Finance William Marind on 05 Feb 2008
Cyprus Real Estates Secrets
Development of land into villas in estates is now very common in the Paphos area, mainly on the hills between Paphos and Polis. Projects are developed to take the form of villages with the individual villas designed in traditional architecture. There are, of course, cases where the purchaser may have a good say in the design of his villa. The same type of projects are now being carried out in Limassol and to a lesser extent in the Larnaca area.
In addition a 1.5%-2% is payable for the structural design and 0.3% for structural supervision. If you are at a loss as to the choice of a suitable consultant, seek the advice of the Registrar of the Association of Architects & Engineers (all licenced architects must be registered). Please bear in mind that in case of large buildings you may be able to negotiate a lower fee (as also in the case of repetitive work).
Another factor which is also related to the price, is the payment terms. A developer could be asking a high price for flats but he could be offering very attractive payment terms over a long period. Compare, therefore, not only the extent, quality etc. of a flat, but also the payment terms in order to ascertain who is offering you the best deal.
Bargains can still be found at the remote villages of Paphos and those of Limassol. It is strongly suggested that before concluding a deal, you obtain a firm estimate of the repairs / improvements required using the services of a qualified Q.S. or an architect, whereas what has been said previously about other property acquisitions holds good for this nature of property as well. In particular, you must check who your neighbours are, since in tightly knit communities, such as the local villages, they have their own way of living and attitudes towards life.
As a general rule, electricity can be brought to any place in Cyprus provided one is prepared to pay for it. Be careful, however, with the general belief that if there is an electricity line close to the property the cost of providing electricity will not be much. This is not true at all and it is best to examine the approximate electricity provision cost with the EAC District Officer.Telephone lines are a problem for out of built-up areas. If one is needed at your “spot”, examine this possibility with the CYTA District Officer.