Building a house

[cds usa]

I know that building in Cyprus is a long complicated process at best. I'm wondering if anyone has experience or insights about doing it without being there? Or is it completely unrealistic to think we'd get a good result without daily supervision of the construction?

[zin]

You'd need someone to be there that you trust to ensure the job is being done properly at the very least. Unless you pay extra and hire a company to do that for you.

[sjg-uk]

Don't bother building , there are so many superb buys available in Cyprus now. There is no need to take the risk of building , especially as you are not living here.
Many locals have started building and have regretted it afterwards. There are superb properties for sale from under 100,000 euros to over 2 million euros. Both new and resale properties. Remember if you buy one for 300,000 or more , then you can get instant residency status , and there are also government incentives if you buy a new property before the end of May 2012.
I think the property market is at the bottom now in Cyprus , with all the positive things happening all over Cyprus , I think 2012 is the best time to buy .
That is my humble opinion anyway.

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by sjg-uk

Don't bother building , there are so many superb buys available in Cyprus now. There is no need to take the risk of building , especially as you are not living here.
Many locals have started building and have regretted it afterwards. There are superb properties for sale from under 100,000 euros to over 2 million euros. Both new and resale properties. Remember if you buy one for 300,000 or more , then you can get instant residency status , and there are also government incentives if you buy a new property before the end of May 2012.
I think the property market is at the bottom now in Cyprus , with all the positive things happening all over Cyprus , I think 2012 is the best time to buy .
That is my humble opinion anyway.

It must be pointed out though that to buy a resale you must go for one with title deeds or be a cash buyer as banks will not lend on resales without deeds.

[cds usa]

Residency is not a concern as I am Cypriot but you are right we need to look at resales especially if there are incentives to buy as opposed to building. It's just that we would need to be in the suburbs of Nicosia and residential lots seem to be very small.
The idea of building appeals to me but may not be worth the stress.

Thank you all for your advice!

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by cds usa

Residency is not a concern as I am Cypriot but you are right we need to look at resales especially if there are incentives to buy as opposed to building. It's just that we would need to be in the suburbs of Nicosia and residential lots seem to be very small.
The idea of building appeals to me but may not be worth the stress.

Thank you all for your advice!

Most people Iknow who have had individual houses built sayu never again.
Even Cypriot friends who had houses built say the stress is not worth it.

[cds usa]

I hear you!

[zin]

Yeah, that's for sure. That said if you have land in a nice location it will be cheaper to build on it than trying to afford a house in the area. Really depends where you want to build and what the value of the houses around are. Building a decent 4 bedroom house costs around 150k to 250k I imagine.

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by zin

Yeah, that's for sure. That said if you have land in a nice location it will be cheaper to build on it than trying to afford a house in the area. Really depends where you want to build and what the value of the houses around are. Building a decent 4 bedroom house costs around 150k to 250k I imagine.

To get a decent quality property you need to allow around 1,500 per square metre these days. Costs of building have gone up a lot over the past year or two so it is no longer a cheap option to have a house built. The benefits of building one is that you get the house you want, to your specifications in the area you want to be in.

[cds usa]

Originally Posted by Veronica

To get a decent quality property you need to allow around 1,500 per square metre these days. Costs of building have gone up a lot over the past year or two so it is no longer a cheap option to have a house built. The benefits of building one is that you get the house you want, to your specifications in the area you want to be in.

We'll have to really look when we get there this summer. There is a lot of new construction where we want to be but I also own a lot in the area with access to more. That said I'm not willing to build on more than a residential lot - land is money

Veronica, That's good to know! Is that number the building only or does it include the land?