Wednesday, 6 February 2008

Cyprus Apartment Market

By William Marind

Firstly, a preliminary contract is signed. This binds both the vendor and the purchase to buy and sell the property on terms and conditions that have been mutually agreed. This is subject to the purchaser being able to receive good title to the property and obtaining the necessary permits from the Cypriot government.At this stage, a deposit is lodged with a Lawyer or a Notary.The purchases lawyer will now carry out the searches at the District Land Registry to ensure that the vendor of the property is indeed, the owner and ensures that the purchaser obtains good title to 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 relatively low cost of living in Cyprus has an added appeal for the potential buyer, offering a full and inexpensive lifestyle. Recent statistics pointed to Cyprus as one of the most inexpensive countries in Europe. The local markets flaunt a wealth of colourful fresh fruit and vegetables, meat and fish, and Cyprus' modern supermarkets are fully stocked with a large range of local and imported goods. The local population is Greek speaking. Cyprus was once a British colony resulting in over 80% of the population speaking English. Street signs, direction signs, and shop signs are written in English. Knowledge of German, French, Russian is increasing with the Island tourist trade.

Cyprus enjoys a remarkably low crime rate 1/6 of the European average another reason for its popularity with foreign buyers for whom security has become a key element in the property world. Visitors are invariably surprised and reassured by this relaxed aspect of life on the island, where crime is virtually unheard of and theft not commonplace. Under the Aliens and Immigration Law, non-Cypriots wishing to take up employment in Cyprus are required to have a work permit.

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.

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