Choosing a real estate agency: connections in Cyprus, reputation in Russia
The best recommendation for a real estate agency is the number of successfully completed transactions, moreover, in that city and in the sector that interests you. If, for example, AN is quite successful in selling real estate in Bulgaria, but in Cyprus it has only a few transactions, and all economy-class apartments (despite the fact that you need a villa) - are you ready to trust such an intermediary?
It is worth choosing real estate agencies in Cyprus that have been cooperating with a specific Cypriot developer for several years. As a rule, they offer options in one or two cities - for example, luxury villas and apartments in Limassol.
Direct cooperation with the developer has its benefits: it is both a more flexible offer structure and the possibility of additional agreements with the developer. In addition, the price of the object in this case differs very little from the direct proposal of the developer: the agency receives the main income not at the expense of intermediary interest.
Buying property in Cyprus through an agencyWhen it comes to buying real estate abroad, this means working in two different legal and economic fields, the features and differences of which are not enough just to know - you need to have a successful practice “on both sides of the border”. Therefore, the staff of a real estate agency in Cyprus should have a lawyer specializing in this area of Cypriot law and having experience of successful transactions, as well as a translator (ideally speaking both English and Greek - all business documentation in Cyprus, including your transaction, conducted in these languages; all papers submitted by you must also have a notarized translation into English or Greek).
Is it possible to buy a home in Cyprus without going through a real estate agency?
Yes, there are such options. Of course, it is theoretically possible to solve all the issues that a real estate agency usually deals with on their own. But when you ask yourself the question of purchasing real estate in Cyprus, you find yourself in an unfamiliar legal and economic field, which is significantly different from the Russian one. Plus, unless you are a fluent English lawyer, there are inevitable "translation difficulties".
Even if you decide to deal directly with a developer, you will have to a) be personally in Cyprus, b) use the services of a translator, lawyer and notary. Thus, the success of your event is in the hands of intermediaries, without whom it is impossible to do in any case.
At the moment, only one of the ten leading developers in Cyprus has its own offices in Russia and Ukraine, so its clients have a unique opportunity to complete a transaction to purchase real estate without intermediaries and without leaving their country.
