How to buy property in Cyprus

Main objective of Cyprus Developers Alliance is to make the process of property selection and acquisition as comfortable as possible.
On this page we will describe the main steps in the process of buying a property.
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First Contacts

Cyprus Developers Alliance offers thousands of properties throughout the entire island in all property categories. The choice is truly versatile. 
We can offer several options of property selection. However, the most important process and our main task, as we see it, is not only to present and show projects. Most important is to clearly understand your goals! Sometimes even to help to clarify or even formulate them. After all, a buyer does not always know the realities of the Cypriot real estate market in order to clearly determine from the very beginning what will suit him/her best. Knowing the goals, we can offer the most suitable projects corresponding to them.

Option 1. Searching on the website on your own

There is a search system available on every page of the web site. You can select the options that interest you (accommodation type, region, number of bedrooms, price range) and click on the option “Find”. You will be transferred to the general list of properties with brief descriptions of projects. Further, by clicking on the project number, you can see full information about it on a separate page.

Option 2. Passing requirements for properties to us

We will guide you through the purchase process if you answer a number of questions:

• What is the purpose of purchasing a property - permanent residence in Cyprus, holidaymaking or investment?
• What is the approximate budget allocated for your purchase?
• How many bedrooms do you need?
• What is the desired type of property - apartment, townhouse or villa?
• Do you have any preferences for the region of Cyprus?
• Where do you want to live - in the city, in the suburbs or in the countryside?
• Do you need proximity to urban infrastructure? For example, school or office?

You could direct your answers to the above questions to us via e-mail or by filling-in the appropriate form on our website.

Option 3. Personal communication with an employee of the Alliance

You could contact us by phone. Or, otherwise, in case you leave us your phone number or other contact details we will contact you ourselves. Then in course of a live conversation we will precisely understand your preferences, discuss various property options and offer optimal ones to you.
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Arranging a Trip to Cyprus

Surely in order to take a decision on purchase you would wish to visit Cyprus to obtain a vivid experience yourself.

Visa

You can enter Cyprus with a valid Schengen visa. Otherwise, you would need to obtain a Cyprus visa in the nearest Consulate.

Hotel Reservation

We are ready to assist you in hotel reservation in Cyprus at our internal corporate rates, which are provided by the main hotels.
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Viewing Properties in Cyprus

On your arrival you will meet one of directors or a manager of the Alliance. In course of communication your requirements will become more specific and will be more thoroughly discussed and opinions will be exchanged.

Then the sales managers will show you those properties that have been discussed at previous stages. As a result of site visits you will meet our directors in order to summarize the impressions of the visits and outline a plan of further activities.

Surely, sometimes our clients happen to find a house or an apartment they have long dreamed of on the pages of our web site. Then it would come to nothing more than viewing that property.

Anyway once you finally fix upon this or that property(ies) and say: “This is it! I am buying this!” we will proceed to transaction execution.
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Execution of Property Sales Transaction

Property acquisition in Cyprus as well as in any other country is a certain legal procedure that shall be observed by all the parties concerned. You will be able to find detailed information on legal aspects of the transaction on the page Legal Issues.

In case you wish to make use of a mortgage credit, a Cyprus bank becomes a participant of the process. You will have to prepare a set of documents and draft them appropriately. We will offer you assistance in this. Information on mortgage is available on the page Mortgage & Credit.

Information on taxes and duties arising due to property acquisition in Cyprus is available оn pages VAT and Other taxes.

Suggested sequence of activities by execution of property sales transaction (a scenario when a foreign customer buys fully ready new property with the reduced rate VAT is considered) is provided below:

• A customer and developer enter into a Reservation agreement to reserve the selected property. This is a short contractual document fixing the main provisions of a future transaction. The Reservation Agreement must stipulate the conditions for the return of the deposit to the customer (the deposit is returned if the customer's lawyer, during a subsequent inspection, discovers problems with the property, and is not returned if the customer simply changes his mind about buying the property).
• Based on the Reservation agreement the customer pays a deposit for the selected property. Normally the deposit comprises some percentage of property value. Upon payment, the property will be withdrawn from the market and reserved for the customer
• Simultaneously the customer enters into a contract with a Cyprus lawyer for legal support of the transaction. The customer will issue the required Powers of Attorney to the lawyer as well. Thereafter the customer returns home.
• The customer prepares documents justifying the origin of the funds that the customer will spend on the purchased property. These documents are sent to the developer's bank, which must accept money from the customer.
• As a rule, the property is reserved for a customer for a month or month and a half. During that month the lawyer performs the following actions:
  • Checks the documents for the property
  • Exempts the property from encumbrances, if any
  • Drafts Property Sales Agreement and has it approved by the parties to the transaction.
• During the same time, the developer’s bank conducts a comprehensive due diligence of the buyer’s funds.
• Further, the customer receives information from the lawyer that the contract is ready and the transaction has been approved. The developer’s bank also reports that the due diligence procedure has been completed and the bank is ready to accept the customer’s money. The customer arrives in Cyprus, signs the Sales Agreement and makes payment to the amount, for example, 80% of property value. The contract can also be signed and sent by express mail without arriving in Cyprus, or a relevant power of attorney can be prepared for the lawyer to sign the contract.
• The customer, the lawyer and the representative of a seller carry out the following:
  • Payment of Stamp Duty
  • Depositing the Agreement with Land District Office.

• Right after depositing the Agreement, the lawyer carries out two more actions:
  • The lawyer prepares a request to obtain permission from the Council of Ministers of Cyprus for the transfer of the real estate title deed in the name of the buyer (for non-EU citizens). Essentially this is a mere formality. 
  • The lawyer prepares an application for a reduced VAT rate.
• In approximately 1 month the VAT authorities approve the reduced VAT rate. The buyer then pays the remainder of the property price, taking into account that the whole price is taxed with the reduced VAT rate. Another scenario: the customer initially pays the full price for the property with the normal VAT rate, and after the reduced VAT rate is approved, the developer returns the difference between the normal and reduced rate to the customer. 
• Right after the approval of the reduced VAT rate, the customer enters into ownership of his/her property and receives the key. The phase of property equipping begins. The customer can count on the full support of the Alliance in this matter.
• Governmental body – Land District Office – issues Title Deed for the property after an overall inspection of the built property. Typically, the Title Deed is ready 2-3 years after the property is delivered to the customer.
• Once a Title Deed is obtained, the customer becomes a registered property owner.

The above scheme may vary depending on the specific conditions. Adjustments should be made if, for example:

• The customer takes a bank mortgage
• The property is under construction
• The customer buys resale property which is not subject to VAT
• The customer is not entitled to a reduced VAT rate
• The customer instructs a lawyer to independently perform some of the actions (for example, pay Stamp Duty and deposit the purchase and sale agreement).

You could discuss changes in the above scheme depending on your specific circumstances with a manager of Alliance.