Cyprus
Buying Guide
Purchase a copy of the Cyprus Buying Guide and get over 80
pages of educational, non-biased information on the full buying
process, tips on what to look out for...what not to do...and
ways to make the entire buying process easier, safer and less
stressful!
Cyprus Buying Guide Property Matching
Service
Save time and avoid dodgy developers/agents by using the Cyprus
Buying Guide Matching service! Enter your property requirements
and I'll give you a ring to discuss developers/agents in the
area of your needs. After our discussion, and provided you're
happy for me to do so, I'll put you in touch with the relevant
developer or agent.
CBG Resource
Finder
Save time finding solicitors, mortgage brokers, financial
experts, furniture people and more…with the Cyprus Buying
Guide Resource finder! Simply enter your requirements and
I'll send you information on who I or my contacts have used
successfully in the past.
Cyprus
Buying Guide Forum
A community of people buying (or thinking of buying) in Cyprus.
Please visit our forum so that you can ask questions, post
answers or tell us your experiences with buying a property
in Cyprus. It
is so important to share stories and help each other, so please
visit the forum on an ongoing basis.
1.
BEFORE GOING TO CYPRUS
BUYING
EUROS
Before you go to Cyprus and definitely before
you purchase in Cyprus it's very important to set
up a currency account. By having a currency account, you will
be updated weekly on how the Euro (Cyprus no longer trades
in CY£) is performing along with suggestions as to when
it is a good time to buy currency or reserve money for a future
purchase. Please read the page on 'Money
Issues' for more information. Otherwise, check out Smart
Currency Exchange:
Smart
Currency Exchange Limited
Smart is the UK's only currency exchange company that workes
exclusively with overseas property buyers. Smart helps clients
to save money by creating a currency strategy and working
to a budget figure. Please check Smart out as soon as you
know that you need to move money to Cyprus.
Get
YOUR FREE Report
Learn how to save £££’s being Smart
with your Currency when buying in Cyprus – Free Report
provides the top three mistakes that buyers make along with
helping you to create a currency strategy that will help you
in your particular situation. Click the Smart logo below to
claim your free report:
BOOKS
& READING INFORMATION
Read my
Book Review on 'Buying a Property in Cyprus'
by clicking here!
The
Cyprus Buing Guide Book Store (Powered by Amazon.co.uk)
I love technology! Amazon.co.uk has come up with a way for
me to create a little store that houses all the Books I recommend
about Cyprus. How awesome is that? Any way – please
check this store out and tell me what you think.
Property
and Home Cyprus' Magazine
This seems to be the only magazine that covers Cyprus ONLY.
I've met with the editor to discuss how we might help each
other to educate the public about how awesome Cyprus is, but
she never returns my calls. Needless to say, the magazine
is well worth a read.
It has
tonnes of great information on all aspects of Cyprus. The
information on the buying process, taxes and feature articles
are all fantastic. I couldn't recomend a magazine more than
this one. Further, with their new website, you can order an
on-line version for CY £3.00 or sign up for a subscription.
WH Smiths
I'm sure you know all about WH Smiths! They don't seem to
cover the magazine above, but they do have information on
Cyprus within the many Overseas Magazines. It's a bit of a
strange way to go about things, but go to the site, click
on Magazines and then look up the Genre of 'Homes & Gardens'
and then you'll be able to choose from a variety of overseas
property magazines such as 'A place in the Sun.' By making
the subscription purchase over the net you can save over 20%.
LEARNING
THE GREEK LANGUAGE
Rossetta
Stone
I first found Rosetta Stone in America located in Airports
- that was several years ago. Since then the company has gone
international in a big way. From what the *experts* say this
system is the absolute best. The curriculum includes listening
comprehension, speaking, reading, and writing. You can get
the information in a CD rom or via an online subscription
format. There are two reasons that I think this site is worth
looking at:
1. They
offer a free on-line demo so you can 'try-before-you-buy'
and
2. If you do decide to purchase they offer a 6-month full
money back if you're not happy. Any one that puts a claim
like that on thier products must believe that their product
will deliver!
Click
on the Rosetta Stone link above to check out their site. To
find the demo - it's a tab along the top that says, 'Demo'.
