Νο.249
Q.: I have read somewhere that the proposal regarding
the introduction of property tax based at present
values, as opposed to the previous 1.1.80 ones. The
article suggested that those with existing titles will
retain their existing status and the new tax basis will
apply to those with no titles, but to be issued in the
future. Is this correct Mr Loizou?
J. Carfour
A.: Of course not. All properties will be revalued as at
1.1.2010 values (this is so stated by the constitution).
According to the Government, values as at today may be
20-40 times more than the 1.1.80 counterpart. It added
however that the prevailing exception of €170.000/person
may increase to more than €1. mil. Also the 4‰ rate will
be reduced, so that the vast majority of the population
will not be charged (the Government referred to a 2%
only of the property owners have to pay more). In any
case the Governmental proposal will not pass however
bearing in mind that the original valuations (1.1.180)
took 10 years to complete and having a market 1/3rd less
in size than we have today. A revaluation of properties
will need at least 10 years and cost millions and at a
time when the Government has promised reduced
Governmental spending. Regrettably the Government made a
mess of the whole situation by not giving details of the
proposal. All political parties have objected and
including the developers’ association, with a number of
(for most) logical arguments.
Regards,
A.P. Loizou
3/29542-td
11.1.10
No.250
Q.: Dear Mr. Loizou,
I have been reading your articles about title deeds with
a great deal of interest and I must admit by now some
confusion!! especially because until recently I did not
realise I had any problem with my deeds! Let me please
explain. I bought my property which was built in the
1970s almost 5 years ago through ----- in Limassol.
Having heard about title deed problems I of course made
sure (I thought) that I was getting the deeds to the
property. A couple of months ago I decided I would like
to return to the U.K. for family reasons so imagine my
surprise when I went to ------ to put the property on
the market only to be told that they could not market it
because my deeds are only for the land and not the
house. Now, on the deeds (which I had not queried before
having relied on the estate agent and my solicitor) on
the English version it states
" this land has buildings on it" which I assumed was
just a Cypriot way to cover the house ! However,
apparently on the Cypriot version it says "this land has
unregistered buildings on it" a vital missing word I
feel!
Herein lies my confusion:
1) The estate agent says he cannot market the property
with the current deeds because nobody would be able to
get a mortgage however my solicitor says this is not so
and there is no problem as the deeds clearly state i own
the land and everything on it! is this so?
2) Are there penalties for having an unregistered
property and if so am i liable?
3) If necessary how do i get my house registered (i have
tried going to the planning department and they were
extremely unhelpful) and will it cost a lot?
4) What is this amnesty you have been talking about?
5) I there any way I can market my property because if i
cannot sell I cannot leave!?
I await your help
From an extremely confused and concerned Pamela Hayes.
A.: Dear Pamela. Do not despair and I suspect the
situation is not so bad as it might appear.
Firstly you have used an estate agent which is illegal.
Secondly of course you can market the property having
the land title. What you were told is rubbish. What you
have to make sure is that the building has a building
permit. Most people (including myself) do not bother
register the house with the Lands Office on the deed. If
you have the permit you can, then secure a certificate
of approval and then submit for its registration at the
Lands Office. It is better to have it registered, but if
not (provided it has a permit), it is not the end of the
world. There is a solution as I have suggested to you.
• Your Question (1) your solicitor is correct.
• Your Question (2) no there are no penalties.
• You can visit the Planning Authority with the house
architect or the local authority in order to verify the
existence or not of a building permit. Other than your
architect fees say around €2.000-€2.500 there are no
other costs involved.
Clear the situation with the existence of the building
permit and proceed to market your property
notwithstanding the fact that we will be sorry to lose
you by your departure. You can use the services of our
office should you so wish.
Regards,
A.P. Loizou
3/29539-td
11.1.10
No.251
Q.: Dear Mr Loizou
A very happy new year to you.
We read your articles every week they are so informative
keep up the good work.
Never having written to you before I now need some
clarification on this
Proposed increase in PROPERTY TAX.
What is it?
Who pays it, how is it billed?
How is it worked out?
I have a friend who has had an apartment in Limassol for
the last twenty years
he is unaware of the tax.
Can you en-lighten us
Kind Regards
John & Sue Finn
A.: There is an annual property tax based on 1.1.80
values. Persons who have property (in total) in excess
of €170.000 (as at 1.1.80) are called to pay 2.5‰, those
in excess of €170.000 (€170.000-€427.000), 3.5‰ and
those in excess of €427.000 (€427.000-€854.000) and 4‰
over €854.000. The exception refers to per person. You
do appreciate that bearing in mind the 1.1.80 values and
the exception, the tax is very low and approximately 98%
of the local population does not pay. A new proposal
suggested by the Government is to update and value of
the property as at 1.1.2010 values, but with an €1 mil.
exception and lower tax rates (doubt that it will happen
earlier than 5-7 years). The person liable to pay the
tax is the registered owner and he is billed by the
Income Tax every year. I am not surprised that your
friend is unaware of the tax, since most likely his
apartment is excepted due to lower than €170.000 value
(as at 1.1.1980).
