Life has once again become out of control for me – what’s new?! I returned from an 8 day visit to Cyprus last Monday, had to go to hospital to have some pre-cancerous cells removed on Tuesday and yesterday I founded my inbox full of questions, feedback and adverts for male organ enlargements. Hahaha… the variety in my life does make me giggle sometimes.

So… how was Cyprus? Well… I hate to say it, but I froze my buns off. It’s not that it’s overly cold in Cyprus – it’s just that there is a lack of heat in restaurants, houses and offices. And since I’m a bit small, I feel the cold terribly. OTHERWISE Cyprus was awesome as usual. Every time I return I visit a new restaurant, meet interesting new people and see new sites. Although Cyprus is a small country I truly believe I’ll never run out of things to do and see.

Can I summarise the past weeks events? Well… aside from meeting many property developers and agents (to promote Smart Currency Exchange and get into on buying in Cyprus for you), I came in 2nd in go-carts (Larnaca) and again 2nd in Crazy Golf – I lost by one Putt (Coral Bay). I did win the ‘Who can eat the most wedge fries’ competition with 10 whole wedges at once. And although I normally go to bed at 10 – 11, I managed a crazy night at Car Wash (club in Ayia Napa) until 5 am. Further I stopped off to see Kurion as my work associate Karen was with me (she’s never been to Cyprus) so we viewed the absolutely incredible ruins – l love the amphitheatre as the views of the ocean and coast are beautiful. Kurion is off the Limassol to Paphos road – it is a must see if you haven’t already done so!

Additionally, I had one fish meze, tonnes of Cypriot food and an incredible Italian in Paphos. I do love food and after this trip it shows! All my trousers are a bit snug – hahaha.

Okay – since I was in Cyprus I gathered quite a bit of information… about all sorts, so over the next several newsletter I’ll try and get my info across.

BIG NOTE: I’ll be in Cyprus in 6 weeks time (around May 7th). Where I’ll be flying down to view property with some Cyprus Buying Guide readers. If you would like to join me I have several days available. It would be GREAT to check out some properties, enjoy a meze and have a chat so if your calendar permits, please email me with your phone number ASAP and I’ll ring you to discuss. Further, if you’re really serious about buying soon I can potentially help you to subsidise your travel and accommodation costs, so eMail me at: mailto:kim@overseasguidescompany.com

In this CBG newsletter:

- Larnaca – Investors hot spot?

- Cypriot Pound Update

- CBG Reader Question: Sky Box in Cyprus

- Ever heard of Health Tourism?

- Resource Review

If you are serious about buying in Cyprus, please, purchase the guide at: http://www.CyprusBuyingGuide.com/guide.htm

I love feedback and stories or if you have anything you would like to share, please, e-mail me at Kim@CyprusBuyingGuide.com.

Kim
Cyprus Buying Guide
The Overseas Guides Company Ltd.

Mail me at: Kim@OverseasGuidesCompany.com

Larnaca – Investors Hot Sport?

Each region of Cyprus has pro’s and con’s for buying an investment property. Quite a few major projects are taking place in Larnaca causing investors to make it their preferred hot spot. While in Larnaca last week, I investigated the scene AND managed to get quite a bit of interesting information.

This is what I was able to dig up on Larnaca:

Larnaca has one of the longest stretches of undeveloped coastline and in some respects is behind other costal towns in terms of development. And since it’s lagging behind, developers (and the government) have had the opportunity to learn what to do and what NOT to do as they build. From what the developers told me, there are very specific planning designs that will restrict what can and cannot be built. Room for nice walkways and promenades are being considered. A restriction on building height, availability of green areas and the overall beauty of the area is being thoroughly discussed.

There are significant projects earmarked for the next several years that will cause a very large influx of holiday makers and permanent residence, such as a new airport, a golf course in Tersefanou, a new marina – with a super-yacht handling capacity and the full backing of the Cyprus government to increase the level of tourism with top quality attractions and facilities. Let’s look at each of these:

- The New Golf Course. The course will be situated west of Larnaca airport – about 10-15 km away. A few visits ago, I went to see the site and it’s beautiful – great views of the Mediterranean between a nice valley.

Many developments have already started and several properties have already been sold off-plan. Availability at the moment is relatively low with quite a large demand so prices are on the increase. There has been no official announcement on when the course will be built however a visit to the area confirms that all of Larnaca’s major players are developing around the proposed site. Once the golf course officially starts, the increase in prices is expected to be 15% for properties within the area.

At Aphrodite Hills (The incredible golf course and developments located in Paphos) a 1-bedroom apartment will start from CYP 201,700 and rent from CYP 225 to 550 per week. Can you believe the cost – it’s NOT cheap?! Aphrodite Hills is a VERY exclusive and amazing area. Whenever I visit, I feel like I have to dress in designer clothing and wipe my feet before I get out of the car!

Any way – in Larnaca, in comparison, you can get a 1-bedroom apartment on the periphery of Tersafanou from CYP 87,000. BIG DIFFERENCE in price. Further, many developers/banks are offering good finance packages with differed payments and limited perios interest only mortgages.