Audible
Another great website that offers Digital Books on learning
Greek is Audible. The site had 14 matches to 'Greek Language'
when I last checked. And when you do a search the details
of each audio book appear listing the price, ratings from
other listeners and an audio clip so that you can listen before
you buy. The site also offers comedy shows, radio dramas,
self-development programs and all sorts. The way it works
is you sign up, install software on your computer that manages
your audio device (i.e. MP3 player, Ipod) and then you download
the audio of your choice and simply upload the data to your
MP3 player...
You get
two FREE audio books when you try Audible, so it's worth looking
at. The whole site is set up for people that use digital audio
players, so if you have an IPod or MP3 player this is a must-see
site!
Transparent
Language
Transparent Language is another website that
offers Greek language sets. When I first signed up to this
site, they offered a free 'lite' version of their software
- it came with flash cards and this cool testing and review
system. Since I signed up to the freebie, it seems to have
vanished from the website...Unless I'm blind? Any way - this
site seems to be a cross between Rosetta and Audible as it
offers both CD's and digital information for download - for
an IPod or MP3 player.
TRAVEL
INSURANCE
Columbus Direct
I get my travel insurance from Columbus or Direct Line - one
or the other is always cheaper than everyone else. The website
could not be easier to use – it’s not crowed with
all sorts of services…it just offers travel insurance.
All you do is enter some details, determine what kind of insurance
you want and decide if you want to pay the price. The site
offers regular travel, over 64, adventure, pet insurance and
more.
NOTE:
When booking, Cyprus is included under the heading of 'Europe.'
I physically called to confirm that with them as it didn't
seem to be listed. Click on the link above to get a quote
- it only takes 2 minutes at the most!
Direct Line Travel Insurance On
a previous trip to Cyprus I tried Columbus Direct and the
website wasn't working. Getting annoyed I tried American Express
and discoverd I would have to sell an organ to pay their prices.
After thinking about providers, I remember Direct Line - those
stupid commercials with the little red phone must have worked
on me. Any way, getting a quote from Direct Line and purchasing
your insurance on-line could not be any easier. Click on the
link below:
American Express
This website has insurance for everything - home, motor, identity,
and of course - travel insurance. If you click on the link
above, you'll go to the Travel Insurance area. Personally,
I feel that their prices are outrages.
Travel
Insurance Online
This company is part of Jade Stanley Limited which is regulated
and authorised by the Financial Services Authority. They provide
Annual Travel Insurance for UK Residents only. The insurance
seems fairly cheap so check this site agains the others to
find out where you can get the best quote.
Direct
Travel- This company is based in Shoreham, West
Sussex. They are very competitive and consistently win awards
for their outstanding products and customer services.
SIM
CARDS FOR OVERSEAS
Sim4travel
This is an outstanding service that allows you to purchase
a SIM card online and have it delivered straight to your door.
With the SIM you can receive calls for FREE in Cyprus (and
65 other countries), save up to 85% on calls worldwide and
top it up from anywhere at anytime - direct from your phone.
Take it from me - I've had phone bills amounting to over £500.00
due to phone calls received and made from Cyprus - and I'm
not a huge fan of the phone, but even a few calls can add
up if you don't make plans to change your SIM card!
NOTE:
When in Cyprus you can also buy a pay-as-you go SIM card for
around £4 to £20 Cypriot Pounds. The key thing
is that you either need to take the SIM out of your UK phone
or use an old phone. If you travel to destinations other than
Cyprus, I suggest you check out the link above.
SERVICES
TO USE BEFORE YOU GO TO CYPRUS
Independent
Financial Advisors (IFA's) IFA's are awesome - they can help you by taking a
big-picture look at your assets (capital in your property,
savings, pension, investments) and then helping you to determine
the best way to finance a purchase in Cyprus. Many can help
with the mortgage, ways on setting up the purchase so you
save money and general advice that will allow you to make
good solid decisions when financing a property in Cyprus.
Go to my resources page and request more information on IFA's
here
Mortgage
Lenders
If you need to borrow money for a property
in Cyprus there are several ways that you can get it. Aside
from using an IFA, you can also talk with a UK Mortgage Lender
or a loan provider in Cyprus. Please read the CBG page on
Financing. And if you'd like my
help to find a provider, please fill out my resource
form.
