Kibkom North Cyprus Forum

Hello!

We're suffering from dreaded Ayia Napa creep and horrendous tourists renting the villas around us! When we bought here in 2003 it was an unspoilt stretch of coastline, but as we know everything changes and we've just about had enough of the kind of unrestricted commercialism that's going on. We want to build a new house somewhere else - maybe Troodos, maybe Polis - but then we thought North Cyprus!

We were fortunate when we bought an unfinished house that we had friends who looked after our interests whilst we were in UK and prevented us falling into many of the pits that make up Cyprus horror stories. We do not know much about North Cyprus as a place to live, and particularly as a place to buy land and build a house (safely!!). If there is anyone out there who can help out with hints and tips or has been through the experience themselves, we should be very pleased to hear from you, either through the forum or direct to design@persianglazes.com.

We're hoping to make a recce towards the end of October when we can get someone to look after our pets. Then maybe we could get to meet some people too! Our preferred areas are Lapta, Karsiyaka, Ilgaz, Kayalar and Ozankoy (we checked out land for sale in these areas.)

Look forward to hearing if anyone can help!

Best regards, Corinne and Don Twining

Best advice: -

RENT for at least one year first, and get to know the areas and the situation.

If you think that you can take a shortcut, on your head be it!

Excellent advice keith i second that. Dont build you will get ripped off and pay through the nose . If you build and then tried to sell you would likely lose a significant amount of money.

If you have plenty of money and want to buld the home of your dreams regardless of cost ignore the above . But 100 % rent first .

Ignore at your peril !!

As a side note, if you intend to bring you pets at some point. Please contact KAR (Kyrenia Animal Rescue), for the procedure in bringing pets from the EU into the TRNC.

Kar@kyreniaanimalrescue.org

100% rent only.

Rent first!!!!!!!!!!!!

Kayalar and Ilgaz are lovely locations but can be quite isolated depending on your social requirements .

To achieve your aspiration of remaining free from the creep of development and other villas let to troublesome holiday makers, you will need to buy a plot with nothing in front of you but a sharp drop down to the sea.... and own all the land around you at the end of a no-through road!

I fear you won't find that in Lapta, Karsiyaka, Ilgaz, Kayalar and Ozankoy...

And if you do, the a supply of water and electricity will be an issue to be solved at some expense...

Appreciate you have a property in the ROC, however because you have said you do not know North Cyprus well I would also suggest that you rent for a while before buying or building a property.

The creep of development unfortunately is happening here in the north and the areas you have mentioned will not be immune to this. Some like Ozankoy and Lapta I would suggest may already not meet your needs. If you are really keen on escaping the tourist hordes or like isolation then strike out west to Sadrazamkoy, however bear in mind there will be a fair drive to supermarkets, restaurants, hospitals and social activities etc. Or you could head out east towards the Karpas. Also if you are living permanently in North Cyprus you will need to visit government offices for residency, land registration, car registering, driving licences etc so being along way out from these offices can be a bit tedious.

There is no way to guarantee the escape from new properties being built however something at the end of a road/track right on the beach or facing a deep ravine will probably help in as much as it would be difficult to build on in front of your new home. However buying off plan and getting services into the area could be fraught with problems.........good luck with that.

There are some lovely areas here in North Cyprus but as you are not familiar with them, give yourself time to take a really good look around, do plenty of research and you may well find your dream home.

Good luck.

Not a relative of LittleBritain I hope?

I think the advice to rent first is sound. If/when you buy, avoid off-plan as this is where many of the problems have occurred; problems in receiving your Deeds, or demands to pay the Builder's tax, or demands for more money to complete roads, and provide water and electricity, etc. We are one of the lucky ones; we had an honest builder who built quality villas to a standard, schedule and price to which he adhered; he paid his own taxes and we got our Deeds as promised.

Be aware that the big hotels generally have discos that churn out very loud music till the early hours, particularly during the holiday period, and bear in mind that your lovely sea view can be ruined by later building.

We live in Catalkoy, to the east of Girne (Kyrenia) and love it here. We have friends who live in Lapta on the west side of Girne and they love their area! There is much to like this side of the border, but there are niggles too. "Try before you buy" is the best advice. There are many disgruntled property owners here who have fallen prey to scammers, but there are many who are entirely satisfied with their property purchase. Good Luck.

We have a lovely 3 bedroomed villa for sale in Lapta, full Kocan and easy access to all amenities. Overlooking sea and mountain views. Have lived here 11 years. Well established gardens and own pool. Why build, we have it all!

