How to sell property in cyprus
BUY Real Estate in Cyprus: Everything You Need to Know!
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okay so this is pretty interesting I
moved to Cyprus about four years ago in
the real estate market changed so much
that you could easily buy a house for
100 000 Euros back then and now you're
lucky if you can get a two-bedroom
apartment for the same money literally
everyone wants to buy properties as an
investment as a holiday home for
permanent residency reasons or even just
to live rent free here and all of those
are legit reasons to do so but as we
only have a limited supply of properties
here in Cyprus and building them takes a
while the demand Rises way too fast in
relation to the supply and this leads to
inflated numbers and makes the real
estate market more and more expensive
but some people just don't care about
this as they are very rich rich people
come here to the island take a five
minute view with over a 2 million Villa
and then they just say yeah I buy it but
when you're buying properties in a
country like Cyprus there are some
things that you definitely need to be
aware of so that you don't regret your
decision later on in fact there are
cases where people found out after
buying a property that they don't really
own them so if you're thinking about
buying a property definitely make sure
to watch this video until the very end
hey everybody it's Harry kugo and in
this video I'm going to talk about
everything you need to know about the
real estate market here in Cyprus over
the last four years I also met some very
interesting people so I can also give
you some very interesting insight and
knowledge that will save you a lot of
money who doesn't want to save money as
I'm not here to sell you something I
also want to quickly talk about buying
versus renting here in Cyprus and I have
an important note here and that is maybe
you don't even need to buy a property in
the first place renting is much easier
to maintain and manage especially for
travelers this might be interesting also
you have very flexible rental contracts
and no liabilities but of course there
are legit reasons to actually own a
property such as an investment purpose
having a holiday home living rent free
per residency reasons as well as
Retirement and various other reasons
that are individual to you and also by
the way in this video I'm not talking
about commercial properties this is
definitely a topic for another video so
if you would want to have a video about
that make sure to subscribe to the
channel so with that said let's continue
with one of the most important factors
when looking at the property Market here
in Cyprus and that is the prices how
expensive or how cheap are the
properties actually here in Cyprus in
general and this obviously depends on
the property like the age the location
the building quality other features does
it have a pool a sea view is it a
communal house detached how Simi detach
Etc but to not leave you in the dark and
as I know the property Market very well
let's talk about some numbers I recently
saw a one and a half bedroom apartment
here in Kato pavos katopavos is like the
best area here in pavos because it is
next to the harbor and where all the
people are supermarkets Etc it is a very
big living room with kitchen it was
unfurnished and not renovated yet so it
definitely needs some work however the
price was just 50 000 Euros an actual
house in chlorocas which is a little
village right next to Papa Center let's
say 15 minutes with your own private
pool a little bit of a sea view
Furniture already inside more modern
than the bedroom one bedroom apartment
and pretty cute in my opinion I really
like those houses anyway the property
costs around 300 000 Euros actually it
was 300K and the new owner regularly
invites me to a barbecue and I feel very
well there I love the property the
location the style of the house and this
is what you get for 300K but let's top
that with an even more luxurious house
and that is this seafront Villa right
here which is located in a luxury resort
with a coin syrup service and the price
of that Villa with all of the furniture
and everything inside is about 3 million
it's obviously much more more modern and
well you're right in front of the sea
with you can say your own private beach
but well you pay a premium on that of
course and actually I made a house tour
about this exact seafront Villa a couple
of weeks ago so if you would want to
know how it feels like to live in a very
luxurious Villa here in Cyprus watch
that video very interesting for
non-european foreigners is that you can
also get a permanent residency here in
Cyprus if you buy a property but the
property needs to cost at least 300 000
Euros but this is not a passport yet
this is just the residency by property
investment program but with the
permanent residency you can apply for
the citizenship the passport after five
years of actually living here in Cyprus
and yeah there are also some other
requirements such as a clean criminal
record for example and some other things
but more on that in another video in
general more on passports and
citizenships with Cyprus in other videos
so definitely make sure to subscribe to
the channel let's get back to the topic
and that is the general style of
properties here in Cyprus usually the
properties are very traditional here I
really like the townhouse Styles here in
Cyprus but recently they also started
with much more modern properties a lot
of glass for example and the reason for
that is because a lot of foreign money
actually flows into Cyprus and a lot of
people want to have luxurious properties
so they built these Villas now and I
would argue that you can actually get
such a modern property that is already
built for about half a million to 750
000 with a very good location if you
know where to look for the right
properties especially here in paphos in
elarnaka in ayanappa and all the
villages around those cities you can get
very great deals in Limassol you will
probably just get a very nice apartment
for that money but this does not mean
that the investment is bad it is just
very well expensive and the reason for
that is the high demand for Limassol
properties in fact most of the
properties that are sold in Cyprus are
in Limassol so under normal
circumstances the prices in the muscle
of the properties should actually keep
Rising because it is like the prime a
