woodruffs

Any views on northern cyprus, to emigrate too?

Great weather,but what would you do for a living, my husband is a heating/plumber/handyman.

Heard that the schools are great,that makes it very interesting.

cheers paul

Mercedes

Be Careful..............This was in the Scotsman rescently.............




Sat 27 Mar 2004


GILL TUDOR IN KYRENIA

BRITISH house buyers are fuelling a property boom in northern Cyprus, snapping up cheap homes in the sun and hoping for financial gains if the divided island is reunited under a United Nations peace plan.

But they could find themselves homeless under new rules to compensate the thousands of Cypriots who fled their homes in the 1974-75 turmoil that split the island when Turkey invaded in response to a Greek Cypriot coup backed by the military then ruling Greece.

The Greek Cypriot south is to become a European Union member on 1 May, but if a peace deal is approved by voters on both sides on 20 April, the whole island will join.

Estate agents in the north say the boom is fuelled by expectations that EU membership will push up prices, offering good returns for those buying now.

"On average you can pay £80,000 here for a three-bed house with a pool," said Robert Godfrey of Stringer Estates in Kyrenia. "In the south it’s probably double that."

The UN peace plan sets out complicated rules to compensate former owners, or in some cases to restore their homes and land to them, creating potential pitfalls for the unwary purchaser.

Buying Turkish Cypriot property with pre-1974 title deeds is widely seen as safe - but there is little of it left to buy.

Reputable agents warn buyers to steer well clear of areas that could be rezoned as Greek Cypriot under the federal UN plan, under which pre-1974 owners could reclaim property directly.

The grey area is former Greek Cypriot-owned property with new deeds issued by the North. The UN plan offers an intricate compensation scale for such property, depending on factors such as how much it has been improved and whether the new deed-holders were refugees from the south.

Bradley and Jennifer Smith moved from Britain to buy land in Kyrenia last year.

"It was Greek land, but I’m not worried because the worst that can happen is that I’ll have to pay one fifth of the value of the land," Mr Smith said. "That’s what I was told by one of the residents in our block, who has a very good English lawyer."

Larissa

I wouldn't! Do you speak Turkish (The North is Turkish), also it is very underdeveloped etc. and I doubt the Greek Cypriots will want reunification in a hurry. There is much hatred between the Greeks and Turks, has been for centuries.
I would guess that it will be hard to compete with local tradesmen, if you don't have the lingo.

debsy

Norther Cyprus is a really beautiful place. If you want to buy land or property - try to ensure that the title deeds are Turkish and not Greek. The Turkish land etc will of course be more expensive.

As far as work is concerned. Local tradesmen do not charge high prices so I could imagine that the wages would not be high. You would of course also have to get a work permit for this.

There are several english speaking schools and universities. There is a sizeable expat community and lots of the locals seem able to speak english.

Any more info pls. dont hesitate to ask.

woodruffs

thanks for the information folks its worth thinking about, still would like to visit n/cyprus.

debsy

It is well worth a visit. A great place for a holiday and there are some really fantastic restaurants.