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[B1173]Buying Property In Cyprus

by Adrian Adams, Adr

It seems that Cyprus is the place to go when it comes to overseas investment or retiring. Although the prices of property in the Cyprus market are increasing on a regular basis, the demand for property in this ancient land rich in history and culture seem insatiable. Europeans especially seem attracted to this island.

If you decide to purchase property in Cyprus, you'll do well to learn a few things before you do.

People who wish to purchase property as an investment may find Cyprus to meet their needs. Depending on what your requirement, is you could invest in property that you could live in, that you could lease out, or that you could rent for a vacation home. What you plan to do with the property will strongly influence what type of property you should buy.

It should go without saying that you should have really done your research and due-diligence. Unless you are from Cyprus, you will likely have a good deal to learn before you make an investment. It would be very wise to find a real estate agent with expertise in investment properties in the area. Of course, you should choose an agent that you can trust, or else their expertise will do you no good.

Language shouldn't be considered a barrier when you decide to buy property in Cyprus. This is because English is a second language in Cyprus, and most property agents and solicitors are adept at speaking English. With the island having being under the British influence for a long time, the legal system in the region is closely similar to that of the United Kingdom.

It should be noted, however, that there two things one must be aware of when buying property in Cyprus. One, a person may only own a single property in the entirety of the island; and two, buying a new property may take you more than five years before the title deed is completely transferred to your name. This is because the deed is only given to the rightful owner only when the project has been finished.

Just, to summarize, there are three things you should do before you start to purchase a property in Cyprus. First, decide what type of property you want to purchase. Second, do your research. Third, find a real estate agent who you can trust to guide you through the process. If you do these three things, you will be well on your way to making a good buying decision.

A quick search on the internet for property in North Cyprus will yield over three million pages of results many linking to developers selling houses and villas in Northern Cyprus. There is no shortage of property being offered for sale and it would appear that there are also plenty of eager buyers lining up to part with their cash too. Many of these buyers are totally unaware of the fact that ownership of the land these house are being built on is still under dispute. In fact they could technically be buying an apartment or villa in Northern Cyprus built on land that is part of this ongoing dispute. To gain a little more understanding of this complexed matter here follows a bit of a history lesson.

In 1974 the Turkish army invaded Northern Cyprus and drove out the Greek Cypriots living there. They were encouraged to leave in somewhat of a hurry and were only able to leave with what they could carry. Everything else was left behind including land and houses displacing thousands of Greek Cypriot residents from their own homes. Most of these displaced persons and even their descendants still consider themselves to be refugees from Northern Cyprus. Even now (2007) there are still official refugee settlements on the South of the Island housing many of these families who lost everything they owned when they fled Northern Cyprus. To this day they still lay claim to the land they own in the North of the Island and the Cyprus government shares the same view.

The problem is this. The only people who actually recognize the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus or T.R.N.C. as it is also called are in fact the Turks! The rest of the civilized world operates trade and travel embargoes against this pseudo state even to this day. The boarder is patrolled by the U.N. who have been there since the invasion halted and they don't look set to leave for home any time soon. This would seem to indicate that despite renewed political pressure from other countries the Cyprus issue looks like being a long way from solved. Furthermore when a solution is hopefully agreed upon one might ask what will become of all this contested property? Who will it be awarded too? maybe those who are still laying claim to it.

So if you really feel comfortable living in what is technically someone elses house in a country that no one acknowledges the existence of then North Cyprus could be just what you are looking for. Don't misunderstand the situation however because dispite the high level of feeling no one can tell what the end result will be. In fact there are those who are in full possession of all the facts and still go ahead with property purchase in North Cyprus. They have been led to believe that once the situation is resolved they will be allowed to keep the properties they are buying. Certain "guarantees" have been given that they will be compensated by the Turks should this in fact not be the case at the end of the day.

Whilst the author does not express any opinion (here at least) on the North Cyprus issue it seems only fair that readers should know the situation as it stands. Property is indeed a great investment opertunity and speculators are always eager to climb onto a rising market like North Cyprus property. Yes, the prices are a lot lower than those in the South but what will the final cost be at the end of the day. Life has enough problems of it's own without going out and buying some more in the shape of North Cyprus property.

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Both Adrian Adams & Kevinor are contributors for EditorialToday. The above articles have been edited for relevancy and timeliness. All write-ups, reviews, tips and guides published by EditorialToday.com and its partners or affiliates are for informational purposes only. They should not be used for any legal or any other type of advice. We do not endorse any author, contributor, writer or article posted by our team.

Adrian Adams has sinced written about articles on various topics from Diabetes Treatment, Gift Ideas and Personal Desktop. Find at . Adrian Adams's top article generates over 673000 views. to your Favourites.

Kevinor has sinced written about articles on various topics from Real Estate, Computers and The Internet and Travel and Leisure. Kevin Moore lives half the year in Cyprus writing articles on all things Cyprus including holidays and Cyprus property ownership. For more info take a look at the web site here. Kevinor's top article generates over 246000 views. to your Favourites.