selling appartment

Questions about selling property
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madmax
Posts: 6
Joined: 24 Jan 2008 23:13

selling appartment

Post by madmax »

Hi Nigel,we are selling our appt in cyprus and may have a U.K buyer that we have sourced ourselves.Do you know of any reason why we could not conduct the sale of property in england therefore bypassing exchange rate and estate agents fees and just pay the relevant taxes and fees due in cyprus on transferring the title deeds to the new owner kind regards Madmax :-))
clive of payia
Posts: 15
Joined: 09 Jan 2008 23:34

Re: selling appartment

Post by clive of payia »

Hello Madmax,

I brought my villa out here from another Brit and we did almost all of it in the UK. Depends if you have your title deeds! if you have then it can be done as you don't need to involve a developer or owner of the land.

If you have your title deeds then you can do the legwork yourself. there are quite a few forms you have to get filled in, Nigel has a list of them on here somewhere. You will both need to attend the Land Registry office to effect the transfer. You will also need to invent a euro price for the property to satisfy the Land Registry Office but you can actually do the financial deal in sterling in the UK. YOu can for extra comfort use your UK solicitor to do the transfer, bank cheque for title deeds.

One day all property sales will be done this way.
Nigel Howarth
Site Admin
Posts: 2911
Joined: 24 Oct 2007 14:38
Location: Erimi, Limassol, Cyprus
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Re: selling appartment

Post by Nigel Howarth »

Hi Madmax,

In theory, there should be no problem. However, I see in your earlier post that you do not have your Title Deeds - this is going to cause you problems as you cannot sell it without the consent (and assistance) of the property developer.

What the developer has to do is withdraw your contract of sale from the Land Registry and replace it with a new contract of sale between himself and your buyer. Your developer will do this for a fee (how much I cannot say)

Alternatively, without withdrawing your contract of sale, you could sell it to your buyer and then he will need to get over to Cyprus and deposit his contract at the Land Registry. But if you do this, you will be liable for Immovable Property Tax as ownership of the property will first have to be transferred to your name before it can be transferred to your buyer. (I know of someone at the Eastern end of the island who did this, but they've lost touch with the original buyer and are having to pay the transfer fees twice).

There's no problem bypassing currency exchange, etc. by carrying out the transaction in the UK in Sterling. But you will both either need to visit Cyprus to visit the Land Registry or appoint a lawyer here with power of attorney to act on your behalf.

I suggest you have a word with Louise, she may well be able to help/advise.

Regards,
Nigel Howarth
Independent information & advice for Cyprus property buyers
Contact Nigel Howarth
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Nigel Howarth
Site Admin
Posts: 2911
Joined: 24 Oct 2007 14:38
Location: Erimi, Limassol, Cyprus
Contact:

Re: selling appartment

Post by Nigel Howarth »

Hi sarah_9 and welcome to the forum.

I agree - independent legal advice is essential for anyone buying or selling property here. The British High Commission in Nicosia maintains a list of English-speaking lawyers on its website that can provide the necessary advice.

Regards,
Nigel Howarth
Independent information & advice for Cyprus property buyers
Contact Nigel Howarth
Read the latest Cyprus property news
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