The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus

horace_2

The only way those dispossessed of land / buildings in North Cyprus can regain their property is to take it by force.

Turkey is the victor and Greece is the vanquished. Turkey enjoy the spoils of war and what is amazing is that the E.U. believe their laws apply in the North (google the Oram case).

Crazy absolutely crazy. A judgement passed in the UK and considered binding in a foreign country!!!

h

Jox

My dad is Greek Cypriot, born in Kyrenia in the north in 1940, built one house for himself and one for his mum with his own hands, had lemon and orange groves, was living there with my mum who was 8 months pregnant at the time of the 1974 war, the family had to leave with the clothes on their back when the bombs started to fall and nothing else. They sheltered in an old world war II underground bunker for 3 days while hearing Turkish soldiers running above their heads, waiting to be discovered and shot, which luckily didn't happen.
My mum gave birth in a refuge camp and because she was British was able to come back to UK, my Greek dad had to stay and luckily survived and joined my mum in the UK months later. They had to start from scratch in the UK without a penny.
38 years later he is still very bitter about the loss of his family's homes, the borders opened a few years ago and he visited and told me that the homes are run down shells, one has a crack down the middle where a bomb landed on it, the orange and lemon groves are no more, just dried out land.
Yes there were faults on both sides but the ordinary people paid a high price with many people still unaccounted for after the war.
My dad is in his 70's and doesn't imagine he will ever return to "his home" but it is quite galling that some people want to profit from others' misfortune.

Angelicdevil

Jox wrote: »

My dad is in his 70's and doesn't imagine he will ever return to "his home" but it is quite galling that some people want to profit from others' misfortune.

Whilst I truly feel for those affected by the war back in the 70's it has been nearly 40 years. Bad things happen and life moves on, you can't be angry at people for wanting to do that! If we lived like that we'd all still be angry at the Romans/Vikings/whoever else we've been invaded by over the centuries!

Back on topic though - OP as previous posters have said, best thing is to rent out there (that goes for anyone looking to move somewhere unfamiliar!) and get a true feel for it. As I've said before, I love it out there and would happily move there tomorrow, as would my family but it is a very personal decision.

Jox

This isn't an ancient invasion, this has happened in people's lifetimes. I'm sure if you were driven out of your home without being able to take an item of clothing, a photograph, a stick of furniture you might feel bitter for a good few years, hopefully you will never have to experience that but if so...well life moves on, get over it
If the Germans have driven the British out of their homes in WWII and 40 years later the Brits still couldn't return and others were profiting from this injustice then I'm sure the feelings would be the same.
These days we just drop bombs on others, thankfully none are falling on us.

ttoli

breadlinebetty wrote: »

Very dangerous! Lots of people have lost THOUSANDS buying property in north Cyprus, due to the fact most of the properties built post 1974 are illegally built on what is effectively Greek soil.

The land is a no-mans land, and the title deeds to much of north Cyprus belongs to the Greeks in the south. Many of the Greeks have successfully gone to court and forced the people who have bought these properties on their land to have them demolished.

If you buy a property that was built pre 1974 then legally it should be safe, but the problem you have with those properties are they're usually tatty and unkempt and not built to earthquake requitements.

My advice would be not to even consider buying there. Same with Turkey - it's dangerous buying there too. It's full of illegally built properties that belong to the bank rather than the seller or developer - and thousands of unsuspecting Brits have lost all their life savings purchasing in Turkey.

Give both countries a VERY WIDE BERTH!:money:

Absolute Tosh, as with Property purchases ANYWHERE, do your homework, Not all land in Cyprus as a whole is/was GC owned and a simple check with the Land registy office in Kyrenia and Nicosia (RoC) will reveal the truth, personally I love living here BUT If I were setting out again, I'd certainly rent for the 1st 6- 8 Months, live here through all different seasons, August when Its 50 Degrees with 90% Humidity And January when Its mostly raining and difficult to heat Houses essentially built for the Summer(Open Plan and Marble floors).

ttoli

Jox wrote: »

