people buying properties here in TRNC

willie w


Joined: 10/09/2008
Posts: 2

Message Posted:
10/09/2008 16:07

what do people expect when buying property in north cyprus for cheap prices, do they expect a rolls royce and pay for a mini or am i missing sommthing, please tell me what is wrong apart from the obvious BIG PROBLEMS with some builders

joandjelly


Joined: 24/02/2008
Posts: 2953

Message Posted:
10/09/2008 16:16

Willie



They expect to get what is written in their contract. No more no less.



Jo

PtePike



Joined: 20/05/2008
Posts: 2334

Message Posted:
10/09/2008 17:54

Howzitgaun Willie. Above all else title deed is the most important thing. You don't want to make the mistake of buying something that'll never be yours. Tradesmen etc can be done by recommendation but the ultimate decision is yours alone. And BTW, people often lie about the true title of what they're trying to sell. Back home your lawyer (who will be a real lawyer) would do a land registry search before giving you the all-clear to buy. In the TRNC you are the only one who can verify the truth.



Good luck.

cocos


Joined: 04/04/2008
Posts: 129

Message Posted:
10/09/2008 18:55

Willie, first of all property here is not that cheap and secondly what people expect is what is their contract, their title deeds as promised, their snagging done or property finished as promised. They dont expect to be threatened or blackmailed to hand over more money, they dont expect to have to pay extra for their house to be finished, they dont expect their builder to withhold their title deeds. Why should they? It isn't right and it shouldn't be allowed to happen.



Ptepke, regardless of what title you buy, unless your developer wants to hand over the title deeds, your stuffed and it will never be yours anyway until the laws are changed!

No1Doyen


Joined: 04/07/2008
Posts: 16617

Message Posted:
10/09/2008 19:00

....it will never be yours anyway until the laws are changed!



It's coming cocos, it's coming..

PtePike



Joined: 20/05/2008
Posts: 2334

Message Posted:
10/09/2008 19:13

cocos,



I should have added to avoid developers at all costs. Only buy what you can

see i.e. a resale property with internationally-recognised pre-74 title deeds. Then you know you're safe.

Hector


Joined: 26/08/2008
Posts: 2352

Message Posted:
10/09/2008 22:49

PtePike

I agree and would add provided you get PTP, have water and electricity connected with meters and have an access road.

PtePike



Joined: 20/05/2008
Posts: 2334

Message Posted:
10/09/2008 22:55

Oh yeah, that too. I always picture resales being established older properties with all that in place.

Turtle


Joined: 28/05/2007
Posts: 2669

Message Posted:
10/09/2008 23:20

Willie

Yes there are lots of problems with the buying/building process in TRNC but as already stated people only want what a builder and advocate have agreed to deliver but sadly this rarely happens on time.

There are people for and against buying in NC but the bottom line is if you have an agreement then it should be honoured.

andre 514


Joined: 31/03/2008
Posts: 1163

Message Posted:
11/09/2008 00:14

willie w



I partly agree with private pike's caveats,

it is indeed a bit of a minefield but very well worth it

the value for money is stupendous...



above all read every old thread here on cyprus 44

which reflects a vast resource of experience

and even a few eccentric discordant voices too



I agree it would be nice to avoid developers,

they are middlemen after all

unfortunately they sit on some of the very best properties

and with it being a buyer's market you can bargain hard



few would be unduly worried about trnc title

unless you feel that you'd particularly like to pay the extra,

(after all you personally have deprived nobody of anything)

risk purchase permission refusal, and restrict your choice

north cyprus has survived these 34 years and counting

the only people who say a sell-out or collapse is near

are southern cypriot estate agents,

and those shadowy clods trying to scare you off:

you may actually have to think for yourself!



