# Moving to Northern Cyprus- Advice required



## Mandy CC (Oct 1, 2011)

I wonder if I can get some dvice about Northern Cyprus, my husband and currently live in a beautiful part of rural Spain in a small mountain village which is not commercialised at all. We are discussing Cyprus and wondered if anyone could tell us about the cost of living in Northern Cyprus, and the best villages to look at which are authentic cypriot villages, we want to be no more that 20 mins from the beaches etc.

Where we reside now a couple with no mortgage can live extremly well on £1,100 Euro's a month.

I welcome any advice PS dont want anywhere where their are complexes seeking rural cyprus (small village near beach) etc


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## zin (Oct 28, 2010)

My advise is don't go. It's not recognised by any country other than Turkey so if anyone screws you over you have absolutely nowhere to go. The government is fake and you will have no rights and anything you sign for is not worth the paper it's written on.


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## Pam n Dave (Jun 11, 2007)

I'm with Zin, if you come here stick to the Republic. It's got what you mentioned in your post, you need to come and explore though as different parts of the island has different characteristics.


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## TangoKilo (Oct 2, 2011)

I agree with Zin too. Lived in Northern Cyprus for two years and had many problems with the fact that it is really an illegal pseudo state. Thank God the problems we had were not as serious as the problems some other friends had (and still have). Do not be lured in because some things are cheaper, it is not worth it. If you insist on Cyprus then choose the south, Republic of Cyprus.


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## zin (Oct 28, 2010)

TangoKilo,

Out of curiosity what were the positives of living in the North? I understand that it's cheap (although from what I hear nowhere near cheap as it used to be before they opened up the border). 

What the amenities like? The area you lived in? The community feel? Did it feel welcoming? Did you feel you could find what you wanted?


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## TangoKilo (Oct 2, 2011)

zin said:


> TangoKilo,
> 
> Out of curiosity what were the positives of living in the North? I understand that it's cheap (although from what I hear nowhere near cheap as it used to be before they opened up the border).
> 
> What the amenities like? The area you lived in? The community feel? Did it feel welcoming? Did you feel you could find what you wanted?


Amenities were just ok but many came with many delays. I lived close to Kerynia / Girne which is a very beautiful place, I visited it before 1974 when the Greeks were still there and fell in love with the place that is why we chose it, but I have to say we did NOT feel welcomed, some people like the Brits but many do not and quite often it is obvious. I have to admit that in the 70s when the Greeks were there it was better. We could find most things we wanted but often we had to travel to the south (republic of Cyprus) to get everything. Many services and people you cannot trust. Very different from the 70s. Many times we regretted the fact we chose the north than the south and said better to live in south and visit Kerynia distances are so short. Like I said overall not worth it, better in the south, that is my opinion.


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## Ardslad (Aug 8, 2009)

Mandy CC said:


> I wonder if I can get some dvice about Northern Cyprus, my husband and currently live in a beautiful part of rural Spain in a small mountain village which is not commercialised at all. We are discussing Cyprus and wondered if anyone could tell us about the cost of living in Northern Cyprus, and the best villages to look at which are authentic cypriot villages, we want to be no more that 20 mins from the beaches etc.
> 
> Where we reside now a couple with no mortgage can live extremly well on £1,100 Euro's a month.
> 
> I welcome any advice PS dont want anywhere where their are complexes seeking rural cyprus (small village near beach) etc


Nortern Cyprus does have it's problems but so does the South.
People have been conned out of money and have not been able to get their deeds to property they have purchased. The same thing has been happening in the South. Expats there who are now complaining about not getting their deeds after waiting 10 to 15 years.
Either side of the border you will find Cypriots,Greek speaking or Turkish speaking, who dislike foreigners but again the majority are nice.I have served all over the world and found that people everywhere are the same. Respect them and they respect you.
Living in the North can be an adventure at times as the infrastructer is a bit behind the South but they are catching up. We now have tarmacked roads with road humps ( to many ) and all the other traffic aids they have in the South.
The people are friendly and very helpful. Cost of living is less than the South. Was told by some expats some weeks ago that to live in the South you need to have an annual income of about 12000 pounds. Some on here can correct this if I have been misinformed.
Unfortunatly due to the animosity between the North and South you will be given the different versions of the rights and wrongs. 
If you do decide to come here then I would advise you to rent for a year. Long term rents can be around 400 per month. Rent for a year and in that time you can decide if you want to buy and you will also be able to learn the good from the bad developers. I would suggest that if you buy then buy a resale. You can check everything is working. This advice applies to anyone moving to any foreign country and buying property.
Dine out or shop around Kyrenia ( Girne ) and prices can be higher as it is a tourist area but you would get to know the best places to suit your pocket.
Whatever you decide, good luck.


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## Kalimera (Oct 19, 2011)

North Cyprus is an illegal state - there are only two countries in the World who recognise TRNC Turkey and one other (Azerbaijan I think).

