Property purchases rarely go wrong because someone paid a little too much. They go wrong because a question wasn’t asked at the right moment. A permit nobody looked at, a parking space that turned out to be shared, or a bank valuation lower than the agreed price can turn a good decision into an expensive one.
That was the starting point of “Before You Sign”, a presentation given on 12 November 2026 by Petros N. Lazarou, Managing Director of G&P Lazarou Estate Agents, drawing on more than 33 years in the Cyprus property market. This article follows the presentation from the first viewing to the day you receive the keys. It is a map of which questions to ask, when to ask them and who should answer each one.
Every check has a right moment
A purchase moves through five stages:
- Search and evaluation.
- Before a reservation or deposit.
- Before signing the contract.
- Payments and completion.
- Handover and possession.
The same check costs more the later it happens. Before a deposit, a problem is a reason to negotiate or walk away. After signing, it’s a dispute. Most of the serious difficulties we see don’t come from bad intentions. They come from a check made two stages too late.
Start with a clear purpose
The same apartment can be the right purchase for a family and the wrong one for an investor. Before you view your first property, write down in one sentence why you’re buying.
- To live in: schools, commute, noise, orientation and how the family’s needs may change.
- To invest: rental demand, maintenance costs and how easily you could resell in five years.
- As a holiday home: seasonality, distance and the cost of looking after a property that sits closed for months.
- For a business: first, whether your activity is permitted there. Then the price.
Don’t decide on first impressions
Furniture and paint change in a weekend. Location, permits and the title deed don’t. Go back a second time, on a different day and at a different hour. Look for signs of damp and poor maintenance, check noise, parking and access, and find out what could be built around you. If the price is low, find out why.
Read listings carefully too. An asking price is not a proven value. Two listings can both say “100 m²” while one counts verandas and stairwell areas and the other means net internal space. Always ask how the area was measured. Then compare with prices properties have actually sold for, not only with other listings.
Who does what
No single professional covers everything:
- A licensed estate agent coordinates the transaction from the first viewing through to transfer.
- An independent lawyer of your own choosing checks the title, encumbrances and contract, and deposits the contract at the Land Registry.
- An engineer and land surveyor, working with the architect, check construction, plans, boundaries and building potential.
- A valuer gives a documented market value.
- The bank assesses the loan and carries out its own valuation.
- A tax adviser confirms VAT, fees and the certificates needed for the transfer.
Work with a licensed estate agent. Agents in Cyprus must be registered and hold an annual licence. They pass written exams in property and planning law, are subject to disciplinary control and must identify the parties to a transaction under anti-money-laundering rules. They also have a legal duty to inform the buyer about the physical condition of the property and the rights that burden it, whichever side they act for. Ask for the licence number and check it.
Check who is selling, and what you’re buying
Look at the person across the table as carefully as the property. Is the seller the registered owner? Are there co-owners, an inheritance or minors involved? If a company is selling, who is authorised to sign? If someone holds a power of attorney, what does it cover, and is it still valid?
Then be precise about what you’re buying. “I’m buying a flat” can mean four different legal things:
- full ownership registered in your name;
- a separate unit in a jointly owned building, with its own title deed;
- an undivided share of a larger plot, which you can’t develop on your own;
- contractual rights to a property whose title deed hasn’t been issued yet.
Ask directly: what will the title deed in my name actually say?
Title deed, searches and encumbrances
A title deed tells you who owns a property. It doesn’t tell you whether it was built legally.
A search certificate from the Land Registry shows mortgages, charges and prohibitions. It is valid only for its date, so the one attached to your contract should be recent.
A mortgage doesn’t mean “no”. It means there has to be a process: who removes it, when, with what money, and what happens if it isn’t removed. If the property is part of a development, the mortgage may cover the whole project, and you’ll need a partial release for your unit. All of this belongs in the contract.
If the title deed is still pending, find out exactly which step is missing. It might be the competent authority’s certificate, survey work, horizontal division, the application to the Land Registry or the settlement of a mortgage.
Two permits and a certificate
These three answer different questions:
- Planning permit: is this development allowed on this plot?
- Building permit: are these specific plans approved?
- Certificate of approval: was it built as approved?
A property can have a title deed and still have a permit issue. The most expensive surprise is often part of the house that doesn’t appear on the plans: an enclosed veranda, a pool, a pergola or a storage room turned into a bedroom. Ask an engineer to compare the approved plans with what actually stands on site.
A technical inspection puts a number on what’s coming
An inspection isn’t about finding faults for the sake of it. It tells you what the next few years will cost. It should cover:
- structure, roof, waterproofing and damp;
- electrical and mechanical systems, drainage and insulation;
- the energy performance certificate.
Get quotes for any repairs. Buying “as is” doesn’t excuse you from checking. It makes the check more urgent.
Finally, agree in writing what’s included in the price, from parking and storage to the kitchen, wardrobes, air conditioning and solar water heater. If it isn’t written down, it isn’t included.
What to check by type of property
Apartments. When you buy an apartment, you also join a community of co-owners. Check where your parking space, storage room, garden or roof terrace is recorded, and whether it’s yours alone or shared. Ask about the co-ownership percentage, the building’s rules, unpaid common expenses, the reserve fund and any major repairs planned. If you’re thinking of short-term letting, check the building’s rules first.
Houses and villas. The fence isn’t the boundary. The survey is. Check extensions, basements, outbuildings and the pool against the permits, and look at the roof, drainage and whether the house is connected to the sewerage system or uses a septic tank. Ask whether anyone has a right of way across the land.
