Fatima Muhammad

Saudi Gazette

JEDDAH— With an increasing number of Saudis approaching middlemen and brokers to help them find lands in remote areas in UK and USA, in the hope that the value of these lands will appreciate in the coming years, scams too cannot be written off experts in real estate say.



An office that began operation in Jeddah to sell lands in California a year and a half ago has announced lately in Jeddah about lands in the US which range from $20,000 and can hit up to $40,000 on appreciation, depending on their sizes and location.



The lands, according to the office, are mainly in green areas, near rivers and lakes, and are shown to clients in Google earth maps before the deal is struck.



A salesman at the office said they guarantee that these lands are being sold by original owners at low costs,  thanks largely to the mortgage crisis. This, they have been saying, would provide good value to clients.



Yet the salesman advised Saudi investors not to build on these lands.



Rami Al-Hibshi, another salesperson representing a company that has been selling lands in the UK for the past three years, said that the number of Saudi interested in buying lands in the UK has increased by 20% within the last two years. His company, he said, buys a complete area and then starts to divide it into area that can have up to 800 lands that can be presented to clients.



Saudis, he said, are more interested in long term investments and therefore they seek to buy these lands that are located at a distance from the urban areas such that they have a big  potential to be included in residential areas within seven years.



Abdullah Al-Ahmari, the head of the real estate evaluation committee at the Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said that while Saudi investors have gotten used to buying lands that are away from urban areas as they anticipate that the value of these lands will double with time, they are doing the same while seeking lands elsewhere.



However he believes that this is not the case in Western countries where they make studies regarding these areas and include them in their development plans.



Hence he said individuals and investors should be careful when considering such investment and do it only through embassies and commercial bureaus to avoid falling into traps.



He added that clients should looked for signed contracts that are registered at official real estate offices and are documented by the government to avoid any previous taxes, manipulations and to avoid losing their lands for any reason.