Regards,
A.P. Loizou
3/29538-td
11.1.10
No.252
Q.: Dear Mr Antonis Loizou,
I have been reading your column in the Cyprus Mail and
wonder if you would be able to assist/advise with the
problem that I have had with my purchase of property in
Cyprus.
On 22 June 2005, my wife and I came to Cyprus to buy a
property; we were looking to buy outright with no need
for a mortgage. We went to …… and met A.M. he introduced
us to a developer, who showed us a semi-derelict house
in Agios Theodoros, which we decided to purchase. On the
same day, the developer took us to meet G.G. to act as
our solicitor.
The solicitor drew up a contract for the sale and
restoration of the house between the developer and my
wife and I. We were shown a copy of the title deed for
the house, which was in Greek, the solicitor assured us
there was no encumbrance on the house and all the
documents were in order. He also told us that the
transfer of the title deed would happen when we received
the permission to buy from Nicosia. The contract stated
that the title deeds would be transferred when all work
was complete and the final approval certificate had been
issued.
We paid CYP 1,000 deposit on 22 June 2005.
We paid the solicitor in cash for his services and have
no receipt or invoice.
At the end of June 2005 we paid a further CYP 51,500, as
per the terms of the contract, leaving CYP 5,500 to be
paid 6 months after delivery and CYP 1,000 on transfer
of the deeds.
In November 2005 we moved into the property.
In December 2005 we received a visit from a person (Z)
claiming that she owned the house.
We have since discovered that:
The developer was not the owner of the property; the
title deed was not in his name. The developer had a
contract to purchase the house from Z., for CYP 35,000,
of which he had paid CYP 20,000, the balance to be paid
when the work on the house was completed.
Z. could not transfer the deeds at that time as she was
not the owner of the house. The deeds were in her
grandparents’ name, she was named as the beneficiary on
their death. Z.’s grandparents have since died (2007/8)
and she is now the legal owner.
I am aware that the developer has been involved in
multiple property frauds and is known to police. Z. made
3 formal charges against him, I am not sure what they
were for but I did appear as a witness for her.
The CID went to the offices of the solicitor to seize
documents relating to Z.’s complaint and others. The CID
were unable to find the solicitor, it is believed that
he has left the island.
One of my concerns is that Z. may be borrowing money
against the title deed. Is there any way for me to find
out if this is the case and is there any way I can
prevent this from happening? Also, what advice could you
offer on obtaining the deeds?
I did offer to pay Z. the outstanding amount to transfer
the title deeds to me but she now wants more money as
the value of the property has increased considerably. Z.
has also stated that she would try to evict us, or
repossess the house, or charge us rent for living there.
Would she be able to do any of these? I have a document
from the Lanaca District Office that says I can remain
in the house as long as it is my primary and only
property in Cyprus.
On a personal note, in Oct 2008 my wife left Cyprus as
she could no longer put up with the situation, we are
now separated. All my savings are tied up in the
house/spent on solicitors. I can not sell the house or
borrow against it. I am unable to withdraw my investment
to buy another property. I would appreciate any advice
on how this situation can be resolved. Although I have
no plans to leave Cyprus and am very happy to continue
living in the property, and this village, it is a
constant worry for me.
I have copies of the title deed, contract of sale
between Z. and the developer, contract of sale between
the developer and my wife and I, receipts for monies I
paid to the developer and the letter from the District
Office to confirm my entitlement to live in the house. I
can forward them to you on request.
I look forward to hearing from you and hope you can
help,
Regards,
Will Whitmore
A.: What a mess my dear friend and I wish I was a
magician to lift all your worries. This is a fraud done
against you by the solicitor and the developer. You do
need the advice of a solicitor I am afraid. Your
solicitor will advice you on the steps involved but
without being a solicitor and not having all the facts I
suggest that:
(a) You place a memo on other developer’s properties
(other-can be found through a Lands Office search) both
on the Co and on their personal property.
(b) If the developer had deposited his contract with the
Lands Office with Z. I doubt that she can claim now an
increased amount save interest on the delayed payments
from the developer’s purchase price.
(c) Also place a memo on the crooked solicitor’s
property.
(d) The fact that you have secured a certificate from
the District Office it does not come into this case. I
wonder why you needed such a certificate.
(e) Z. will have a difficult time to evict you/charge
you rent, but as I have said seek solicitor’s advice.
(f) Bearing in mind that you have used the services of
an illegal agent, you can also sue him for
misinformation/or party to a fraud.
