North Cyprus Property

There are a number of things you need to think about before purchasing property in North Cyprus , two of the important ones are; what type of land are you buying? And how reliable is builder that is building or has built your property?  To understand more about title deeds in North Cyprus, please click. And for North Cyprus Land sizes please click.

General facts about North Cyprus Property

• Property transactions in North Cyprus take place using pounds sterling.
• At the moment you will have to pay a 6% stamp duty on the house or land you are buying.
• However, you are allowed to purchase one property only, at a reduced rate of stamp duty, 3% instead of 6% .
• At the moment most property sales in North Cyprus attract 5% VAT. You must have it stated in your contract who is going to pay this. It is paid when the deeds are signed into your name.
• Be cautious about buying property close to a military installation. As a non Turkish Cypriot purchaser you are unlikely to be given permission to purchase property close to a military installation.

For more on North Cyprus Property Tax, please click. You also have to take into consideration the additional costs that are involved with the property purchase; for this you may want to visit North Cyprus Property Costs section. 

The process of buying property in North Cyprus

• Find the property you want to buy.
• Agree the price.

Find a solicitor (advocate) whose checks should include the following:- 

• Title deeds and site plan to make sure you are buying what you think you are buying.
• Building permit.
• If completed property final approval for the building.
• The advocate should carry out land registry searches.
• You must understand what is going to happen about the electricity and water supply connections to your property in North Cyprus.
• On your behalf the advocate will apply for Council of Ministers Permission to enable the title deeds to transfer into your name.

What you should do before buying property in North Cyprus

Understand the different title deeds and make sure that you have documented evidence of the title deeds of the land you are buying

• Appoint an independent North Cyprus solicitor (advocate).
• Make sure you understand the implications of the up to two year wait to get Council of Ministers permission to buy property in North Cyprus . You must have a watertight contract and understand the implications of The Specific Performance Law.
• Investigate the builder who is building you property before you sign a contract with him. The Homebuyers Property Shop does this for you, as we do not take on any developer that does not have a proven track record of building quality property in North Cyprus.

What not to do while buying property in North Cyprus

The Homebuyers Property Shop recommends that while buying your property in North Cyprus you do not buy a former Greek Cypriot house. Even though you might buy such a house cheap, and even may be able to keep it after a settlement (whenever that happens).

If the Annan Plan or similar is one day agreed then a section on what is now on the Turkish side of the present Green Line will come under Greek Cypriot authority. The Homebuyers Property Shop recommends that you do not buy a house or land in this area.

Where things can go wrong while buying your property in North Cyprus

• The builder does not have permission to build.
• The builder builds on the wrong part of the land.
• The builder builds a building which will not get final approval.
• There is no electricity or water supply to the plot.

The following scenario can also arise; you could be in a situation where an estate agent in North Cyprus introduces you to a property developer with a villa for sale, the developer has employed a building firm to build the villa you have agreed to buy.

The property developer employs an architect and your villa is being built on land owned by none of these people. If anything goes wrong then they all start blaming each other, and you are caught in the middle. The Homebuyers Property Shop does not get involved in this situation.