I need to tell you something uncomfortable.

If you already own property in Dubai, there's a 90% chance it will never hit 10% net ROI.

Not because Dubai is a bad market—it isn't. Not because high yields are impossible—they're not. But because you bought the wrong property, in the wrong location, with the wrong strategy. And now you're stuck at 5-6% yield, watching service charges eat into returns while wondering why the Dubai dream isn't materializing.

I've seen this pattern hundreds of times. Investors come to Dubai excited about tax-free returns. They talk to agents. They buy whatever gets pitched—usually off-plan in "emerging" areas. Then they either leave the property empty, lock into a low-yield long-term lease, or try amateur short-term rentals that destroy their listing with bad reviews.

All three approaches fail. And the agents who sold them the properties? Already moved on to the next commission.

I'm writing this as an investor who owns nine properties in Dubai, all purchased in cash. My family has been investing in real estate for over 100 years across multiple countries. We own 200,000+ square feet of warehouses, 100,000+ square feet of land holdings, and 15+ residential properties internationally.

I've also made every mistake possible in this market. I bought off-plan (four units I now regret). I trusted management companies that had no clue what ROI meant. I had a tenant who didn't pay for months while I learned Dubai's brutal landlord laws.

Here's what I've learned: 

most properties can't hit 10%—but some can, with the right strategy.

The Three Mistakes Killing Your Dubai Returns

If you own property in Dubai, you're probably making one of these three mistakes. All of them cost you money. All of them are fixable—if you own the right property.

Mistake #1: Long-Term Rentals

The traditional approach: sign a one-year lease, collect checks (one, two, or four per year), and wait. Simple. Predictable. And leaving massive money on the table.

Here's the math most investors don't run:

You buy a one-bedroom for 1.5 million AED. Long-term rent: 80,000 AED per year. Service charges: 15,000-20,000 AED. Net yield before any other costs: roughly 4%.

That's not building wealth. That's parking capital.

But the yield isn't even the worst part. Long-term rentals in Dubai come with:

• Tenant risk. More checks = more chances for bounced payments. I had a local tenant from Abu Dhabi whose check bounced because he was cheating on his wife and everything fell apart. Collecting that money took months.

• Exit constraints. Want to sell? The tenant comes with the property. Buyers pay less for tenanted units because they inherit the eviction problem.

• No pricing flexibility. You're locked into annual rates while Dubai's market swings seasonally. Peak season (November–April) could command 2-3x your monthly rate—but you're stuck.

Long-term rentals are the default because they're easy. Easy doesn't mean profitable.

Mistake #2: Leaving It Empty

This one baffles me, but I see it constantly—wealthy investors who buy properties and leave them vacant.

The logic seems to be: "I'll wait for appreciation."

The reality: you're paying $5,000-$6,000+ annually in service charges on a one-bedroom (more for larger units) while generating zero income. Your property doesn't "magically increase in price." And even if it appreciates, you've lost years of cash flow that could have compounded.

No matter how wealthy you are, leaving an asset idle while paying holding costs is pure wealth destruction.

Mistake #3: Amateur Short-Term Rentals

Dubai's short-term rental market is hot. Everyone knows Airbnb can generate higher returns than long-term leases. So investors list their properties and... chaos ensues.

Amateur STR looks like:

• Guests messaging at 2 AM with problems you can't solve

• Cleaning that isn't up to standard (and the reviews that follow)

• Pricing based on guesswork rather than market data

• One bad review destroying your listing's visibility

• Weekends consumed by guest coordination and check-ins

Short-term rental done poorly often yields 

less than long-term rental—with 10x the headache. It becomes a full-time job you never signed up for.

STR requires professional operations: dynamic pricing, multi-channel distribution, quality control, rapid response systems. Without these, you're better off with long-term tenants.

The Buying Problem: Why You Own the Wrong Property

The operational mistakes above are fixable—if you own the right property. But most Dubai investors don't. They own the wrong asset because they bought based on agent pitches rather than investor math.

The Off-Plan Trap

You talk to an agent. They show you beautiful brochures—an empty plot that will become a 40-story tower in three years. You pay 20% down and installments during construction.

What they don't tell you: 

80% of off-plan properties depreciate after handover.

Go check the history. Look at what happened to any off-plan development 2-3 years after keys were delivered. Most are worth less than purchase price. The buyers lost money. The developers made fortunes. The agents collected 5-7% commission and moved on.

I bought off-plan myself—four to five units. Three of them in VIB Tower Business Bay, right next to each other. Two in JLT. I've learned my lesson. I'm telling you: 

don't buy off-plan.

Why do agents push it? Simple economics. Off-plan commission: 5-7%. Secondary market commission: 2%. They're selling what pays them, not what performs for you.

