# registration of property



## hhaddad

Hi guys I'm back bought a flat 2 years ago in mohandessin which cost me a arm and a leg and went to a lawyer to register the flat in mine and my wife's name everything seemed ok paid an advance and waited. 2 years passed and last week the lawyer announced that the registry office had refused to register because I'm a foreigner but my wife can register the flat in her name as she's Egyptian. I paid 45000 euros for that flat my wife is livid because if she dies and the flat is in her name her relatives could claim the flat.


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## MaidenScotland

Hi welcome back 

I have a friend who is now divorced from her Egyptian husband and has bought property in her own right, however there is a problem getting it registered because the property developer decided to add an extra floor without permission. My friend has been to court to have it ruled that she can apply for it to be registered.. why is everything difficult to do, why is everything a money spinner


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## Gounie

Many foreigners have registered their properties. Is there a new rule that they can't?


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## hurghadapat

Gounie said:


> Many foreigners have registered their properties. Is there a new rule that they can't?



Who knows....this is Egypt where rules change by not only the minute but depending on the mood of whoever is dealing with you....always has been and always will be like that i think


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## NeilHollingsworth

One of the problems with the registration is that when foreigners buy property (I can only comment on Hurghada area) they don't receive the right information from the agents selling it. So, when it comes to the final steps, they don't know they have to receive a POA from the developer/builder/land owner giving them full legal rights to register. However, the individual owner can only register their apartment once the developer/land owner has registered the land (Green Contract), as this doesn't normally take place until the development is completed and then can still take 18-24 months.

I have never heard of a foreigner not being allowed to register (Green Contract) in the Hurghada area, but I do know the rules change from region to region and in Sharm foreigners are not allowed to register a property it is all leasehold. The cost of registering varies as well, but as far as I am aware the current cost to the government is 20le per m2, then of course lawyer fees on top. Most foreigners I know just go for the Signature Validity registration not the full Green Contract as there are restrictions placed on the property if you go for the Green Contract.

Hope this helps.


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## hurghadapat

NeilHollingsworth said:


> One of the problems with the registration is that when foreigners buy property (I can only comment on Hurghada area) they don't receive the right information from the agents selling it. So, when it comes to the final steps, they don't know they have to receive a POA from the developer/builder/land owner giving them full legal rights to register. However, the individual owner can only register their apartment once the developer/land owner has registered the land (Green Contract), as this doesn't normally take place until the development is completed and then can still take 18-24 months.
> 
> I have never heard of a foreigner not being allowed to register (Green Contract) in the Hurghada area, but I do know the rules change from region to region and in Sharm foreigners are not allowed to register a property it is all leasehold. The cost of registering varies as well, but as far as I am aware the current cost to the government is 20le per m2, then of course lawyer fees on top. Most foreigners I know just go for the Signature Validity registration not the full Green Contract as there are restrictions placed on the property if you go for the Green Contract.
> 
> Hope this helps.




Hi and welcome to the forum.....thanks also for giving that very useful information which i'm sure will help people going through the process of buying,which can be a bit like walking through a minefield in Egypt.


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## NeilHollingsworth

hurghadapat said:


> Hi and welcome to the forum.....thanks also for giving that very useful information which i'm sure will help people going through the process of buying,which can be a bit like walking through a minefield in Egypt.


Thank you and no problem, it is a minefield but if people do their homework it can be a very simple, easy and enjoyable experience. I have written a Blog post on the whole process but I think it would be classed as advertising so I haven't put the link one here. I can answer any questions though if people have any.


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## Gounie

How do you keep up with changes in the law Neil? This is the most frustrating thing for us ex-pats at the moment with visas, work permits, etc. they are changing by the minute and no-one seems to have a clue what is what, including the officials handling everything.

Is there a website somewhere with up to date information either in Arabic or English?


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## NeilHollingsworth

Gounie said:


> How do you keep up with changes in the law Neil? This is the most frustrating thing for us ex-pats at the moment with visas, work permits, etc. they are changing by the minute and no-one seems to have a clue what is what, including the officials handling everything.
> 
> Is there a website somewhere with up to date information either in Arabic or English?


