Exchange land is perfectly safe and there is nothing morally wrong with buying it. Turkey liberated the North from Greek oppression and the land has been exchanged for land in the South and is now legally owned by the TRNC. There is still land in the South that has not been exchanged such as the Turkish owned Larnaca Airport. Orams will not have any effect. People will still buy and it is not up to British ex-pats or holiday home owners to critices or call us pigs. It is in fact nothing to do with you what I or fellow Brits do.
Well the others have said it really, but here is the Foreign & Commonwealth Office advice to British Citizens is in regard to 'exchange' land (although I fully expect your response to be 'what on earth has it got to do with them')
(my bolding - their quote marks round the word "authorities")
Property owners and potential purchasers should also consider that a future settlement of the Cyprus problem
could have serious consequences for property they purchase (including the possible restitution of the property to its original owners). In particular, prospective purchasers should consider the implications of any future settlement on land / property:
* in the north that was Greek Cypriot owned
* that was subsequently classified as exchange land / property by the Turkish Cypriot "authorities".
The leaders of both communities started settlement negotiations in September 2008. Property issues forma key part of these negotiations. Until those negotiations are concluded and a comprehensive settlement agreed, the
issues and risks identified above will continue to apply.
On 20 October 2006 a criminal code amendment relating to property came into effect. Under the amendment,
buying, selling, renting, promoting or mortgaging a property without the permission of the owner (the person whose ownership is registered with the Republic of Cyprus Land Registry, including Greek Cypriots displaced from northern Cyprus in 1974), is a criminal offence. This also applies to agreeing to sell, buy or rent a property without the owner’s permission. The maximum prison sentence is seven years. Furthermore, the amendment to the law states that any attempt to undertake such a transaction is a criminal offence and could result in a prison sentence of up to 5 years. This law is not retrospective, so will not criminalise transactions that took place before 20 October 2006.
Documents relating to the purchase of property in northern Cyprus will be presumed by the Cypriot authorities to relate to the illegal transfer of Greek Cypriot property and may be subject to confiscation when crossing the Green Line. Anyone in possession of these documents may be asked to make a statement to the Cypriot authorities and may face criminal proceedings under the 20 October 2006 amendment.
More here on the FCO website:
http://www.fco.gov.uk/en/travel-and-liv ... pe/cyprus/
