Pearl / Porto Arabia /California Tower ????

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By Djoe on Mon, 02/11/2009 - 4:33am

I bought a 1 Room apartment /-a-t-/ Pearl / Porto Arabia in California Tower around 2 years ago from Era Gulf Realestate (One of the worst ever Realestate Office),through commercial bank of Qatar with 10% Deposit, and 90% installment, first payment on the receiving day.... and I was supposed to receive it February 2009, unfortunately, as all the Pearl project was delayed, I was one of the unlucky ones as well to be informed that I'm gonna receive it in May 2010...and starting from February 2009 I started paying 7000 riyals interest to Commercial Bank...

Anyway 2 month ago, UDC called me and said they wanna meet me regarding the apartment. When I met them, it turned that UDC decided to take over California Tower project as the original developer from Kuwait was bankrupted...

Now I'm stuck with the monthly interest...California Tower didn't even reach half way, and no any development on the building for more than 1 year...and definitely i'm not gonna receive it in May 2010...

Is there a way I can sue ERA Gulf or the Developer or any freaking entity to give back the apartment, and have back my interests and the 10% Deposit...and is there anyone who suffered the same case and could sort it out, that can advise me where should I start and what should I do ?

I would be really grateful for advises...

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aviduser said Very unlikely ...

You will see any money back. Your best bet now is to default on the loan and walk away.

The Tower is unlikely to be finished even in 2010 so you will continue paying for a depreciating assets that you won't see completed till 2011 at earliest.

Count your self very lucky that you are only losing 10% deposit many people have much more.

Mon, 02/11/2009 - 6:29am

Nic said Sad news, unfortunately you ...

Sad news, unfortunately you are not the only one.
I suggest you get together with other buyers and get your story published in local, regional and international media (as much as you can). Try to get public exposure to the problem because this would be the only way to make those who have the power and means to correct the deficiency, to act (a question of saving face)!
Otherwise, if you try the legal means, you would only be wasting even more of your resources.
Good luck!

Mon, 02/11/2009 - 6:54am

ozgur_bozdemir said drink a cup of cold water ...

drink a cup of cold water over it buddy!

Mon, 02/11/2009 - 6:57am

gadarene said i feel for you mate...it ...

i feel for you mate...it seems highly unlikely these guys are going to give your money back...if nothing else,you won't burn your fingers buying real estate in such an unstable market again,we all live & learn eh?...take it easy...

Mon, 02/11/2009 - 8:26am

Djoe said In case I stopped paying the ...

In case I stopped paying the bank, what's the worst thing that can happen ??? Would I go to jail for that ?

I actually don't care about what I losst...I just don't wanna lose more...Is there anyway I can stop paying and let them take the property back...I would lose like 150.000 riyals but I don't care as long as I don't lose more...

Mon, 02/11/2009 - 8:30am

MagicDragon said A lawyer would possibly be a ...

A lawyer would possibly be a better choice than QL!

"Love Me or Leave Me"
(MagicDragon)

Mon, 02/11/2009 - 8:31am

Djoe said True, a lawyer is the best ...

True, a lawyer is the best choice...but I thought maybe i can get some advises from people who went through the same situation, to learn a thing or two before I start cashing for a lawyer...

Mon, 02/11/2009 - 8:34am

gadarene said If you stop paying the bank ...

If you stop paying the bank & continue staying here,you'll definitely get taken in by the cops for defaulting...happened to a friend,he couldn't pay the first month & was going to pay 2 month's installments together,however on the 2nd month,his source of funds got delayed,around the 3rd or 4th,he got a call from the capital security dept. asking him to come in & when he did,they just told him he had defaulted,was arrested & put in a cell,he was allowed a phone call after a few hours & his money had come in later that day...the next day the 2 installments were given to the bank & he was released that night...This may not be standard procedure because with these clowns,there is no standard procedure,however i would advise you,if you plan to default for more than a month,you better be on a plane out of here...that is if they let you go /-a-t-/ airport immigration,that's another story alltogether,better check on that before you leave...

Mon, 02/11/2009 - 8:36am

Djoe said I'm not planning to leave ...

I'm not planning to leave this country...I was born in here...it's home for me...I just did the mistake of my life and invested in a stupid project...
Like someone above said, best thing to do is to create a lot of fuss and noise about it, in media and in every way possible...

most probably I will get deported...but at least I should try...

Mon, 02/11/2009 - 8:42am

Nic said Djoe, You won't get deported ...

Djoe,
You won't get deported if you get the support of other buyers and report the story without disclosing your names.
The public exposure of such story in the international media, would make the Qatari Authorities act in order to protect/save Qatar's business reputation.
Good Luck!

Mon, 02/11/2009 - 8:50am

KureduChick said If I was you I would review ...

If I was you I would review your contract (sale and purchase agreement). Check for any clauses for non completion. The developer should have insurance that will cover clients in the case of non completion. Although this is Qatar so you can't be sure. I do not believe that UDC or Qatar will allow the building not to be completed as it will be a blur on the whole reputaion of the Pearl. This happened in Dubai a few years ago and the government stepped in and completed the project. Seriously though, I would seek legal advice once you have reviewed the contract and spoken to UDC. Good Luck!

Mon, 02/11/2009 - 9:11am

hotandsticky said It would have been nice from ...

