Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

Hello All.
Our house in UK is on the market and we are wanting to buy a villa in NCyprus asap with a pool. any advice would be greatfully received. we already search right-move regullarly and are in contact with ian-smith estate agents.

Im particullarly interested in the cost of living, not basics like food but the following would help...

Electric Bills?

Gas Bills?

Council Tax?

Any fees to be paid for living there and renewing it annually?

Any other fees that we could find ourself paying monthly/annually?

many thanks for your anticipated help.

Ralph

Don't rush into buying , rent first

ttoli wrote:Don't rush into buying , rent first

Absolutely top advice!

Put your cash in the bank, use the interest to rent, and learn about it all at first hand.

Find about all the scams that are regularly perpetrated on newcomers.

Don't be rushed into buying ANYTHING, no matter how appealing the deal appears, because believe me - it ISN'T!

There are thousands and thousands of properties, so there'll still be plenty in a year's time...

Keith and ttoli have given you very good advice there and I would follow it if I were you. Renting here is relatively cheap and it is always a good idea to 'try before you buy' especially here where there are so many pitfalls waiting for those with little experience of how things work here.

Having said that, it is not the question you asked is it? There is a lot of information of the kind you require on the British Residents website. http://www.brstrnc.com/


Good luck.

All of the above posters have offered excellent advice. Do NOT rush into any purchase of anything major until you have researched, questioned and sought satisfied customer confirmation. The BRS site will cover many of your questions, albeit more will subsequently arise. You'll need to consider your ages, location (urban or rural), healthcare provision, a trustworthy advocate (strongly recommend you do NOT use one from the same location you intend to settle in) and a host of other factors. Annual charges, taxes etc depend on property ownership or rental contract, ages for passport visitor stamp and so on. Good luck with the house sale, move and settling in process.

Please, please, please, take the advice already offered. Come over and rent first - there are so many pitfalls in buying in north Cyprus, and to say it is not all plain sailing is putting it mildly. Come and learn from other ex-pats, they are very helpful in giving good advice and sharing their experiences; this website is excellent for advice and help. I personally would not recommend anyone moving here but that is because my experiences over the last 3 years have given me a very jaundiced view - not everyone has that view I know, but learn about the sort of problems you can come up against before you commit all your funds. I wish you the best of luck

Good advice already.

And if the day comes you are happy to buy, do not consider anything off plan, unless you have your own project/architect, or you can establish it is a very reputable builder.

Otherwise consider only property with single (not shared) kocan (title deed) held by the owner and in their name, water and electric connected and usage paid up to date, and all other bills (belediye tax etc) paid up to date.
If there is a gas tank, make sure it is registered and taxes all paid up to date.

Also check for neighbours dogs. People here, both local and ex-pats seem to have a fetish with barking dogs so check around.

Remember you will need permission to purchase so make sure any army bases are at least 1km away (I think 500m is the requirement?),

Look uphill from any property be it to rent or buy. Where will the water go in the very heavy rains we sometimes get. It certainly doesn't soak into the ground quickly. Will it flood your drive/pool/pump room/house?.

Finally, consider some advice I was given many many years ago and applied myself. Buy something that is already built around, not with open land around, that way you don't get a nasty surprise a few years down the line.

thanks for the advice gang, please keep it coming. but please try and answer the questions if possible. we are mr and mrs average, will be living on pension retiring at 55. after an average villa with a pool. so what are the charges for everything to do with living in cyprus?

we are very familiar with the island and the areas, the people and the culture, north and south, we visit every year for 3 weeks, i was born in the south and have lives 17 of my 52 years on the island, dad was in the forces as was i!

If you do as all of the above have advised (and very sensible it is too) then you can find out all of the questions you ask first hand. Most of the questions you ask are "how long is a piece of string" questions., so renting for 6 months or even longer is the answer. Wish to heaven, we had done it, so could have saved ourselves thousands paid out in scams, and in many cases being too trusting. Everyone has differing circumstances.

oneillbox wrote:Electric Bills?

Two of us, no pool. a lot of animals. I would estimate average monthly bill for electricity around 500TL pm. I think we are quite 'heavy' electricity users compared with average.

oneillbox wrote:Gas Bills?

We use gas bottles for cooker hob and oven on one cooker and just hob on the other (don't ask) and sometimes for heating (also use electric and wood fire for heating) and again at a very rough estimate we use maybe 15 bottles per year and they are around 40-45TL per bottle. Price keeps moving - sure someone else can give current exact price.

oneillbox wrote:Council Tax?

Think ours in the region of 200-300TL pa. modest 3 bed bungalow, no pool and maybe a 1.5 donums of land.

oneillbox wrote:Any fees to be paid for living there and renewing it annually?

Yes if not citizens you should get annual 'temporary residency' - again not sure of exact cost but think its in the region of 300-400TL pa per person. There is much debate if you need to get this once aged 60 or over. After certain period will need local driving license too. Not sure what that is but searching the forum will no doubt bring up a recent answer.

oneillbox wrote:Any other fees that we could find ourself paying monthly/annually?

Water, Car costs and petrol, mobile phone costs, Internet. These are things that spring to mind. Pools cost on an ongoing basis as well - though have never had one myself so not really sure how much.

Dont sell in the UK rent the house out then if you return it has kept pace with the housing value in the uk .The income from the rental will cover the cost of Cyprus rental .Also dont bother shipping tons of furniture rent furnished let furnished keep a UK postal address at a relative
If you have a small reliable petrol car 4/5 years old enquire what the import duty is at the customs
Rul of thumb cars over 2000 cc that cost a lot new and are diesel are not worth importing Fiesta Astra1600 cc or less up to 5 years old worth doing

Hi oneillbox
we moved over last year same age has you dont regret it one bit.
we have 3 bed villa no pool (we have a jaccuzi ) remember the initial cost of buying a property with pool plus annual maintenance, most dont use pools all year round but still need to be maintained. Lots of restaurants have pools and there is the Mediterranean sea.
Electric - 200TL monthly
Gas- 2 gas bottles a year for hob - 3 bottles a monthly for heating in winter (39TL)
Water rates 20TL a month
council tax 55TL a year
Residency 350ish TL a year
Drivers licence (needed after 6 months) 400 TL for a 3 year
Wifi for TV / skype etc 500TL 6 months (depends on provider shop around)
Mobile phone package most use payg
Cars expensive here £2000 plus for cheap run around would cost £500 in UK but running cost lot cheaper servicing fuel etc
please be careful when buying we have been lucky but estate agents, advocates ,builders are a minefield many people have lost everything

thank you so much everyone, they are just the answers i am looking for.