Wasl Asset Management Group

Developer overview

Wasl is one of Dubai's major real estate companies. Its about page dates the company to 25 May 2008, when it was created by bringing together the Dubai Development Board and the Real Estate Department. Wasl describes itself as one of the city's largest and most diversified real estate management companies, overseeing assets entrusted to it by DREC and other partners.

That background sets Wasl apart from most developers on DPF. Much of its portfolio is managed and leased rather than sold, and its freehold sales are concentrated in a few master developments. Buyers therefore need to separate Wasl's rental buildings from the projects it actually sells.

Portfolio and locations

Wasl's main freehold community is Wasl Gate, a mixed-use development in Jebel Ali along Sheikh Zayed Road, with direct access to Energy Metro Station and Festival Plaza Mall. Projects Wasl markets there include:

• South Garden – apartment buildings set around a Zen garden, with gyms, pools, a pet park and a central park. Wasl's FAQ separates the original South Garden phase from a second release of Buildings D and E. DPF carries a two-bedroom South Garden listing; see the South Garden building page.
• Boulevard Park – studios to four-bedroom homes beside a central park and retail boulevards.
• Hillside Residences – a freehold project that Wasl shows as sold out.
• The Nook, Gardenia Townhomes and Gardenia Townhomes II – apartments, plus three- and four-bedroom townhouses.

For the community itself, see Wasl Gate listings, the Wasl Gate area guide and the Jebel Ali area page.

Wasl's website also markets villa and townhouse projects at Jumeirah Golf Estates, including Cedarwood Estates, Ashwood Estates and Pinewood Estates. See Jumeirah Golf Estates listings.

Property types

At Wasl Gate the mix runs from studios to three-bedroom apartments in mid-rise buildings, plus townhouses in the Gardenia phases. The Jumeirah Golf Estates launches add larger villas and townhouses. Alongside these, Wasl runs a large leasing portfolio, which is why many Wasl-branded buildings will never appear as freehold resales. Within Wasl Gate itself, some projects are already sold out while newer releases such as South Garden Buildings D and E are still on sale off-plan, so check whether a given unit is completed or still under construction before comparing prices.

What buyers should verify

1. Freehold status. Make sure the unit is in a freehold project Wasl sells, backed by an Oqood registration or title deed, and not a leased apartment in a Wasl-managed building.
2. Phase. At South Garden, confirm whether the unit is in the first phase or in Buildings D and E, since handover timing and payment plan terms can differ.
3. Payment plan and outstanding balance. For off-plan units, ask Wasl for a statement of account showing instalments paid and the balance still due.
4. NOC. Ask Wasl what it needs, and what it charges, before it will issue a NOC for your resale or assignment.
5. Service charges and community fees. Wasl Gate shares parks and facilities across the master development. Ask how service charges are split between the building and the wider community.
6. Dubai Land Department transfer. Off-plan contracts move on the Oqood register; completed units transfer with a new title deed.

Finding distressed and below-market Wasl properties

DPF's current Wasl listing is a two-bedroom at South Garden marketed below original price and close to the metro. It is a typical Wasl Gate case: a buyer who signed at launch wants to exit before or around handover and accepts less than the contract value.

Below OP looks at the gap between the asking price and what the seller originally agreed to pay Wasl. Below market value instead looks at what comparable units have recently sold for, as registered with the Dubai Land Department. A unit can be below OP and still at or above today's market, so check both measures.

In an off-plan Wasl resale, the buyer repays the seller for what has already been paid and takes over the remaining payment plan through an Oqood transfer. Paying cash can shorten the process, though it does not remove the NOC and transfer stages, and Wasl will normally expect instalments that have already fallen due to be paid before it agrees to the transfer. DPF collects these listings for comparison; the asking prices and seller statements are not checked by DPF.