Why Agents Can't Help You

Here's the uncomfortable truth: 

most agents have never owned a cash-flowing property.

They don't understand what investors actually want—stable income, cash flow, the ability to refinance and build a portfolio that transfers to the next generation. They understand commission.

The Dubai market is designed to maximize the "shiny object syndrome." Agents compete to show the most luxurious projects, the most impressive renders, the biggest developer names. They're proud when they extract maximum commission from clueless investors.

This isn't cynicism—it's how the market operates. Short-term business for them. Long-term losses for you.

What Actually Works: The 10%+ Strategy

If you want 10%+ net ROI in Dubai, you need two things: the right property and the right operations.

The Right Property: Undervalued in Prime Locations

The main money is in buying undervalued properties—10-15% below market price from motivated sellers. This requires putting out 500-1,000 offers. It's a headache. But it's where the returns come from.

Agents don't want to do this work. They want to sell you the easy brochure for an empty plot. But the real deals are:

• Ready properties you can see and touch

• Older towers (8-10 years) in prime areas

• Units in poor condition from motivated sellers

• Buildings where you can verify actual market valuation

You renovate properly, increase the value, and rent it out. With the right operations, you hit 10%+ consistently.

The Right Operations: Blended Rental Strategy

Dubai is highly seasonal. The strategy that maximizes ROI accounts for this:

Peak Season (November–April): Short-term rentals. Guests stay 3-4 days, maybe a week. You capture maximum nightly rates when Dubai is flooded with tourists, business travelers, and event attendees.

Off-Peak (May–October): Mid-term rentals. Monthly contracts. You attract corporate relocations, project professionals, families testing Dubai. Stable income without the turnover intensity of short-term.

Never: Long-term annual leases that lock you into below-market rates and tenant risk.

This blended approach is how you move from 5-6% yield to the 10-12% sweet spot. I have properties doing 12% net—not revenue, profit—using exactly this strategy.

Why I Built My Own System

I tried working with management companies. Two of them. Both failures.

The problem: they have no idea what ROI means. As an investor, I want to make money on my property. They never asked me: "What's your target goal? Can we even hit this target for you?" They just said: "Give us your property. We'll manage it."

Property managers who have never owned a single property were pitching me on how to manage mine. It was embarrassing.

So I built my own system:

• Deal acquisition pipeline (500-1,000 offers for distressed deals)

• Renovation process to maximize value

• Multi-channel listing (Airbnb, Booking.com, VRBO, Hotels.com, Expedia)

• Dynamic pricing based on seasonality and demand

• Professional operations (cleaning, maintenance, guest management)

Everything I do with my own money, I practice before recommending to anyone else. That's the difference between an investor and an agent.

The "Marriage Mindset"

In my family, we never sell property. I can't remember the last time we sold—maybe once since I was born, and that was to replace with something better.

When you have this mindset, you have to be extremely selective about what you buy. You're "married" to that property. It needs to cash flow for decades. It needs to build generational wealth.

This is the opposite of how most Dubai investors think. They buy hoping for quick appreciation, then panic when values don't move. They haven't built cash flow, so they can't hold through downturns. They sell at the wrong time because they have no income cushion.

The assets that compound over generations are the ones that cash flow from day one. Everything else is speculation.

Can Your Property Be Fixed?

Here's the honest answer: 

most can't.

If you bought off-plan in an "emerging" area with no established demand, no amount of operational excellence will hit 10%. The fundamentals are wrong. You're stuck with a 5-6% property (at best) until you sell and redeploy.

But if you own property in prime areas—Dubai Marina, Business Bay, Downtown, JLT—with strong infrastructure and proven rental demand, operational changes can unlock significant returns.

The questions to ask:

• Is the location in a proven, high-demand area?

• Does the building support short-term rentals (DTCM permitted)?

• Is the unit properly furnished to premium standard?

• Are you currently on long-term lease or running amateur STR?

If you're in a prime location but underperforming, the fix is operational: proper renovation, professional listing, blended rental strategy, dynamic pricing.

If you're in the wrong location, the fix is capital redeployment: sell, accept the loss, buy correctly.

The Bottom Line

90% of Dubai properties won't hit 10% ROI. But the 10% that can are genuinely compelling—tax-free income, USD-pegged currency, professional operations that compound.

The difference isn't luck. It's buying correctly and operating professionally.

If you're looking to acquire properties that can actually hit these numbers—or evaluate whether your existing portfolio can be optimized—I work with a select group of investors. Investor to investor, not agent to client.

I don't make money pushing you into bad deals. I make money when your property makes money. If your property can't cash flow, I'll tell you straight—and we won't work together.

That's the only way this works.