My dad is Greek Cypriot, born in Kyrenia in the north in 1940, built one house for himself and one for his mum with his own hands, had lemon and orange groves, was living there with my mum who was 8 months pregnant at the time of the 1974 war, the family had to leave with the clothes on their back when the bombs started to fall and nothing else. They sheltered in an old world war II underground bunker for 3 days while hearing Turkish soldiers running above their heads, waiting to be discovered and shot, which luckily didn't happen.
My mum gave birth in a refuge camp and because she was British was able to come back to UK, my Greek dad had to stay and luckily survived and joined my mum in the UK months later. They had to start from scratch in the UK without a penny.
38 years later he is still very bitter about the loss of his family's homes, the borders opened a few years ago and he visited and told me that the homes are run down shells, one has a crack down the middle where a bomb landed on it, the orange and lemon groves are no more, just dried out land.
Yes there were faults on both sides but the ordinary people paid a high price with many people still unaccounted for after the war.
My dad is in his 70's and doesn't imagine he will ever return to "his home" but it is quite galling that some people want to profit from others' misfortune.

And there are many Turkish Cypriots that suffered the same fate

astro941

I have come across Stop the Blackmail page on facebook and its link to the North Cyprus Free Press.
My wish to buy here no longer exists. Nor will I be taking a holiday here.
Thank you all for your posts.

I am surprised that the N v S issue has raised its head and I can only refer you to the written evidence submitted to UK Parliament by Michael Stephen which has over 100 cited reports.

seven-day-weekend

ognum wrote: »

I have friends who have bought land and built in Northern Cyprus, would they do it again? No

I have friend who own a property in Greek Cyprus, would they buy again? No!

So I suggest as others have that you rent for a while and make your Ming up that way.

I have friends who have bought in mainland Spain, would they do it again? No.

Every place has its problems so I would do as others have suggested and rent first, get to know the area, in particular try to get to know what to look for to ensure a legal property. Get a lawyer not connected with the estate agent or even the area to look over any documents/do the conveyancing for you.

Exercise caution in everything and don't believe anything estate agents say, get EVERYTHING checked by an independent lawyer.

Hope this helps.

PompeyPete

ognum wrote: »

I have friends who have bought land and built in Northern Cyprus, would they do it again? No
I have friend who own a property in Greek Cyprus, would they buy again? No!
So I suggest as others have that you rent for a while and make your Ming up that way.

We bought off-plan in Peyia (Nr Paphos) in 2000, and paid for the house in full. But like every new build in the RoC you won't get the title-deeds to your property until several years down the line.

So until title-deeds are issued (and you might have to pay an extra few £K for them) you only 'possess' the property, and do not own it.

We sold the house in 2006, still without title-deeds. We were very lucky, as our buyers were cash buyers. Had they wanted a mortgage then our Developer could have refused us permission to sell 'our' property!

Anyway, it's 2012 now, and that property still hasn't had title-deeds issued!

There are literally thousands of properties in the RoC which haven't been issued with title-deeds. There are also hundreds of For Sale signs.

So my advice (anywhere abroad) is rent, rent, rent. You can move on whenever you want without the worry of possibly spending years trying to sell-up. And don't flog your bolt-hole in UK as you never know when you might want it!

C_Mababejive

PompeyPete wrote: »

We bought off-plan in Peyia (Nr Paphos) in 2000, and paid for the house in full. But like every new build in the RoC you won't get the title-deeds to your property until several years down the line.

So until title-deeds are issued (and you might have to pay an extra few £K for them) you only 'possess' the property, and do not own it.

We sold the house in 2006, still without title-deeds. We were very lucky, as our buyers were cash buyers. Had they wanted a mortgage then our Developer could have refused us permission to sell 'our' property!

Anyway, it's 2012 now, and that property still hasn't had title-deeds issued!

There are literally thousands of properties in the RoC which haven't been issued with title-deeds. There are also hundreds of For Sale signs.

So my advice (anywhere abroad) is rent, rent, rent. You can move on whenever you want without the worry of possibly spending years trying to sell-up. And don't flog your bolt-hole in UK as you never know when you might want it!

It shows what a load of con artists many Cypriot developers are.

They look for mug punters,mostly British and miraculously get them to buy homes off plans,hand over thousands for a house that they dont own and potentially could be repossessed by the bank who hold the needs as security for the loans that the builder took out to build it in the first place!

Why do things in Cyprus or elsewhere that you wouldnt dream of doing in the UK?