Information on setting up bank account

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by BabsM

Hi
To open a bank account all you need to do is to walk into a bank and show your passport as proof of identity. They may ask for a copy of a rental agreement or contract of purchase as proof of address.

As regards someone to show you round properties, you will find as many estate agents in Cyprus as you would in England. They have to be licenced and are not able to sell property without, unlike England. BuySellCyprus is one of the biggest on the island and has many offices all over the island, as does Investia which is also big. All of their offices are helpful.

At the moment all estate agents are under pressure because the market is very flat. They may pressure you to make a decision quickly. Please take your time. Irrespective of what you may be told there are may lovely properties out there and it is not necessary to rush into a decision unless it is what you want. You might also like to look for private for sale notices. There are may people trying to sell privately and you may get a bargain.

Good Luck

Babs

Babs maybe you are not aware of the fact that BuySellCyprus are not licenced. They have been trading illegally with someone elses licence for many years. They have been taken to court over this.
However as Cyprus is in the EU they cannot stop any EU citizen trading as long as they do not do valuations, or handle the money side of any transaction.

[grumpy]

Veronica, You just beat me to that explanation. It should however be pointed out that there are several such "marketing companies" who are rather large who also operate in such a fashion. Of course the demise of the mighty Parador exposes one of the problems with these companies.

[BabsM]

I was not aware of that. It has not been mentioned in any of the recent press articles warning about using agents with appropriate licences. Maybe they have resolved the problem?

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by BabsM

I was not aware of that. It has not been mentioned in any of the recent press articles warning about using agents with appropriate licences. Maybe they have resolved the problem?

I dont think they are licenced yet but the thing is that in actual fact they are not doing anythig illegal as long as they do not call themselves estate agents. To become a registered estate agent you have to take an exam in either Greek or Turkish, this is designed to try to prevent non Cypriots becoming registered estate agents. A registered agent can give valuations and can handle financial matters etc. These agents are paid hefty commissions by the developers often as high as 15%.
However any EU citizen can run a marketing company. Marketing companies can legally help clients to find properties and of course market properties on behalf of vendors. As a marketing company you are paid marketing fees once the property is sold.
We are a marketing company and are a legally registered company with the Cyprus government, however we are not registered estate agents.
There are unforntunately many marketing compaines who do not have registered companies because they do not want to pay the taxes etc which registered companies pay. As a regsitered company our clients are protected by law if we mis-sell or do anything else wrong. However with unregistered companies people will not have the same protection.
So I suppose what I am saying at the end of all that babble is that as longas the company you deal with is registered as a legal entity whether as a marketing company or as an estate agent you are protected.
(Takes a deep breath after all that )