Mike and Jenny Sanders nearly made a big mistake buying property in Southern Cyprus. They fell into one of the most common traps – they were very nearly persuaded to use their developer’s lawyer. Their developer told them this service would be free and it would be best for them to follow this route.

Although Mike and Jenny were buying their first overseas home, alarm bells started to ring, especially when the developer then asked for some cash up-front too.

Mike explained: “Everything was going hunky dory until I mentioned I wanted to do some research just to make sure I was using the right company for the legalities – and I certainly wasn’t going to part with any cash before a legal contract was in place. The developer tried to persuade me otherwise, but I felt I was being perfectly reasonable and just protecting my interests.”

“Jenny and I had often read in the press that when buying property anywhere - not just in Cyprus - it was imperative to shop around and get the right lawyer in place. We wanted someone who would protect our interests and who we could trust. We also wanted someone totally independent. Another issue that was very important to us was that we had no language problems. With all this on our minds, our instincts told us we should approach with caution. And that’s just what we did.”

“Jenny and I asked around other expats and via this route, soon found a couple of very good lawyers who came highly recommended and appeared to be totally independent. But I really wanted to make sure. ”

“I soon discovered that the British High Commission publishes a list of lawyers who are able to give advice in English to British buyers, so I contacted three of these. It turned out to be the best thing I did. Through this route, Jenny and I found an excellent lawyer.” 

“After our first meeting, we realised we could have made a massive mistake using the developer’s recommended lawyer. It’s true to say the lawyer we chose was not the cheapest, but in the long run, we have probably saved ourselves a fortune. And now we know more about the process, possibly a lot of heartache!”

“Our lawyer turned out to be excellent. She looked after our interests extremely well and immediately made changes to the developer’s proposed contract. She was very thorough and made sure we fully understood the whole buying process from start to finish.”
 
“Jenny and I are now the very proud owners of a beautiful villa in Tala in Paphos. Thanks to our lawyer, we had no problems with the property purchase whatsoever. Prior to her involvement, things were starting to look a bit rocky, but everything went smoothly once she had been appointed.”

“Buying our dream home in the sun went really well – but it could so easily all have turned sour. The best advice we can give anyone is to approach with caution, carry out endless research and most importantly - choose your lawyer very carefully!”