Problems When Buying Real Estate in Cyprus

When choosing a property in Cyprus, a foreign investor must take care not to become a victim of fraudsters. Regulated United Europe lawyers would like to talk about the main dangers that may arise for foreign investors who want to buy an apartment or villa in Cyprus.

Unscrupulous Agents

Many buyers believe that buying a property through a real estate agent will be more reliable and profitable. Unfortunately, in reality everything is different – taking advantage of the fact that the foreign buyer does not know the market, the realtor-fraudster can expose the property at an inflated price – in 2022 only a few dozen disappointed buyers sued the agent, which sold the apartment at one and a half times the declared value of the developer.

By attracting customers, unscrupulous agents do not remove objects already sold from catalogues or even place false sales ads. Trying to choose among them high-quality and actual real estate, the buyer will lose time, and in the event of adverse developments – and also money.

In the worst case, under the guise of a realtor, a fraudster may act without a state license, which will disappear after receiving a deposit. In 2022, the victims of such a scam were several buyers from China: the criminal, posing as an intermediary of a famous developer, received from each of them 300,000 euros to buy land, after which it turned out that the developer has nothing to do with the land, and it’s not even for sale.

To reduce the risk of fraud when working through a 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.

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.

How to safely buy property in Cyprus

The only way to protect yourself 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.