There has recently been quite a high profile case in the North involving a scrupulous builder who conned expats out of £1000's who bought houses from him but were never built. This guy is now in Prison


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## Ardslad (Aug 8, 2009)

SWJ said:


> North Cyprus is an illegal state - there are only two countries in the World who recognise TRNC Turkey and one other (Azerbaijan I think).
> 
> There has recently been quite a high profile case in the North involving a scrupulous builder who conned expats out of £1000's who bought houses from him but were never built. This guy is now in Prison


SWJ is quite right. As I said in my message there are good and bad on both sides.
Builders and con men are here BUT they are in the South as well. There are ongoing court cases in the South over property. This is the reason that I said that anyone coming here should rent for a year at least. This advice would apply if you were moving to any country. In Spain thousands are trying to get deeds to property they have bought. 
Again SWJ is correct in saying that the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is only recognised by a couple of countries but still deals with the rest of the world in all other ways even South Cyprus. The sale of goods continue. In the tragic aftermath of the ammunition explosion that destroyed the power station the North supplied electricity and still does.
From my point of view the good points are: The TRNC is not in the EU 
We use the Lira and get a good return for Sterling. We can and do get good rates on our bank accounts. Cost of living is not bad. 
My wife and I own a house here and it is Turkish Title Deed property and we did come and do our homework before buying and paid a bit extra because it was Turkish Title . Came here on holiday in 1993 and every year after that then rented for 8 months in 2001 .then came to live here in 2002 and every days Sunday for us.
As I said earlier. The people on both sides are,in the main, nice friendly people who just want to get on with life BUT there are those who just cant accept that.
Again , good luck.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Is your Turkish Title deed property pre 1974 Turkish Cypriot owned or is it one the many which the illegal Turkish occupying government issued deeds for after 1974?
The occupying illegal government have issued many deeds for land which still legally belongs to Greek Cypriots.
I have said many times that it is imperative to check first with the land registry in the South to be sure that any title deeds claiming land belongs to Turkish Cypriots are accurate.
I hope that in your case the deeds you have are legal ones.

Veronica


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## Ardslad (Aug 8, 2009)

Veronica said:


> Is your Turkish Title deed property pre 1974 Turkish Cypriot owned or is it one the many which the illegal Turkish occupying government issued deeds for after 1974?
> The occupying illegal government have issued many deeds for land which still legally belongs to Greek Cypriots.
> I have said many times that it is imperative to check first with the land registry in the South to be sure that any title deeds claiming land belongs to Turkish Cypriots are accurate.
> I hope that in your case the deeds you have are legal ones.
> ...


Yes, my deeds are accurate. 
The land was owned by a Turkish speaking Cypriot family going back several generations. The family were driven of the land in 1964 and it was used by the Greek speaking Cypriots until 1974 when it was returned to the family.
Are your deeds in your possession ?
I do not wish to get into a dispute with anyone on here. The question was asked about moving to Cyprus and I hope I was honest enough to give an unbiased opinion about living in the north.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

I am happy to hear that your deeds are accurate
I was simply making the case that the Turkish government have issued many fraudulent deeds and that for anyone who buys in the North it is important to check that deeds are accurate. 
Anyone who does their homework thoroughly as you seem to have done will hopefully not have any problems if they buy in the North. 
This is equally important when buying in the South although the problems in the South are different to the problems in the North.


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## Ardslad (Aug 8, 2009)

Veronica said:


> I am happy to hear that your deeds are accurate
> I was simply making the case that the Turkish government have issued many fraudulent deeds and that for anyone who buys in the North it is important to check that deeds are accurate.
> Anyone who does their homework thoroughly as you seem to have done will hopefully not have any problems if they buy in the North.
> This is equally important when buying in the South although the problems in the South are different to the problems in the North.


Thanks for your reply.
Hopefully when people ask for advice we can be as helpful as possible to ensure that they can find what they are looking for,no matter where in the world they go, without their dreams being shattered.
I have just taken a couple of friends to the airport yesterday to return to the UK.
They came out to Cyprus and ran into a builder who took their deposit and then let the flat to Russian. That was in the south.They then came here and ran into another builder here and lost more money to him. The builder has just been jailed in the south.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

Unfortunately we hear far too many horror stories from people who have been taken for a ride by bad developers and agents alike in many countries. The one thing I can say with cetainty is that Cyprus (both sides of the border) is not nearly as bad as countries such as Egypt, Dubai and Bulgaria. (and some others).
I am a moderator on our sister forum which is more property based than this one and some of the horror stories from those countries would make your hair curl.


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## zin (Oct 28, 2010)

Indeed, I've heard Dubai developers aren't delivering properties within the 5 year agreed period on the contracts citing the recession as "an act of God" which in the contracts exempts them from having to deliver on time.


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## Ardslad (Aug 8, 2009)

Veronica said:


> Unfortunately we hear far too many horror stories from people who have been taken for a ride by bad developers and agents alike in many countries. The one thing I can say with cetainty is that Cyprus (both sides of the border) is not nearly as bad as countries such as Egypt, Dubai and Bulgaria. (and some others).
> I am a moderator on our sister forum which is more property based than this one and some of the horror stories from those countries would make your hair curl.


I agree . I attended a funeral about a month ago at Phafos and at the reception afterwards I was speaking to some expats who live southside and they said much the same as myself, for every horror story you hear about there are plenty of happy satisfied expats who live in Cyprus and their stories are never told.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

I am sure the same applies to the North. We never hear about the happy experiences people have when buying abroad because they don't make good TV shows. Its only the spectacular stories that newpapers and television care about. 
Also of course it is only the unhappy expats who post on most of the forums bemoaning their fate. It is up to those of us who are happy with our decisions to move and buy abroad to try to balance the scales a little.


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## Kalimera (Oct 19, 2011)

Good point Veronica - but I wouldn't advise anyone to by in TRNC.


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## Veronica (Apr 5, 2008)

SWJ said:


> Good point Veronica - but I wouldn't advise anyone to by in TRNC.


Neither would I SWJ but there are people who still want to buy there despite all advice against it and in that case it is imperative that they do all they can to safeguard themselves as much as possible. There are still a great number of British expats who stand to lose their homes in the North because they believed the dodgy developers and agents when they were told the land their homes stand on were Turkish Cypriot owned.


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