Finding the right home.

[MarcoLuca]

Hi guys, I need some advice on looking for a home in Cyprus. I've been offered a job in Larnaca, but I don't want to live in the town itself. Can anyone suggest a village or small town within easy travelling distance? Ideally it should be a 2/3 bedroom with garden, nothing fancy. Also, what sort of price am I looking at? Is it cheaper to buy outside of the main towns?
I'm new to all this, so there'll be lots more questions to follow!

[kimonas]

A good way to search would be Google Earth. Most of the island is in high definition now, and the latest satellite images are less than a year old. Simply fly over the area at a few thousand feet and spot the housing developments (the road sytems are usually put in before the house builds start). There is quite a huge overstock of new houses at the moment. Many developers at the recent State Fair were struggling and there are good deals to be forged. Be prepared to haggle, however, and see if you can't push for lots of freebie additions. Occupied houses normally have roof tanks and sattelite dishes, which are the last things to go up on completion. Arradippou on the outskirts of Larnaca has lots of new developments.

Hope that helps

K

[BabsM]

How far outside Larnaca do you want to be? Do you want to be in a village inland or on the coast?

Villages within 10 minutes of Larnaca might include Aggleisides, Alethriko, Kalo Chorio, Kiti, Pervolia, Tersaphanou, Araddippou, Troulli, Oroklini, Leivadia. (there are lots of others) Further out you might like to consider Anafotida, Pyla, Xylofagou, Liopetri, Ormidhia and Avgorou. All have new developments under way.

Price is difficult to say, it depends if you want new, off plan or resale and where you want to be.You could be talking anything from €120,000 to €250,000. If you are looking at property sales sites on the internet some are still quoting prices in Cyprus Pounds. In addition to the new developments there are lots of resale properties on the market. Some owners are keen to sell and are pricing their properties accordingly.

As regards prices in town as opposed to in the villages or on the outskirts, I don't think it really makes a difference. You will pay more for somewhere on the beach though.

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by kimonas

A good way to search would be Google Earth. Most of the island is in high definition now, and the latest satellite images are less than a year old. Simply fly over the area at a few thousand feet and spot the housing developments (the road sytems are usually put in before the house builds start). There is quite a huge overstock of new houses at the moment. Many developers at the recent State Fair were struggling and there are good deals to be forged. Be prepared to haggle, however, and see if you can't push for lots of freebie additions. Occupied houses normally have roof tanks and sattelite dishes, which are the last things to go up on completion. Arradippou on the outskirts of Larnaca has lots of new developments.

Hope that helps

K

I have checked some areas I know well on google earth and the images are all at least 2 years old. Many completed projects dont even show as cleared ground.

[kimonas]

Sorry to have misled you, perhaps the coversage is patchy - but my new garage roof in the UK shows up and that was put on at the beginning of the summer! Maybe the Google Earth would still be useful for working out distances, however, and many of the development areas do show up as the roads are often layed out several years before the houses start mushrooming, at least it would give a rough idea of where developments are likely to be found.

[Veronica]

Originally Posted by kimonas

Sorry to have misled you, perhaps the coversage is patchy - but my new garage roof in the UK shows up and that was put on at the beginning of the summer! Maybe the Google Earth would still be useful for working out distances, however, and many of the development areas do show up as the roads are often layed out several years before the houses start mushrooming, at least it would give a rough idea of where developments are likely to be found.

Hi Kimonas
I think you will find that the UK google images are always far more up to date than Cyprus. For some reason google dosnt seem to think that we are important.