Cyprus-Forum.com

[tessintrnc]

thanks everyone for your replys. we have been busy 'giving up the business' and showing pptential buyers round the house. its likely we may get an offer soon.
a friend of mine has her villa in the north of cyprus. does anyone have any help in regards..should we try for the north or south. the housing in the north seems cheaper, but it seems easier to move to southern cyprus.
besides the land resistry, does anyone have any advice.
much appreciated.
thanks
wizzy

Wizzy, I live in the North but although the houses/land are cheaper in some areas there are very controversial and political reasons for this. If you do decide to look at the North, unless you want potential future land ownership problems, you should look for pre '74 Turkish or Foreign owned land/property. Other lands and houses will be Greek Cypriot owned. The cost of pre '74 foreign/Turkish cypriot title properties are most likely on a par with the South, they are certainly infinitely more expensive than Greek Cypriot lands and property. With regards schools etc, there are many schools here that are suitable for English children - the pace of life is slower than the UK and of course the weathers a bonus!!! All Cypriots love children and I am sure you will be made welcome wherever you choose to live. Good luck !!!
Tess

[wizzy]

thanks tess,
we only have ONE chance, and thats to hopefully, make the right choice, as we cant afford to make mistakes. we only have one lot of capital to bring over, and as we will be retired, any capital wasted, will not be replaced.
i must admit, we could afford to buy outright, a property in the north, and still have ample capital left, so as to live on the interest paid monthly, but cannot afford to risk buying a property with a faulty or no title, or we could afford to rent in the south. paying approx £500-600 pm rent.
i have noticed my friends comments re; the prices going up in the north, when the border comes down, but i do not want to be misdirected into 'buy now !! and quick, before it goes' , if you know what i mean.
i believe its more of a muslim community in the north, not that she says its a problem. she says they are very nice people.
i have heard that its more difficult to get residence there, and also changing the driving license over, yet i dont see the same problems in the south.
i know this might get on peoples nerves...me quizzing everyone, and i can imagine you's lot get asked all these questions every day !!! but who else to ask, and who elses opinion is better than those who have already done it, and can pass on advice, or admit what they did wrong !

many thanks again
wizzy

[Oracle]

The reasons for avoiding the north are many and were omitted by the previous poster.

Travel to and from the Island will also be easier from the south. It has the same system of Law as in the UK, uses the Euro etc.

There are serious ethical issues with contemplating the north, which in your retirement you do not wish to be facing

Buying in the north whether supposedly TC- or GC-owned still leaves you with the guilt and worry of living in an Internationally unrecognised set-up.

Also, unless you wish to be encamped amidst 40,000 Turkish troops and their military manoeuvres ... you are better off taking the quiet road along with the majority of right minded British people happily living in the south.

[wizzy]

hi oracle,
i thank you very much for being 'straight to the point' of what concerns i had.
it will be the south, definately.
i talked to my hubby this morning, about the doubts i had, in regards to the north, and i have come on here again, to hopefully, have my doubts confirmed.
i didnt want to trust an estate agent, who only wants a sale, and couldnt care less about you. i wanted to see what others felt about it, and i hoped to get some good points of view. thanks very much for helping me make the right choice, and saving me wasting money and efforts, to possibly regret it afterwards.
many thanks again
wizzy

[cypchris]

hello to everyone in cyprus,
we have our house on the market, here in the north east of england, and as soon as we have a buyer, and the sale is finalised, we are heading out to join you's lot, for sun, sea and sand.

we wish to be retired, and not need to claim any benefits, and we think it might be better to rent somewhere first, untill we see where we would like to live. i think i will take the advice of lots of posters i have seen on the cyprus forums and rent first, get a feel for the place first, etc.

are there any tips anyone could tell me, or any advice?
any suggestions or advice welcome.

