Deposits – Cyprus Property Buying

 

Purchasers are often asked by Developers and Estate Agents to give a cash deposit to, for example, secure a particular property and take it off the market, secure the purchase price or simply show goodwill in the transaction.  Often these are declared upfront to be non refundable.  We don’t agree that this is appropriate because the deposit and all payments should go through your independent lawyer who will advise you whether you are a Purchaser or a Vendor.

Here is a note of the legal position.  George Coucounis has helped us out with legal views before so we are happy to promote his web site. This is where the following basic legal statement has been drawn from.

“Any deposit which is given as guarantee for complying with the terms of an agreement is not refundable, whereas the payment made on account of the purchase price is refundable (unless the written agreement provides otherwise.)”

If you decide, against advice of The Cyprus Informer, to give a deposit direct to a Developer or Estate Agent then make sure that you get a clear written agreement on which of the two options you are providing the deposit and get a receipt !! Check the amount !!

There is no stakeholders law and protection scheme if a deposit on account of the purchase price is taken and held by an Estate Agent in Cyprus.  There is no protection for either the Purchaser or the Vendor. You might not get a refund if you are a Purchaser. Best make this type of deposit through Lawyers.

But mostly the Deposits taken by Estate Agents and Developers are of the non refundable type. Vendors should also take great care about Purchasers giving these Deposits as well.  You might think that if a Purchaser pulls out that the Deposit will be available to meet your Lawyers costs as well as the Estate Agent’s costs in the abortive costs.  Can’t be too much, I hear you thinking, out of euro 2,000.  But we hear of Estate Agents keeping the lot !! So best make this type of deposit through Lawyers as well.

Back to George Coucounis.  His new site is at http://www.buy-cyprus-property.co.uk/

There are some great articles there if you have legal questions about buying a home in Cyprus.  And you can ask him online. Here is his article list.

Advice about deposits when buying a property in Cyprus
Property value in Cyprus is defined by the Land Registry
Breach of contract by the vendor and the purchaser’s options
Weaknesses in executing a sale contract in Cyprus
Illegal property sale agreement
Acquisition of immovable property with the use of a power of attorney but without authority
Resolving the property matters of separated couples
Subsidy for purchasing a new house in Cyprus
The value of an immovable property is personal data
Compensation for bad workmanship in a new building
Compensation for late delivery of a sold property
Forming a company to buy property in Cyprus
Capital gains tax when selling property in Cyprus
Purchasing immovable property in Cyprus  

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The Black Art of Buying Property in Cyprus™ ®
The Cyprus Informer™ ® ©
http://cyprusinformer.eu

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