Critical Winge,
The last 2 quarters have seen the Dubai stock market plunge a staggering 40-50%. I'm no economist, but conventional wisdom seems to indicate that the house market will follow the stock market.
That means the poorly constructed piece of brick and mortar in the middle of the desert you are mortgaged for to the tune of 2 million will now be worth 1 million. "All is not lost!", you cry, "the utilities allowance covers most of it!" But what about the deposit you paid? And what happens 3 years down the track when you land that dream job elsewhere in the world? Or EK sees the light and offers basings......OK, OK disregard my last! I'm sure you get the point. Somewhere along the way, 1 million has disappeared, and that provident fund you thought you had will be held to cover the shortfall.
Big Geordies' advice assumes you buy the apartment to rent out, but still keep your company accomodation. Good for you if you have that kind of cash lying around, but if you're borrowing it, remember to off-set the interest on the mortgage you're paying against that whopping profit you're making renting the place out. The net result remains the same however, if the market takes a tumble, you've lost a lot of money.
SM