Seems that the new law is an attempt (by the Turkish govt. in Ankara in effect) to open Northern Cyprus up to foreign investment and make it more like Cyprus proper in terms of economic development (tourism, business investment etc.) and is targeting individuals, both foreign and Turkish settlers, who obtained land cheaply way back when and are sitting on and doing nothing with it.
So is the house you are in on a plot of land of more than 3,300 m2, or do you 'own' agricultural land?
If I were you, I'd sell your properties to the highest bidder and get the most out of it, because it looks like if you don't, you might end up with nothing. And something is better than nothing.
How much did you/your mother pay for the properties/land you own?
I dont think the local expats see it that way, in all the discussions I have followed, and previous shenanigans. One major thing was developers were/are not registerig sales, thus not paying their taxes. As taxes are paid on the receipt of title deeds, which many of them refuse to supply, cannot supply, or charge up to 30k to some people inorder to obtain them (on top of the puchase taxes and purchase price already paid).
Also because of the above, and other criteria that prevent foreigners from being able to complete theirs purchases properly, the government doesn't have a true record of all ownership i the country.
Now the MAIN reason is actually to prevent 'Israel' mega purchases (many of whom are the largest developers here). So with so many coming from Russia, Ukraine etc and other countries, they are actually Israeli's, for a fast buck. Or fleeing other countries. Eg not to become an 'annex' of Israel.
Turkish nationalities are considered 'locals' as far as this law is concerned, so it does not affect them.
Ironically, the South is actually starting to cause a lot of political problems for the TRNC as well as marketing propaganda. The latest being catching Israeli developers when they cross the border south to get planes from Paphos to Israel. A few huge developers are now in prison awaiting 'trials' for developing land here, when they KNOW that the European Court of HHuman Rights has told them to go through the proper, workable channels, the IPC (Independent Property Commission) set up in the TRNC years ago to award all compensation claims fro the south. The IPC has, and is, compensating mega millions of pounds to date. And regularly updates cases in the papers.
However, no compensation has yet come from the South for the legal owners of a massive number of land and properties owned by the Turkish Cypriots there.
I mention this as really, the arrests are only to further upset the Government here, and are actually totally illegal.
Now the reason the Expats here know that this law is mainly about taxes in to the Government coffers, is that it has totally, carelessly, and corruptively I don't doubt, such a huge fiscal deficit.
Foreigners have always been to 'go to' cash cows here, even though the many charities they run fully kit out the hospitals, provide ambulances, fund cancer treatments for most, support SOS and big time animal welfare of strays etc. The Gov relys on donations as it does not fund such things for its people itself. Though has just built a new hospital now.
Furthermore, for the last 2 years it has been a purposeful administrative nightmare to obtain temporary residency ID. It needlessly, in the busiest area of Kyrenia, took 9 months to obtain a residency that lasted one year! So in effect one you finally got the residency it was only valid for 3 months! And during the waiting time you were not allowed to leave the country until after the first 60 days since application.
Again, many Ex-Pat Groups kept appealing to the authorities due to the extra stress, irrationality (and of only 2 part-timers purposefully dealing with the huge number of applications, and who were frequently called over to other departments to 'fill in' there)!
Plus so many people were getting exhorbitant fines for being 'overstayers' without knowing they were!
The frequent increases in the minimum wages (3 last year, 2 so far this year), has also caused such inflation, that pensioners on UK state pensions are no longer being able to afford to live here. And the cost of living is more than London or Paris for many things. Thus it is no longer attractive to tourists, so they go elsewhere.
With the glut of enforced sales of foreign land/properties - including fully functioning businesses of foreigners o land that they must now liquidate - the property market is the lowest it has ever been now.
The Developers themselves are also having problems selling all the masses of developments everywhere due to the new restrictive laws for them and banning investors from buying more than one property.
Re how much di we invest?
The facts of the matter are that neither mum nor I will even be able to recoup the
original savings we invested here from selling our houses in the UK.
That is if we can sell at all.
Which is precisely the advice my father and grandmother (via communication), gave me 2 months ago:
Sell what ever you can, as soon as you can, get out, and don't look back!
Which is what you also say, and is my main preoccupation here atm.
My main project/community land I bought as agricultural land as I intended to have a farm/permaculture etc. So has now been made effectively worthless. 35 donums.
However, I have also stated above, that apart from the Government after our assets, my dead solicitor's eldest son is also illegally after them!!
And until we win his court case against his younger brother and his family, (as our trust shareholders), - they are all lawyers - we cannot get the injunction lifted that he imposed on all our assets for this court case.
At the same time the clock is ticking:
a) When the government will declare all assets null and void (except mum's house, if we win the case).
b) My deadline of June to get out - or not at all!
On a wing and a prayer, I will slash the sales prices again next week, and do some more intensive marketing.
On a separate note, I have come across an international expat investment blogger who is warning people that a few countries are now imposing exit taxes on anyone who is considering emigrating!
