[Article] Caution urged over Cyprus holiday homes in Turkish area

Victor

http://www.thepost.ie/web/DocumentView/did-728333115-pageUrl--2FThe-Newspaper-2FSundays-Paper.asp

Caution urged over Cyprus holiday homes in Turkish area
19/09/04 00:00
By Sean Mac Carthaigh

Irish investors snapping up ``bargain'' holiday homes in northern Cyprus this autumn may actually be purchasing nothing but worthless title deeds, the Cypriot ambassador to Ireland has warned.

The caution comes as the authorities in the Turkish-occupied north of the Mediterranean island step up their programme of building on land owned by Greek Cypriots.

Since May, the entire island of Cyprus is a member of the European Union, but EU law cannot be enforced in the ``Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus'', a rogue state recognised only by Turkey.

United Nations-led negotiations aimed at reuniting the country are continuing, and observers suspect the Turkish authorities are trying to make as much money from property ``sales'' as they can before a settlement is reached.

Some buyers may be banking on receiving some compensation when the property is given back to its owner.

Property in the occupied area is far cheaper than in the south, and has long been popular with unscrupulous British buyers.

One English buyer, quoted in a British newspaper after buying a stone-wall villa for €42,000, said his new holiday home had come ``fully furnished'', including plates, cutlery, a bed, family pictures on the mantelpiece and even a set of x-rays on the wall.

He said the previous owner was ``some Greek who obviously left in a hurry - but it will be over my dead body that he gets this house back''.

``I have had quite a few Irish people ringing this morning alone, and I've already sold to three or four,'' said Nicki Poole of Unwin, an estate agent based in northern Cyprus.

She said while she was convinced the title deeds associated with the property she sold were legal, buyers should consult a solicitor.

The Cypriot ambassador to Ireland, Andreas Kakouris, this weekend welcomed the fact that more and more Irish citizens are visiting Cyprus.

sceptre

This has been an issue for some time (er, since 1974 really) but it's only recently that the mad Europeans including the Irish have been snapping up bargain properties on the north of the island. The issue will roll on - as I mentioned before the unification/talks about unification/hand-holding referendum last April, the property rights issue is becoming the biggest issue stopping Greek Cypriots from being willing to consider reunification with the North without having this settled. A crazy amount of properties in the north have three title deeds, sometimes held by three different people. Nicki Poole may be convinced that the title deeds are legitimate but I reckon she's quite possibly talking out of her arse.