Cyprus Property Forum for Buyers, Sellers & Investors

Hi Nigel,

This question may well have been answered elswhere, and if so I do apologise.

My wife and I have seen a plot of land with the concrete skeleton already completed, and we are very interested in purchasing it with a view to completing the house on a self-build basis. That is to say, employing tradesmen for various parts of the build that I feel better left to local professionals, brick/stone work, electrical work etc'. I have seen buiding permits, seismic surveys etc which seem in order, of course I would employ an independent lawyer to make all the appropriate checks before proceeding.

I have a lifetime background closely associated with the building industry in the UK, having run my own kitchen and bathroom installation company for over twenty years, and my plan would be to complete the non-structural and what I assume to be unregulated tasks myself. These would be such things as installing the kitchen (other than electrical and gas), bathrooms, tiling, windows/doors decoration and so on.

My questions are:

1. Would this be legal in Cyprus in respect of building reg's etc'?
2. Would the finishing need to be overseen by an architect?
3. Would property tax be payable on the purchase price of the land/skeleton or the finished value of the property?

Thank you for your time.

Kind regards

Neil

Hi Neil and welcome to the forum,

If you have sufficient confidence to take on the task, then there's no reason why you shouldn't. But I suggest that as well as using a lawyer to check things out that you have the existing building works inspected to ensure everything's OK before signing on the dotted line.

You will need to have an ETEK registered architect/construction engineer sign-off the work and you may also need an electrical & mechanical engineer to check/approve the electrical & work.

It's not going to be easy - bearing in mind the language and different practices.

As for the property transfer fees - if a building permit's been issued, then the Land Registry will know and the fees will most probably be based on the price of the land and the completed building.

(Incidentally, we bought a building plot and then commissioned a local architect. We issued invitations to tender and eventually ended up with a main building contractor and sub-contracted the mechanicals and electricals to a specialist firm in Limassol. I also bought all the fixtures, fittings and finishes and had the contractor fit them).

Regards,

Nigel Howarth wrote:Hi Neil and welcome to the forum,

If you have sufficient confidence to take on the task, then there's no reason why you shouldn't. But I suggest that as well as using a lawyer to check things out that you have the existing building works inspected to ensure everything's OK before signing on the dotted line.

You will need to have an ETEK registered architect/construction engineer sign-off the work and you may also need an electrical & mechanical engineer to check/approve the electrical & work.

It's not going to be easy - bearing in mind the language and different practices.

As for the property transfer fees - if a building permit's been issued, then the Land Registry will know and the fees will most probably be based on the price of the land and the completed building.

(Incidentally, we bought a building plot and then commissioned a local architect. We issued invitations to tender and eventually ended up with a main building contractor and sub-contracted the mechanicals and electricals to a specialist firm in Limassol. I also bought all the fixtures, fittings and finishes and had the contractor fit them).

Regards,

Nigel,

Just a point, if he is buying the plot, it doesn't matter that there is a building permit on it or not, the purchase price is for the land he is buying. Firstly the land registry will have no way of knowing att what stage the building is at if at all.

I would think it is safe to say he will pay TF on the plot.

In contrast to buying a house where to pay on the contract value, this is still a plot.

What would be important is to keep all records of spending, because when a sale is needed then the capital gains tax will kick in and THATS when you have to prove your spending on the house, since the land cost has already been recorded at the LRO.

Good luck with your new venture, you are brave!

Just a thought. If you are buying it from the owners, why not ask the original people to finish the job (for an agreed price)up to the point where you want to do the bits your self, that way you may have the original team on it that would also save you the blame game later.