Heaven wrote:We have a lovely 3 bedroomed villa for sale in Lapta, full Kocan and easy access to all amenities. Overlooking sea and mountain views. Have lived here 11 years. Well established gardens and own pool. Why build, we have it all!

Why are you selling?

Wow, thank you lovely people for all the advice! Yes, most of what you are saying is exactly what we would say to anyone wanting to come and live in South Cyprus - and certainly rent first. So this is why we are doing the research first.

It's not that we think the grass is greener, just that we wanted to build/buy cheaper (the only advantage to the Ayia Napa Marina scenario is that our house value has gone up - and we could access it) And dancing in the rain would be good anywhere in Cyprus!!

Not sure of LittleBritain response.... thought maybe another Twining member, but apparently not! Will definitely check out the entry requirements for the animals, thank you for that as well. And Papabravo's response that despite everything that is wrong, there is a helluva lot that is right!

Thanks again everyone. We hope to visit late October and may be catching up with some of you then

Corinne and Don

If we were to relive the last 14 years (when the building boom was a nightmare and every man and his dog set themselves as Developers) I would have rented for about 6 months and then almost certainly have bought a ready built. We fell amongst the three deadly sins, builder, solicitors and estate agent. I would never buy off plan again. With ready built you know what is built around you and not fall foul of thinking you have a lovely view and then a few months or years later, the orange grove or whatever has 50 houses built on it. Good luck.

Actually .....you shoukd definately build ....

I have a plot of land for sale here
https://www.101evler.com/north-cyprus/p ... 03582.html

Best area in cyprus !

Keith, do not want to sell but my health now needs a bungalow. Still will buy here as we so love it.

Moderated - please ask members to PM or email you for full details.

Do not buy in the North. 8 Brits bought property from (Estate Agent) 12 years ago and have been waiting 12 years to move into their homes. Now their homes have been demolished because the landowner (moderated) President of the Estate Agents Union sold the land (again) to a developer who has demolished theire homes - TO MUCH CORRUPTION RIGHT AT THE TOP!!!!
They buyers had paid all the contracted payments and had also paid for their Advocate (moderated) for Land Registry - this was never done so (moderated) was able to sell the land under their homes.

CathySW wrote:Do not buy in the North. 8 Brits bought property from (Estate Agent) 12 years ago and have been waiting 12 years to move into their homes. Now their homes have been demolished because the landowner (moderated) President of the Estate Agents Union sold the land (again) to a developer who has demolished theire homes - TO MUCH CORRUPTION RIGHT AT THE TOP!!!!
They buyers had paid all the contracted payments and had also paid for their Advocate (moderated) for Land Registry - this was never done so (moderated) was able to sell the land under their homes.

There is no doubt that some buyers have had a poor/bad experience purchasing property here in North Cyprus, especially in the boom days a good few years ago. It is unfortunate and not a good advert for the TRNC.

However; equally there have been many buyers who have had a good experience and their purchases went thro with little or no issues and they have in due course received their Kocans.

If you do a little research on property purchase/deeds in the ROC you can easily find buyers who have also had a poor experience. Neither side of the island is immune to bad practice.

Reading thro the advice given on this topic which is excellent, I believe it’s important to take plenty of time before committing to a purchase, thoroughly research each and every property that is being considered, especially with regards to services, Kocan and any tax payments or debts for non payment of services. In addition carefully consider who you may use as a legal representative should you decide to purchase. Personally I would never use anyone recommended by the selling agent. Providing you are diligent and ask questions at every stage and also put in writing exactly what your requirements are of any legal representation you may use then things should proceed smoothly.

There are many here who are very happy with there homes here in the north so good luck with your search.

PoshinDevon wrote:
In addition carefully consider who you may use as a legal representative should you decide to purchase. Personally I would never use anyone recommended by the selling agent.

In all cases I feel really sad for those who have been had over and you can't help but feel there but for the grace of good..... Much of the knowledge of the pitfalls has been gained because of someone else's misfortune.
That said I do wonder about the common sense of people who chose the lawyer that the estate agent or developer recommended. Would you do that in Britain??????

Whatever area you decide to settle and live after your initial rental period:

Do not use any advocate recommended or linked to anybody in the sale.
Do not use any advocate located in the area of the sale.
Research views of advocates' performances.

Good luck!

When dealing with people in high places such as The President of the Estate Agents Union and the Vice Pesident, it is irrelevant which advocate you use as they are ALL in their pockets. I used 4 advocates over the period of time and none were able to do anything effective. It is a boys club and they all support each other.