location of Cyprus with the skyscrapers
and a lot of business going on there and
as I said earlier the prices get very
inflated but very important I'm not here
to tell you that Cyprus properties are
such a good investment and they will
only keep rising in value because no one
knows and everyone that tells you that
he or she knows well they don't believe
me listen to your guts make your own
independent research calculations and
then decide on your own if you want to
do it or not my personal opinion though
is that Cyprus as a whole country has a
lot of potential to grow because of the
very interesting geopolitical location
as well as a very interesting Tech
scheme and also because of the lifestyle
climate here in Cyprus and people just
feel very good here just as me living
here for four years now and this
logically a tricks more and more
entrepreneurs investors and other people
moving to Cyprus and thus the demand of
the properties increase even more but as
with everything there is always a little
bit of risk involved there could always
be a Black Swan event especially because
of the political situation here in
Cyprus I would like to talk about the
real estate market in the north side of
Cyprus however I don't have enough
experience to do that and I would rather
do a little bit of research before talk
to some very experienced people there
and then I can make a video about it so
if you want me to do that leave a
comment down below I'm very curious on
that now let's talk about hidden costs
when buying a property here in Cyprus
and I divided it into hidden costs when
buying a property and the actual buying
process and also hidden costs when you
bought the property and when you're
maintaining it with like ongoing fees
number one hidden costs at the actual
buying process is very common I know it
is the agent fee but here in Cyprus it
is actually a very high fee and fact it
is common that the agency is up to two
digits here in Cyprus and the agent fees
usually paid by the seller but I still
want to mention it so that you know what
will come when you're buying a property
number two hidden costs is the actual
transfer fee when buying the property
and this is paid by the buyer of the
property so in this case probably you
and this fee varies between three to
eight percent of the value of the
property it can be lowered and you can
even be exempt of the transfer fee so
definitely make sure to talk to an
expert before you buy the property
number three is the vat the value added
text the only text you have to pay when
you're buying a property standard rate
is 19 but it also can be lowered down to
five percent depending on some criteria
such as if this is your first property
in Cyprus or not is that your main
property or not and how big the property
is number four is the stamp duty this is
a very small fee
0.2 percent of the purchase value of the
property and for now normal properties
this is actually not even worth
mentioning those were all the hidden
costs when actually buying the property
and now we are talking about the ongoing
costs when you bought the property and
when you want to maintain it and
basically just manage it there used to
be an immovable property tax that you
needed to pay annually based on the
value of your property but this was
abolished a couple of years ago so the
Cypress property really cost free not
really number one is the so-called local
Authority feed this is for example for
street lights garbage collection and
this is paid annually based on the
property size and also where your
property is it ranges from 100 euros per
year up until 600 700 euros per year
number two is the municipality taxes
that is one to two percent of the market
value of your property that is paid
annually to your local municipality
number three is the sewerage tax so
basically for the switch pipes and this
is 0.5 percent to a 3 three percent
based on the market value of your
property paid annually to the government
as well now in some cases you also need
to pay a community tax or fee actually
and that is paid to the community
because a lot of properties here in
Cyprus are in communities and you're
sharing a communal pool for example you
also have gardeners and security the
communal fee is for all of those
services that also your neighbors need
to pay because you're all living in one
little Community very close by sharing
various different services and products
and thus you also need to pay for debt
annually or quarterly or monthly
depending on the community now lastly
very obvious also you need to pay for
water and electricity so this is what I
mean that actually living rent or cost
free here in Cyprus is well maybe not
100 the case and yes of course I know
this is probably in every country like
that unless you're living off grid
somewhere in the mountains hunting for
your own food you always need to pay for
something but now you know how it works
here in Cyprus isn't that awesome I hope
this video isn't too long but real
estate is a very complex topic and I
want you to know the most important
general information switches watching
this one video let me know down in the
comments if you like those longer videos
with a lot of value and if this is the
case definitely also leave a like thank
you very much I really appreciate it now
let's talk about the common mistakes
that a lot of people do when buying a
property here in Cyprus and that I see
more and more often the first Common
mistake I see so many people do when
they try to buy a property here in
Cyprus is that they don't do enough
research some people come here to Cyprus
and they want to buy a property as fast
as possible but in my opinion it makes
more sense to just look at the market
for some time first and during that time
you can rent another apartment and you
can look for the perfect property don't
buy a property too fast here in Cyprus
just because you're not patient enough
take a Airbnb for some time and then
just look at all this it is look at what
type of property you want and then you
can make a very rational decision on the
perfect property for you next is the
question whether someone should use an
agent if someone should look at the
marketplace himself and spend a lot of
time or if you should work with an
independent consultant that will
basically look the marketplace for you
and you're not paying him an agent fee
but you're paying him for his time
agents and agencies are definitely a
