Problems When Buying Real Estate in Cyprus

Unscrupulous Developers

Working directly with the developer or his certified representative, unfortunately, is also not a guarantee of successful acquisition of the property, especially if it is a matter of buying an object in a new building under construction.

The main task when buying such a property – checking the reliability of the developer. Over the years, there have been many cases of construction being frozen due to the bankruptcy of the developer, after which the buyers were left without money and real estate.

The situation is complicated by the fact that the title documents for the apartment or villa in Cyprus can be obtained only after the state registration of the facility, and this even from a bona fide developer after completion of the construction may take several years.

Up to the state registration of the object only document, confirming the rights of the buyer to the real estate, is a contract of sale, but it has legal force only if registered with the Department of Land Relations, And it should be registered by the buyer or his lawyer, which many investors do not know.

In order to protect yourself from the loss of funds when buying housing in Cyprus directly from the developer, you should familiarize yourself with the other objects built by this company, check the financial documents of the developer, as well as the building permit. Doing it yourself is not easy, even if you know Greek well.

Of course, to speak about the mass of real estate frauds in Cyprus, It is not necessary – the cases of fraud are isolated, Nevertheless, with significant investments required by the program of obtaining the Residence Permit for Cyprus, all possible risks should be reasonably assessed.

Rogue Agents

Many buyers believe that buying a property through a real estate agent will be more reliable and profitable. Unfortunately, everything is different in real life: considering that the foreign buyer doesn’t know the market, it is possible to expose the property for sale at an inflated price. In 2022 alone, several dozen disappointed buyers filed a lawsuit against the agent that had sold the apartment for one and a half times the declared value set by the developer.

The dishonest agents do not remove objects already sold from catalogues and even place false sales ads. Trying to choose among them the high-quality and real real estate, the buyer will lose time and in case of unfavorable developments – money too.

In the worst case, a swindler may appear under the mask of a realtor, which without a state license, will disappear after receiving a deposit. In 2022, several buyers from China also fell victim to such fraud: the criminal, posing as a representative of a famous developer, took 300,000 euros from each for buying land and after that it turned out that the developer has nothing to do with this land, and it is not even for sale.

In order to reduce the fraud risk, working through the local agent you should check his license. The realtor must be certified by the local Real Estate Registration Board, who scrutinizes the applicant’s documents and evaluates his qualifications through specific testing. However, a certified realtor can also participate in the scam.

How to safely buy property in Cyprus

The only way to protect oneself from unscrupulous realtors and developers is to involve in the process of acquisition of investment real estate certified lawyers and lawyers. Specialists from Regulated United Europe will help to choose a suitable object, establish the identity of the real owner of this object, check the financial viability of the developer, get acquainted with the documentation and permission for the construction and operation of the building.