Early October 2008 I was contacted on my mobile by a gentleman who introduced himself as being the head of the Mortgage Section at Smith & Ken Real Estate Agency which was newly established at that time.

He offered their services of securing mortgages and I ended up meeting with him in their stylish offices in Media City. I showed him my documents which includes solid bank statement, high salary certificate from a mega size entity that I am working in for the last 3 years and a 5 million AED pre-approval from a local bank which had expired only few days ago.

He immediately said "If I can not get you a better mortgage then I should not be in this industry at all" and convinced me to give him a 3, 000 AED check.

To make a long story short, my story ends by that… Nothing happened… No mortgage… Minimal communications via e-Mails only when I call or send inquiries… I advise you not to fall for that and do your homework alone if you are looking for a mortgage.