Considerations When Buying Property in Abu Dhabi: Type, Location, Ownership

Wake up at 10 minutes to five. By 5 a.m., you're out the front door and on your community greenbelt, a series of interconnected parks and trails the likes of which you'll find at Bloom Living in Abu Dhabi for your early morning jog.

After sweating it out on the track, you pop into the clubhouse. Maybe you hit the gym for some strength training or cool off with a quick rinse and a swim at the pool.

This is the type of life you can enjoy at one of the newer developments in Abu Dhabi and one you can make yours by buying your own property. Here are some things to consider if you've decided to look for a forever home in Abu Dhabi:

Apartments or Villas?

Your decision will depend on many factors, the major ones being budget and lifestyle.

Budget: Villas typically cost more than apartments. Yes, there are extravagantly appointed spacious luxury apartments in central locations that are priced just as high as (if not more than) a villa. They're exceptions rather than the rule, however, as villas typically sell for higher prices than apartments.

Therefore, if budget is the only or the primary consideration, choose an apartment.

Lifestyle: Does an apartment or a villa suit your way of life?

Suppose you're single and prefer eating out to cooking at home. You're outside for most of the day—in the office, at the gym, at a café, or somewhere else, and generally come home only to shower, sleep, and rest.

You don't need an extensive kitchen, only a bedroom. You don't even require a separate bedroom. A studio space will do.

Dining room? You don't eat at home, so all you want is a table where you can set a cup of coffee or a sandwich once in a while. A comfortable bed and plenty of space to hang your clothes and keep your shoes and bags—now, that's something you could use.

For such a lifestyle, an apartment would be perfect.

Suppose you're a family of four, including two adolescent children. You and your spouse must have a bedroom; each of your children needs one, too.

How about a family room, with a television and maybe a gaming console, for the times you want to watch a game together? You have breakfast and dinner at home almost every day, so you must have a kitchen and a dining room.

Both the adults work from home sometimes—so maybe an office? Both also drive, so you need a two-car garage.

For this type of lifestyle, it's obvious a villa is the better choice. Of course, there will be apartments that can provide all these (think penthouses with generous cuts), but those come at exorbitant prices. If price is not an issue, though, they'd be perfect, too.

How about the views? High-rise apartments have an edge when it comes to beautiful panoramic vistas. However, you can have gorgeous views outside your villa's windows, too. You just need to put some thought into your landscaping.

Choosing Your Location

The location is the next thing to consider when deciding among apartments and villas for sale in Abu Dhabi.

Proximity to your workplace: If you need to be in the office every day, buy property from within the same neighborhood or somewhere really close by. Ideally, you could walk to your office. If that's not possible because of the heat, the drive from your home to your office and back should not take more than several minutes (e.g., 10 minutes).

Note that commute time and simplicity matter more than actual physical distance if you drive or take public transportation to work every day. If you ride the metro, for instance, living somewhere farther out from your office may be preferable to living somewhere physically closer if the former means getting on the metro and you're home or at work. That's much better than living close to your office but needing to take two connecting lines to get to the office.

Proximity to your children's school: Have school-age children? You must also want your children to be as close to their school as possible. If it's challenging to find a community that lets you be close to your work and your children's school at the same time, find a place that has an excellent school close by and enroll your children there.

Proximity to lifestyle facilities and amenities: Move to a neighborhood close to your favorite mall, sports club, or recreational center. A better choice is to live in a fully integrated, all-inclusive community that has all that in it.

In this case, you may want to look for a gated community with plenty of parks and green spaces for walking, jogging, cycling, and picnics. If you have young children, you want a community with play areas.

The clubhouse, preferably, has a gym and courts for basketball, tennis, padel, badminton, and other sports. It should have an Olympic-size swimming pool, saunas, pool tables, ping pong tables, and other similar facilities.

Of course, you want the community to have groceries and pharmacies. A mall would be great.

A Note on Ownership for Foreign Expatriates in Abu Dhabi

Foreign expatriates may buy and own property in Abu Dhabi, but there are special terms and considerations.

If you want to own not only your residential unit (i.e., the structure) but also the land on which it stands, buy property at one of the designated freehold areas in Abu Dhabi, which are:

• Yas Island
• Saadiyat
• Reem
• Mariya
• Lulu
• Al Raha Beach
• Sayh Al Sedairah
• Al Reef
• Masdar City

In non-freehold areas, you can only own floors or apartments, not the land on which they have been built. Non-freehold ownership for expatriates, in this case, can take one of these four forms:

• Ownership: Ownership means you can use, modify, and dispose of the villa or apartment. Ownership lasts for up to 99 years.
• Musataha: Musataha means you can use, construct, and alter the residence. You own it for up to 50 years; this is renewable, subject to terms.
• Usufruct: Usufruct gives you the right to use a residential unit for up to 99 years, but you can't modify or alter it.
• Long-term lease: A long-term lease means you can use a property for a provided term that is no less than 25 years.

Buy Property in Abu Dhabi

Do you work and live in Abu Dhabi? If you're staying in Abu Dhabi for a long time, maybe you should buy an apartment or villa. If you decide to do it, consider the above factors when choosing a property to purchase.