Cyprus Property Purchase

Deborah K. Vick

Cyprus property is selling like hot cakes with more and more houses being built on the Island there is still no sign of the supply exceeding demand for a long time to come. The downside to this is that prices are continuing to rise and will do so for some time to come. If you are considering purchasing a villa or apartment in Cyprus now may be the best time to get your plans moving. A lot of would be investors hesitated during the Spanish property boom and lived to regret their tardiness. We ourselves could have purchased a Cyprus villa in the top resort back in 1998 with three beds a pool and en-suit bathroom for only £65k! We held back and ended up paying nearly £180k for a similar property six years later. Owch!

The great news for Cyprus property buyers is that there is a huge choice of houses and villas all over this beautiful Island. Whether you are looking for an apartment or a luxury Cyprus villa you won’t have to look far. The only downside is that the huge choice could be slightly overwhelming if you are unsure where to start. There are literally hundreds of developers and property agents in Cyprus so you will need to do some homework before you dive in. Like everything else in life there are good and bad with property agents being no exception to the rule. On the whole however most Cyprus property companies have good long standing reputations when it comes to dealing with non residents.

Buying Cyprus property has never been easier with so many people speaking English as a second language. The solicitors and property agents all have English speaking staff so you shouldn’t expierence any communication difficulties when conducting your business with them. The legal system in Cyprus is very similar to that in the U.K. due to the British influence during their occupation of the Island up until the 1960s. There are one or two things however that you should be aware of. Firstly as a non resident of Cyprus you are only allowed to own one property on the Island although this situation could possibly change in the future. The other thing to be aware of is that if you purchase a brand new Cyprus property you are unlikely to receive your title deeds for anywhere up to five years after completion of the project.

The reason that it takes so long to gain possession of the title deeds is as follows. When a Cyprus property developer purchases the land to build on it will usually come with a single title deed for the whole plot. When the melons, tomatoes or whatever that used to grow there have been replaced with houses the developer will need to apply for separate title deeds for each individual property. This cannot of course happen until all the house are built and the roads ect are finished. When the developer applies to the land office they will do a full survey of the whole development to check that the only building work carried out is as was detailed on the original planning application. This is the reason why the owners of these new properties are advised not to carry out any additional structural work until the deeds have been completed. There is a risk that work on any one property which contravenes the planning rules could jeopardize the issuing of title deeds for all the properties on the development.

This is why when you purchase a brand new Cyprus property a contract must be drawn up between yourself and the property developer. This will show that although the developer holds the deeds for the land you have entitlement to your house whilst awaiting the deeds. This may even be the procedure should you purchase a resale Cyprus property up to five years old where the title deeds have not yet been transferred. In fact many sellers have been shocked to discover that the developers require a fee of around three thousand cypriot pounds to set up a replacement contract with the new buyer. The purchaser of such properties is not however required to contribute towards this cost.

So there you have some basic info about the Cyprus property market and we sincerely hope that you find it useful. Obviously there is a lot more to take into account such as the availability of finance in Cyprus and the cost of owning property ect. The Cyprus banks seem more eager than ever before to loan against property purchases for non residents and the cost of living in Cyprus is dramatically less than in the U.K or other parts of Europe. Happy house hunting and enjoy Cyprus!

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