Chris Saul's Blog

Sunday March 01, 2009

Someone's still making a profit

I was interested (and pleased) to read here that my former landlord, Union Properties, expects to make a profit this Q.

You hear a few horror stories about renting accommodation here, but my experience with UP, verified by other people I've spoken to who rent or rented from them, was excellent.

You can see where we lived in the article picture - the tallest, pointy tower, to the left.

At a time when most companies expected the entire rent a year up front, UP asked for four cheques. The service was always excellent and the building was kept in tiptop condition. If you had a problem with the apartment, skilled people came and fixed things. The rent went up during the five years we were there, but never excessively and never outside of the government's rent cap. When we moved out they were very flexible, allowing us to stay a little longer than expected and returning our deposit in full afterwards. The person who moved in after us paid a lot more rent, but it was in line with the market and less than they could have charged.

All in all, a decent company providing a decent service at a fair price. The result? A building full of happy tenants, many of whom have been there for years now, all of which equates to a healthy business. I expect their other properties offer a similar experience. I haven't heard what their freehold properties are like, but I would expect them to be high quality, encouraging loyal tenants who look after where they live, whether rented out or bought to live in.

An example to others.

What is destroying Dubai's button thread?

Is it just me, or have any other Dubai residents experienced a distinctly high shirt button thread failure rate in recent weeks?

I have about 6 shirts that have all lost buttons over the last month. Some kind of change to Dubai's water supply, or a cunning return to form for my laundry, thinking that their previous collar burning exploits were forgotten? I need answers!

Apostrophe standards upheld

I was pleased to see this sign when home in Richmond last week. Quite a different approach to Birmingham council's.

Just unbelievable. What is so hard about the apostrophe? Its some'thing people just do'nt understand.

Standards are being upheld north of Birmingham though. Apparently signs to Everton and Liverpool grounds mention 'football stadia'.

( Mar 01 2009, 04:49:05 AM GST ) Permalink Comments [3]

East meets West, via a Chevvie or two

There was an excellent classic car show held next to where we live over the weekend. Lots of great models, from early Model Ts up to classic Astons and Rollers from the 80s.

This local gentlemen had three Chevrolet pickups on display. We had a good chat about his cars, which he'd bought and had restored in the States before being brought over to Abu Dhabi.

Looking at the picture I took of him with his pride and joy, I was struck by how people of different cultures and backgrounds can be brought together by common interests and that, deep down, the average bloke* isn't that all that different. Forget East-West dialogue, meetings of religious representatives and the like - let's talk engines!

I don't want to sound too presumptious, but a US or British petrolhead might be a bit suspicious of 'the Middle East'. A strange place, strange people, strange clothes, strange religion. Stereotypes of Arabs or muslims might easily be jumped to over a few beers, yet the guys in the checked shirts and jeans would probably easily bond with the gentleman in his dishdasha and ghutra. True, he might be having a cup of coffee rather than a Budweiser, but as the guys pored over their trucks and swapped stories, they'd probably realise they had a lot more in common with their friends in the UAE than they might have thought.

* I say blokes, as it's mainly blokes who are interested in this sort of thing, one exception being our friend Georgia Lewis, a car mad lady who is a motoring correspondent for The National.

( Mar 01 2009, 03:38:50 AM GST ) Permalink Comments [2]