# Selling an apartment in Cyprus



## pablo101 (Sep 8, 2009)

My dad has died recently and left me and my sister an apartment in Paralimni in southern cyprus. the apartment has been owned by him for about 15 years and although he has all the paperwork relating to the property,it has no deeds..the same is true for all the apartments in the block, both foreign and cypriot owned but i do know people have sold in the past...i have his death certificate and the will gifting to the property to us..........i haven't got a clue how to proceed as we wish to sell the property......i also would like to know how to close his bank account.........any help on these matters would be much appreciated........thanks


----------



## weeksy9 (Nov 18, 2008)

*Hi there*

Hi Pablo,

Well it appears, unless your late father didnt leave a will that the property can only be transferred to you his heirs by court order and for that to happen an adminsitration of your fathers estate has to be carried out in Cyprus. ( I think this is called probate). 

A cypriot friend of mine back in the U.K had a similar issue with a relavtive of his. I know that my lawyer in Cyprus deals with a great deal of administration cases his name is Stelios Stylianou at Nicolaides Stylianou LLC ive taken the liberty of posting his email im sure he wont mind its [email protected]. Hes efficient and an expat too so youll find communication will be a tad easier. 

I hope ive been useful....i think im on the right track  good luck anyway.

Andy


----------



## AnnieG (Feb 25, 2009)

Hi,

I'm very sorry for your loss.

My parents lived in Cyprus and my father died around 4 years ago so left my mother living in the house that was in both their names. Obviously in his will the house passed over to my mother. Owing to Cyprus's "siga, siga" attitude (which seems to be even worse in the court system) she only just managed to get his will through probate last year - several visits to their lawyer and court hearings etc.etc. so not sure how you can manage to get the will through probate from the uk? She did have a friend that managed to get her husband's will through probate in around 14 months but not sure how she did it though!

As regards to his bank account I'm sure it becomes part of the assets and should be distributed to the benficiaries after the probate has been finalised. I'm sure if you get in touch with the previous poster's lawyer they should hopefully be able to point you in the right direction.

Sorry to be the bearer of not so good news but thought I should give you a heads up and forewarn you that the system in Cyprus is not as straight forward as the system in the uk.

All the best and good luck - hope it all works out for you

Annie x


----------



## pat kennedy (Jan 29, 2009)

*Selling Property in Cyprus*

I am sorry for the death of your father. I can only go on my own experience re the Title Deeds. I have been trying to sell my apartment in Ayia Napa and it is proving very difficult as i do not have the title deeds. IThe estate agent told me that you need a cash buyer as you cant get a mortgage/loan in cyprus without the title deeds. I was also told that i would be charged about 4000 euros to have the deeds changed into a different name as they would still be in the name of the developer. I dont know how accurate that is. Do you have the name of the solicitor who did the work when your father bought the property. They may still be around - you need a search done as well to see if the deeds have indeed being issued. Even at a push, you probably need to apply for the deeds to be put in your name which is going to cost you money.

As I say, I am no expert but be prepared for a hard slog unless you get lucky, as it is a minefield.



pablo101 said:


> My dad has died recently and left me and my sister an apartment in Paralimni in southern cyprus. the apartment has been owned by him for about 15 years and although he has all the paperwork relating to the property,it has no deeds..the same is true for all the apartments in the block, both foreign and cypriot owned but i do know people have sold in the past...i have his death certificate and the will gifting to the property to us..........i haven't got a clue how to proceed as we wish to sell the property......i also would like to know how to close his bank account.........any help on these matters would be much appreciated........thanks


----------



## weeksy9 (Nov 18, 2008)

*hell again*

Hi Pablo, 

I completely forgot to express my condolences how rude of me. Please accept my apology.

In response to the previous poster's message, the charges you may envisage are transfer tax to transfer the property in your names but as far as I know this isnt payable when the property is transferred by court order...in any case it is wise to seek out some legal help with the matter so things could be explained better.

Cheers

Andy


----------



## weeksy9 (Nov 18, 2008)

*hello*

Pablo,

Hi, just reading trhough the thread, if your father had a will done in the U.K then it would have to be presented in Cyprus so that probate would be carried out by the executors in Cyprus.

Cheers

Andy


----------

