Wednesday, 30 January 2008

Cyprus Property Investment

By William Marind

With the increasing complexity of the property market and the constant introduction of new concepts and measures new for the island (although not so in the European countries) it is advisable that the potential purchaser seeks professional advice prior to concluding a deal in order for hardships and disappointments to be avoided. This advice is specially useful to the foreign purchaser who has to encounter the problem of different laws and local attitudes. For this reason this firm has prepared the following tips which may be useful to the local property purchaser.

Upon signing a contract, the Purchaser is liable to pay stamp duty which amounts to 0.115% of a purchase price up to CY 100.000, and then at a rate of 0.2% on any purchase price in excess of CY100.000.Land registry fees are payable when the owner ship of the property is transferred. This is on a sliding scale, ranging from 5% to 8% depending upon the value of the property.

In addition a 1.5%-2% is payable for the structural design and 0.3% for structural supervision. If you are at a loss as to the choice of a suitable consultant, seek the advice of the Registrar of the Association of Architects & Engineers (all licenced architects must be registered). Please bear in mind that in case of large buildings you may be able to negotiate a lower fee (as also in the case of repetitive work).

The Minister of the Interior may grant a permit only if the Immigration Control Board confirms that the applicant falls under one of the following categories and meets the necessary criteria. (a) Farming. He possesses adequate land or a permit to acquire it and at least CYP250.000.(b) Mining. He possesses a mining permit and at least CYP200.000. (c) Trade. He has capital of at least CYP150.000,(d) Retirement. He has a secure income of about CYP5.000 per person and he and hid dependants will not work.

A survey on any resale property is strongly recommended, just as it would be in the UK or elsewhere. Our Cypriot team or your lawyer will be able to recommend a surveyor to you. He will inspect the property and prepare a report, eventually showing any defects, which would not be visible to everyone's eyes. It will save you unpleasant surprises at a later stage, and depending on the type of defects stated (if any), you may get a reduction on the price or you maybe in a position to request the vendor to repair them, or insist additional guarantees be inserted in the contracts. One thing is for sure; you will know what you are buying. A surveyor will not allow his love for a property to cloud his judgement as you may have done.

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