What property to invest in?

Hi, My husband and I bought an apartment from Al Asmakh in Al Sadd too. We would like to share information with you on this if you don't mind since you may have more experience than we do. Have you rented out your apartment? If so, what's the best way to do this? Also, were you able to get a residence permit on it? Thank you in advance for sharing your knowlege with us.

I invested in 1 of the appartments of Al Asmakh in Al Sadd area. Al Asmakh is claiming that I can get a residence permit. But I think so far its not possible as of yet and the building is already completed.

Does anybody know where I can verify this?

Very nice discussion, informative as well.

May I remind you all of the openning question? where do you recommend to invest in Qatar?

Worth mentioning, the original question was posted before the financial so called tsunami.

Justo go to this link.

http://www.qatarliving.com/classifieds/accommodation?page=6&filter0=71&filter1=440

@drake, no doubt that prices will go down, but I doubt it'll go down in sync with Dubai.

Dubai is in a totally different country.

Property rental at the moment for very nice apartments per month is higher than a mortgage, so buying an apartment. Living in it. Paying the mortgage, then re-selling when you leave is the smart way to go.

The best country for investment in the GCC IMO is Bahrain.

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Mr. Q's Blog - A Qatari's view on Qatar.

I thought we were still in 2008!

Damn it, I need to get away from this computer!

Regardless whether you can get an RP the properties are way overpriced and will come down.

Property prices set to slump up to 20% 22SEp2008

Property prices in Dubai are set to slump by as much as 20 percent by 2011 from their peak in the first half of 2009 as housing supply begins to outstrip demand in the emirate, EFG-Hermes has said.

If Dubai properties are set to slump up to 20% why will Doha be any different as expectations are that housing here also outstrip demand? Realistically, how many people can afford to pay min. 12,000QR for rent on a 1 bedroom in the Pearl. If you buy in the Pearl now 12,000QR will probably only cover the mortgage and fees.

My lawyer would also confirm Mr Qs comments. There are cheaper plots or villas to buy outside the 3+1 delux areas. There is/will be Al Waab city.(another delux location not on a bar of sand) The real estate agents should be able to guide you on the areas you can buy.

Thanks Mr Q its always useful to have a second opinion that agrees with the first.

@rami, exactly, they're not going to 'not' give residencies and risk all the investers pulling out and sabotaging future investment.

As for the stipulation. I don't have the articles with me however here is what I do have from it.

"The issuance of the Residency Permit remains subject to the existing medical and character requirements. Once the Residency Permit is issued the holder of the Residency Permit may sponsor his wife[8], children and parents."

Then the definition of medical is a disease or sickness which may affect society or the environment. Character requirements include criminal conviction, if you're Gay (although it would be hard to prove it), and so on.

So it basically says that you are going to get a residency permit UNLESS proven that you should not have one. Which is international regulation.

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Mr. Q's Blog - A Qatari's view on Qatar.

Yes, I understand what you're say, and I think you understand where MagicDragon and I are coming from too.

All I'm asking you to do is cut and paste or post a link directing me (and others) to the legislation that says, in no uncertain terms, that the purchase of property in Qatar will automatically grant me residency.

As far as I can tell through searching online, the existing laws (2004, Cabinet Resolution No (20) of 2004, Law No (2) of 2006 and so on) give me the right to purchase and exploit the property, but it doesn't necessarily grant me the right to residency.

Like you said, the only thing to do is wait until such time as someone actually takes possession of a property to see what happens, but you would think if the powers that be want to encourage investment, they would make such basic issues like this crystal clear.

amnesia, fair.

@rami, did you honestly think that the one paragraph was the WHOLE law? It's an excerpt.

Call up ANY legal advisor now and ask them. This thread will be waiting for your answer.

Do you know that I'm a lawyer, i should be charging for all of this lol!

@magic, yes the facts do remain. I too cannot buy any land and build any house wherever I want in Qatar, or Emirates, or England etc...

Residency means RIGHT to live without a sponsor.

If you really do like Qatar try not to always attack! Try to bring a solution to your arguments.

Support your case with facts as I've been patiently waiting.

Look, I'm not trying to be rude or mean, I'm trying to clearly state that this is the way that it is.

We just have to wait until the first property (completed this Decemeber) is finished, and see if people get their residency permits.

THEN we'll have facts.

Fair?

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Mr. Q's Blog - A Qatari's view on Qatar.

think what you want, amnesia. The facts remain: I cannot buy a piece of land where I want and build a house and make it my home. You, on the other hand, could do that easily in Germany. And there is no such things as "residency". You are a citizen or not!! There are millions (!) of Turkish, Lebanese, Kurdish, Jordanian, Spanish, Greek, Portuguese ... citizens in Germany. (Just for your information.) And, my friend, I am here with my family because I love it here and because my Qatari friends are the loveliest people in the world!

Clearly I'm having a blind moment.

Where, *in the legislation posted on your website*, does it read that I have to right to a residency permit?

