Buying in Egypt

Engeroosi

I am considering investing in a one bedroom flat in Hurghada in Egypt, has anyone done this or also considering this? I am looking for any helpful advice or warnings. It all looks good but these agents who sell them usually only tell you the good things and none of the negative.

BitterAndTwisted

Search this forum for threads with the word "Hurghada" in the title

Mrs_Z

hi, i would not buy anywhere where I (or my other half) do not speak the local language. Simple as that.

BitterAndTwisted

Especially in a country where any legal representation I engaged could not be guaranteed to be impartial, bearing in mind where the word "baksheesh" originated.

charlearose

my parents looked into doing this a few years ago and found that although the prices looked great 20 grand for a one bed apartment
the new builds and off plan ones often have no kitchen or very basic kitchen units no fridge cookers ect and no air con units just the basic apartments itself so you have to buy and furnish everthing yourself

you can buy a furniture package to include this which can cost several thousand pounds (english pounds :rotfl:)http://www.uncoveregypt.com/furniture.html

there were differnt types for one bed /2bed apartments the packs did included everthing from cookers air cons bed chair dinning table even cutlery but i cant remember if all this was set up for you or if you had to do it yourself

this is what put my parent off buying eventually

mustrum_ridcully

Think of these flats as a sort of timeshare for the 21st century.

Remember no local official will care about you because you can't vote for them.

If a road needs to be built and they're faced with the choice of demolishing a block of locally owned or foreign owned flats the choice is a no-brainer (esp. if it's non-middle eastern foreigners). The developer won't care, they might get the demolition contract. Similar story if 'planning permission' isn't quite as it should be, local politicians won't care and neither will the developers esp. if they have your money. This sort of thing does happen and has been documented in the UK media.

Some advice about investments, if you can't afford to lose a big chunk/all of the money then don't invest (like stocks and shares the value of property can go down as well as up) put it somewhere safe like a savings account (where the UK government will protect the money you've deposited).

G_M

Are you buying for yourself or to rent out?
How well do you know Hurghada?
Do you know local rental values and occupancy rates?
How does the purchase price compare with (real) resale prices?
Do you understand the property law in Egypt?
Are you familiar with Egyptian taxation?
Do you know what overheads there will be, from management fees through utilities and maintenance to (equivelant to )council tax etc?
Are you aware of local scams?
Do you understand the political situation and how it could affect a home/investment?
Do you know the type and extent of crime in the area?
Have you considered how exchange rate fluctuations could affect you?

If the answer to any of the above (and more) is 'no', then you need to do more research, and I wouldn't rely on a forum like this to do it.