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Executive Towers Update - 4 March 2010

I should be happy today. Idama were going to come this morning and complete the snagging work. And Du were going to instal tv/internet/landline.

But this is Executive Towers; and nothing goes as planned.

Idama did not appear. Despite so many promises yesterday.

And Du did come; and were very pleasant - and very apologetic.

There was nothing that they could do because the contractor has failed to instal a power socket in the equipment box above the apartment entrance. I don't know whether i am unlucky or whether this is a fault with the whole building.

So the contractor has to instal the power socket; then I have to re-schedule the Du installation.

I am so effing cross.....

Executive Towers Update - 3 March 2010

There has been no progress by the contractors since the 14 February update.

But we did get an entertaining visit from one of the Idama managers today; it was a bizarre visit.

Yes they can move the main bathroom toilet roll holder - but we have to pay for it. It is in the wrong place; it is not our fault. It is the far side of the bidet; rather than between the bidet and the toilet. All the apartments are the same said our Idama man. It was fitted this way because of the drainage.

What is this Executive Towers disease where people need to lie about everything.

The apartments are not all fitted like this. Let me show you. 3402 and 3601 (both unoccupied) have the toilet roll holder in the correct place.

There is no toilet roll holder in the spare bedroom. Drainage he said. So why does 3402 have one?

Does anyone have a bathroom plug? I have not seen them in any apartment.

The chipped and stained bathtub seemed to amuse him rather be of concern. I doubt anything will be done.

The second bedroom still has almost more paint on the floor than the ceiling; and the tiling and plaster work still needs to be redone around where the build in wardrobes were stripped out and changed.

One piece of good news. DU has completed their network installation and just maybe we will have internet and tv access tomorrow.

The car park is getting busier - which means it is harder to find a car parking space when so many are being used for building material storage.

Road access all but got washed away by the rain.

Executive Towers - Online Comments - 23 February

This is from a web forum: written by another owner or tenant:

"Has anybody noticed how bad the smell from the air ducts (the metal boxes in the walls - in the lounge/bedrooms etc) is !!!

It is horrible.

At first they blamed the sewage in the bathrooms, but later we found out the truth (from workers/engineers)... read on.

I was told by the engineers that the ET buildings were ready & sitting for the last 2 years & during this time 'RATS' had infested the buildings (and had been happily eating away the plastic/cables/wiring/everything etc) !!!

Al Habtoor have used rat poision & killed a majority of them - that's what the aweful smell is !!! There are dead rats all over the building & air ducts etc. (all the Towers).

This is REALLY BAD & unhealthy specially for children and we wonder for how long it will continue...?!? There is nothing they can do about the smell.

To quote DP "The ET apartments come equipped with modern amenities, high-tech facilities and internationally designed interior spaces that embody superb architectural innovation and breathtaking views of the winding Creek." INDEED !!!"
 

Executive Towers Update - 14 February 2010

We have now moved into our building site apartment. And it is time for an update:

I have painted walls in the living room and main bedroom and put a bit of colour in the place. And made far less mess in the process than the contractors.

Discoveries: The bathrooms were all designed by very small people. A dwarf's bathroom. Which makes little sense in a 1,550 square foot apartment. The bath is so small that it does comply with Dubai's rules on conservative behaviour. Because there is no way in the world that you could get two people into the bath or shower.

There is a woeful lack of storage space and the built in cupboard units were obviously designed by a man who has only one suit and one pair of shoes....and must have been designed by a man - a woman would have known better.

The kitchen has an opening to the lounge/dining room but still has a kitchen door. Why ? Better to have no door and create some space in the small kitchen.

The living room is cold.

The apartment gets a lot of dust and dirt. Not healthy. Presumably through the ventilation from other rooms.

If the contractor says that he will be there for 2pm today - it could mean any time or never. Three times I was told after two pm on different days last week. Three days I sat in waiting. No one ever appeared.

The built in wardrobes in the spare bedroom have been finished (again) - but they have taken tiles off the skirting board and plaster off the surrounding walls.....more work for the working men to do - if anyone remembers old Flanders and Swann songs.

