Buying a property in Egypt

sarahlou8383

My boyfriend and I have been saving for a couple of years and, as we're earning hardly any interest on our savings, we're thinking about investing them in a property abroad. We're considering a small apartment on the Red Sea riviera as we both love Egypt and diving/snorkelling in the Red Sea. We're also hoping we'll be able to rent the apartment out when we're not using it - and that the market will continue to grow. However, the prices look too good to be true (studio apartments for less than £10k, 2 bed apartments for £20k in Hurghada) and I'm worried I'm missing something here - we don't want to get conned and lose our money :-(

Has anyone bought in the Red Sea area and what are your experiences? Is it a good investment? Any recommendations on which companies to use? All advice welcome!

DannyboyMidlands

Missing something? You mean like the civil wars currently spreading across the middle east?

I guess it depends how much of a gamble you are willing to take. What if Islamist groups do well in the elections?

m_13

My colleague owns a flat in Egypt on the Red Sea. However, she has family in the area who keep an eye on it for her and is herself half Egyptian. During the recent uprising she was concerned it might be burned to the ground as property was being damaged indiscriminately. It was unscathed but the area around it has damage from looting and fires.

As DannyboyMidlands says, now might not be the right time ....

googler

Do you have someone you can trust to look after the apartment when you're not there?

If there's a change of government, and they decide to pass a law that forbids 'infidels' from owning property in their country, where will you be?

Do you have a trusted legal advisor who can act for you with regard to the purchase? One who is familiar with the legal framework there?

hazyjo

A few discussions on buying in Hurghada on this forum - CLICKY

Might be some info there for you...

Jx

sarahlou8383

Thanks Hazyjo, but I can't get that link to work. Any chance you could re-post it?

I am aware of the unrest in Egypt but, when I visited earlier this year, it didn't appear to be affecting the Red Sea tourist areas at all . . . apart from the fact that they were so quiet as people were choosing not to go there.

Googler - is it likely that a law will be passed that prevents 'infidels' from owning property there? Sounds like it would have a huge negative affect on an already struggling tourism industry. I am brand new to all this so apologies if this is a stupid question. If I were to buy a property I'd be looking to use an established and experienced agent who could give me sound legal advice. I don't personally know anyone there who could keep an eye on the apartment.

Annisele

Quite apart from the political situation in the Middle East at the moment...have you looked at the costs of finding and using "an established and experienced agent who could give me sound legal advice"? Good legal advice doesn't tend to come cheap, and would take a large chunk out of your bottom line.

hazyjo

Works for me - alternatively, just search on this forum for 'Hurghada'. That's all I did and all the link shows... ("This forum" as in literally this forum - MSE".)

Jx

googler

sarahlou8383 wrote: »

Googler - is it likely that a law will be passed that prevents 'infidels' from owning property there?

I have no idea if it's 'likely' or not. But just look at Cyprus for an indication of what can happen to property abroad.

http://www.heraldscotland.com/news/home-news/warning-over-buying-home-on-holiday-isle-1.1097765

"There are also issues with homes built in northern Cyprus on land belonging to Cypriots who fled after Turkey invaded in 1974. In a ruling in 2009, the European Court of Justice backed the right of Greek Cypriots to reclaim their land."

Not saying the same could happen in Egypt, but it shows how much of owning a property abroad will be outwith your control.

bendix

sarahlou8383 wrote: »

If I were to buy a property I'd be looking to use an established and experienced agent who could give me sound legal advice. .

Does it make me a bad person that i burst out laughing at this sentence?

googler

bendix wrote: »

Does it make me a bad person that i burst out laughing at this sentence?

No, but there's many territories in the world where Buyer's Agents represent the interests of property buyers, as opposed to the situation we have in the UK where the majority of agents act for the seller.