Buying Property in North Cyprus Advice

For this site to be a truly worthwhile resource for those buying property in North Cyprus or considering coming on holiday or living in Northern Cyprus it is sometimes necessary to have to publish ugly truths that exist but which estate agents, property developers and even hoteliers who are dependent on your business will not talk about.

This article contains essential advice about purchase contracts for those buying property in North Cyprus and it is written based on personal experience, reports in the local press and stories from friends and fellow expatriates about their property buying horror stories.

North Cyprus is a friendly place, it is a very small island and you’ll quickly get the feeling that everyone knows everyone and every Cypriot is related in one way or another to the next…this means that your estate agent may be in business with your property developer who may recommend his brother to be your solicitor who will take you out to his parent’s restaurant to celebrate your house purchase! (You get the picture).

When you make the heady decision to commit to a property purchase in North Cyprus you will naturally be on a high, the sales people and all those related to the purchase will be being nice to you and flattering you and your decision, and you will likely have a warm, fuzzy feeling inside – this warm, fuzzy feeling is dangerous – it will lead to you make rash judgements and unwise decisions.

For example, you’ll say, ‘I need a solicitor to look over the contract’ and the estate agent will say, ‘well, we recommend ‘XYZ Advocates’ and can get you an appointment today so you don’t run the risk of losing your property’ – you’ll be put under a little pressure, you’ll agree and slowly it’ll transpire that the solicitor is in someway related (either through blood or business ties) with the agent or the property developer…this means that it is highly unlikely your contract will be written to look after your best interests and even less likely that you’ll ever be able to draw on the terms of your contract to sue when you don’t get what you’ve paid for.

So – be careful about who you use as your legal representative in North Cyprus.

Next point – the contract – never, ever, assume anything…

So, you’re on site, you notice there is no water supply or electric on site – ‘don’t worry’ says the sales agent/developer’s representative – ‘these things take time, it’s Cyprus, the government agencies can be quite slow to react but we wouldn’t leave you, our beloved and respected customer without water or electric would we now’…okay so get it written in to your contract that your house will come with working MAINS electric and water as well as proper drains, decent foundations, a retaining wall…and anything else you can think of that will be quite simply imperative to make your house habitable – electric points, windows, walls, tiles in the bathroom, a kitchen sink – every single tiny thing needs to be in your contract because believe you me there are many, many companies in North Cyprus who have little regard for their customer’s well being and so you and only you can ensure the terms of your contract will protect you. Get penalty clauses written in and get a clause that states that if your property is still not complete within a year of the original completion date you can have the full value of the property refunded to you.

Does all this sound ridiculous?

Are you thinking ‘oh for goodness sake, do I have to think of every eventuality and get it covered by the contract?’…

Well, yes, you do – if you want to stand any chance of having a decent, properly finished and habitable house anyway.

And finally – keep on top of your developer, get communications and any promises made confirmed in writing and try and remain calm in the face of adversity, you are not alone in your trials and tribulations, make friends with other expats who have likely built up a little black book of capable tradesmen who can fix any botched jobs for a reasonable fee.

Eventually you will get your dream home in North Cyprus and you will be able to start to enjoy living a peaceful life in a beautiful location.