? There's two different types of ways. The first way is being a self-employed individual where you own your own company. Six months of bank statements to a year personal end company. Proof of residency. Trade license, shareholder certificate. The basic stuff of you know what you would do in applying for a mortgage in the states or in Canada. The only thing that's added here is the US or Canadian credit bureau okay of the company and of the individual. The other part of it is if you're a salaried individual. Six months pay slips, salary certificate, six months bank statements, IDs, and again, credit bureau from your home country. These are if you're a non-resident. Okay. Now some banks work mainly on your bank statements. So you do have to be a self-employed individual. You do have to be a salaried individual. But they will not use your salary as a main force, method of income. They will also look at your bank statements. So if you can show to the bank that you have a rolling daily balance of 25 to 40K a month, they will consider that as being you know you being a stable person to repay back the bank. Of course, just safe. Yeah. But as a resident, then you need everything else except your credit bureau from your home country, which is which is a plus point. Actually, I mean living in San Diego, I remember you couldn't purchase a mobile phone on credit unless you don't have a perfect credit score. But unlike Dubai, for the residents, we don't need to show any of that. So you could just walk in. As long as, like you said, you have a steady income, that's how easy it is to finance even a brand new car. And that's what explains why everyone drives a fancy car in Dubai, you know, definitely. Definitely a lot of fancy cars. Exactly. So there's no credit check. But I believe now Dubai is about to change that. We are. I don't know if you're aware of this or not. We do also are going to be going through this credit bureau now here in Dubai. We will. Yes, it's already started. So we're going to have a credit history as well. And there's a pretty good reason why they're starting to do that. Because in the past, let's not forget, 2008, a lot of these rich people, they just left everything behind and just went back to their home plans. You know, they left their fancy cars parked outside in the airports, their Ferraris and the Lamborghinis. Heard exactly. And a lot of people had personal loans that they had taken from banks, and they just fled the country with that amount of money. So to avoid that in the future, now that we are so structured here in Dubai, these are the steps that must be taken. Well, that was the reason why, right? The Dubai Land Department and RERA was created. Is that what Dubai has done? It's such an efficient city, right? Is really learn from what happened and bring together the most brilliant minds in the world. I've attended conferences where 85% first of all, do buy are expats, right? So you have all these brilliant brains coming here and working on, how do we avoid the issues that took place in the past? Yeah. And and actually, you talked about COVID, and we've had this conversation a few times, and I wanted you to share it. And I'm sure this was your experience too, Isaac. Is that the way Dubai handled COVID, not always, is impressive for you living here? And not only did it allow so many of you not to suffer what we Americans and businesses suffered in America, but is a true testament to those that are looking to invest in Dubai. How efficient and quick on its feet. When I'm sitting and discussing with American investors, why Dubai, right? And we talk about capital appreciation. That you're looking at conservatively speaking projected numbers at 10% average. That's just an average, not even talking about if we go just to the ultra-luxury. You're going to have higher, right? And then rental returns average 6 to 9% long-term long-term. Yeah, short and the short term 12 to 15%. And there aren't that many Airbnb restrictions here. I don't know about Canada, but in California, there are a lot of Airbnb restrictions. Okay, so the that is great ROI potential, and it's been proven and trending up because of the continued demand not enough supply, which what drives right the need or the economy. And then you have the tourism, and you have the population had hit 3.5 million last year, and we're looking at about 5.9 million projected by the year 2040. You have a wind casino that's being built over in Rashidya that's going to be driving now a whole another sector for tourism. There's a lot of projects being developed in Raq as well at the moment. Raq is what some people refer to as Ras Al Khaimah. A friend, when who doesn't know you guys refer as Raq. It took me a few times before I understood. I'm like, wait, what? What is this Raq? Yes, there are some amazing developments, and they sold out right away. In addition to all these that are on paper that are easily tracked, you can go to a couple of websites. Dubai's real estate market is very transparent. It's not magic. We're not hiding something, right? It's all there for you to see. What something the increase in price per square foot. Aside from all those amazing numbers and from the D33 plan, you're going to be doubling the economy here. That's the plan, and sustainability and all of this incredible growth. It's you proved it by handling COVID, not only emotionally and mentally for the people's sanity, but businesses did not suffer. And for a foreign investor to see that, yes, your money, you're, we're talking about you diversifying your money into the Middle East. But this is Dubai. Yeah. And the best case study is looking at how you all handled COVID. Well, when I was moving here, some years ago, everyone in Canada was like, you're going back to the Middle East? It's closed minded. It's this and that. And then I just looked at my cousin, my cousin Sam by the way, which is one of my very good friends, and he is my blood cousin. He's like, bro, you're going to Dubai? Dubai is the West in the Middle East. Why are you listening to this person? I'm just like, I took a leap of faith and I came here and look at you. I think my daughter, my 19-year-old daughter, and I'm going to call her out. I get lost here by the way. Like, I've seen your memes about how if you miss one exit, you're, um, okay, so that's been me, okay. Because Google Maps does not work as well just FYI for everybody. Please use Waze, not Google Maps here. But I was