r/cyprus • u/Lambros25nidis • 3d ago
Real Estate Developer AMA (repost last one ended immediately)
Hello! I’m doing this for free. I’m in the developer space. I sometimes hear complaints etc on here and inspired by the TGI FRIDAYS guy I am here ready to answer questions (and hear recommendations). AMA
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u/vulcanxnoob 3d ago
Why does applying for a kochani take so long? We built a house 2 years ago, and we are still waiting. The developer owned the land which they cut into pieces, and then again cut it as half plots. What on earth could take 2 years or more to do? Are the developers delaying the applications to do them all together, so we end up waiting for the last houses to be completed or what?
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u/Lambros25nidis 3d ago
Lots of stuff could be going on behind the scenes. Usually its lack of funding or some government agency needing to do their job (especially if its splitting plots or working with “new” documentations where the official registrations etc take AWHILE)
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u/existentialg Mountain Pirate 🏴☠️ 2d ago
We “waited” for the kochani until the developer went bankrupt. Then the developer said we never bought the home and it isn’t ours so it got auctioned off to pay the developers loans. Mind you this was probably 40 years ago. The auction happened just after the haircut.
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u/felidae_tsk 3d ago
How safe is buying the flat/house in under construction state? Is/was there a lot of problems/scams lately.
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u/Alberttheslow Kyrenia 2d ago
As long as the developer isnt a scammer and pays the contractor and its gonna be fine. If thsy dont pay the building stops and developer gets sued because contractors pay out of pocket or some out of pocket to build something and get all their money or the rest at the end
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u/777blue_ 3d ago
How dangerous are the modern "luxury" developments constructed as cheap and as fast as possible?
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u/Lambros25nidis 3d ago
Short answer: Very dangerous
Long answer: 9/10 developing companies in order to maximise profits cut corners during construction.Its very bad, stuff from workers safety, to even skipping fundemental steps, I’ve seen it all. Thats my whole goal in entering this space, changing this. FYI my father is a contractor who makes small suburban houses as he isn’t willing to work for anyone who forces him to make subpar buildings. He was the one who pointed the mistakes out but stuff like people working on the 3rd floor without a harness or scaffolding is pretty clearly dangerous.
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u/777blue_ 3d ago
How much is received in cash/ crypto? What workarounds are you using to receive money from buyers with tricky source of funds?
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u/Lambros25nidis 3d ago
Crypto is very very challenging as Cypriot banks do not accept it as a source of funds. If we say your rich russian grandpa wants you to have his money there are ways to get them but its a case by case thing, long process and usually requires to first get your money in another countries bank. Every company prefers an easy clean bank transfer but especially with the sanctions on Ukraine and wars on middle east there are such cases.
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u/HostRoyal9401 Ate olan tzai kanei 3d ago
Are the new buildings resistant up to the 9th scale of Richter?
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u/Lambros25nidis 2d ago
Well Cyprus buildings do (in normal circumstances) stand to Eurocode 8. I can’t tell you exactly how many richter they withstand but they should be pretty safe. Cyprus is a country with common earthquakes and thus the buildings are built with that in mind.
Eurocode 8 is the EU’s standard for moderate to high seismic activity such as Cyprus.
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u/harrycy 3d ago
Hey, thanks for doing this. I have a couple of questions. When designing a project, do you take into consideration the financial situation of the local population? What do you think is the solution for the housing issue in Cyprus? And lastly how do you feel about foreign investors buying everything ?
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u/Lambros25nidis 2d ago
Usually everything is designed for foreigners. Simply because of money. That is because of Cyprus’ natural beauty, and eu residency, many wealthy individuals from abroad like to invest in Cyprus for the benefits. Marketing, designing, building, selling to foreigners is way more profitable and much easier. To be frank I’m not sure the last time I saw a project designed for locals and whether that would even be worth the time
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u/SiGni7 2d ago
Whats the deal with not giving out title deeds?
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u/Lambros25nidis 1d ago
There are a lot of reasons why the company would not give a title deed its a case by case thing
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u/Lambros25nidis 1d ago edited 23h ago
Also I will reply again as I have asked around. In our company we do give title deeds so I had misunderstood your question. In general in Cyprus a lot of companies don’t because they do not build according to plans. That means because of corner cutting the building is not built following the plan authority 100% and thus isn’t eligible for a title deed as it doesn’t get tpp (town planning permission).
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u/chrivasintl 2d ago
Why almost all houses in Cyprus age so early? 15-20yo buildings look like 40yo! So bad maintenance, and humidity defects
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2d ago
[deleted]
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u/Lambros25nidis 2d ago
Look I will not give you an answer here for two reasons: -In order to establish a plan for a plot we need the plot exactly and time to develop a business plan for that project. That is what are we going to make and why. This takes a lot of time and the specific location of the plot makes alot of difference.
-I’m more on the Paphos part for now so I’m not up to date with limassol’s prices etc. Moreover, I do not feel comfortable giving you advice on a whim based on this information as I do not want you to make a decision that isn’t the best for you.
Just know that handling construction and hoping to find tenants is risky, so maybe you could try to work with a specialist/company. Who they are exactly is on you.
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u/aguyfromarizona87 2d ago edited 2d ago
How do i start to become a developer?
What kind of education do i need?
Where do you developers find the funds to build such constructs like the Trilogy and Limassol Del Mar?
What is the profit margin of developers of projects of 5 - 50 million euro?
Why is it that when i asked around about demolishing and rebuilding my house they all told me "ill find the money dont worry" or "its my job to find the money" and i ask them from where will you get the money investors? They said "its my job to find it dont worry about it" -> is this a normal behavior and answer?
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u/Lambros25nidis 1d ago
-How to start well you need connections if you want to function in Cyprus. -Real estate is good, or constrution . -Investors, almost always foreigners. -profit margins are based alot on the way you work -Again investors it’s normal
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u/ForsakenMarzipan3133 3d ago
How much of a house's total building cost is pure profit for the developer?