NORTH CYPRUS PROPERTIES FAQ

Sweetwater Bay is a located in a stunning natural sea front landscape east of Kyrenia, below the picturesque village of Tatlisu in North Cyprus.
The entire district is in a development process, with increased entertainment and dining facilities.
The village site is bounded by two natural streams and lies above a private secluded bay, the best as the Mediterranean offers.
The new coast road passes half a mile south of the village, allowing easy, fast access, yet maintaining required privacy.
The village offers a variety of accommodation possibilities:
Bungalows, villas, garden apartments and penthouses,
as well as numerous fully developed public features
and facilities, including swimming pools, dining, recreation
and access to a private beach.

Completion dates will be: November 2007 (phase I),  May 2008 (phase II) and November 2008 (phase III). Public facilities will be completed within phase II.

Expected maintenance charges are approximately  £50 per apartment, per month (depending on unit type and size). Charges will cover all maintenance of shared and public areas, the gardens, swimming pools, fitness centre, security, lighting of shared areas etc. The site management company will offer additional services at extra cost, such as laundry and housekeeping, as well as  a rental service for owners wishing to rent out their properties.

Once you have chosen your unit type, you will be required to pay a reservation fee of £1,000. Following, You should appoint a solicitor of your choice (we can  recommend a few) who will deal with the contract. You are able to appoint him/her power of attorney if you are not able to travel across at that time and he can then also apply for the purchase permit from the Interior Ministers office and transfer of title. Most solicitors charge  approximately £1,000 for this service. The transfer of title takes around 6 months to complete.

1000 GBP Reservation deposit per property
20% minus deposit within 14 days of contract
20% completion of foundations
20% completion of  concrete and brickwork shell
20% completion of tiling
20% keys handover

Costs of buying property in Northern Cyprus
Below is an approximate example of the additional costs that you can expect when investing in a property in Northern Cyprus. The figures have been calculated using a valuation figure of £100,000.

1. Purchase Tax of 3%: £100,000 x 3% = £3,000 [Purchase Tax is 3% for the first purchase only. For second and after Purchase Tax is 6%]. Purchase Tax is payable on transfer of title. Purchase Tax is based on the Land Registry’s valuation (assessment) of the property. Assessed value is usually considerably less than (around 60% of market/sale price) the selling price since only bricks, mortar and size of land are taken into consideration, not fixtures and fittings.]

2. VAT (KDV in Turkish) of 5%: £100,000 x 5% = £5,000  [VAT is also payable on transfer of title]

3. The costs of the electricity meter, water meter, and charge levied by the Telecommunications Office for connection of telephone lines sum up to approximately £280. (Gas (LPG) is bottled in Northern Cyprus)

4. Charges for provision of sewerage/drainage facilities: Currently at£460 approximately per immovable property (eg per apartment)

5. Solicitor’s (legal) fees are around £1,000  [Legal Fees usually include search, preparation of sales agreement, application to buy from the Council of Ministers and transfer of title at District Lands Office services]

6. Municipality Fees: 1% x £3,000 = £30  [1% Municipality Tax on 3% Purchase Tax]

7. TOTAL £9,770 (9.77% of purchase price or valuation, assuming that the two amounts are equal) 

Click here for full information regarding this issue.

You will need to hire a local solicitor. Most reputable solicitors charge around £ 1,000. We have a list of recommended solicitors you may want to use.

All villas and Bungalows have two private parking spaces within the plot. All apartments have at least one parking space, located beside or very near to the properties.

Understanding the importance of designed interiors to the total experience of vacation, as well as the direct impact on high value properties, Sweetwater Bay offers unparalleled interior design features, in three categories, to suit every perfect vacation home.
Our talented design team will integrate selected features into your chosen style. Every category has it’s characteristic scheme of floor and wall tiling materials and colors, as well as kitchen and wash room cabinet style and all interior wall and ceiling colours. Additional features may be added at extra cost according to unit type.

A full 18 hole golf course, the first in North Cyprus, is under construction close to the village of Esentepe (about 10 minutes drive fro Sweetwater Bay), Due to be completed Spring 2006.

Cyprus Turkish Airlines, (0207 930 4851) fly regularly from Stansted, Heathrow, Gatwick, and Manchester to Ercan. Flights are also available from Glasgow on Mondays from May to October.
You can also contact,
Turkish Airlines (0207 766 9300)
email mailto: cyprus@flightcabin.com
Cyprus Paradise (020 8343 8888) and Green Island Holidays (020 7637 7338) both offer flight only deals to North Cyprus.

Alternatively, there are both scheduled and charter flights to Larnaca in South Cyprus. Larnaca is about an hour and a half's drive to Kyrenia.

The following links are for 2 well established North Cyprus tour operators.

http://www.greenislandholidays.com/html/index.html
http://www.cyprusparadise.com

Also the local yellow pages web site has an excellent list of hotels available

http://www.cypyp.com/datahotels.htm

It is safe to buy in North Cyprus provided the right title deed applies to the property. There are three types of freehold title in North Cyprus.
Pre 1974 Turkish (or foreign) Title. The safest and best, but almost impossible to find now days.
TRNC Esdeger (Exchange) Title. This means that the Turkish Cypriot owner has been given this land in exchange for the equivalent piece of land they owned in the South. This type of land is increasingly hard to find, especially close to the sea.  All of Sweetwater Bay is located on Exchange Title land. TRNC TMD Title. This is where no exchange has taken place, and therefore there may be some compensation payable as part of some future political settlement to the Cyprus issue. Most developments are being built on TMD land. Sweetwater Bay does not develop projects on TMD Title lands.

Northern Cyprus offers a well organized banking system, with many banking facilities catered for. Some local banks operate their own branches in London and others have arrangements with major UK banks. HSBC has a full service presence here in North Cyprus. A deposit account can be opened with ease whether in Sterling pounds or any other major currency and funds can be drawn in that denomination or in Turkish Lira (TL), which is the local currency of North Cyprus.

There are several container companies that provide this service, we recommend you obtain a selection of quotes beforehand.

There are many bi-lingual schools in Northern Cyprus from infant through to University. The level of education given in the schools is generally high.

Turkish is the official language of North Cyprus, but English is used widely, especially in business.

Northern Cyprus is 2 hours ahead of UK GMT time.

The voltage and the plug sockets are the same as in UK (3 pin).

Cyprus has long hot summers and short mild winters. The island receives around 300 days of sunshine a year and in summer temperatures easily reach the 30s. The sea temperature even in winter rarely drops below 16 degrees, making the opportunity to swim in clean, clear waters stretch long past the usual summer. Check today's weather on Cyprus.