but for goodness' sake get together with someone experienced

there are dangers for the foreigner in many southern countries

eg my friend jill just lost £130k on a runaway builderin spain

and there is a bloke camped outside the south cyprus high commission

claiming a builder is keeping £75k of his money



generally buying property in southern europe and north cyprus

is much more tricky than it looks,

you really do need to gain an intimate knowledge of the ground,

take your time, have lots of smashing holidays in north cyrus

and while the local property market is still gently declining,

each passing month "wasted" saves more of your hard-earned cash



good luck!



andre

fire starter


Joined: 19/06/2008
Posts: 3401

Message Posted:
11/09/2008 07:33

andre, the guy you are refering to camped outside in the uk, his story is not all it seems. i have been following it for a while and lots of what happened is hearsay. along with the fact that he didn't keep his side of his contract!

joandjelly


Joined: 24/02/2008
Posts: 2953

Message Posted:
11/09/2008 12:22

Hi Firestarter



I'm interested to know how the purchaser not keeping his side of the contract enabled the builder to keep £75k and sell the property to someone else?



Jo

girne 29


Joined: 06/12/2007
Posts: 1488

Message Posted:
11/09/2008 14:58

willie w

For most ,the cost was not the overiding reason for purchase in NC.

and for many who did then the old saying penny wise pound foolish might apply.

To use your car analogy,here is a situation that could occur if only initial price is taken into account.





Country1, buy rolls-royce for £30k but pay £2 a ltr for petrol ,£1000 year road tax, .£1000 year insurance, depreciation 10% per year .

Or worse, pay £30k to the owner only to find out someone else really owns the car,and seller cant be touched.



Country2. buy rolls royce for £40k but pay £1 a ltr for petrol ,£200 year road tax £300 year insurance,depreciation 5% per year.



Where is the cheapest place to buy.

andre 514


Joined: 31/03/2008
Posts: 1163

Message Posted:
11/09/2008 17:40

firestarter,



I will defer to you and accept there may be another side to it,

did only say "claiming" however...



but there was a big feature on british tv last night

about the many clients of a mr beaumont,

whose luxury villas near paphos south cyprus

only got as far as the foundations before all work ended

and while the buyers had paid nearly the full price upfront,

the "company" now appeared to be virtually bankrupt

with millions of pounds unaccounted for



comparing north cyprus to bulgaria,

a seemingly close competitor and an interesting place:

while bulgaria is a recognised member of the european union

there is a whole litany of problems now coming in from there

eg the continuing failiure to allow any foreign individual

to own property in their own not a local company name,

rogue local builders and fly-by-night british estate agents etc

not to say totally corrupt town officials and all-pervasive mafia,

while the climate is somewhat less favourable than the trnc

and they drive on the wrong side of the road!



not trying to make any cheap points,

other than to point out some common dangers for beginners

buying property overseas and the need to know by careful research

both what it is you really want, and who can be trusted



if you can find this out the nice way by holidaying in north cyprus,

you are helping the hard-pressed turkish cypriot people

as well as yourself into the bargain!



and don't forget, you cannot own an outright freehold title

anywhere in the uk or in billions of hectares of the commonwealth,

since this is vested in the person of queen elizabeth II the sovereign

you can only own what is called "an estate within the realm"

though it would take an act of parliament to disposess you



andre

Hector


Joined: 26/08/2008
Posts: 2352

Message Posted:
11/09/2008 18:40

Basically then, don't buy a holiday home abroad. The more I think about it, it's good advice. I wish I hadn't.

wackyjim



Joined: 04/06/2007
Posts: 760

Message Posted:
11/09/2008 18:55

Hector

Just relax...you did do the right thing buying here.



They say paradise is full which is very true, wherever you buy property in the world you will find problems . As far as NC goes you bought something which in Spain Portugal France would have cost twice as much and probably wouldn't be half as nice!!!!



Don't listen too much to all the doom and gloom merchants on this forum, just enjoy your place in the sun.



Jim

PtePike



Joined: 20/05/2008
Posts: 2334

Message Posted:
11/09/2008 19:15

Just keep your fingers crossed and all will be fine. It's what most of the others are doing!