You say:

Under Qatari law, foreigners are allowed to buy property in specific areas of the country for 99 years, extendable for a further 99 years, and the property is transferable to their heirs.

This isn't law. It's a paragraph from where, the Gulf Times????

Where is this right to automatic residency enshrined in law?

Can you please provide a link to the relevant legislation?

@magic, Read every letter. Letters make words. Words are good. I will explain my sentence because it's obviously very complicated.

You said I called your rich and arrogant.

You quoted me as saying '"And if you think that Westbay, Lusail, The Pearl.. are 'ghetto' you're obviously to high class for the likes of us rubbish Qataris."

You defined those areas as Ghetto. Which is wrong.

I said that you are high class, which refers to the fact that your standards much be very high.

Then I compared it to the likes of us rubbish Qataris.

I cannot control your assumptions.

I'm still waiting on you to prove to me by the way?

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Mr. Q's Blog - A Qatari's view on Qatar.

@magic, you NEVER took the law apart you never knew the law in the first place.

I said you lose credibility by not SUPPORTING your CLAIMS.

Are you a liar too now?

You are saying "Will the law get implemented", how about you freaking wait for it to happen. WHy the hell are ignorant, negative, people like you moving into Qatar? I don't understand why if you hate the country so much!

Basing everything on what 'you think'.

Get this into your heads! You MUST apply for a visa ANYWHERE, just as I had to in the UK, just as the UK could have said no to me. Just as I had to in Spain!

@rami, that's why you leave your opinions for the secondary market. it's not even started. There are laws in place, that's it. You wait and see. Whether people have trust or lack-of is a different topic.

@genesis, a residency permit is just that, a permit. There is NO country in the world that offers a permanent residency permit. It's always revocable. The law in Qatar states that it is renewable perpetually as long as you own a property.

Point is, there is a law, it's public, it's international, it's been reviewed by Clyde and Co (an International Law firm), and you can get a residency permit.

Whether you want to believe it or not is up to you guys.

*sighs*

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Mr. Q's Blog - A Qatari's view on Qatar.

that leads you to the same place, the members of Shura council ;)

did i said too much...

"And if you think that Westbay, Lusail, The Pearl.. are 'ghetto' you're obviously to high class for the likes of us rubbish Qataris." That's what you said, amnesia.

genesis, even if there was a law, will it be implemented? Look at the Traffic Law, the Labor Law, the Rent Law. Somebody said to me:" Laws in Qatar are not worth the paper they're written upon."

@rami, read the legislation again, it says you have a RIGHT to a Residency permit and will only be rejected in certain cases. They are listed as "You have a disease which is not allowed in the country, a criminal conviction which is not acceptde in Qatar etc.."

My statement which you quoted me on, states that you don't need a sponsor and are free to obtain a residency permit. Of course you MUST apply. Otherwise investors who have no intention of moving to Qatar will have a residency permit.

It's not legally valid.

@Magic, you've just jumped to another topic, not even acknowledged the fact that I was right nor have you proven anything yet. I'm still waiting.

We all want a house wherever we want, it's about finding it. 2008 legislation gave foreingers the right to buy property leasehold from Qataris in an expanded area in Qatar.

You want to be nit picky, go ahead, but you seem to be the person that is never satisfied.

Oh and I never called you rich NOR arrogant. Don't put words in my mouth.

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Mr. Q's Blog - A Qatari's view on Qatar.

I'm not saying that the real estate isn't a wise decision for some people, and that buying it would be a bad idea, I just have reservations about buying something that expensive without knowing that I would then have residency.

After all, the purpose of buying a residence is to be, you know, resident, so once you take that off the table, it doesn't seem like a good deal to me.

with all due respect, both rami & md have a point. Will they get a permanent residency?

Unfortunately,yet there is no law. And No, there will not be. Simply the people in the Shura council will never pass the decree. It been in the table for years you know....

I'm sorry.

I mean... wow... I get the opportuninty to apply for a visa without a sponsor. What? Seriously? That's terrific news.

And all this time I was applying for a visa with a sponsor when all I needed to do was hand over a couple of million riyals to buy a 1 bedroom apartment built on a sandbar.

rami, if you continue to take the law apart, you're losing "credibility"!

I'm not excited I'm frustrated! here you go. All the legislation you want. I'm still waiting on your proof. You're losing credibility here.

http://iloveqatar.net/forum/read.php?13,3938

I wouldn't call your Qatari friends liars, they probably didn't know that the laws changed since 2004.

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Mr. Q's Blog - A Qatari's view on Qatar.

Very reassuring...

According to the law below, I will have the opportunity to 'APPLY' for visa.

I would have thought that the idea of spending all that money is that the visa is given upon purchase.

So, basically, even after buying it, I don't get a residence visa?