Solicitors You can use a UK-based solicitor
or a Cyprus-based solicitor. The key is to use one that is
INDEPENDENT from your purchase. In other words, do not use
the solicitor that your agent or developer recommend. If you'd
like to meet with an indepentant solicitor please contact
me 2 weeks before going to Cyprus and let me know where you'll
be buying and from whom you will be buying from. Please eMail
me or fill out my resources
form.
ACCOMMODATION
IN CYPRUS
Book
Cyprus Bookcyprus
has the largest selection of hotels and villas in Cyprus and
was the the first online reservation website dedicated to
the island of Cyprus. They also have the best deals on hotels
villas, excursions, car hire and transfers. The one thing
that I really like about this website is that there is phone
number in clear view. With everything done online these days
I get fed up with no human interaction. When booking a hotel
you want to know that everything is taken care of. Any way
- check out Book Cyprus and PLEASE send me feedback if you
use them and what you think... Click on the Book Cyprus Link
above to view the website.
Thomas Cook
Don't forget to go to the Thomas Cook website before you book
your flights. There may just be a holiday offer that would
slot in with your plans to view property - a whole lot cheaper
perhaps than it would cost you through a high-street travel
agent. There is no better way to decide where to buy than
to spend a holiday there, preferably out of season. Look at
Thomas Cook's website for inexpensive holidays.
Rental
Properties R Us
When I last looked at this site, it was under construction
so hopefully it looks better than when I saw it! Any way -
the contact I have at 'Rental Properties R Us' is Tracie and
she seems like a very helpful person. Tracie takes care of
holiday and long-term letting, so if you want any information
on letting - whether you're interested to rent or become a
landlord and what to know about rental yields, please contact
Tracie at: info@rentalpropertiesrus.com
or call her on: 00357 99822539
2.
GETTING TO CYPRUS
AIRLINES
British
Airways
Not realising that BA flew to Cyprus, I never looked before
however, someone mentioned that they were doing really good
deals. Well – let me tell you…I cannot recommend
more highly the entire process of buying and flying with British
Airways (and that goes for flying anywhere in the world).
To begin,
I booked my tickets over their website and it was totally
awesome. You can specify whether or not you can fly +/- 3
days or +/- 7 days in order to see the various prices on each
day. By booking this way, I found that it was £100’s
of pounds cheaper to go out on a Saturday rather than a Sunday.
If I didn’t know this, I would have simply booked the
days I originally had in mind.
Then…when
I arrived at the airport, all I had to do was go to a machine
that looked like a cash machine (hole-in-the-wall) and enter
the Credit Card I had used to purchase the tickets. After
about 3 minutes of answering the security questions on the
machine, my tickets popped out and I was instructed to go
to the baggage drop-off point. Holy-flippin-smokes!!! The
entire booking in process took no more than 7 minutes.
I highly
recommend BA if you fly anywhere…they truly are a class
act! Check out BA Here
Cyprus
Airways
I booked with this carrier fairly recently. On the website
my total came to £380 for two tickets but when I received
them I had been charged £430. Was I upset – YES!!!
When I called the company to complain I found that the total
quoted on the website was in Cypriot Pounds not Sterling.
(Please note that as of Jan 1st, 2008 Cyprus no longer trades
in CY£'s - it's all in Euros now)
Looking
back at the site, I realised that I was blind and didn’t
notice that the prices were clearly listed in Cypriot Pounds,
so it’s my fault. I thought I’d mention it - if
I made the mistake perhaps someone else will do it too!
The other
irritation is that Cyprus Airways has lost my luggage TWICE!!
In the end I got it back, but in the meanwhile…what
a hassle!
Overall,
the service on the plane has always been fantastic so I do
still rate Cyprus Airways as a good company. Check out Cyprus
Airways here.
FlyMonarch.Com
At the time of writing this blurb, FlyMonarch doesn not allow
you to book online to Cyprus - it simply isn't an option yet.
I have heard that they are offering very good deals, however
they seem to only fly between London Luton and Larnaca. You
can visit their website and find out if there's more information.
Fly
Deals
It is quick and easy to use and also, you can call them on
a freephone number or you can request an on-line call back.
They also give you the option to search for both Paphos and
Larnaca. They are excellent.
TRAVEL
BOOKING SERVICES
I use the following two websites when I want to compare the
prices that different airlines offer. It's easier than calling
a travel agent as you simply enter your preferred dates and
let the website work it's magic. With both Opodo and eBookers
I have never expereinced any problems.
