buyers warning signs

DONTY


Joined: 07/06/2007
Posts: 534

Message Posted:
04/12/2007 13:08

some agents have caused their buyers problems in the past by using the following tactic:



a builder is having problems selling so he goes to the big guy who sells tons.



he tells the agent he wants 100k per property.



the agent promises to sell the lot but at 90k each!



the builder doesnt want to but does because he must sell and knows this agent is busy.



during construction the builder finds he has added costs for unforseen problems but because he cut the deal to the bone there is nothing left to pay for it so he either does a poor job and gets out or just folds if things get too bad.



this is how some agents operate by having the cheapest/best value property to market.



moral of the story:

if something is too cheap there is probably a reason.



another red flag can be when a builder tries to get high deposits and payments prior to completion as it is a sign that they are not financially strong. AGA offered discounts to buyers who paid the bulk upfront!

ukturk



Joined: 01/09/2007
Posts: 1974

Message Posted:
04/12/2007 13:25

hi donty

i fully agree with your warnings, and it coming from you who is a agent can only be a good thing

and your morale is a good saying aswell as if something is too good to be true most of the time it is a bad thing!!!

but you get some buyers who dont no fully know of the ins and outs of this sector just jump on the band wagon thinking of earning a quick buck at the expense of developers cos they cant shift their properties often get their fingers burned by extra costs or even developers folding

these people should have their eyes open wide and know fully what they are getting themselves into and not to just look at the great deal they are getting by paying like what aga did by offering buyers big discounts

regards

ukturk

ilovecyprus


Joined: 08/05/2007
Posts: 2880

Message Posted:
04/12/2007 13:47

Sounds like good advice Donty, and likewise your comments on the unwins thread.

Generally what is the TRNC market like at the moment? Is it slow, steady? How many properties do you think are sold in the north every month? Which areas are the hotspots?

I am just curious

victoriasloss


Joined: 27/04/2007
Posts: 46

Message Posted:
04/12/2007 14:02

Stunning Posting Donty - Can I put it On The Website - After all its a warning of sorts - anonymously of course ........)



Vikki

xxx

Emre161104


Joined: 26/11/2007
Posts: 16

Message Posted:
04/12/2007 14:54

Some info for you all from my instructed solicitor



IMPORTANT INFORMATION 27th November 2007

Good Morning,



May I bring to your notice both that according to the announcement made by the Interior Ministry Under Secretary Hasan Findik yesterday, the New Estate Agents Law will come into operation as from 2nd of January 2008 and that until this date, both the new and old procedure on property sale will be applicable. After the 2nd of January 2008, the old procedure on selling property will cease and that only the new procedure will be applicable.



The main requirement of the new Estate Agent Law is that, no property will be sold/transferred (except between the 1st degree of relatives) without a registered Estate Agent and every property sold will be registered with the Land Registry Office by a registered Estate Agent.



The other main requirements of the Estate Agents Law are below.



a. No property can be sold if their is a mortgage or any other impediment on the land without the knowledge and consent of the buyer.

b. Every sale agreement will be prepared /presented by an Advocate. (Solicitor) and that the advocate who prepared/presented the agreement will put his/her stamp on this Sale Agreement.



c. An Estate Agent can charge between 3% to maximum 5% on each sale.



I hope that I have been able to give you some relevant information of which we all will be required to comply with and that the necessary preparations can be carried out by Troy Lake before the new Estate Agent Law will come into operation.

lovingcyprus


Joined: 02/03/2007
Posts: 1272

Message Posted:
04/12/2007 15:38

DONTY



You said "if something is too cheap there is probably a reason". Of course I agree with this.



There is also another saying, "if it sounds to good to be true it usually is"

DONTY


Joined: 07/06/2007
Posts: 534

Message Posted:
04/12/2007 17:09

ilc



the market is slow for all but always is this time of year but add in caution from buyers because of the sub prime problem and it feels quieter than normal. saying this we have the big players around who tend to come out when things are slow and drive a bargain so some big deals are happening.



a lot of the enquiries and sales that are being done at the moment are resales (contrary to all that you read on this site) which bodes well for previous buyers.



no idea of the overall monthly figures .....and it is seasonal.



THE hotspot has been around the Marina and Golf Course for a while now but all areas get their bit of action. Bafra has some interest (mainly investors i believe) and Guzelyurt has been selling well as well. even the suburbs of Nicosia (which isnt so pretty) has buyers but they tend to be locals who work in the area.



vicloss



i have disagreed with many of your posts as your approach has, imo been very negative and not the way i would try to save my investment money but if you post this advice and it saves someone heartache and loss then it can only be a good thing.



p.s. please dont say that this is how it works in general in North Cyprus because i only know of one agent who uses this tactic and for all i know they have stopped this now with all the flack they have received.

gazza


Joined: 15/05/2007
Posts: 161

Message Posted:
04/12/2007 17:53

hi donty

our second stage payment to evergreen devolpments for a apartment at aphrodite is due any time now. this was agreed in our contract with the finale payment due when the roads, access ways,infrastructure,communal facilities,supply of water and electricity are connected. if paying in stages helps the builder to complete the project will that not help all the buyers and the builders, the ammount left to pay at the end is quite small after the stage payments.(so we have bit of a safety net!!) hope to be finished august 2008.have you sold any more there and are there many left do you know ?

