Verdana Townhouses 3

Reportage Properties is a high volume developer of affordable off plan apartments and townhouses across Dubai's mid market districts.

The model is straightforward: a lot of units at low entry prices, with long payment plans, aimed squarely at investors and first time buyers rather than the luxury end. It is originally an Abu Dhabi company and now builds heavily in Dubai.

What do they build?

Mid rise apartment buildings and townhouse clusters, weighted toward studios and one and two bedroom units. The selling point is the payment plan and the price per square foot rather than the address or the finish.

Where do they build?

• Jumeirah Village Circle and Al Furjan.
• Dubailand and the surrounding mid market districts.
• Dubai South, near Al Maktoum airport.

What should you check before buying?

• Handover dates against the payment plan, and what happens if the two drift apart. On a long plan this is the main thing to understand.
• The escrow account, and that your payments go into it rather than anywhere else.
• How many similar units are being delivered nearby at the same time, because a wave of comparable studios handing over together affects both rent and resale.
• Service charges, which on affordable stock take a larger proportional bite out of the yield.
• The finish specification in writing, not from the show unit.

Are they a safe developer to buy from?

They have completed projects and they build at scale, but a high volume affordable model concentrates a particular risk: a lot of near identical units arriving on the market at once, in districts where several other developers are doing the same thing. That is a pricing and competition risk more than a construction one, and it is worth modelling before you commit. Read how to buy off plan in Dubai first.