CathySW wrote:When dealing with people in high places such as The President of the Estate Agents Union and the Vice Pesident, it is irrelevant which advocate you use as they are ALL in their pockets. I used 4 advocates over the period of time and none were able to do anything effective. It is a boys club and they all support each other.

Totally support this view. We had 4 local Girne-based advocates for a simple house conveyance - all very expensive, totally useless, indolent and treated us like dirt. Finally, through a TC friend of many years, married to a TRNC Government advocate, we found an advocate in Lefkosa - she did the business expected.

As previous posters have advised, rent first. Make sure you look at all areas as the East side of Girne is lovely but you seem to have overlooked it.

I can introduce you than excellent lawyer in Nicosia. [bPart of post deleted by moderator[/b]

Please email me: carol@cansigorta.com

We are a success story when it comes to buying land and building in the North. You are welcome to pm me if you wish. You do need to be vigilant and take things slowly. We too rented for six months over winter before we made any decision, and that was in 2004.

I have been a bit slow with keeping up with the latest messages but I am so grateful for all the information you have been giving us. I'm coming over with friends this week. They are looking for a house but I'll make sure they see this thread!!
Thanks again everybody!

Well, here we are in mid December and have learned a lot about North Cyprus - and how many of its practices are the same as South Cyprus! We have done a lot of travelling about, and have decided that we still want to buy land and build, and that the preferred area is Iskele area down to Famagusta. This is because we realised that no matter how beautiful some places appear, we want to stay in closer touch with our friends of the past 15 years. Finding an elevated plot of between 700 and 1300 sq m with services, not in a village, seems to be a tall order, but never say never!

We absolutely take on board everything that you have all been telling us about being careful- belt, braces and bloody strong knicker elastic! - and we will contact some of you again when we are not sure of something. In the meantime, wish you all a happy Christmas -iyi Noeller!

Not wishing to be pedantic but an 'elevated plot' between Iskele and Famagusta will be an interesting task. Its all just about at sea level from Iskele travelling south with no elevation at all. Well, maybe a hump in the middle of Tuzla where the ancient cenotaph is - on a slight ridge leading to the ancient ruins of Enkomi.

You will have to go west a fair stretch, otherwise best go north of Iskele where you will soon be in the foothills of the mountains after a short drive.

My property is south of Iskele and my GPS shows my front door as being 6 metres above sea level and its not considered a 'low' plot and certainly not 'elevated'.

Good luck with your search.
m

Hi

Im going to post my plot again for sale in case you missed it

https://www.101evler.com/kibris/satilik ... 03582.html

Its yeniboazici in between iskele and famagusta! Its not in the village but it borders salamis . Its 572 meters and has 50 % build permit uo to 5 floors . You can see the sea above first floor . All services in place.

The 50 % build oermit means you can build 50 % of the land size per floor . So you can build a very very big villa or even a block of flats .

I spent a long time looking at different plots and decided this was the best place to build in the area . I just bought a resale vill so i dont need this plot now .

If you really want an elevated plot you can look in bogaztepe but thats after iskele towards bogaz.

Also i have a very nice apartment to rent from march in the area when i move to my villa while you build your house :

https://www.101evler.com/kibris/kiralik ... 31642.html

Best regards

Tim
0533 8402611. If you dont want to but my land or rent my flat no problem give me a call and i will gladly give you any info about the area i have lived here 8 years now in iskele.

frontalman wrote:We are a success story when it comes to buying land and building in the North. You are welcome to pm me if you wish. You do need to be vigilant and take things slowly. We too rented for six months over winter before we made any decision, and that was in 2004.

But to be fair others, who have bought I believe off the same builder are still awaiting their full deeds, admittedly you were here for at least 2 or 3 winters and on top of things. And before the advice was pay your builders taxes to get your kocan.

Our builder didn't have any taxes to pay, it was the owner of the land who was considered a private citizen, not a professional so no KDV and low tax rate. When we bought the land the seller knocked 2 grand off the price to cover the tax, which we paid 3 years later to get the first kocan. It was actually less than £2,000.

frontalman wrote:Our builder didn't have any taxes to pay, it was the owner of the land who was considered a private citizen, not a professional so no KDV and low tax rate. When we bought the land the seller knocked 2 grand off the price to cover the tax, which we paid 3 years later to get the first kocan. It was actually less than £2,000.

You did your homework, buy the land and get it in your name, employ the builder