Law No (2) of 2006

The benefit of the changes to non-Qataris is that it allows those who own residential property, business or investment subject to the regulations thereof, to apply for an entry visa and Residency Permit without a local Qatari sponsor.

thank you for the link, amnesia. I still want a plot and a house where I choose. Not in the ghetto of the rich. I am not one of the rich or arrogant as you suggested. I'd rather live somewhere in Shahaniya on a farm and breed Arabian horses.

I'm with you, Magic Dragon.

Until I see a law, signed by HH, there's no way on earth I would touch the property here.

Regardless of what's happening in Dubai (setting a worrying precedent by not guarenteeing owners any long-term residence rights when purchasing property) it is of concern to myself and other prospective purchasers that after spending millions of Riyals on a new property, there is no iron-clad guarentee that you have the right to live in it.

If I was to invest in such a property, I would need a lot more stability from the government than what is on offer here.

why the hell are you so excited, amnesia? I have been dreaming of buying a house in Qatar since I am here (1993). I was told:" You cannot." So, all my Qatari friends are liars?

@magic, please re-read my post, did I use the word law?

Fine let's say to please you're slightly unbalanced ego is correct. The newspaper isn't proof. Where's your proof?

I CAN tell you the land law act IS being drafted and I've been involced in developing it. That's why I speak with confidence.

You have no support for your statements.

If you don't like Freehold or Leasehold, don't try and blame it as a 'Qatari' thing as this is INTERNATIONAL and the concept developed and refined in the UK

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Mr. Q's Blog - A Qatari's view on Qatar.

@tallg, in freehold you can own the land shared in absolute. meaning that It's divided in equity not in physical division.

My mum's apartment in Kingston is freehold.

You are correct that freehold is actual ownership.

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Mr. Q's Blog - A Qatari's view on Qatar.

amnesia, the newspaper is no proof. Which law do you refer to?

@Magic, I CAN prove it. It has been in the newspapers that people will be receiving a residency permit.

Guess what? It's same in the US, England, Japan, China.

Leasehold and freehold isn't a new concept to Qatar either. When I bought my apartment in England I was given it on leasehold for 99 years. Guess what? Even the British can only get leasehold on some projects in the UK.

As for Freehold, do you even know the definition? It's yours for an unlimited period of time.

Qatar has said that people will get residency permits. Where did Qatar say that people will 'not' get residency permits? You're just passing ill-advice.

If you want to say that you THINK that something else will happen, that's a different story.

You're children are your own family so are included. Direct family members include parents, uncles and aunts.

So you can have 60 million children PLUS 5 extra residency permits. You can also SPONSOR other family members to enter. Getting a residency permit means you can SPONSOR. So you're allowing 5 EXTRA sponsors for ONE property.

As for a 'spot in the desert'. Even a Qatari doesn't choose wherever land he wants. I can't have a spot in the desert unless

1) the land is given to public

2) the land is imharir (which means free to sell)

3) I can find a willing person to sell.

And if you think that Westbay, Lusail, The Pearl.. are 'ghetto' you're obviously to high class for the likes of us rubbish Qataris.

If you wanted to own a standard villa or apartment in an area other than the famous developments, you can still get a leasehold.

You have excellently proven to me that you have NO knowledge of the market, legal system, or procedures.

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Mr. Q's Blog - A Qatari's view on Qatar.

then this would be the first "flaw".

My understanding of the term "freehold" is that you own the property AND the land it is built on outright. That's how it is in the UK anyways.

(So an apartment or flat can never be freehold since you don't own the land the entire block is built on.)

wow MD,..4 consecutive comments,...breathe in, breathe out.... there, you're good... :)

"freehold" and "leasehold", sounds funny to me. Has nothing to do with "owning" a piece of land.!

and, amnesia, I want a spot in the desert. Tell me where I can buy. I don't want to live in a ghetto!!!

and, what if I have ten children, and what if I live longer than 99 years?????????

amnesia, prove to me that I can stay for the rest of my life and after me my children if I buy property in Qatar, and I will do it!

@Magic, prove it. You are just passing on information without support.

Foreigners can own freehold and some property leasehold for 99 years.

Residency permits are distributed to the buyer along with up to 5 direct family members.

If you have proper support to base your argument (and you can't use Dubai as support), then state it otherwise what you're saying is false.

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Mr. Q's Blog - A Qatari's view on Qatar.

MagicDragon, I am only investing and not planning to live in the property, so I do not understand what is the problem if you have a temp. residency.

Translator, non-GCC citizens acquire a temporary residence of 5 years on buying property which may be renewed or not. You must be nuts to buy property under such conditions.

Could you pls also pm me her number too?thx

i hope it might help you give an idea on where to start from

Hello MagicDragon, can you please elaborate as why only GCC citizen??

I have been recently shopping around and met with a briliant mortgage adviser lady at IBQ, she knows all about developers and where is the best buy

will PM you her contact deatils

"The best way to predict the future is to create it".

Don't, unless you are a GCC citizen.

Have you looked at Lagoon Plaza?