How we evaluate
Seven checks. One investment decision. We test the property, the numbers, the developer, the market and the assumptions behind the investment. If we cannot get comfortable with one of them, it does not make our list.
One property, taken through every check
Choose a check to see what was examined, what was found and why it matters, on one illustrative property.
JH-2588Marasi Riverside, Tower B, Business Bay1 bed · 742 sq ftOff-planPrepared by Mansoor Charaniya, 22 August 2026, for rental income
Illustrative. The property and every figure are those of the sample memo, prepared for rental income. The complete written report is the sample memo. Read the sample memo
01Property factsTitle, area, layout, service charge, developer record.
- Asking priceUSD 441 K (AED 1.62 M)Developer price list, 22 Aug 2026
- Layout and area1 bed, 742 sq ft, mid floorSale agreement plan
- TenureFreehold, one allocated parking spaceSale agreement
- Stated handoverQ3 2028Developer, 22 Aug 2026
- Service charge3.87 USD / sq ft (AED 14.20) per year2026 budget of the delivered tower
- Developer delivery recordFirst tower delivered within four months of its stated dateHandover notices, 2025
- What was examined
- The title deed or sale agreement, the registered area and the plan, read against the listing.
- The service charge as budgeted for a delivered building, not the estimate in a brochure.
- The stated handover date beside the developer's record on its last two projects.
- What was found
- A freehold one-bedroom of 742 sq ft, mid floor, off-plan, with handover stated for Q3 2028.
- Why it matters
- The service charge is modelled on the delivered tower's budget, not the brochure estimate. The developer's record is one delivery, four months late.
02Financial analysisNet yield from comparable lettings, costs taken out.
- Gross rentSix comparable lettings in the delivered tower, last nine monthsUSD 30,688(AED 112,700)
- Void, four weeks a yearBase case allowance−USD 2,361(AED 8,669)
- Service charge, 742 sq ft2026 budget, delivered tower−USD 2,869(AED 10,536)
- Letting and management, 5% of rentAssumed for this sample−USD 1,534(AED 5,635)
- Net income5.4% of the asking price, base caseUSD 23,924(AED 87,860)
- What was examined
- Comparable lettings in the same building or community, dated, with their sizes and rents.
- A void allowance and the service charge deducted before anything is called a net yield.
- Every figure shown with the date or basis it was produced on.
- What was found
- Net income of 5.4% of the asking price in the base case, after the void, the charge and management.
- Why it matters
- Priced with the market. The service charge is what makes the income work.
03Developer and marketDelivery record, current supply, what is coming.
- 2022First tower in the community delivered
- 2025Second tower delivered, four months late, let within a quarter
- 2027 to 2028About 1,900 units scheduled to complete in Business Bay
- Q3 2028Stated handover for this tower
Two towers delivered in the community by this developer since 2022, both let within a quarter of handover. Roughly 1,900 units are scheduled to complete in Business Bay across 2027 and 2028, which is more than the last two years combined; absorption over the last twelve months ran ahead of that pace, but not by much.
- What was examined
- What the developer delivered, when, and how far from the stated date.
- Units scheduled to complete in the community over the next two years, from published launch data.
- Absorption over the last twelve months, from transaction records.
- What was found
- Two towers delivered by this developer in the community since 2022, both let within a quarter. About 1,900 units are scheduled across 2027 and 2028.
- Why it matters
- The 2027 supply caps the exit for the first two years. For capital appreciation we would not proceed; for income the comparables hold.
04Scenario testingDownside, base and upside, moved together.
Downside
Net yield4.3%
- Rent
- 8% below the comparables
- Void
- Eight weeks a year
- Exit yield
- One point wider
BaseThe modelled case
Net yield5.4%
- Rent
- As the comparables
- Void
- Four weeks a year
- Exit yield
- As today
Upside
Net yield6.0%
- Rent
- Not stated in this sample
- Void
- Not stated in this sample
- Exit yield
- Not stated in this sample
- What was examined
- Three cases, with the assumptions behind each written out rather than left in a model.
- Rent, void and exit yield moved together, because in a soft market they move together.
- The downside built from a specific event, usually the next delivery wave, not a round number.
- What was found
- The downside clears 4.3% net. The upside is not evidenced in this sample and is shown as such.
- Why it matters
- The case does not depend on the upside. It depends on absorption holding through the first delivery wave.
05Risk assessmentThe two or three things that could go wrong.
| Risk | Possible effect | Response |
|---|---|---|
| Supply: about 1,900 units completing in Business Bay in 2027 and 2028, in the same segment | Rent below the comparables and a slower first letting; the downside case | Open questionWhether absorption holds its recent pace through the first wave |
| Delivery: a slip past the stated quarter | The first rent a year later while the payment plan continues | MitigationHandover terms in the sale agreement, and the developer's record on the last two towers |
| Service charge: a budget a fifth above the delivered tower | About one point off the net yield | MitigationModelled on the delivered tower's budget, not the estimate; to be confirmed at handover |
- What was examined
- Each risk with its likely effect on income or exit, in figures where the figures exist.
- What would reduce it, or the question that stays open, stated as such.
- No score. A named risk is more useful than a number nobody can trace.
- What was found
- Three named risks: supply, delivery, and the service charge. No score.
- Why it matters
- Two carry a mitigation. Supply stays an open question until the first wave lets, and it is the downside case.
