If the stamped Contract of Sale is deposited with the Land Registry all your rights are fully secured. Although you might not be the registered owner until the issuance of the title deeds, you are the beneficial owner and your rights on the property are safe. However, due diligence must take place before the sale takes place so it can be ensured that there are no obstacles that would prohibit the issuance of the title deeds.

Yes. Always when a property is sold for the first time by the developer/construction company, the purchaser must pay the VAT. It usually comes to 19% of the purchase price

No. We never pay VAT on old/used properties. If a property is currently rented or people lived in it in the past, it is considered used and there is no VAT payable by the buyer

There is not a straight forward answer to this question yet. In most cases when buying a plot/land in Cyprus you must pay VAT. There are some exceptions, usually when the seller is a private owner and he/she didn’t sell any other piece of land in the past and the buyer is buying the land for personal use for his/her personal residence then most probably the transaction might not have VAT.

After the offer is accepted, a nominal deposit is made which can be as low as CY£ 2,000. This deposit is binding, so there is no refund. The contract is then drawn up, and on signing, the buyer has to pay 20% to 30% of the value of the property, the remainder being payable according to the contractual terms agreed. The contract must then be deposited at the land registry, within two months of signing

Foreigners can buy one home in Cyprus, and are entitled to hold land freehold, but there is a maximum limit on land ownership of 3 donums (4,014 sq m). A permit to register a property is needed from the government but can easily be obtained through a lawyer