For many years, the Real Estate Business sector has been an attractive option and a stable investment opportunity for patient and strong players in the market. The demand for interesting real estate is growing despite the limited possibilities to travel. However, real estate is still one of the most attractive investment opportunities.
Do investors prefer to direct their funds to traditional and relatively safe markets, or are they subject to risk-related “investment challenges?“
It was my great honor to speak to a strong man with a clear and open mind who also has respect for both countries as well as people: The imposing personality of Rashad Al Hashimi, whose business roots go through several generations.
Le Globless: Investments in the real estate market have seen a huge increase in the last year. The market is full of investing opportunities in hotels, residential real estate projects, development projects, and retail parks .What kind of projects do you see as the most interesting?
Rashad Al Hashimi : The real estate business is constantly evolving. Over the last year, we have seen an increase in development projects, especially here in Dubai. The government and the royal family support many projects in which they are also personally involved. They strategically support each step by organizing international events to which they attract young and ambitious entrepreneurs from all over the world and future investors.
Dubai is thus becoming a huge business center of the future. That is why I perceive this market as very interesting and I am very happy to invest in Dubai.
However, we are also interested in projects in other countries, we have some investments in the USA, Canada, traditionally in London and Europe. We divide investments into several areas: Residential villas / townhouses. I see space on the market and a quick return on investment, which is interesting for me. There seems to be a gap and demand.
Amusement and huge development projects are also interesting.
Le Globless: The United Arab Emirates supports the sale of real estate in Dubai, where incredible projects and an environment suitable for entrepreneurs and businesses is being created. Where are the interests of investors in the UAE or are investments spread to countries like Africa, Egypt or the very popular Europe?
Rashad Al Hashimi : The real estate business is very competitive and constantly advancing. It is very sensitive to change. The arrival of Covid has shown which countries are strong and stable and which are weak and unstable. At the same time, the market cleared and the positions of the countries changed. For example, Italy is almost unusable after the crisis and London also has many problems, Spain and America with the new leadership is also a big issue.
The important role in investing is played mainly by the strong support of the government, financial capital or correct government decisions and the stability of the state. Therefore, Dubai is becoming the Golden Egg.
Le Globless: When an investor enters a larger real estate project, is the risk shared by several investors or does one investor take on the entire risk and profit?
Rashad Al Hashimi : Large real estate project risks always have to be mitigated with partial sales. Whether entering alone like EMAAR or as a conglomerate, sales to big investors start at lower rates to cover most of the cost, then open up to the market with higher premiums where the cream is.
We can eliminate risk by carefully examining the background of the investment:
- Experienced and strong developer.
I’m interested in who builds the project. What projects did the developer build? What was their success?
- Economic stability of the country.
Countries with a stable economy are interesting because they can withstand crises. Stable and strong countries have no problem with black economy and corrupt practices.
- Government stability.
A black economy and unstable government are a huge risk for any business as you do not know how much money it will cost you to obtain the necessary permits.
- Banking and business rules.
Getting money for the project is a relatively demanding process. The rules in the given country and the banking system are important. For example: Investing in Great Britain is not as easy as in the past when it was part of the European Union. We waited a few weeks for the money transfer and it was still not clear to us what kind of additional fees we would expect.
- Terms and conditions
When transferring money to a project, it is very important to think about the associated fees. These fees are related to taxes, bank transfers, the creation of additional companies in order for the easy transfer of profits.
When investing, we think mainly about security and, of course, profitability.
Le Globless: Do you prefer newer projects or restructuring opportunities?
Rashad Al Hashimi : I like both. Each option is absolutely different. I do not have a defined circle in which I move, I come from a family where business and investment experience is passed down from generation to generation. We have very strong family roots in business.
Over time and years of experience, you will build a sense of good opportunity, where to invest, how to invest, when to invest and especially with whom to invest.
Le Globless: Do you think Discipline is one of the most important points of strong people?
Rashad Al Hashimi : ,,Yes, Discipline and civilization.“
We have a lot of highly educated people in the world who are not really civilized. Civilization means openness to new ideas, the world, understanding the human race and human kindness.
Understanding similarities and differences. For example, the geographical division of the world affects our way of thinking and behaving. Culture and tradition influence our faith. Soul made things can influence decisions.
What makes you so strong or what makes you so soft? The countries are located in different places and in different climates, and this has a huge impact on the nature of the population: others are people born between the mountains and influenced by wars, and others are people from lands by the sea or living in deserts without water. Everything has an impact on human behavior.
Civilization means trying to understand people.
Le Globless: How many years does it take a good project to get a return and a profit?
Rashad Al Hashimi : Real estate, along with property value shouldn’t take more than 6-7 years. I think that 5 years sounds very real, but as we mentioned very correctly before, the background is also very important. How money comes in and out, it is easy to withdraw money from the project or it will be challenging.
How is taxation? It has to be dynamic, and these things must be clear in order to do it lucratively.
Investors do not want to waste time and deal with the worries about the project, they want to have clear conditions and the way of transporting money and re-acquiring.
They want to invest in a project and already focus on another project and other investments. Today’s investors are hungry for great opportunities and let them wait or complicate their lives. Send money, have a great investment, easy progress, clean communication, guarantees, wait a few years and get money for new projects.
Investors are hungry and they don’t waste time with complications.
We don’t have time to waste time.
Le Globless: Respect, trust, sincerity and a loyal business partner are a great gem. When you want to respect, you have to understand and simply want to learn more about the world and people. We need to be open to learning about other people, about their customs and countries and their nature, and only then will we open the way to future business. We have to learn from each other.
To think that you are the best in the world is very stupid. Because it’s not that simple, there is no best country nor best person.
Everything is subject to God’s will and only angels are perfect- Everything is subject to life cycle. Today, countries will become richer, tomorrow they can become poorer and another country will be rich again.
I love working with many cultures, and what I love most is humility. We humbly gain respect and reverence around the world. Arrogance and fake loyalty can make you money fast at the beginning but you will quickly lose it. This is the reason why we choose very consistently suitable strong and humble partners. Real leaders.
Dear Mr. Rashad Al Hashimi, it was my great pleasure to talk with you. God bless you and make all your businesses successful.