Hi Wizzy,
You will gets lots of advice I'm sure.... we've been out here for a while in Pissouri... lovely village with the centre up in the hills and a drive down to a blue flag beach. Big expat contingent here, but most mix with the locals very well... you'll find them friendly and welcoming on the most part (locals that is!!) Good luck with your sale...pm me if you want to make contact when you come over....we can always find you temporary accommodation while you decide where to settle.
My little bit of advioce...agreeing with others...rent when you come over. If you decide to buy later ok... but rent first!
Best of luck,
Cypchris

[wizzy]

hi cypchris,
i dont know whether you live in the north or south, but it sounds wonderful.
no doubts we will be renting, and IF, and a big IF, we do decide to buy, it will be a while before we did. we would be looking for a 3-4 bed villa, hopefully with a pool, and near the locality of a british primary school.
we would love to meet up with everyone over there, once we ARE there, of course.
i cannot use PM service yet, as i havent posted enough, but i'm sure i will have the use of it, by the time our sale goes through here.
we have 2 couple very interested, and one is very near to putting an offer in. once its sold, our plane tickets will be bought!!!
by the way, we need a villa where dogs arnt a problem. we have a dobermann.

[cypchris]

hi cypchris,
i dont know whether you live in the north or south, but it sounds wonderful.
no doubts we will be renting, and IF, and a big IF, we do decide to buy, it will be a while before we did. we would be looking for a 3-4 bed villa, hopefully with a pool, and near the locality of a british primary school.
we would love to meet up with everyone over there, once we ARE there, of course.
i cannot use PM service yet, as i havent posted enough, but i'm sure i will have the use of it, by the time our sale goes through here.
we have 2 couple very interested, and one is very near to putting an offer in. once its sold, our plane tickets will be bought!!!
by the way, we need a villa where dogs arnt a problem. we have a dobermann.

Hi,
South Cyprus...mid-way between Paphos & Limassol.... handy for both for shopping etc! There's a British school at Akrotiri (or Episkopi not sure)... linked to the base there, but I think it's open to others... would have to find out... mine are all grown up now! I have the same problem with pm as I joined recently.... keep in contact though....

Dogs are Ok in most places,(not allowed on beaches or in our village square!) but we have to be careful here as hunting is still legal and poisons are used.... again, you'll hear all about that in time! Keep your dog on a lead when out and you will be fine! I have a dog too!!!

Good luck with the sale.

[wizzy]

thanks, we cant do anything without a sale here, first.
we will keep in touch and hopefully be over there soon.
i am keeping all these replys on my laptop, so i can get in touch, once we are over there.
cheers
wizzy

[Niki]

As as when you need to know about schools pm me (you should be able to do this by now).

Oracle's advice about buying in the North is good advice, it would be a more difficult move. Also the schools I believe are Turkish and the 1 English school has to use half it's curriculum for the Turkish system. This may be perfectly acceptable but I don't know anything about this or how the qualifications are structured.

Renting is definitely the best option, it gives you breathing space. I have known of people who have planned a move here for years and finally taken the plunge only to move back to the UK after a few weeks!

Best wishes.

[miltiades]

As as when you need to know about schools pm me (you should be able to do this by now).

Oracle's advice about buying in the North is good advice, it would be a more difficult move. Also the schools I believe are Turkish and the 1 English school has to use half it's curriculum for the Turkish system. This may be perfectly acceptable but I don't know anything about this or how the qualifications are structured.

Renting is definitely the best option, it gives you breathing space. I have known of people who have planned a move here for years and finally taken the plunge only to move back to the UK after a few weeks!

Best wishes.

I also agree with Oracle and Niki on this one.The T/Cs are very friendly and hospitable people but the political situation with all the embargoes in place , the fact that the North is not recognised by any country apart from Turkey , the fact that the Northern Cyprus is seen internationally as an occupied part of Cyprus with some 40 thousand Turkish troops , all these factors must be considered by someone wishing to move to this part of Cyprus , more so if children are involved .
Tess mentioned the T/C pre 1974 owned land in the Northern part of Cyprus , consideration must be given to the fact that the large majority of land is G/C owned , therefore there cant be that much T/C land left to sell !