valid reason and you can try them out
however be aware that some agents are
not really officially licensed agents
what some of them are doing is they just
look at the marketplace themselves and
then they try to sell you a property and
add a premium on top of the actual agent
fee and put it into their pockets so
what I actually prefer a little bit more
is to look at the marketplace yourself
the two most common marketplaces for
that here in Cyprus are the Facebook
Marketplace as well as the bazaraki
marketplace but it will definitely did
take a little bit of time you need to do
some viewings in order to find the
perfect property for you so the third
actually also very very smart and that
is to just hire someone that is locally
very experienced here with the real
estate market and he will do this exact
research for you and as he's a local he
can even negotiate the prices for you
and you're not paying him an agent fee
as I said but you're just paying him for
his time a fixed sum or whatever he
wants to be charged for so to me
personally I really like to work with
independent Consultants not just in the
real estate market but in general and
also for other Financial products
because I can be sure that this person
is non-biased he's not trying to sell me
something that he will get commissioned
for but actually I'm paying him for his
time and advice if you want to get help
with finding the right consultant you
can also reach out to me or ask
questions either in the comment section
or in the video description common
mistake number three is the title deeds
and now please listen very carefully
because the title Deeds are the biggest
point of of failure so many people do
when buying a property and I see this
unfortunately more and more often only
with the official title dates you
actually officially own the property and
there are some properties on the
marketplace that are for sale but please
please please never buy such a property
because the official owner with the
title leads could claim the property
anytime even though you paid money and
you're living in it now if you don't
have the title Deeds you don't own the
property common mistake number four Are
banks in Cyprus if you would want to buy
the property with leverage and that is
actually in Cyprus the interest rates
are above average they are pretty high
and also the requirements in order to
get a mortgage is very very hard because
you need to show a very strong and long
history of income but as a non-dome
entrepreneur with your own company here
in Cyprus like me you usually don't pay
out a high salary because you're playing
with your dividends however if you would
want want to get a loan from the bank to
buy a property first of all you need to
pay a very high deposit so your own cash
money and then second of all you need to
start paying yourself a salary for 6 12
even 24 months and then show them proof
of your salary and just then you can
apply for a mortgage from the banks here
in Cyprus now I will talk about the
actual process step by step if you would
want to buy an apartment a flat a house
here in Cyprus and for European people
with an European passport the process is
divided into five steps number one is
the due diligence that you do one for
the physical actual property but two
also for the paperworks and the papers
of the property so that you can be sure
that the title leads for example are
official and that everything is correct
in the contracts also here it makes
sense to never do it completely on your
own have someone independent looking
over everything and then give you the
legal go and all so probably some parts
are in Greek and if you don't speak
Greek you need someone local anyway
number two is the reservation and
because the property Market is very
Dynamic here so a property that is on
the market today might be sold tomorrow
you need to reserve the property to be
sure that you can actually buy it number
three is the contract so the sale
purchase agreement and here you need
your passport as well as the proof of
funds and some other little documents
that you probably have and you first set
up a draft then you again let your
consultant look over it and once both
parties agree on the contract you then
go to the stamp Duty with a little fee
that I talked about earlier at the stamp
Duty the contract gets a stamp logically
so it's official and here you usually
pay the first installment of buying the
property so the first money gets
transferred here number four is the land
registry office and that is basically
the big boss here in Cyprus when it
comes to well land and properties and
here I actually recommend to register
the contract as soon as it has the stem
amp on it so that you can be completely
sure as a buyer that you're secure here
and that you then somewhat officially
already on the property before actually
getting the title leads so that when you
for example want to sell the property
for whatever reason if you're doing a
Fix and Flip for example so you buy the
property you're renovated and you sell
it for a profit then once the contract
is already registered at the land
registry office you can already sell it
without having to title it's because
number five the transfer of title Deeds
can take a little while in fact the
longest we waited so far is one and a
half years so definitely be aware that
it can take at least some months and
here at the transfer of title Deeds you
usually pay all of the money and once
you then have your title leads you're
officially the owner of your new
property
congratulations
as a non-european person it's a little
bit different but definitely still
possible and that is within the five
steps of buying the property you add one
more step and that is a so-called
application because as a foreign
investor from elsewhere you need to
apply in order to buy a property or land
right here at the land registry office
again at the lro and they will then give
you permission to buy the property as a
citizen of Cyprus you don't need to
apply for buying the property you can
basically just go and transfer the title
deeds and you're the new owner and
anyway if you are serious about buying a
property here in Cyprus definitely check
out the video description to see how I
can maybe help you with that and
remember to watch the 3 million Villa
tour that I recorded and I truly
appreciate every single one of you that
subscribe to the channel and I will see
you in the next video