The increase in Middle East-related articles has been fantastic, and uncannily timely for me, given that I am looking to relocate to Abu Dhabi. However, I am not sure where you obtained your rental prices from, as your figure of ￡18,000, or 120,000 dirhams, per year is way off the mark (26 September, page 52). Only this morning I received an email from an Abu Dhabi agent informing me that three-bedroom apartments are going for between 250,000 and 350,000 dirhams a year, and three-bedroom villas from 350,000 to 400,000 dirhams. These properties are by no means at the top end of the market. My own budget of 300,000 dirhams equates to paying a yearly rental of about ￡44,000. The 5% agent's fee will be a further ￡2,200, all of which, as you correctly stated, generally needs to be paid in advance; clearly not everyone is relying on oil to make them millionaires!
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