Cyprus Property Forum for Buyers, Sellers & Investors

Good morning Nigel

Thank you for allowing me to join the Forum :)

My husband and I are returning to Paphos next week in the hope of purchasing a property. We are South African and have noticed that you, for obvious reasons, refer to UK standards/laws. Is there perhaps a South African lawyer that you know of who can assist us?

We are looking to purchase a villa jointly and mortgage the balance. What is the minimum deposit that the bank will accept? Also, will we be allowed to settle the loan within 3 - 5 years?

Thanks and kind regards.

Good morning debs1 and welcome to the forum.

The banks will usually allow you to borrow 70% or 80% of the purchase price - but they will want to make sure that you will be able to repay the loan.

You will be able to repay the loan after 3 - 5 years, but the bank may charge you early repayment fees.

I don't know of any South African lawyers. It may be worth contacting the South African Honorary Consul General in Nicosia - his number is listed as +357 2 377 011. But the main embassy is in Athens at http://www.southafrica.gr/ (but I can't get through to it). They may have a list of lawyers in Cyprus.

The list of English-speaking lawyers provided by the British High Commission can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... reters.pdf

Are you planning to buy a new property (off plan) or a resale?

Regards,

Hi Nigel

Thanks for your very helpful response :)

We looked at a few villas with two (big) developers whilst we were there in September. However, after researching, it would appear as if the developments are very overpriced compared to existing properties so are now considering resale villas.

I've made enquiries at the Bank regarding the mortgage issues and they've told me 70% max. I'm now trying to calculate exactly what price range we can look at but not sure about the legal fees:- We have roughly EUR125k cash .......

Can you perhaps recommend a decent, not expensive, lawyer in the Paphos region?

debs1 wrote:are now considering resale villas.

Good choice - and I suggest you restrict your search to properties with their all-important Title Deed.

I would imagine that your legal fees will be in the region of €1,700 to €2,000 plus there will be stamp duty to pay on the value of the contract:

on the first €5,000 - 0%
between €5,001 & €170,000 - 0.15%
above €170,000 - 0.2%

Maximum stamp duty - €20,000

Lawyers charges are based on minimum fees dictated by the Cyprus Bar Association so their fees should all be in the same ballpark. I don't recommend lawyers as such - a number of those on the High Commission's list I posted earlier have offices in Paphos.

You need to ensure that your lawyer:

1 gets a Title Search from the Land Registry;
2. checks planning permission (if property does not have Title Deed)
3. checks building permits (if property does not have Title Deed)
4. drafts and negotiates you contract;
5. deposits your contract at the Land Registry.

It's probably worthwhile getting a structural engineer to check the property to see if there are any major issues. This will cost a few hundred Euro and there's a good chance your lawyer will know someone.

There's a checklist that you may find useful at http://cdn.cyprus-property-buyers.com/w ... cklist.pdf

Regards,

Nigel Howarth wrote:Good morning debs1 and welcome to the forum.

The banks will usually allow you to borrow 70% or 80% of the purchase price - but they will want to make sure that you will be able to repay the loan.

You will be able to repay the loan after 3 - 5 years, but the bank may charge you early repayment fees.

I don't know of any South African lawyers. It may be worth contacting the South African Honorary Consul General in Nicosia - his number is listed as +357 2 377 011. But the main embassy is in Athens at http://www.southafrica.gr/ (but I can't get through to it). They may have a list of lawyers in Cyprus.

The list of English-speaking lawyers provided by the British High Commission can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/s ... reters.pdf

Are you planning to buy a new property (off plan) or a resale?

Regards,

Nigel, you are missing a '2' in that number, since Nicosia area code is 22.

As for SA lawyers, can't help, but my conveyancer is South African at mylaw firm if that helps.

Thanks Pan.

Regards