Completion of Conveyancing
Conveyancing is the process which must be followed for transferring an immovable property from the vendor to the buyer. The procedure could be described as complicated as it requires the submission and drafting of relevant documents. Legal representation is required to complete this process.
Selection of Property – Reservation – Payment of Deposit
Primarily, the vendor makes an offer for selling a property and when a potential buyer is interested to buy it and the selling price is agreed on, the two parties either sign a reservation agreement and the buyer pays a reservation fee which usually takes the property off the market for a specific period of time which the parties agree on, or the two parties proceed with a contract of sale.
Preparation of a Contract of Sale – Payment of Stamp Duty – Lodge the Agreement to the District Land Office
The buyer’s lawyer shall request documents and information from the seller’s lawyer to check the property. The requested documentation may include among others, a recent land search which shows if any encumbrances and/or mortgages and/or prohibitions are registered οn the property, urban planning permit, building permit etc.
If the information is clear, then the agreements are drafted. Both sides’ lawyers are sending their changes until there is a final version of the agreement and once the clients agree, they proceed with signing. It is important to mention that if the buyer is not in Cyprus, he can grant a power of attorney to his/her lawyer to arrange and sign on his/her behalf the necessary documents. Once both the vendor and buyer have signed the contract of sale in four copies, they need to proceed to stamp them at the Revenue Stamp department.
One of the four documents is then stamped as the original and retained by the buyer’s lawyer, although the other three agreements are stamped as certified true copies of the original. The Stamp Duty is paid by the buyer. When stamp duty is completed, the next step is to lodge the contract of sale to the District Land Office for specific performance purposes within 6 months of the signing date.
This act protects the buyer’s interest by wrongful actions from the vendor. Consequently, the purchaser has the right to exercise all legal property rights such as to sell, rent, gift, assign or mortgage the property even before the issuance of the title deed.
Completion of Conveyancing
Completion occurs when the sale of the property is finalised, and the purchaser becomes the legal owner of the property. It takes some years for the title deeds to be issued but this delay is due to the land office. It is important to mention that third country nationals get approval by the Council of Ministers which submit to the land registry with other requested documents.
Property Transfer Fees
When title deeds are issued and the vendor is ready to transfer the property to the buyer, the buyer is required to pay the following transfer fees and in return the land office shall issue the title deed in his/her name.
3% on the purchase price up to €85,000
5% on the purchase price from €85,001 to €170,000
8% on the remainder of the purchase price over €170,000
Our property lawyers would be happy to meet or provide additional information and give you a detailed description of the process and our services.
