# Buying in El Gouna



## Jess79 (May 11, 2016)

Hello , 

After falling in love with El Gouna myself and husband are looking to buying a apartment for holidays and eventually retirement one day, what I was wondering was is the real estate priced like the UK where you sometimes can get the price reduced by maybe a couple of thousand , or would they more than likely be open to offers and that's just the price they would like to get ideally and they expect some haggling? If that makes sense... it may be the difference in spending time searching for a 1 bed apartment when we may be able to afford a 2 bed one ..

Looking forward to any replies and insight

Jess


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## hurghadapat (Mar 26, 2010)

Jess79 said:


> Hello ,
> 
> After falling in love with El Gouna myself and husband are looking to buying a apartment for holidays and eventually retirement one day, what I was wondering was is the real estate priced like the UK where you sometimes can get the price reduced by maybe a couple of thousand , or would they more than likely be open to offers and that's just the price they would like to get ideally and they expect some haggling? If that makes sense... it may be the difference in spending time searching for a 1 bed apartment when we may be able to afford a 2 bed one ..
> 
> ...


Hi and welcome to the forum.I'm sorry i can't answer your questions but we have a member of the forum who has lived in El Gouna for quite a few years now and i'm sure if she sees your post she would be more than happy to help you.El Gouna is a beautiful place and nice and clean as well as very secure,but buying in Egypt at this moment in time is not something i would be doing.


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## canuck2010 (Jan 13, 2010)

El gouna is probably the most stable place in all of Egypt, considering it's owned and operated by Egypt's richest family. But about prices...haggling is a must. Of course, the economy and tourism is doing pretty bad at the moment, prices are down 20%, 30%, or more. However, it really comes down to how badly the owner needs to sell. Some owners will negotiate, others will refuse. If possible, negotiate directly with the owner, real estate agents are generally not helpful. 

With that said, important details such as property registration, property taxes, attaining resident visas ect... are all up in the air, and new laws could be passed in the future that no one can predict.


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## Jess79 (May 11, 2016)

Thank you hurghadapat for your reply , can I just ask for what reasons you wouldn't buy in Egypt/El Gouna?

Thanks


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## Gounie (Jan 27, 2011)

Hi Jess
I bought my apartment in El Gouna in 2003. I popped out for four days after having seen the property on the internet, never been here before, fell in love and agreed the price of the private resale (after haggling) and that was it. I eventually received a standard contract and a piece of paper that confirmed the name of the original owner has now been changed to me.

Someone told me don't come here with European expectations and that was good advice. I actually thought I would be ripped off, loose all my money, but back then it was the price of a car and a gamble I was prepared to take. I moved here full time in 2004 and it turned out to be the best decision I ever made in my life.

For hundreds elsewhere in Egypt the decision has been their worst nightmare.

For all these years it has never been a problem going to renew my annual tourist visa until recently. Rules change in Egypt and no-one has a clue what is going on. If you leave the country and fly back in with an airport visa it seems it is easy to go and extend it for six months. Staying in the country now and renewing it for a further six months I will find out in August! I don't want to fly out again when flights are sky high.

Maybe one day we will all be thrown out? Maybe one day they will welcome us with open arms because tourism is rock bottom. I understand they want to prevent foreigners working illegally on tourist visas and taking jobs away from Egyptians, but they seem to have overlooked those that want to retire here and spend their money here.

With the prices in El Gouna now so high you have to be sure. Flying in and out to get a visa is OK but if you want to own a car then the licence gets complicated. (I have never owned a car and have a bicycle and walk.)

There are many Egyptians buying up the property from ex-pats that are selling. Some are frustrated by what is going on by visas, sometimes they move back for health reasons, or drop in tourism means job losses. I think 92 hotels have closed in Hurghada?

I would recommend spending time here to decide on an area first. El Gouna is growing and there are constantly new projects sold off-plan. There are private forums where owners are selling direct to purchasers. May you can get a good price because a British owner wants money in the UK rather than receive money here? I don't know how it works. 

I hope this helps a little.


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## hurghadapat (Mar 26, 2010)

Jess79 said:


> Thank you hurghadapat for your reply , can I just ask for what reasons you wouldn't buy in Egypt/El Gouna?
> 
> Thanks



The reason i wouldn't buy.......the whole of the middle east is far to unstable,this carry on with renewing your visa is just far to stressful ie..if you haven't left Egypt for awhile you have to fly out for a min.of 24hrs then buy another tourist visa at airport on re-entry then go and try to extend that.As Gounie said if you have a car it has to be licenced and to licence it you have to have a current visa so if they give you a waiting stamp in passport (while they investigate you)you can't renew licence.Apparently people are being told that you can't now have a re-entry visa so that means every time you leave Egypt your visa is cancelled and you have to get a new one when you re-enter.
Living in Egypt is nothing like being on holiday so my advice would be to rent first for maybe 1 year see how you like it before buying.
I have a friend who sold her property in Sharm recently at a big loss !!
As Gounie said she has been one of the lucky ones who has settled in nicely but many many have been disappointed so i would think long and hard before settling for buying.


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