Opodo
This website is also fantastic – it is one of those
sites that checks all air carriers at once. Every time I fly
home to Rochester, New York, I use these people. It’s
easy to use, the online system checks all the airlines flying
to your particular destination and then ranks them according
to price, dates or whatever you want them to be ranked by.
The tickets are sent out automatically or you can often get
electronic tickets. I’ve used this company at least
14 times and have not once been disappointed. The only thing
I don’t like is that you can’t see the prices
if you travel 1 day earlier or 3 days later as you can on
British Airways. Go to Opodo
eBookers
eBookers is an excellent site. You can book flights, hotel,
car rental and anything else to do with travel. The site is
easy to use and I find the prices very competitive. When booking
flights I often check this one and Opodo. eBookers sends out
eMails if the flight changes so I always feel confident that
I know what's going on. Go to eBookers
CAR
RENTAL AND THE AA
One word about car rental in Cyprus - make sure you book before
you go! I've seen many people arrive at the airport only to
find that all the cars were sold out. Can you imagine flying
for 4 hours to find out that you can't get out of the airport!
So I urge you to book before you go!
Holiday Autos
Holiday autos is part of lastminute.com plc. They claim that
they select only the best car rental companies around the
world, and then negotiate the lowest possible rates from them,
passing the savings onto our customers in the form of lower,
fully inclusive prices.
What I
like about Holiday Auto's is that you can designate where
you pick up and drop off the car. You have the option of getting
the car in either Paphos or Larnaca airport or Ayia Napa,
Aphrodite Hills, Polis, Protoras, Paphos, Nicosia, Larnaca
- anywhere!
Sixt Car Rental
For the most part, I get driven around Cyprus by my work collegue
Lionel, HOWEVER ever once in a while, I do rent a car myself.
The last three times, I've used Sixt. They're located right
at the exit of the Larnaca airport and I've never had any
difficulty with them. It's as easy as going to the desk, getting
the car keys and then driving off.
AA
Service in Cyprus
This website is the worst website I’ve ever seen, however
the CAA is a good service. This past September I was in a
car that broke down at the side of the road between Larnaca
and Ayia Napa. We called the AA and within 10 minutes a tow
truck came to us and towed us to Ayia Napa. It was a great
experience – the car was loaded on a flatbed and my
work colleague (Lionel) and I got to ride in the big truck.
We had a great time trying to practice our Greek with the
driver!
INTERNET SERVICES IN CYPRUS
I-choice
i-choice is a service by CYTA that, using DSL as the underlying
technology, enables the subscriber to connect to the broadband
network of CYTA. At that point, the subscriber may choose
an Internet Service Provider of his choice and subsequently
enter the Internet. i-choice is installed over and above an
existing telephone line and offers connection speeds up to
20 times faster than the ISDN 64kbps. The website has a availability
checker so you can see if your property is located in an area
where you can get the service.
CYTANET
CYTANET seems to be everywhere, so I think they’re the
main provider of Internet Connectivity. They have dial-up
services and ADSL… The site is full of all sorts of
stuff, but the link above will take you straight to their
connectivity page. You might want to check the price at CYTANET
versus the I-choice.
3.
MOVING TO CYPRUS
REMOVALS
Moving your valuables to Cyprus can be quite
easy. At least 4 months before you plan to move to Cyprus
send me an eMail or fill out my resource
form and I'll happily get a good moving company to contact
you.
TAKING
PETS TO CYPRUS
Pet
Exports
The website states that international relocation with pets
is sometimes a minefield of legislation, veterinary requirements
and logistics. It is advisable to consult with an experienced
professional, conversant with exporting domestic animals.
We aim to provide all the necessary advice and information
in order to make this seemingly complicated process as simple
as possible. Check these people out as they work with people
going to Cyprus.
Pets
Passports
Pets Passports is the leading pet relocation specialist and
as such are devoted to the safety and welfare of all animals.
They seem to have a good website!
A Paphos
based information site for people living or holidaying in
Cyprus, or for people considering relocating or retiring to
Cyprus
BANKS
Bank
of Cyprus Locations
For information about the Cyprus monetary policy, statistics,
public debt management and publications check this informative
website out.