One afternoon last week this guy walks in with a jacket that says Dubai Security - just walks into the apartment - who are you I asked - I am security - he is clearly checking on my friendly labouring team - so I had a go at him - telling him he had no right to simply walk in to a private apartment...and that next time I expect the courtesy of a front door bell and he can wait until I invite him in.

Internet/TV/Telephone - were due to be availble from Du by 28 February. As of last week that is now 12 April 2010. But their web site still says on schedule. Jokers! Someone has to explain to me why a building that is two years late has not already been wired by Du.

These were apartments that were supposed to "come equipped with modern amenities, high-tech facilities" according to the Dubai (take your money and run) Properties.

There is only one elevator operating in the building. Which is a real problem for removal and delivery people. But it is leading to some fun conversations with other owners and tenants in the elevator. No one has a good word to say about the building or DP.

The contractors proved to be highly entrepreneurial last week. They seem to have a period of overtime that starts at 5pm precisely.

Executive Towers Update - 23 January 2010

Dubai Properties - who I remain convinced are the least customer friendly organisation that I have ever dealt with - insisted that the apartment that we have bought in Executive Towers had to be handed over and paid for in full by 6 January 2010 - or we would be found in default - and potentially liable to lose the 70% already  paid on the apartment.

Building Dreams is the Dubai Properties tag-line. Delivering Nightmares is the reality.

Unusually they insist on payment before they identify any snagging work that needs to be done. So here we are - we have now owned this apartment for 16 days - we are paying DEWA and cooling fees. The apartment is not ready to be lived in. The entire Executive Towers complex is months, maybe years from being complete.

The snagging list was prepared on 6 January. As of yesterday no work had been done. These are a just a few of the pictures:

Executive Towers - The Reality

The Dubai Properties Development named Executive Towers at Business Bay was originally due for completion in Q1 2008.

At the end of that quarter a press release was put out by Dubai Properties on 27 March 2008. It is, in hindsight, either shameful, embarrassing or simply hilarious. Yet no one is held accountable. No notice was given to purchasers concerning the delay.

"Dubai: 27 March, 2008 - Dubai Properties, leading master real estate developer, today announced the AED 3 billion Executive Towers, which are markedly visible from Sheikh Zayed Road and Al Khail Road, is nearing completion, and the anticipated Handover date will be during the fourth quarter of 2008.

Work is proceeding simultaneously on all 11 buildings of the Executive Towers, which include nine residential units, the Aspect Tower, and the Business Bay Hotel. The development's outdoor component, the Bay Avenue, is also on its way to deliver 175,000 square feet of retail space as well as water-front terraces.

With all the units of the Executive Towers sold out, the handover of all towers will commence in the fourth quarter 2008....

Al Zarooni said: "With 5,400 on-site workers, we are delighted to inform that our ambitions for the Executive Towers will soon achieve fruition. The towers and the lifestyle they represent are geared towards people who celebrate success and an intelligent way of life, and we are confident the development will set new benchmarks in the industry."

Termination and refund clauses for failure to deliver the project within a year of the original completion date were contained in the property sale and purchase agreements but were worthless. As a buyer you could have tried to fight Dubai Properties in a local court but you would have needed great patience, a good lawyer and to afford significant legal fees.

So the only option has been to sit and wait for completion and handover of the property. In the meantime I (and I am sure many others) have incurred the costs of two additional years of property rental.

On 21 June 2009 Samer Zabian, the Director of Customer Service (never has a department been so badly named) wrote to the owners to announce: " We are delighted to announce that the completion date for the Executive Towers project is now confirmed as 20 July 2009."

More fiction. This was nothing more than an attempt to bring in some cash from the final payments. It was clear that a summer 2009 handover was impossible.

Another email (this time) on 15 November said that Tower B would be handed over from 30 November. And the threats started – “failure to book your handover appointment by 26th November 2009 may result in your account being marked delinquent.”

No matter that the building was already almost 2 years late.

A December handover appointment was then replaced by a January appointment; although I only knew that when I rang the customer service department to confirm the December appointment and was told there was a further delay.

Now lets look at the handover process. How should this work; the purchaser examines the property; prepares the snagging list (defects to be addressed before handover) and ensures the snagging list is resolved before the final payment is made and the property is handed over by the developer.

Not so with Dubai Properties. They take your money first thank you. Then you can go to the property and prepare you snagging list. You are now paying utilities and management fees for a property that is not yet fit to inhabit.

