“I have the rent,” Greta said.

“The rent is forty-five thousand,” the agent said.

“The check is ready. I saved the money for five months.”

“I need the commission check too,” the agent said.

“The commission is not the rent,” Greta said.

“The commission is five percent. Five percent is two thousand two hundred fifty dirhams.”

Greta looked at the bank balance on her phone. Greta saw the numbers. The numbers did not include the commission. Greta had rehearsed this conversation in her head. In the rehearsal, the agent waived the fee. In the rehearsal, Greta was firm. In reality, the agent held a pen. The agent waited for the check. Greta wrote the check.

The Precision of White Tiles

The apartment was in Jumeirah Village Circle. The apartment had a balcony. The apartment had a kitchen with white tiles. Greta liked the white tiles. Greta was an origami instructor. Greta liked precise lines. Greta liked when the paper met the paper at the corners. Moving into a new apartment is like folding paper. If the first fold is wrong, the bird will not fly.

Greta thought the rent was the only cost. Most people think the rent is the only cost. The rent is the headline. The rent is the large number on the website. But the rent is the start of a list. The list is long. The list is expensive.

Greta had the forty-five thousand dirhams. Then the agent asked for the security deposit. The security deposit was another five percent. This was another two thousand two hundred fifty dirhams. Greta wrote a second check. The bank balance went down. The bank balance was now forty thousand five hundred dirhams. Greta had not moved a single box. Greta had not opened the door.

The agent took the checks. The agent gave Greta a contract. The contract was long. The contract had many rules. Greta signed the contract. Greta needed the Ejari. The Ejari is the official registration.

The Registration Barrier

The registration process is a standard step in the United Arab Emirates. A person goes to a center. A person brings the contract. A person brings the Emirates ID. The person pays a fee. The fee is two hundred twenty dirhams. This fee is for the government. The government records the lease. This record is necessary. Without the record, the tenant cannot get electricity. Without the record, the tenant cannot get water. The record is the Ejari.

Greta paid for the Ejari. The balance went down again. Greta went to the DEWA office. DEWA provides the power. DEWA provides the water. DEWA wants a deposit. The deposit for an apartment is two thousand one hundred thirty dirhams. There is also an activation fee. The activation fee is one hundred thirty dirhams. Greta paid these numbers. The numbers were small compared to the rent. But the numbers were adding up.

Greta sat in her old kitchen. Greta made a paper crane. The paper was yellow. Greta folded the paper. Greta thought about the chiller. The apartment had district cooling. The district cooling company wanted a deposit. The deposit was one thousand dirhams. There was also a connection fee. The connection fee was two hundred dirhams. Greta had to pay this to get the air conditioning. The summer was coming. The air conditioning was not optional.

Greta made a list on a piece of paper. The list had the rent at the top. The rent was forty-five thousand.

Greta saw the total. The total was fifty-three thousand one hundred eighty dirhams. Greta had forty-five thousand dirhams for the rent. The extra eight thousand one hundred eighty dirhams was a surprise. Greta had to use her savings. The savings were for a new sofa. The savings were for a holiday. The savings were gone.

The Day of the Truck

The moving company arrived on Saturday. The movers were strong. The movers carried the boxes. The movers wrapped the table in plastic. The movers charged one thousand forty dirhams. This was the price for the truck. This was the price for the labor. Greta paid the movers in cash.

Then Greta saw the gas. The kitchen had a gas stove. The gas company wanted a deposit. The deposit was five hundred dirhams. The technician came to the apartment. The technician connected the stove. The technician charged one hundred five dirhams for the visit.

Greta wanted internet. Greta needed the internet for her origami classes. The internet provider offered a package. The package had a monthly cost. But the package also had an installation fee. The installation fee was four hundred twenty dirhams. Greta paid the fee.

The apartment was empty. The apartment was clean, but not clean enough. Greta hired a cleaning service. The cleaners spent four hours in the apartment. The cleaners washed the windows. The cleaners scrubbed the white tiles. The cost was three hundred fifteen dirhams.

Greta tried to move her bed. The bed was large. The bedroom in the new apartment was a different shape. The bed would not fit. The bed blocked the wardrobe. Greta had to buy a new bed. The new bed was smaller. The new bed cost two thousand seven hundred eighty dirhams. This was an expense Greta did not expect.

Greta looked at the list again.

The total of the extra costs was now thirteen thousand three hundred forty dirhams. This was nearly thirty percent of the annual rent. Greta had the rent. She had the rent since March. But the rent was not the cost of moving. The cost of moving was the rent plus thirteen thousand dirhams.

The Fortnight of Friction

Greta felt the stress. The stress was in her neck. The stress was in her hands. She folded a piece of paper. She made a box. The box was small. She put the receipts in the box.

Many people face this problem in the UAE. People save for the rent. People wait for the bonus. People get the bonus and pay the rent. Then the other costs arrive. The costs arrive in the same week. This is the fortnight of friction. This is why people feel broke even when they have a good salary.

A New Way to Move

Some people use SplitRent to manage the money. SplitRent is a service for tenants. The service pays the landlord the full year. The tenant pays the service in twelve installments. This changes the cash flow. The tenant does not pay forty-five thousand dirhams in one day. The tenant pays a smaller amount every month. This leaves money in the bank. This leaves money for the agency fee. This leaves money for the DEWA deposit.

The SplitRent system uses an AI engine. The engine looks at the documents. The tenant provides an Emirates ID. The tenant provides a salary certificate. The tenant provides a bank statement. These are three simple documents. The engine makes a decision. The decision comes in twenty-four hours. It is a soft check. A soft check does not lower the credit score. This is a good way to plan a move. It makes the numbers clear. It makes the numbers manageable.

Greta sat on the floor of her new apartment. The new bed was in the corner. The white tiles were clean. Greta had no money left in her savings. She had the apartment, but she had a struggle. She had to wait until the next salary to buy food. She had to wait to buy curtains.

Greta thought about the numbers. The numbers were defensible. Every fee had a reason. The agent did work. The government registered the contract. The utility companies needed security. The movers worked hard. The costs were real. The problem was not the costs. The problem was the timing. All the costs happened at once.

When costs arrive in a cluster, the brain does not see them. The brain sees the big number. The brain ignores the small numbers. But the small numbers are a pack. The pack is strong. The pack can empty a bank account.

Greta picked up a blue piece of paper. She began to fold. She made a series of small folds. She made a dragon. The dragon was complex. It required many steps. Budgeting for an apartment is complex. It requires many steps.

The rent is a single number that hides eleven smaller numbers.

Greta looked out the window. The sun was going down. The lights of JVC were coming on. The apartment was quiet. Greta was happy to be in the new home. But Greta was tired. The move was a scramble. The scramble was not bad luck. The scramble was a lack of transparency in the total cost.

Next year, Greta will plan differently. Greta will look at the total. Greta will look at the installments. Greta will keep her savings. A person should not have to empty their savings to move into a house. A house should be a place of rest. A house should not be a cause of a financial heart attack.

Greta finished the dragon. She set it on the windowsill. It looked out over the city. Greta went to the kitchen. She drank a glass of water. The water was cold. The DEWA connection worked. The white tiles were under her feet. She was home. The cost was high, but the move was finished. She would remember the thirteen thousand dirhams. She would not forget the eleven other things again.