I’m Laila Janik, CEO of MYS Real Estate and a long-time Dubai expat, and I want to share a strategy that’s gaining traction among savvy
expats: buy a one-bedroom apartment as an investment, even while you continue to rent your own home. In other words, turn the tables and become a landlord while still being atenant – so part of your salary comes back to you as rental income. It’s a clever way to make your rent money work for you and build equity in the city you call home.
Hedge Against Rising Rents: We all know the feeling – that little pang of anxiety when you get a notice of a rent increase. Dubai’s rental market has been hot; in fact, apartment rents surged about 17% in the last year globalpropertyguide.com.
As an expat tenant, that can hurt your budget. But as an expat landlord, rising rents are a boon. By investing in a one-bedroom and renting it out, you essentially hedge yourself. If general rents go up, yes, you might pay more for your own accommodation if you’re renting, but you’ll likely also be charging more rent to your tenant. It balances out. Many expat investors I know take great comfort in this: they’re no longer solely on the receiving end of rent hikes, they’re on the benefiting side too. Moreover, owning a property locks in a part of your housing cost – if you ever decide to move into that property down the line, you won’t face a landlord raising the rent on you. You become your own landlord. For now, as you rent elsewhere, your investment property’s rent acts like a second income. It could cover a significant part of your own rent. Think of it this way: instead of paying 100% of your rent from your salary, you could have a tenant indirectly subsidizing maybe 30-50% of it via the rent they pay you. Over a year or two, that’s a lot of savings.
From Renter to Owner (While Staying Flexible): You might wonder, “If I can afford to buy, why wouldn’t I just buy a home to live in and stop renting altogether?” That’s certainly an option, but it often requires a bigger financial commitment and might tie you to a location or property size that’s less flexible for your lifestyle. Many expats aren’t ready to commit to a single home here – maybe you’re here on a 3-5 year plan, or you prefer renting a villa with more space for your family, but can only afford to buy a smaller apartment now. That’s perfectly fine.
Buying an investment property lets you start owning without sacrificing your current living situation. You continue renting the place that suits your needs (perhaps a bigger place or a different area), while owning a one-bedroom that someone else lives in. You get the best of both: you live where you like (thanks to renting) and you invest where it makes financial sense (thanks to buying a one-bed that’s easy to rent out). This strategy also keeps you flexible. If your company moves you to another country, you don’t have to worry about selling the home you live in – you were renting that, so you can simply hand it back. Meanwhile, your owned apartment remains an asset generating income that you can keep even from abroad. You might even have your property management handle it in your absence, effectively giving you a continuous Dubai income stream no matter where you go next. Additionally, as an expat, owning property in Dubai can give you extra security: there are property-linked visas (investing in property above certain values can qualify you for long-term residence). For instance, an investment of AED 750k can get a 3-year visa, and AED 2M can potentially get a 10-year golden visa under current rules (though always check latest regulations). Buying a one-bedroom might not hit the golden visa threshold unless it’s a high-end unit, but it’s a step in the right direction, and combined with other investments, it could strengthen your residency options.
Capitalizing on What You Know: As an expat living here, you have insider knowledge that outside investors don’t. You understand which neighborhoods are upcoming and popular. You know, for example, that being near a metro station or your workplace hub is a game-changer for renters. Maybe you’ve noticed all your colleagues live in a certain community because it’s 10 minutes from the office – that’s valuable intel. You can leverage that by buying in areas that you personally know are in demand. For instance, if you work in Media City and have lots of friends renting in Dubai Marina or Barsha Heights, you might invest in a one-bed in those areas, confident that there’s a steady stream of renters like your friends who’d jump on a nice apartment there. You’re effectively monetizing your local knowledge. Contrast this with a foreign investor who might not know the nuances – you, as an expat, have the home advantage. And the stats echo what we sense: areas like Business Bay, JVC, Dubai Marina are currently top choices for rentals globalpropertyguide.com, aligning with where expat communities are growing. If you’re renting in Business Bay, you’ve seen those shiny new apartment towers – you could own one of those units and rent it out, riding the wave of your own neighborhood’s popularity.
Success Story of a Dubai Expat Investor: Let me share Samir’s story (one of my clients, an expat from India). Samir rents a 2-bedroom apartment in Downtown for his family, which suits their needs but was too expensive for him to buy outright. Instead of stretching to buy a home for himself, he decided to invest in a one-bedroom in an upcoming development in nearby Dubai Creek Harbour – a smaller unit which was within his budget (~AED 1 million). He rented that one-bedroom out for AED 75,000 a year. His mortgage on it costs about AED 4,000 per month (~AED 48,000 a year). After service charges, his net outlay is roughly AED 55,000. That means the property is almost self-sustaining with a small top-up from him, but importantly, someone else (the tenant) is paying the bulk of his mortgage. Now here’s how it helps with his rent: the AED ~6,000 surplus (75k rent – ~69k costs) he effectively uses towards his own Downtown rent. It’s not huge, but it’s like getting a discount on his rent courtesy of his tenant. Over a couple of years, as rent increased, that one-bed is now yielding AED 85,000(rents in Creek rose), and his mortgage stayed the same, so now it’s actually fully covering itself and giving him a few thousand extra in positive cash flow. Samir told me this arrangement gives him peace of mind. He feels less like he’s “throwing away” money on rent because he knows parallel to that, he’s building equity in an investment. In three years, his one-bed appreciated to about AED 1.3M. He’s considering selling it to upgrade to two smaller one-bed units in another new project, effectively doubling his investments while still renting his Downtown home. It’s a brilliant example of how you can incrementally build wealth without uprooting your living situation.
Bottom line: Ready to make your rent work for you? By continuing to rent where you love andinvesting in a one-bedroom to rent out, you can create an asset that earns while you pay for your lifestyle. You stay flexible, yet build equity and income.
If you’re an expat who’s tired of seeing your rent money vanish each month, let’s change that narrative. Get in touch with me, and I’ll help you find a one-bedroom investment that fitsyour budget and complements your lifestyle. You don’t have to choose between renting and owning; you can strategically do both. Let’s turn a chunk of your monthly expense into an investment in your future. After all, you work hard for your money – it’s time your money worked hard for you too. 💪💵
