The process of purchasing a property in Cyprus is very simple in comparison with other countries. The purchaser is entitled to a freehold ownership of a villa, an apartment or a piece of land.

Once you have decided to purchase a property and an offer is accepted, 1% holding deposit is required which will allow the vendor and estate agent to remove the property from the open market.  This deposit is often paid via the property investor’s solicitor and held while the contracts are drawn up and title searches are conducted. This represents a legally binding purchase agreement.

Our company will make an appointment with a recommended solicitor to discuss the contract of sale and the terms of payments. Once you agree and contracts are signed, a permission to purchase immovable property must be sought from the Council of Ministers by a written application. The permission is always granted as far as the applicants have no criminal record in their own country or in Cyprus. Also the client must provide the following:

• A photocopy of the page of your passport showing your photograph and personal details
• Proof of your residential address i.e. photocopy of current utility account (showing your address)
• Contact telephone / fax numbers and email addresses
• Number and ages of any children
• Religion
• Approximate annual income
• Details of capital in bank (most recent statement to be attached)
• Details of other property owned both in country of residence and abroad
• Dates of any previous visits to Cyprus

You must now arrange for the transferring of funds from your country of residence. You may do that by opening a bank account with a bank in Cyprus to which you will transfer your funds. Our company recommends that the payments are made through your solicitor to his Clients’ Accounts. They will keep evidence of any payments in your file, make all the relevant applications for your property acquisition and transfer all utility bills to your name.

In Cyprus it is common only to sign one contract rather than a preliminary and final contract.  The solicitor usually draws up the contract whilst conducting title searches etc., and therefore an investor should only sign the contract when he is sure all checks on the property have been concluded satisfactorily.

 If you have any further information please do not hesitate to contact us.