The Extra Costs of Buying Property in Cyprus

If you are moving overseas to Cyprus and are planning on buying land or property you may want to re-evaluate the amount of home that you can afford in Cyprus. Depending on where your home country is and what the home buying process is like there, you may not be prepared for the extra costs and fees that are involved in buying a home or land in Cyprus. It is important to consider these costs when trying to come up with the amount of home you can afford to buy as these extra costs can add on a substantial amount of the purchase price of the home or land.

The good news about the extra costs that you will encounter when buying a home or land in Cyprus is that they are some of the lowest fees in Western Europe on property and land sales. The bad news is that while the costs are some of the lowest you will find, they do add up to about 10 percent of the purchase price of a home or land. So, when you are looking at potential properties you should decide what the max amount is that you can spend and then take 10 percent off of the figure. This way you will not end up with a home that you will not be able to afford once all of the fees and extra costs are added onto the purchase price.

One of the extra costs that you will have is the fees of a lawyer. You may not choose to have a lawyer, but it is advisable that you do have a lawyer. The actual fees from the lawyer will depend upon the property value and if the paperwork is simple or complex. You can estimate that the lawyer fees will be around $2,000 US.

The surveyor's fees will also depend upon the value of the property and how detailed and complex you want things to be. The Cyprus Scientific and Technical Chamber can give you a brochure that is a guide of sorts to average charges. Or you can estimate around $600 US for surveyor's fees.

Stamp duty is something else you will have to pay. It is levied on purchases at variable rates and is to be paid within 30 days of signing a purchase contract. The rate is 15 percent for the first $200,000 US and a rate of 20 percent if over that amount.

If you are required to apply to the Council of Ministers for permission to buy then you will have to pay a fee for that as well. If you apply for this on your own it will be around $300 US. Or you can have your lawyer file for you and include the cost in his fees.

If you have to take out a mortgage, then you will have fees for taking it out as well. Typically the registration fee for taking out a mortgage is one percent of the amount you have borrowed.

If you are a first time buyer then you will have to pay VAT, or Value Added Tax, of five percent. If you are not a first time buyer then you will have to pay VAT at the standard rate, which is 15 percent.

If there is a selling agent involved you can expect for that fee to be around five percent of the purchase price. However, sometimes it is as low as three percent.

When your lawyer transfers and registers the property in your name you will have to pay a transfer fee. The fee varies as it depends on property value and how many people have their name on the new deed. For the first $100,000 US of the value the fee is three percent of purchase price. For $100,001 US to $200,000 US the fee is five percent and over $200,000 US the fee is eight percent. If multiple people have their names on the deeds then the value of the property is divided amongst them, which results in lower overall fees if the home is quite pricey.