Regards,
A.P. Loizou
3/29541-td
11.1.10
No.253
Q.: Dear Mr Loizou I note from your writings that you
have a certain sensitivity regarding the environment,
notwithstanding the fact that you are involved in
development. Do you think that in Cyprus we should allow
open fires, which are using wood cutting down the very
little number of trees that Cyprus has? Thank you for
your ideas, which find me in agreement almost 100%. All
the best.
Garry Shark
A.: I agree with you in the sense that cutting down
trees is a “crime”, especially if the purpose is
firewood. I understand that charcoal is mostly imported
and I see no reason (save cost) to do the same for
firewood. Not only open for fires, but pools limitations
(limited water) is not a measure which can be
practically imposed and supervised. A difficult
situation all around, but I wonder if someone can
collect the scrap from for woodworkers etc and make
something out of it . If a Co collects these and produce
some sort of firewood, it could be a compromise of a
sort.
A.P. Loizou
No.254
Q.: Do I need a planning permit in order to have a
satellite dish dear Mr Loizou? I have heard all sorts of
things in this country, but I do not know what is
correct. “Ask Loizou, said my local pub manager and
friend!!”.
Simon Nelly
A.: What a lovely barman to have, an inbetween and a
consultant. – But jokes apart and many thanks to your
friend, you need a permit if the dish is in excess of
2.0 mts. radius. Most people do not bother however and
local authorities are not as sensitive in following the
regulations as the law stipulates.
Regards,
A.P. Loizou
No.255
Q.: We are building a house of 3 bedrooms and our
architect suggests that we need to have only one of the
bedrooms with en-suite bathroom and a common bathroom.
We think that all 3 bedrooms should be en-suite. This
opinion of ours will mean more cost and less bedroom
size. Is our architect’s approach a good “investment”
suggestion you think?
Mary & Alkis Gavriel
A.: It depends on the bathrooms size. Save the master
bedroom, the other two should have a minimum net area of
around 9.0 sq.mts. If you are not particular, have a
shower instead of a bathroom, since in this country
baths are very rarely used. As living standards and
habits change, I suggest you have all bedrooms with
en-suite w.c. and shower. If the bedroom size I quoted
cannot be attained, have one bedroom en-suite and a more
spacious bathroom for the other two. On the whole the
en-suite in all bedrooms is a worthwhile investment my
friends.
Regards,
A.P. Loizou
No.256
Q.: Is there a set time limit that public roads should
be remade? I cannot understand how our own public road,
which needs urgent repair, is left as is for the last 3
years.
N. & A. Garo
A.: No there is no set limit, but most local authorities
given due pressure respond. Patching up roads is not the
best solution and re-surfacing is what is needed. With
the new project of having a central sewage system, most
roads are dug up and not properly repaired afterwards.
Use the local authority, local MPs etc and exert
pressure. Regrettably in this country those which do not
complain are left in the cold I am afraid.
Regards, A.P. Loizou
No.257
Q.: I note that the new trend is to have some sort of
wood used in external surfaces. Do you think that this
is logical, bearing in mind the weather conditions in
Cyprus?
Andreas Gregori
A.: What you see is a plastic timber type surfacing.
Those which use real timber, have a problem since
whatever maintenance you do, the weathering of the real
wood cannot be avoided I would not have used real timber
as an external surface and this goes for timber houses.
Regards,
A.P. Loizou
No.258
Q.: What is your new year’s resolution Mr Loizou? Any
resolution regarding Cyprus’ real estate?
Anna Charis
A.: My dear Madam, firstly I wish I reduce smoking,
secondly I wish to have more energy, thirdly I hope that
the title deed issue gets on its way – Do I ask for too
much you think?
Regards,
A.P. Loizou
No.259
Q.: We live in an apartment building on the 3rd floor.
We have not placed any shutters on our windows, but most
of the residents have installed the same. Any reason for
not doing it Mr Loizou?
Nina Jengs
A.: I would opt for a blind curtain instead of shutters.
Unless you have a problem with security, light
penetration while you are asleep etc, I see no reason
for having shutters. Blackout curtains are cheaper and
more house friendly.
Regards,
A.P. Loizou
No.260
Q.: Is there any reason replacing our car-port with a
proper garage with doors etc? The estimate of conversion
is around €10.000, a cost which we are in doubt if it is
worth it. Your views please?
Arlene Scott
A.: An open ended question Arlene. It will depend on the
house size/value. If it is a small house, a carport with
a rain proof roof should be O.K. If the house is
otherwise (e.g. a large house with a garden etc) as a
first step have an open sided garage and if security etc
are important, e.g. if you do not live in the house
permanently, opt for the proper garage use as you say.
The €10.000 investment must relate at the end of the day
to the value of your house.
Regards,
A.P. Loizou
3/29526-td
14.1.10
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