Advice on property buying

trevor


Joined: 02/04/2008
Posts: 244

Message Posted:
18/04/2008 09:44

Please help, i am goining over to Cyprus in May to buy property but keep getting put off by all the stories concerning property being reclaimed if the unification goes ahead. What is the best property to buy, should it be freehold, Pre 1974 or any of the other types i keep reading about. My wife is very worried about this so we need some accurate info please. Also what is the exchange rate currently to the GBP, can i get any NTL over here.

andre 514


Joined: 31/03/2008
Posts: 1163

Message Posted:
18/04/2008 12:22

hi trevor,



there is no substitute for looking around really thoroughly

the biggest problem is deciding what you want to do yourselves

do not put yourself under any time pressure!



it is said to be a buyers' market, perhaps due to credit problems in the uk

...plan to make three or four trips prior

and three or four more during any purchase process, yes really!!!

you could be better off choosing something ready-built under present conditions

choose your solicitor carefully based on recommendation

possibly one mentioned in these forums or on good reports elsewhere



accept that people have very different needs and likes:

do not automatically accept any old sales blarney or their agenda

and bargain politely but very toughly indeed

being actually prepared to walk away if needs be...

my partner and I used the old nice cop/ nasty cop routine,

needless to say I was the friendly one



do you care about being on/near a road,

do you want to face inward for safety with kids/grandchildren

playing around a pool,

or outside with mountain views etc, check out build quality carefully

decide what type of area you prefer, eg mountains or sea, villiage etc



west of girne is a long stretch of highly developed villages and resorts

this extends some distance east as well

but by the time you reach esentepe and tatlisu,

you are in a so called up and coming area ie less developed

and arguably more unspoilt but smaller english community

bogaz and the other coast i do not know very well



as regards title, most developers build on exchange land

called esdeger probably I spell this wrong

tmd I believe was greek cypriot occupied pre-'74 property

and as has been explained in these forums so called turkish title

is actually pre-'74 cyprus title which happened to be owned by tc's



the gc's do not accept the exchange concept and if there

is a solution agreed to the cyprus problem you could conceivably

be liable for some sort of compensation



exchange means the trnc compensated tc's with this land,

for property they now cannot access in the south of the island



as a non tc i have been shot down in flames for even using the word

re-unification and learnt the hard way it is better to say cyprus solution

yes you imagine if we would all in the jolly eu together ha ha there would be

universal brotherhood, wall-to-wall human rights etc etc etc

this didn't help massacre victims very much in former yugoslavia

where eu soldiers just stood by and watched the carnage

like spare gherkins at a party

but whatever can be agreed about other issues

the gc's are adamant the brave turkish army leave the island

but the tc's remember very well how they were liberated by it in 1974



on the other hand your property would perhaps double in value

if an accommodation is agreed by both communities...



please let us know how you get on?



andre

andre 514


Joined: 31/03/2008
Posts: 1163

Message Posted:
18/04/2008 12:32

ps



you can buy turkish money almost anywhere in the uk,



it is some 2.25 ytl to the pound



but the rate is about 2.5 in north cyprus



also there are cash machines, and nationwide and one other card



lets you get turkish lira commission free



i found one place to pay out sterling from an automated till



think it was hsbc on the girne ring road



can anyone advise?



andre

Aussie


Joined: 17/06/2007
Posts: 657

Message Posted:
18/04/2008 13:10

Andre



Yes you can get pounds sterling from any of the HSBC ATM machines I have used in the TRNC as well as Lira and I believe US dollars as well.



There is also a second freestanding HSBC machine booth in Girne near the Dome hotel at the waterfront next to the Taxi stand which is a bit closer to the center of town if you are walking (two ATM's are attached to the main branch). There are also HSBC machines in Famagusta near the center of the old town and Nicosia (but I dont know exactly where).



Regards



Michael

ukturk



Joined: 01/09/2007
Posts: 1974

Message Posted:
18/04/2008 13:14

hi trevor

welcome to the forum and all of your questions will be answered here on this forum with a very unbiased and true view!!!!

andre has basically summed it all up, the only thing i would say if unification does happen (in my view hope it does not happen), properties bought by people with a exchange deeds wont be physically directly liable to pay compensation, thats why the north funded by turkey set up a compensation board for greek cypriot people who lost properties in the north and this board would pay the compansation on your behalf, since the new president has come into power in the south more and more people in the south have taken up on this offer compared to the previous president who advised or even told his people not to even consider this!!!!!, even in the worst case situation and you have to pay some sort of percentage it will be the value of the land that cost or is valued pre74

one thing i say to people other people might say diffrently if you are new to the property market in cyprus i would not go down the buying off plan road even thou this can be quite rewarding i.e getting it cheaper have a choice of tiles, colours ets etc it can also put a strain on you mentally and cost wise (unexpected extra hidden costs) so i would say go for a resale property this can be a property that has been lived in before or even a property a developer has actually finnished this would be more suited for you



regarding money it is much better not to change any money in to lira while you are in the u.k do this when you are in cyprus thru banks or change offices, if you do need a bit oof lira to pay taxis or to get food when you first come in to cyprus change as little as possiable because you get a much better rate in cyprus, you can pay for goods on your switch or electron card but again this calculated at a reduced exchange rate or if you have a nationwide account with a card you can withdraw lira with no surcharge and all hsbc cash machines in turkey and cyprus does give you the option of withdrawing your money in lira,euro or pound

hope this helps

regards

ukturk

ukturk



Joined: 01/09/2007
Posts: 1974

Message Posted:
18/04/2008 13:18

p.s aussie is correct on the location of the hsbc machines, but there are actually two in famagusta, one outside their branch which is located just after the big roundabout where the big mosque is opposite the football pitches and the bus stops and the other one is located just off the samlais road just before noyonlar developers and estate agent office and the speed camera!!!!

regards

ukturk

Lemtich



Joined: 15/02/2007
Posts: 1487

Message Posted:
18/04/2008 13:38

Hi Trevor



Re cash machines, unlike UK ones, be aware they give you your money then your card back.



You could be walking away blissfully counting your cash with your card sitting in the machine! Has been done......



Lem