Rent Rises! Direct Debits! Is Dubai seeing a digital transformation?

On this week’s episode of Taking Care of Business, Operations Director; Paul Kelly is joined by the Head of Property Management; Anisha Sagar, to discuss all things property management, the city’s rent rises and how property management can benefit you and of course, Dubai’s newest direct debit system!

So, without further ado let’s hop right into it!

Let’s break the ice with Anisha!

What’s your coffee order?

An Americano from Starbucks

Favourite cartoon character?

Tom, from Tom & Jerry

What did you listen to this morning, on your way to work?

Nothing, just enjoyed pure silence! (Parent life)

Now let’s get right into all things property management!

Paul asks Anisha - Where was she working before joining Allsopp & Allsopp? And what has her career looked like?

Anisha shares that she worked in a legal corporate firm in the UK and then moved to Dubai in 2015. She joined Allsopp & Allsopp as a lettings consultant. Soon, she realised her true calling lay in property management and moved into the team of three (now over 30).

She shares her reality of moving to Dubai, Anisha explains how moving to Dubai was like having a new lifeline after a bad situation back home. But after moving to Dubai, Lewis told Anisha a few words of wisdom that helped her shape into the role she has today.

After which Anisha began working hard, setting goals for herself and she kept hitting her personal best month after month. As she always came from a sales background, she had a strong dedication to her role and ensured she daily did over 150 calls.

Is Dubai becoming more digitised compared to the rest of the world?

Anisha shares that in her early days she noticed a few faults in property management in Dubai that she felt could be changed to be made more seamless.

Anisha shares that when she started, there were no processes in place, tons of paperwork and hours would be spent sitting waiting on approvals at DEWA.

Compared to the UK now, Dubai has completely digitised everything with a start-to-end process in place with documentation managed by a click of a button.

Fast Forward - How does property management at Allsopp & Allsopp look like?

Anisha tells us that Allsopp & Allsopp now has a corporate and non-corporate department with a big portfolio of over 3,000 units and a dedicated team of 30 people that are divided into corporate and non-corporate sections. There are specialised inventory clerks, tenancy renewal contractors and have look at every part of the property management process by adding the right people to service those roles.

What’s the difference between the corporate and non-corporate side of property management?

Anisha and Paul explain that with the corporate side, they work alongside banks, or corporate clients that have multiple buildings or units, which include warehouses or labour camps that have to be managed.

Whereas, with the non-corporate side of things, they work with residential units and property owners who have one or more units, with a dedicated service suited to their needs.

What are the benefits of having your unit managed through property management?

Anisha explains why property owners should opt for property management, she shares that the hassle and stress of managing documentation, utilities, bills and maintenance is lifted. You can easily reap the rewards of your investments without the added stresses of maintenance and management.

We also have our own Home Maintenance team that can come in and service those units to make it more appealing. These have assisted in increasing occupancy rates and with an in-house lettings team, it's quite easy to work with a one-stop shop to have all your services managed in one go.

How are rent rises impacting property management?

Anisha explains how the rent rises have had many landlords choosing to have their property valuations done, so that they can have their properties up on the market and for rent. And with the population rise also has brought a lot of foreign investors who'd like to have their properties managed and up on the market to be rented.

Although, there is a balancing act between landlords and tenants as many landlords take mortgages and with the rise of interest rates, the rents rising does equal out.

What’s new with Direct Debits?

As Dubai has recently shifted out of cheques to direct rental deposits, many landlords are pleased to have a more seamless process on their rental incomes.

Direct Debits are linked to your Ejari and only the one registered to the Ejari can make these payments which makes the process of transfers more safe and seamless. Anisha also shares that Allsopp & Allsopp were the first real estate company in Dubai to offer this service!

To hear more on property management, tune into Taking Care of Business, every Friday!