It would have been nice from the start for UDC to make sure whoever they sold the land to that they were reputable and honest. Every sub-developer on the Pearl
could showcase a clinic in how to be a scumbag.
The sheer disregard and fleecing of the customers was
unprecedented. Not a single one is straight-forward
and honest with their clientele.

Mon, 02/11/2009 - 9:36am

Nic said all this happening under the ...

all this happening under the dormant eyes of the qatari government!

what an example for the qatar business reputation, it will sure attract (not) many future investors!

Mon, 02/11/2009 - 9:46am

exiledsaint said Another great advert for the ...

Another great advert for the Pearl development and another example as an expat how you are not protected if somethink goes wrong.

Unless you can stick it out until 2011, (and maybe later) and you plan to live in it when its finished rather than trying to realise a profit then its best to try and find a way out. Cut you losses now rather than sink any more money into a black hole.

If you want to stay in Doha talk to a Lawyer and show them your contract. If that doesn't work, get on a plan and find another job. There are still plenty of jobs in Abu Dhabi.

Mon, 02/11/2009 - 10:06am

Djoe said Thanks a lot guys for the ...

Thanks a lot guys for the replies...

I will start working on this in every possible way...Media and Law...and keep it low profile till I know where I'm heading...

And definitely I will update everyone here on Qatar Living, specially the ones with the same situation, maybe it will help them to start a strike against the worst project on the planet...

Tx again...

Mon, 02/11/2009 - 4:16pm

aviduser said Good luck mate ...

This whole thing is very painful for many people. I wish you the best of luck.

Mon, 02/11/2009 - 5:57pm

Djoe said If i wanna create a Group on ...

If i wanna create a Group on QatarLiving talking only about Pearl Project all the goods and the bads...what should we do ? I wanna talk with as much people as possible that are suffering, and maybe together we can find a solution to all this rippping off happening in front of everyone without anyone having the power to fight ?!!

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DON'T BUY AN APARTMENT /-a-t-/ PEARL QATAR...IT WILL BE THE MISTAKE OF YOUR LIFE LIKE IT'S THE MISTAKE OF MY LIFE..

Tue, 03/11/2009 - 3:01pm

msj said The long and the Short of it ...

Hi DJoe,

Wow, mate, another horror story.

One of the forums we had running gathered around 300 responses and a lot of information can probably be garnered from reviewing them.
But i will try and give you a summary of what we went though.

We bought from FQ, in June 2008. We were meant to take delivery on November 2008. This was never going to happen but when they said May 2009 we we quite happy.
Its now November 2009 and its safe to say we are still not anywhere close.

Now the big issue came up a couple of months ago when they tried to get us to pay nearly QAR 250 000 worth of connection fees. We and a number of other buyers, were naturally none to impressed with this and so started the big fight for our meagre rights.
We started these forums, we contacted the media, both local and international, we consulted with the Ministry of Business and Trade and lastly we took our contract to a lawyer and got them to review it....for a price i might add.

The outcome: Well the local English newspapers would not print anything negative about the Pearl and they said as much.
We have all seen stories about how great the UDC tower 4 is and all the awards that QatarCool has won overseas but they wont print anything negative about it.
The local Arabic newspapers printed a scathing report on the ludicrous connection fees but the English papers wouldnt touch it. Seemed like they had been warned off.

QatarCool just brushed us off with a press release on their website and the international media werent really interested in a local story.

That leaves the lawyers, we have a get-out clause that says, if our tower is not delivered 1 year after the original completion date we can cancel our contract and ask for our money back. We would have to take them to court though.
Unfortunately this is only on paper, no precendent has ever been set for the outcome so taking your developer to court could be a bit of Russian Roullette.
You may win and the developer cant pay you back because they are bankcrupt and then you are still liable to the bank for all the money they have paid over to the developer on your behalf.
They may counter-sue for whatever they feel like and tie you up in court until you cant afford it anymore.
Lastly, we may all be fighting something much bigger than ourselves and it wont even make it to court...

No one actually knows because it has never been done before. All i can say is hang in there it will probably work itself out. Our situation slowly is...

Lastly, dont spend too much money just yet, PM me if you have any questions and i will tell you everything that it cost us thousands of riyals to find out.

Tue, 03/11/2009 - 7:40pm

pinelands said DJoe I will also say just ...

DJoe I will also say just hang in there and hope things workout.Like Msj said to take on the developer is risky and like jumping into a black hole. My suggestion is speak to your bank and see if you can come to some sort of arrangement to defer your interest repayments until handover if that fails tell them you can only afford to repay XXX AMOUNT until handover of your property.If you want more info PM me.

Tue, 03/11/2009 - 8:14pm

Djoe said Tx MSJ and Pinelands ... I ...

Tx MSJ and Pinelands ...
I finally found that i'm not the only one...at least there are people I can talk with that they can understand what i'm talking about ?
cause for those who didn't buy in this project, they think it's the heaven on earth, and that I'm the luckiest person ever...LOL...

Maybe that's why they don't want media to hear anything bad about it...they wanna keep that good image in people's mind and keep the ripping off going on...

Well i will listen to your advises guys, and I will hang on maybe till the supposed delivery date on May 2010 or till UDC call me again, cause they promised me a second meeting to sign a new contract with them instead of the old contract with the backrupted developer...