It is very difficult as you say at the moment laws are changing weekly, it doesn't help when the whole cabinet resigns and new ministers come in and bring with them new ideas etc... As is the norm in Egypt they change a law and then realise it doesn't work or they have such a backlash it goes back to the way it was, just like property tax or trying to get visitors to buy visas before they arrive etc...

I think once the government settles down and some stability resumes the laws may stop changing so frequently, luckily for us not much changes in the real estate market, except a new law in July about land allocation. A lot of our clients are only visiting so as long as they can get the normal visas at the airport, set up a bank account then we don't have many issues. One thing we do have which is invaluable is a trust worthy lawyer, the only one in over 8 years we have found that has ethics and not just out to get money, so if we do have some issues with law changes we go to him and he addresses it for us. 

As you say though most of the individuals working in the government offices don't even know what is happening as they aren't told, I don't know of a website as even the Embassy website is out of date, I actually find out most of the news from Hurghada Facebook sites, which may sound funny but they do seem to have the most up to date information and of course sites like this, official sites are useless.

If you let me know which laws you are having issues with I can ask our lawyer if he has any information and I can post it for you?


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## Gounie

Thanks for this information Neil.

There is a dubious magazine article circulating with another suposedly hush hush law for foreigners:
Egypt’s Warm Welcome to Foreigners Goes Cold! : Magnificent lifestyle magazine

Maybe it is just to attract traffic to their website? But if something like this is true and we have to start booking flights every six months, how are we supposed to know that?


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## NeilHollingsworth

Gounie said:


> Thanks for this information Neil.
> 
> There is a dubious magazine article circulating with another suposedly hush hush law for foreigners:
> 
> 
> Maybe it is just to attract traffic to their website? But if something like this is true and we have to start booking flights every six months, how are we supposed to know that?


I saw this and very much doubt it is true and is just as you say a way to get traffic to their website, can you imagine how they would even police this or keep up with issuing new visas every 6 months  I will double check for you but I wouldn't pay too much attention.


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## MaidenScotland

Gounie said:


> Thanks for this information Neil.
> 
> There is a dubious magazine article circulating with another suposedly hush hush law for foreigners:
> Egypt’s Warm Welcome to Foreigners Goes Cold! : Magnificent lifestyle magazine
> 
> Maybe it is just to attract traffic to their website? But if something like this is true and we have to start booking flights every six months, how are we supposed to know that?


This has been discussed in another group.. 
It seems all that has been done is a re hash of questions and answers from other expats.. The group has also tracked down who wrote it and she has now taken all the posts from Facebook.
It is actually against the law to spread false news and cause panic in Egypt
Don't worry about it.. nothing in it is legally fact, just gossip


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## notterry

maidenscotland said:


> hi welcome back
> 
> i have a friend who is now divorced from her egyptian husband and has bought property in her own right, however there is a problem getting it registered because the property developer decided to add an extra floor without permission. My friend has been to court to have it ruled that she can apply for it to be registered.. Why is everything difficult to do, why is everything a money spinner


welcome to egypt !


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## notterry

NeilHollingsworth said:


> Quote:
> Originally Posted by Gounie View Post
> Thanks for this information Neil.
> 
> There is a dubious magazine article circulating with another suposedly hush hush law for foreigners:
> 
> 
> Maybe it is just to attract traffic to their website? But if something like this is true and we have to start booking flights every six months, how are we supposed to know that?
> I saw this and very much doubt it is true and is just as you say a way to get traffic to their website, can you imagine how they would even police this or keep up with issuing new visas every 6 months I will double check for you but I wouldn't pay too much attention.


Well unfortunately it seems to be coming true, personally I agree whole heartedly with the article.


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## hhaddad

My wife and i bought a flat in Mohandessin in 2013 for 500.000 l.e and then got our lawyer to register it in our names my wife is Egyptian and i'm British we gave him 7000 advance payment and he presented our papers at the regestary office at Dokki(shara aquary)and paid them.In September2015 we went with the lawyer to the regestary office and they announced that they cannot register the property in my name because I'm a foreigner so I said return the money so we can register the property in my wifes name.We are still waiting for the cheque and our lawyer is in contact with them and they tell him then cheque is not ready so to avoid any further delay we have paid a second advance and he has told us it will take at least 4 months to register.
We have 7000 l.e. blocked for nearly 3 years if we had put in the bank we would have gained at least 2400 in interest.


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