talking to my daughter. She's in college in Chicago, and she said, are you driving? And I said, yeah. She goes, how are you driving? I said, what do you mean? I'm driving. She said, but I thought women can't drive in Dubai. I said, Danielle, I'm about to hang up the phone on you right now. That ignorance that you're my child, you know, and I was so upset with her. First of all, you have to know I would not go to a place where a woman can't drive. But Dubai is so progressive. But you know what? Even myself, as an Arab American, up until coming here a year ago, I too had very preconceived notions. You know, other than seeing the Vegas and the flashy and the fancy cars and the license plate and the incredible Burj Khalifa and the Palm Jumeirah, I didn't truly understand the lifestyle behind all that and how, as a woman, I feel very empowered and safe and comfortable, clearly, beyond just driving. I mean, I mean doing business here as a woman, right? So definitely breaking a lot of those preconceived, not only that. Um imagine yourself walking out at 10 PM here in Dubai versus in LA or Chicago or Chicago. New York exactly. I don't let my daughter walk out in Chicago, but when, if you were in Dubai, or when you are in Dubai, you can walk at midnight or any time of the day and not be harassed by any way. So Isaac, most importantly, how do we cover the equity release here to the banks? Okay. An equity release first of all is a loan against the property. It's a bit more different than it is in the states or in Canada. You can take equity out of your property, especially if the property has appreciated in value over time. I know Dubai Hills is very famous for that. So you take this equity out. Either you refurbish the property that you own or invested in one to two or three properties additionally. So the bank will only give you that loan if you reinvest it. It won't be you know given out to you in cash. So Dubai banks are pretty much comfortable and they've been practicing this all right. So so we're up to date when it comes to the market then, correct? Because previously, when we spoke, there's a lot of things here where the Dubai mortgage banks are not up to par. So pretty much it's covered then. It is. It's just the only difference is it's that lack of education about what you can do, how much can you do with different mortgage products. So this is where the gray area is, and the mortgage you know avenue is so low in today's marketing. You UAE. So Isaac, we have a client that is ready for a handover, and he has already paid above what the minimum is for you to be able to secure the mortgaging. Form is he eligible for a mortgage loan and the equity release as a foreign investor? Absolutely. So what the bank will do is they'll give the pre-approval. They'll make the remaining payment to the developer, and whatever is left over on the LTV, or the loan to value, will be you know given to him in a form of refurbishing that property that he purchased or reinvesting it. That's amazing. We need to bear in mind that the Americans are entering the market for the first time. So I personally feel like I'm going back to 2002, where I'm literally educating the client from A to Z. So we need to obviously have like I have a lot of patience with Gigi here. Um because obviously she's amazing, right? You. Thank you. Thank you for being more patient than me than some people. So but I understand where she's coming from because I've been in her shoes back in 2002. So unfortunately, back again, this is one of the reasons why a lot of the American investors have been turned off because no one's really willing to take the time to educate them. And this is what Gigi and I are going to change in this market. We are changing it. Exactly. And now with your help, because even going back, you know, since after coming here in February and March and spending a significant time with you, immersing myself, going back, the main questions became about the safety and financing because that's what Americans are used to. I know you're saying that people here you got spoiled, that you know they didn't really need to touch that topic. But with Americans, we really need to touch that topic. And now we have found Isaac, thank you, who you know is able to appeal and understand the pain points and have the patience to really guide, as you said, in a problem solving strategic manner. Are American investors and Canadian investors like the like what I the way I mentioned it earlier? It's to educate. Um not only are we giving them a service. Is we need to understand what they're looking for in their investment. Um how do they want to approach that investment? What do they want to get out of that investment? So we just take the time step by step. It doesn't have to be in one conversation. It can be in a few conversations where we understand their financials, we understand their assets, we understand what they want to do at you know for their for their long-term goals. And that's where we customize a product that will benefit them in the short term as well as long-term. Perfect. So if I were to ask you, because we have a few more minutes here, right? Top five reasons from your perspective as a mortgage broker that someone should diversify their investments in the Dubai real estate market? First, safety, weather, the stability of the market here. Everywhere else in the world, the market has been slowing down. Here it's still a fast-paced, it's still increasing. No slow down in sight, no slowdowns yet, hopefully not for not for a very long time. And last but not least, I mean, this could be your you know, dream home or your summer getaway. So why be locked into four walls in San Diego or in Toronto where you can escape for a few months of the year or actually make them move and work abroad from Dubai and live the dream life as we all do? Indeed, indeed, love it. Isaac, I am so happy that we met you. You had been a missing piece for us, a missing link to help us to continue to, as you said, guide Americans and Canadians on their journey to investing or moving to Dubai and answering the questions that so many have in such a beautiful, pleasant manner. And we appreciate you and we look forward to working with you. It was a pleasure. Pleasure is mine, and looking forward to working with both of you. Let's get more Canadians and Americans out here in Dubai. Why not? Definitely. Please remember to like, subscribe, and share. Thank you for watching.