WE KNOW THIS IS THE BORING BIT, BUT... THIS INFORMATION IS IMPORTANT.
We have tried therefore, to provide a quick version of this
exciting topic for your entertainment. We have shown below, a
quick
guide to buying your property in Cyprus and a section on the
ongoing expenses your property will incur.
However, never lose sight of the fact that you should always
seek legal and financial advice in any property transaction.
We would be very pleased to recommend a reputable International
Financial Services company or reliable lawyers to you.
As well as the buying guide on this page you can find more detailed
information in the following sections:
QUICK GUIDE TO PROPERTY BUYING IN
CYPRUS
THE RIGHT TO BUY PROPERTY
Cyprus nationals and Cyprus residents holding an E.U.
member state passport may buy any immovable property
freely.
Currently, non-residents (of Cyprus) from E.U. member
states require permission from the Council of Ministers
to purchase residential property. Once permission has
been obtained, they may purchase:
One apartment, house or villa or,
A house on a building site not exceeding 4012.5 sq.
metres
or a piece of land up to 4012.5 sq metres for
the purpose of building a property within a reasonable
time.
Property acquisition laws started to be revised when Cyprus
joined the European Union at the beginning of May 2004. In accordance
with
E.U. directions,
all restrictions
of real estate purchases will be lifted. E.U. citizens may
freely purchase property just as they would in their home country.
PROPERTY RESERVATION DEPOSIT
Normally a deposit of between C£1,000.00 and C£3,000.00
is required to reserve a property and fix the price. This is
often non-refundable.
LEGAL COSTS
Property legal fees tend to be applied on a sliding scale starting
from as low as C£500.00 increasing at approximately C£500.00
per CY100,000 of property value.
CYPRUS STAMP DUTY
Permission to buy property must be applied
for in writing from the Cypriot Council of Ministers. This
process is little more
than a formality, since it is granted to all genuine buyers
more or less automatically.
Stamp Duty is payable at the time of signing the contracts.
It
is levied at C£1.50 per C£1000.00 for property
values of up toC£100,000.
The value of any property above C£100,000 is charged at
C£2.00 per C£1000.00 plus a charge of C£1.00
for depositing the contracts.
Purchase contracts must be stamped
within 30 days of their datesignatures, or a fine will be imposed.
TITLE
DEEDS
It is a simple procedure through the Cyprus Land Registry Office,
either by the buyer in person or by appointing a third party
with power of attorney to transfer the ownership from vendor
to purchaser.
Title deeds are issued for all properties by the Cyprus Land
Registry Department. This can take up to a couple of years
after the project is completed. For properties that are under
construction, there is no title deed. Therefore the buyer has
to deposit the contract of sale in the Land Registry Office
to safeguard ownership.
When the title deeds are issued, they are in the name of the
buyer and are filed in confidential government archives
and are never made public or ever published.In order
to transfer freehold ownership to the purchaser, real
estatetransfer fees must be paid, as detailed below.
REAL ESTATE TRANSFER TAXES AND FEES
In order to transfer ownership into your name, real estate transfer
tax fees are applicable and are payable on completion of the
purchase. The title deeds will then be issued.
Fee rates payable
are as follows: Property value up to C£50.000
is 3%,C£50.001 to C£100.000 is 5%, above C£100.000
is 8%.
VAT ON PROPERTY PURCHASES
As from the 1st of May 2004, on a purchase of a house,
VAT is applied at 15% on new property sales. Exemption
is given for properties withregistered planning applications
made prior to the 1st of May 2004.
FINANCING A PROPERTY
Developers offer various long term payment schemes to assist
in purchasing your property.
A 30% deposit, less your initial
reservation deposit, is due on contract signing. The balance
being payable at different
stages during constructionuntil building completion.
CYPRUS MORTGAGES
Cyprus Mortgages are available up to 70% in most cases, 80%
in some, with repayment periods of up to thirty years.
If required,
we are able to introduce sources able to obtain pre-approval
for financing Cyprus property. Once a property
has been found, they can provide acceptance in principle
so that clients can proceed to purchase, confident that the required
mortgage can be secured.
Cyprus lenders are offering increasingly sophisticated products
and services. Among the recently introduced improvements are
discounted and fixed rates; flexible mortgage schemes with
longer terms of up to 30 years; loan-to-values of up to 80%;
and remortgage and equity release facilities.
If the title deeds are not yet available, loan security is provided
by a bank guarantee fee of 1.8% p.a. of the mortgage amount
until the title deeds are issued. This assures your financial
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