06Data confidenceHow well evidenced every figure is.
| Figure | Source | Dated | Evidence gap |
|---|---|---|---|
| Asking priceUSD 441 K (AED 1.62 M) | Developer price list | 22 Aug 2026 | |
| Layout and area1 bed, 742 sq ft, mid floor | Sale agreement plan | Undated | |
| TenureFreehold, one allocated parking space | Sale agreement | Undated | |
| Stated handoverQ3 2028 | Developer | 22 Aug 2026 | |
| Service charge3.87 USD / sq ft (AED 14.20) per year | 2026 budget of the delivered tower | 2026 | No service-charge budget exists yet for this tower |
| Developer delivery recordFirst tower delivered within four months of its stated date | Handover notices | 2025 | |
| Gross rentUSD 30,688(AED 112,700) | Six comparable lettings in the delivered tower | Last nine months | Six lettings is enough to model on and not enough to be sure of |
| Void, four weeks a year−USD 2,361(AED 8,669) | Base case allowance | Undated | |
| Service charge, 742 sq ft−USD 2,869(AED 10,536) | 2026 budget, delivered tower | 2026 | |
| Letting and management, 5% of rent−USD 1,534(AED 5,635) | Assumed for this sample | Undated | |
| Absorption, last twelve monthsRan ahead of the scheduled supply, but not by much | DLD transaction records for the community | Transactions to 31 August 2026 | |
| Upside net yield6.0% | Not stated in this sample | Undated | The upside case is not evidenced in this sample |
- What was examined
- The sources behind the figures, how many, and how recent.
- What the evidence cannot tell us yet, written down.
- A word, limited, moderate or high, and what would move it up.
- What was found
- Moderate. Six lettings is enough to model on and not enough to be sure of.
- Why it matters
- A further quarter of lettings in the delivered tower, or the developer's own budget for this tower, would move it to high.
07Management reviewA person signs the view.
Priced with the market. The service charge is what makes the income work. For rental income at this price, we would proceed.
- Rationale
- The comparables are recent and in the same building, the charge is taken from a delivered budget, and the downside case still clears four per cent net.
- Conditions and revisit triggers
- For rental income only. For capital appreciation we would not proceed, because the 2027 supply caps the exit for the first two years.
- Handover terms confirmed in the sale agreement before exchange.
- The view is revisited if the 2027 launch pipeline grows.
- Signed
- Mansoor Charaniya 22 August 2026
- What was examined
- The concluding assessment, with the reasoning in one paragraph a reader can repeat.
- The conditions under which the view holds, and the objectives it does not serve.
- A name and a date on it.
- What was found
- For rental income at this price, we would proceed.
- Why it matters
- The view holds for income only, with handover terms confirmed before exchange.
The method beneath the example
Every property goes through the same seven checks, in the same order. What the checks draw on, how confidence is worded, where the weight falls, and who signs.
What the checks draw on
Documents and records, named, so a figure can be traced back to where it came from.
Title deeds and sale agreements
The registered area and the plan, read against the listing; the tenure; the handover terms.
Service-charge budgets
The charge as budgeted for a delivered building, not the estimate in a brochure, deducted before anything is called a net yield.
DLD transaction records
Absorption over the last twelve months, and the comparables behind a price.
Portal listings and lettings
Comparable lettings in the same building or community, dated, with their sizes and rents.
Developer handover notices
What the developer delivered, when, and how far from the stated date, on its last two projects.
Published launch data
Units scheduled to complete in the community over the next two years.
How confidence is worded
A word beside every figure, resting on how many sources stand behind it and how recent they are. What moves a figure up is more evidence: more sources, more recent ones, or a gap closed.
- Limited evidenceFew sources, or sources that are not recent, or a gap the evidence cannot close yet. The figure is still shown, with its date, and what is missing is written down beside it.
- Moderate confidenceEnough to model on and not enough to be sure of. The sources are named and recent, and what they cannot tell us yet is written down beside them.
- High confidenceSeveral sources, recent, with the gaps closed: the further lettings or the budget a moderate figure was waiting for.
Where we look hardest
What changes with the objective is where the weight falls: which checks the case lives or dies on. This is emphasis, never a score; no check is graded and none is skipped.
Rental income
For rental income, the lettings evidence and the service charge carry the weight.
- We examine
- Lettings evidence. Service charges. Vacancy assumptions.
- The question
- What remains after the costs of ownership?
Capital appreciation
For capital appreciation, the developer, the pipeline and the downside case carry the weight.
- We examine
- The developer's delivery record. Supply scheduled in the community. The downside case.
- The question
- What has to be true for the exit to hold?
Portfolio diversification
For diversification, supply in the community and how thin the data is carry the weight.
- We examine
- Supply in the community. How thin the evidence is. The risks, named.
- The question
- How much of the case rests on evidence we cannot see yet?
A Dubai second home
For a second home, the facts of the place and a person signing the view carry the weight.
- We examine
- Title, area and layout. The facts of the place. A person signing the view.
- The question
- Do the fundamentals hold when the rent is not the point?
Long-term wealth
For long-term wealth, the scenarios and the named risks carry the weight.
- We examine
- Three scenarios, moved together. The risks that could actually go wrong. The management review.
- The question
- Does the case still clear in the downside?
Who signs the view
A person signs it. The concluding assessment states the reasoning in one paragraph a reader can repeat, the conditions under which the view holds, the objectives it does not serve, and what would make us revisit it. It carries a name and a date.
Ask for an evaluation.
Tell us the property, or the objective, and we will say what the seven checks would look at.