Delivering the Results – Alan James Gammon, GM of Samana Developers

Alan James Gammon, General Manager of Samana Developers, tells us why buying with Samana is a sound investment choice and why this is the right time for Samana Developers to build properties in Dubai.

Samana Developers, a boutique developer in Dubai, appointed Alan James Gammon as General Manager to execute three project launches in 1st Quarter of 2019, along with managing an ongoing Samana Greens residential project in Arjan-Dubailand district near Miracles Gardens, and to introduce them to the international investor hubs.

Alan would oversee activities including overall project/asset management of Samana Developers, new business, joint-venture partnerships, expansion, operations, marketing and end to end customer management.

According to a statement on the company website, Imran Farooq, Chief Executive Officer of Samana Developers, said: “The appointment of industry expert Mr. Alan is a reflection of our commitment to completing our projects well on time with high quality, healthy living environment and developing potentially high yield properties. Alan’s extensive expertise in real estate, customer service and hospitality will help firmly position Samana Developers in the real estate market of Dubai.”

Alan said, “I thank Samana Developers for their trust in me and I am excited to work with a boutique high caliber developer who has a reputation of commitment to their investors and end-users. I am sure our synergy will be a win-win scenario for the developer and investors alike.”

Samana Developers’ maiden project Samana Greens will be Alan’s first and foremost assignment to oversee the construction progress of 140,000 square-feet property and ensuring on-time completion and delivery. Samana Greens is located in Dubai’s tourist hot-spot of Arjan-Dubailand, which is home to Miracle Garden, the world’s largest natural flower garden.

“Being in the company for such a short amount of time, we have already launched one project, which is Samana Greens back in 2018 where we broke ground in April. We have taken the project from a limited amount of sales to the project being sold out in the short period of time,” said Alan.

Samana Greens is being developed as per the green building best practices utilising the green technology. The residential units are loaded with smart home technology to enable them energy-efficient making residents’ stay more comfortable and luxurious.

Pushing for sustainable practices is something that Alan is proud of, “Every opportunity we get to use eco-technology to be more sustainable we would use it. So, if we do have the capacity to use solar energy, if we can recycle water, we would completely embrace and utilise it in any project to ensure the property is sustainable.”

The Dh75 million Samana Greens residential project – a freehold property – will deliver 131 residential units comprising of studio, One & two-bedroom apartments.

“The styling is somewhat different as it has a slightly bigger version of a normal 1 bedroom apartment and will all have their own private pools and a very large leisure deck featuring a very large indoor and outdoor gymnasium,” Alan explains.

Dubai’s mature and well-regulated real estate market and its inclination to high-quality living have given the confidence to start their journey in the real estate market.

As a new developer, Samana sees enormous possibilities for their projects to be well-received.

“We have been buying and managing properties for some time before we started our first project.  We’ve had these plots for a number of years now and we believe now is the right time to launch these projects especially with Expo 2020 Dubai nearby,” said Alan.

Alan emphasises on why buying a property with Samana Developers is a sound investment choice for the buyers.  “It allows people to put their foot in the actual property market, which you would not be able to do before due to high prices. But, by buying from the developer and paying the 10% down payment and then taking the payment plan you actually cover the price of the property by the time you would want to move out or make changes or upgrade from a studio to a one-bedroom,” said Alan.

“It is becoming a growing trend for people to go for the payment plan and it incentivises people to invest and even the possibility of retiring here as well. Whereas, people before tended to leave after 20 to 25 years and go home when Dubai has been there home for such a long time and now people have the opportunity to stay here and live here and enjoy their retirement,” further added.

Alan’s past work with DAMAC Properties as Vice-President of Customer Service; Majid Al Futtaim in the similar position; Funsho International as Director Business Development; Royal Group as Chief Operating Officer and with Shaikhani Group in a similar role shows his in-depth experience this industry and particularly on how customer-focused they are.

“When customers buy from Samana, you become a part of the Samana family. It is not just a one-off transaction and that has already been seen with our second project which is Samana Hills and the customers who gave purchased in Samana Greens are already keen to buy in Samana Hills,” remarked Alan.

As a developer, Alan points out the importance of finishing their projects on time and making sure the handover goes smoothly.

“We have our own project team in-house who work very closely with the consultants and sub-contractors. We also have agreements where we would pay the subcontractors through the escrow accounts and also the main contractor,” said Alan.

“Our message is clear: Do the work and we will pay you the money on time. No contractor has any outstanding invoice with us for more than fourteen days as every invoice has been settled on time. It is the key to the way the company is running. We value our people, we value our customers, and as a supplier to us we will work hand in hand with you to ensure that relationship is developed,” Alan further elaborated.

Alan further elaborated: “We don’t want to start projects that we say we are going to build but it takes 6 to 12 months to break ground. When we say we are actually launching it means we are breaking ground and are constructing it already. We don’t use the customer’s money to start building, we are self-funding the project so that puts us apart from the rest because we self-fund the projects.”

 

With Samana Greens and Samana Hills being a success the company is now moving onto their third project, Samana Golf which is expected to break ground this year.

“We are at the design stages of the third project, which is Samana Golf Avenue which we would be launching by October and we’ll be completing Samana Hills by 2021.”

Alan is also aware of the possible challenges that Samana Developers would face in the future.

“Challenge to deliver a quality product and on time as well. We need to have a back-up plan just in case something goes awry. Also, as the laws governing the real estate sector changes we must make sure we are flexible and can adapt to those changes that meet the regulatory requirements as well,” said Alan.