DONTY


Joined: 07/06/2007
Posts: 534

Message Posted:
04/12/2007 19:22

sorry gazza i dont know if i understand your question fully



what i was saying is that if the builder can afford to take small payment off you during the build then they either have a good credit line with banks (not normally available in TRNC) or they are financially strong. you also have less risk during the build if you have paid less, whereas if you have paid say 75% up front and they fold you are obviously worse off.



with your developer, they take 10k on contract then 10k during build and you only pay the bulk when your unit is complete therefore you have less risk during build (investors like these kind of deals).



i was part of the team that bought a client who secured a number of blocks at phase 2 recently. off the top of my head i think they have sold about 75% of both sites.

gazza


Joined: 15/05/2007
Posts: 161

Message Posted:
04/12/2007 20:09

hi donty

does sound a bit confusing we actally paid 35% deposit payable after signing the agreement, then 20% on completion of foundation works,now we have to pay about 39% on completion of concrete works,plastering tiling and painting works ect. then 6% when all site services are completed.the 10k on contract and 10k during build came after we signed our contract.

DONTY


Joined: 07/06/2007
Posts: 534

Message Posted:
04/12/2007 20:59

they stopped offering this plan a while ago but it works out similar (depending on purchase price).

remember most builders want 20% down, 20% on foundations, 20% on brick works, 20% on kitchens, tiles etc and 20% on handover so your plan is better than the norm.

gazza


Joined: 15/05/2007
Posts: 161

Message Posted:
04/12/2007 21:47

we are happy with our payment plan, as it will be almost paid for by the time the completion date comes around in august 2008, you mention 2 sites is there another close by and are evergreen a big company?

DONTY


Joined: 07/06/2007
Posts: 534

Message Posted:
05/12/2007 02:33

gazza



they have released a phase 2 next door. these units are smaller on average but of course cheaper. dont let this worry you as i see your site (no 1) as the deluxe site and phase 2 as the economy units and there is a market for both.

they have also included a water sports club to phase 2 which is open to both sites so theres a bonus!

my clients have commented that phase 1 units are big enough to live in permanently and the quality is very good.

i can tell you are itching to see the site so why not take a quick break and visit this winter as flight prices are a little cheaper as are hotels? i would love to know what you think once youve seen them. let us all know if you are going and we will all cross our fingers that you love it

if you do go, ask your agent to take you there or better still phone evergreen and see if their sales guy will kindly take you as he knows the place very well and normally does a great tour of the area. be warned, he drives like a man possesed!



ps. tell him donty says hi

TUNALI I CON


Joined: 16/11/2007
Posts: 35

Message Posted:
05/12/2007 09:05

Hello donty ı am totaly agree with you.To much people wants to earn to much money in a 10 minute.If the payment date is too long something will go wrong.We know that no ones to build a villas with 350 payment takes.So what we do we build a villas or apartments nearly finish and after that we are trying to sell them.So people can see what they are going to buy and when it will be finish.So we can show all the paper or kocan to our customer to trust us before contract.



http://www.tunaliinsaat.com

info@tunaliinsaat.com

livethedream


Joined: 12/04/2007
Posts: 455

Message Posted:
05/12/2007 09:08

Good point tunaliicon, another warning - find out whose name the koçan is in. Many developments are still owned by the builder, so although you may own the property, you don't own the land it is sitting on.

gazza


Joined: 15/05/2007
Posts: 161

Message Posted:
05/12/2007 18:57

hi donty

we can not wait to come over to see our aparment, also to see north cyprus as a place to holiday, and maybe live in the long term, it seems and looks a lovely place we know people who have been there and they loved it ,im sure we will to.also with the water sports club next door that is a bonus.(hope to visit may / june 2008 due to work commitments.

many thanks for your help and comments.



gazza

girne 29


Joined: 06/12/2007
Posts: 1488

Message Posted:
08/12/2007 17:53

gazza.

Have I got it right,you bought an apartment in trnc without ever being there or seeing the apartment.

gazza


Joined: 15/05/2007
Posts: 161

Message Posted:
08/12/2007 20:18

hi girne29

yes we have"" sometimes you take a chance in life and maybe this is ours as i said before we know people who have been to nc and love it.time will tell weather we have made the right move, but we are prepared to take our chances and we are sure that whatever the outcome between north and south cyprus we have made the right decision and can not wait to see the greener side of cyprus do you live in or go to north cyprus.



regards gazza.

girne 29


Joined: 06/12/2007
Posts: 1488

Message Posted:
09/12/2007 12:43

Hi Gazza

have property been coming over last 5 years.Intention to retire in it.

We like it, but, not to everyones taste ,plus the money we invested was our life savings plus more,so couldnt take your risk.There is always some risk, no matter how much you research, but we tried to reduce it and took over a year of yay and nay before going for it. The pitfalls are well known now what with all the BB's but when we went out the property market was fairly small and problems with off-plan not then apparent,and you only heard the good things, so we still had a learning curve to go thro.

Anyway, all the best for the future.

gazza


Joined: 15/05/2007
Posts: 161

Message Posted:
09/12/2007 13:14

morning girne 29.

we are using north cyprus international to buy our apartment and naomio memhet are our lawyers they seem to have a good track record so hopefully the risk will be minmum but as you say there may be pitfalls even then,so we have to hope for the best and see how it pans out,the apartments should be ready aug 2008 in guzelyurt evergreen are the builders who seem to have a good name. anyway glad you like yours bet you cannot wait to be out there .

girne 29


Joined: 06/12/2007
Posts: 1488

Message Posted:
09/12/2007 14:23

Good choice in Guzelyurt area, we go there a lot as always preferred that area to say the much more hyped up Karpas, especially in first half of year when everything blooming and you get all the colours and smell from the fruit trees,blossoms.