Samana Portofino

Samana Developers is a Dubai developer known for compact apartments in Jumeirah Village Circle, Arjan, Majan and Dubai Land Residence Complex, many with features such as private pools on balconies. Its website says it has launched over 50 projects and completed six handovers.

This guide is for buyers comparing Samana with other developers. It covers who the company is, where it builds, the projects on our site, how an off-plan purchase is regulated, what Samana has said about its handovers, and what to check before you sign. Every project below links to its own page.

Who Samana is

According to the Samana website, the company is headquartered in Business Bay, at Bay Square, with three branches. The site names Imran Farooq as CEO. It does not name a founder or chairman and does not give a founding year. Its earliest dated milestone is the launch of Samana Greens in September 2018, which it describes as the start of its journey.

The website says Samana has launched over 50 projects and made six successful handovers. We have not found a source we can open for the company's ownership structure or listing status, so we do not state either.

In search, Samana is often a project name: Samana Greens, Samana Hills, Samana Resorts or Samana Barari. The table below links to the buildings on our site.

Samana handovers, from its own announcements

Samana's handover history is easy to check because its first delivered project was reported by a newspaper at the time.

• Samana Hills, Arjan. Khaleej Times reported on 16 June 2022 that Samana handed over Samana Hills at a ceremony on 15 June 2022. The article describes a freehold, resort-style project of 202 units, valued at Dh100 million, with groundbreaking in September 2019. It says owners received title deeds with their units.
• Samana Santorini, Dubai Studio City. A Samana press release published on Zawya describes a handover ceremony attended by a senior Dubai Land Department official. It gives 157 units, from studios to three-bedroom apartments. The release is undated on the page.
• Samana Miami, Jumeirah Village Circle. A second Zawya release describes one and two-bedroom apartments with private pools on their balconies. Both releases say more than 1,300 units have been handed over across the company's portfolio. This is a company statement, and neither page is dated.

These are the developer's own accounts. Samana does not publish a delivery record against original dates that we can open. Check any building you are considering against its original launch date, and see handover delays and your rights if a date moves.

Where Samana builds

• Jumeirah Village Circle, where the Samana website places Manhattan, Manhattan 2, Waves, Waves 2 and Miami.
• Arjan, home of Samana Hills, Greens, Skyros and Mykonos Signature. Our guide to buying property in Arjan covers the area.
• Majan, where Barari Lagoons and Barari Views are listed.
• Dubai Land Residence Complex, the area given for Samana Avenue.
• Dubai Studio City, where Samana Santorini was delivered.

The website also lists Samana Ocean Bay, Ocean Crest and Ocean Pearl without naming a community, and a project at Downtown Jebel Ali. Our site shows the Ocean projects in Dubai Islands.

Samana projects on our site

The table lists projects on our site where the area matches the community shown on the Samana website or in a press release. Open a link for sizes, floor plans and the current payment plan from the developer.

Our site also carries Samana Park Meadows, Samana Rome, Samana Mykonos and the Production City projects such as Samana Portofino and Samana Resorts 1 and 2. We leave them out of the table because we could not confirm their area from an official page. Ask the sales team for the exact address of any building before you compare prices.

How buying off-plan from Samana works

The steps are broadly the same for every Dubai developer, because the rules come from the Dubai Land Department (DLD) and its regulator RERA. The notes below summarise the DLD's published guidance for buyers. Your own contract and the sales team confirm the details for a specific building.

1. Choose a unit and pay the booking deposit. Ask in writing whether the deposit is refundable and on what conditions.
2. Sign the sale and purchase agreement (SPA). It sets the price, the payment schedule and the expected handover date. Read the clauses on delay, cancellation and transfer.
3. Registration on Oqood. Off-plan sales are recorded on the DLD's self-registration system, Oqood. Our guide to the title deed and Oqood explains what the record proves and what it does not.
4. Payments go to the escrow account. The DLD describes the real estate escrow account as a bank account of the project, where funds from off-plan buyers are held.
5. Marketing spend is capped. The DLD states that only 5% of total sales can be paid out of escrow for project marketing.
6. Retention after completion. The DLD says the escrow law requires 5% of the total amount paid into escrow to be retained for one year after completion, as a guarantee for defect repairs.
7. Snagging and handover. Inspect the unit before you accept it. See snagging and handover in Dubai.

According to the same DLD guidance, a project can be launched or announced only after the developer has completed registration and obtained the accreditation certificate. Ask to see that certificate and the project number on it before you pay a deposit. Samana launches many buildings in the same communities, so confirm which phase your unit belongs to.

Payment plans and costs

The Samana website shows starting prices with an asterisk but does not set out a payment plan or explain the asterisk, so we do not quote a structure. Plans change from launch to launch. Ask for the offer for your exact building in writing, with every instalment date and percentage. See how off-plan payment plans work in Dubai for what each stage means, and buying a Dubai apartment on instalments for the questions to ask about long schedules.

Budget for costs outside the plan, including the registration fee in Dubai Land Department fees and annual charges in service charges and maintenance fees. Small units can carry high service charges per square foot, so ask for the rate in a finished building nearby.

What to check before buying a Samana property

• RERA project number and escrow account. They should be on the SPA and match the DLD record. Our guide on how to check a developer lists the steps.
• The exact building and phase. Names such as Waves, Manhattan and Barari are repeated across phases.
• The handover clause. A date, a quarter or a range, and the grace period.
• The unit. Number, floor, size and floor plan. See BUA and suite area on a floor plan.
• Features in the brochure. If a private pool or furnishing is part of the sale, make sure the SPA lists it.
• Service charges. See how to check service charges.

Off-plan or a finished Samana home

Samana has completed buildings in Arjan, Dubai Studio City and Jumeirah Village Circle, so you can visit one before you decide. In a finished building you can see the unit, the finish, the views and the service charge bills. The choice is limited to what owners are selling.

Off-plan gives you a full release to choose from and a payment schedule spread over construction. In return you wait for handover and accept that the finished result can differ slightly from the brochure. Compare the off-plan price with a finished unit of the same size in the same area. If your plans change, read selling an off-plan property before handover.

How Samana compares with other developers

The table is a neutral guide to focus and areas. It is not a ranking and says nothing about quality.

Where to go next

Start with the community: Jumeirah Village Circle or Arjan. Our off-plan projects page lets you compare Samana with other releases in the same area, and our buying process explains each step. For launches and brochures, use the Samana Developers website.