Plots. Building density tells you how much you may build, not whether what you want will fit. Check the zone, coverage, height and floors, legal access to a registered road, the stage of any land division, utilities, slope, ground conditions and watercourses. The right question isn’t “how many square metres am I entitled to?” It’s “will what I want fit, with these setbacks, this slope and this excavation cost?” An architect’s preliminary study answers that before you pay a deposit.
Fields. A field is not a plot waiting to happen. Confirm in writing what is permitted in the zone today. “It will be included in the plan” is not evidence. Check access, rights of third parties and any protected-area restrictions.
Offices. The first question is whether your activity is allowed there. Then look at parking, accessibility, fire safety, services, common expenses and fit-out costs. If the transaction carries VAT, whether you can reclaim it depends on your business.
Shops and restaurants. Are you buying a property or a business? Equipment, customers, staff and liabilities belong to a separate agreement and a separate valuation. Check operating licences, ventilation, grease drainage, loading access and any existing lease.
Warehouses and industrial buildings. Check permitted activities in the zone, heavy-vehicle access, clear height, floor loads and electrical capacity. Ask about previous use, since fire safety or environmental issues may follow the property.
How you buy changes what you check
The form of the purchase matters as much as the property:
- new build or resale;
- off-plan or under construction;
- vacant or tenanted;
- full ownership or a share;
- an assignment of someone else’s contract;
- a property bought at auction.
For a property under construction, remember that a rendering is not a specification. Attach the material specifications to the contract, link payments to certified progress, set the delivery date and what happens if it’s missed, and agree how defects, handover and the title deed will be dealt with. If you’re told something is guaranteed, ask to see where it says so in writing.
The real total cost
The price is only one part of the cost. Write a budget before you commit, covering:
- the price, and the confirmed tax treatment of your specific purchase;
- legal, technical, valuation and bank fees;
- estate agency fees, if they’re payable by the buyer;
- insurance, utility connections, local charges and common expenses;
- repairs, fit-out, furniture and a reserve.
The main tax points, as they stood in November 2026:
- VAT rates. VAT on new properties is 19%. A reduced 5% rate can apply to an eligible main and permanent residence. It covers the first 130 m² of buildable area and the first €350,000 of value, with upper limits of 190 m² and €475,000.
- The reduced rate comes with obligations. The home must remain your main residence for ten years. If it stops being your main residence earlier, the difference must be repaid proportionally.
- A listing doesn’t decide the tax. Calling a property “new” or “resale” in a listing doesn’t decide how it’s taxed. The legal facts of the specific transaction do.
- Transfer fees where VAT is paid. They generally don’t apply. However, if the Land Registry values the property above the declared price, transfer fees may arise on top of VAT.
- Transfer fees where no VAT is due. They are charged in bands of 3% up to €85,000, 5% up to €170,000 and 8% above that, generally reduced by 50%.
- Stamp duty was abolished from 1 January 2026.
- Capital gains tax is paid by the seller.
Tax rules change, so confirm everything that applies to your purchase with a tax adviser before signing.
Financing: pre-approval is not approval
The most painful surprise is a bank valuation below the agreed price. The loan is then calculated on the lower figure, and the buyer covers the difference. Make sure you know your own contribution and have cash for the costs. Check how a change in interest rates would affect your instalment. Make the payment dates in the contract match when the bank actually releases the money. If the bank is late, who bears the cost? Agree that in the contract before you sign.
For investors: gross yield is advertising, net yield is a decision
Take a hypothetical example. You invest €250,000 including purchase costs, and the flat lets for €1,200 a month. That’s €14,400 a year, a gross yield of 5.76%. Allow for one month without a tenant and €2,700 a year in owner’s running costs, and net operating income falls to €10,500. That’s a net yield of 4.20%, before tax, financing and any major works. Check the actual lease terms, vacancies, management, insurance and income tax. For short-term letting, you’ll also need registration and the related fee.
From reservation to keys
Five steps are often mistaken for one:
- A reservation with written terms.
- Signing the contract.
- Depositing the contract at the Land Registry, which must be done within six months of signing.
- Transfer of the title deed.
- Physical handover.
The last two don’t always happen in that order. When the title deed is pending, you may live in the property for years before ownership is transferred. That’s why depositing the contract matters so much: it activates the legal protections for the buyer.
Make every payment on written terms, to a clearly identified recipient, with verified bank details and proof of payment. Buyers from outside the EU need permission to acquire property, with conditions and limits. Buying property does not automatically give a right of residence.
Treat handover as a process, not a ceremony. Carry out a final inspection and list defects in writing with deadlines for repair. Collect keys, meter readings, warranties, documents and manuals. Confirm whether you’re receiving vacant possession or taking over a lease. Write down what remains to be done, who will do it, by when, and what happens if it isn’t done.
Five things to do from tomorrow
- Write the purpose of your purchase in one sentence.
- Work with a licensed estate agent and a lawyer of your own choosing before you hand over the first euro.
- Ask for the title deed, permits and certificate of approval together.
- Put every verbal promise into the contract.
- Deposit the contract at the Land Registry immediately.
As Petros Lazarou put it at the close of the presentation: “In property, you don’t pay for the mistakes you made. You pay for the questions you didn’t ask.”
Download the full presentation “Before You Sign” (PDF)
If you’re planning to buy, our consultants can guide you through each stage and work alongside your lawyer and engineer. For an independent opinion of value before you commit, see our property valuation services. Contact G&P Lazarou Estate Agents in Nicosia on +357 22024949, Larnaca on +357 24104949 or Limassol on +357 25024949, email sales@gplazarou.com or visit gplazarou.com.
This article is for general information and is based on the presentation of 12 November 2026. It is not a substitute for personal legal, technical, valuation or tax advice.