Incidentally Dubai Properties did not put management of Executive Towers out to tender. They just appointed their subsidiary management firm - Salwan LLC. A company that has no history of property management and that appears able to charge whatever management fee it wishes. This appears to be around AED14.50psf - for what??? Employing a security gurad in the car park to take my name every time i go to see the apartment that I own.

Salwan did retain some UK consultants to advise on the handover process. The consultants said completion of the pool, gym, public areas is further delayed. The pool may be ready by the end of March. Lanscaping will not start for six months.

Some of the consultants have been retained by Salwan to manage the handover. They are openly and honestly embarrassed to be handing over the project in this condition.

Simply put Executive Towers is not ready to be handed over. And it should not have been handed over in this condition.

The pool may open in by March.

The gym may open by June.

The mall area may open in six months. I suspect this is closer to the year end.

But remember these are Dubai Property dates so are subject to lengthy delay.

There is no landscaping. The towers currently sit on a mud and sand patch with no proper road access.

At present there is no safe access to the building. Access to my tower, Tower B, is available through the car park only. Only one of the three elevator banks is working. The car park is dirty, dusty, poorly lit, full of building materials and is base camp for the many labourers still on site. I am sure they are delightful people but I do not think my wife should have to walk through them if she comes home alone to the building. I do not regard it as either safe or secure.

 My car parking spot is B13. That and the surrounding spaces are currently being used as storage space for building materials.

Then the big moment - you get to your apartment and see it for the first time.

The view out over the Burj Khalifa. Lovely.

Inside - I have never been more disappointed. The plasterwork, grouting and paintwork all looks like it was completed by five year olds using playdoh.

The flooring is stone tiles; it looks like the tiles that you might use on a garden path.

There is mould/fungus on the wall of one of the bedrooms. The built in wardrobe there is showing signs of rotting and warping.

There are panels missing. There are chips, marks, damage throughout. Door fames are damaged. Doors are chipped. Switches and sockets are missing. Cracks in the plaster work have been painted over. Tiling is uneven. Doors do not fit properly etc.

The quality of the materials that have been used is very poor. The doors and door frames are especially bad. This looks like cost cutting of the worst kind.

The saddest part is that there appears to be absolutely no quality control and no sense of a duty of care. Isn't this what customer service is supposed to do. There can have been no check of my apartment to ensure that basic fixes had been done; that obvious damage had been repaired. None of this is rocket science. The contractor should be signing off on this apartment before I am expected to review it.

The schedule of finishes in the sale and purchase agreement said that "All finishes, fixtures, construction and installation will be to relevant international and local standards." That must have been in the fiction section.

The Dubai Properties web site eulogises on Executive Towers : "The Executive Towers comprise 12 towers: ten residential towers, one commercial tower known as Aspect Tower; and one hotel called the Business Bay Hotel. The apartments come equipped with modern amenities, high-tech facilities and internationally designed interior spaces that embody superb architectural innovation and breathtaking views of the winding Creek."

It makes me weep to see the reality.

Khalid Al Malik, Group CEO of Dubai Properties Group, said: "The handover of The Executive Towers confirms Dubai Properties’ commitment to the continued development of Dubai’s landscape by delivering projects that surpass our customers’ expectations."

My expectations were pretty low already - and they could not even meet those !! Pathetic; shameful; incompetent.

It is now three weeks from the handover date. Firstly we were told it would take two eeks to complete the snagging work. Then we were told the work would start on 17 January. But now three weeks after the handover and final payment no work has been done.

I have now been promised that the work will be done in the next week. I have little confidence that this will be achieved or will be satisfactory. I

t is a shame. The people on site from Salwan and Idama do appear to care. But the contractor is not interested and Dubai Properties management have simply taken the money without any thought of their customers.

For those of us who have made a long term committment to working here, investing here and living here, this project is bitterly disappointing. The abiding and long term feeling is that the purchasers and investors have and continue to be treated incredibly poorly. As for the so called Director of Customer Service - he should be ashamed.

If I can find a way to post pictures of the defects to this forum i will do so.

Anyone who wants to compare notes or to confirm the accuracy of this commentary is welcome to contact me.