- New Marinas. I discovered that over 150 mooring requests were denied last year as there are not enough facilities to currently accommodate boaters. In order to address the situation, Larnaca will see a multi million pound investment in the current marina near the Foinikoudes area. The new marina will transform the seafront area and make it quite exclusive.

Based on the marina at St Raphael in Limassol built in the late 80’s, it’s possible to get an indication for the type of growth Larnaca will experience. When the marina went into St Raphael, prices increased between CYP 2,000 to CYP 4,000 per m2 dependant on proximity of the sea. The prices in Larnaca are significantly lower than this – at the moment.

- The New Airport. Currently the airport in Larnaca allows 4 million arrivals per year. It was constructed as a temporary solution in 1974 to allow Cyprus to accept flights after the Turkish invasion closed the Nicosia airport. The new airport is being constructed so that it can accept 16 million arrivals per year. As you can imagine, this will impact the holiday and long-let rental market significantly. Further, since more people will ultimately visit Larnaca the capital appreciation of the area is expected to increase dramatically.

While in Larnaca, I looked at the sites for two different developments – both completing in about 2 years time. They look awesome. The sites are going to have several pools, sun beds, gyms, jogging pathways, running tracks, football pitches, tennis courts, bowls fields, restaurants and coffee shops, playgrounds and all sorts. Both had similar financial offers that consisted of:

- CYP 2,000 reservation fee to take the property off the market and freeze the price

- 20% down payment (less the reservation fee) upon signing the contract

- 2 years deferred payments while the property is being built – that means that you don’t have to pay anything during the build.

- 3 years interest only mortgage AFTER the 2 years deferment expires. Thereafter it will go to capital plus interest.

- No redemption for early settlement

Hopefully, this will give you an idea of what’s on offer in Larnaca. If you’d like more information on investing in Larnaca, please fill out my Property 'Matching Service' form and I’ll put you in touch with my contacts.

Cypriot Pound Update

by Smart Currency’s Charles Purdy.

The Cypriot £ vs sterling

We have seen the Cypriot £ hover around 0.85 inter bank for the last couple of weeks or so. In late January we saw an all conquering pound as it hit highs of 0.87 interbank. This was on the back of a surprise increase in sterling interest rates. The market got itself into a state thinking that this was the first of a number of quick fire increases in UK interest rates. The February, March and April Bank of England meetings have come and gone and no further increases in UK interest rates have materialized. Instead Euro land [the Cypriot £ is tied to the Euro] has increased their interest rate and we saw a dramatic reversal of sterlings fortunes as it hit a low of 0.84 inter bank. That's a 4.5% movement in a very short period of time.

House prices in the UK continue to go up and up. This may well lead to the Bank of England increasing UK interest rates in April or May. This may give a short term boost to sterling but the fundamentals still support the Euro [and hence the Cypriot £] with an improving German economy and rising Euro land interest rates. The Cypriot £ rate is still reasonable when compared to the lows of 0.82 ish of the last two years.

So… now is a good time to consider purchasing or reserving Cypriot Pounds for the future. To get a Better-than-Bank go to: http://www.smartCurrencyExchange.com/smartsquotation.htm
or call Carl on 08081 630 102 freephone.

CBG Reader Question: Sky Box in Cyprus

Geoff H., a very nice guy in Swindon, rang me today to discuss his upcoming move to Cyprus. He’s selling his property in the UK and hoping to move to the Famagusta region of Cyprus before July 2007. It’s great to discuss his plans and hear how enthusiastic he is about the move.

During our chat today, Geoff asked me about getting Sky TV in Cyprus. I know that Sky is, indeed, available however I’m not sure the best way about getting it.

Geoff said that he’s heard of people buying the sky box here in the UK and then bringing it to Cyprus with them.

Have you heard anything about this? Do you know anyone that might be able to help Geoff? Is it a matter of buying the sky box here and getting a satellite in Cyprus? Or should one do the whole thing in Cyprus? And what is the must cost effective solution?

Please eMail me at: mailto:kim@overseasguidescompany.com if you have any information on this!

Every heard of Health Tourism?

Up until this past Sunday, I never heard the term ‘Health Tourism.’ Well…I was reading the Cyprus Sunday Mail and there was an article regarding the second ever World Health Tourism Congress which opened in Limassol last week.

Apparently, health tourism is the term used on people who fly overseas to combine a holiday and get their health sorted out. It covers normal operations to plastic surgery. General recovery, and complementary health.

Nineteen million people traveled abroad for health tourism in 2005. By 2010, health tourism is estimated to rise by four per cent.

Cyprus Tourism Organization chairman Panos Englezos explained that, “Cyprus is ideal for this [medical tourism], where medical treatment can be combined with a holiday. Our medical personnel were trained at the best schools in the world and the health sector is strictly controlled by the Health Ministry.”

Englezos further explained that the private health sector has begun to take patients from abroad in such areas as general surgery, plastic surgery, and other sectors. Health tourism in Cyprus also covered everything from thalassotherapy to spa baths, aromatherapy and beauty therapy.

The article came to a finish stating that around 60 per cent of private clinics in Cyprus are involved in medical tourism, with some even taking in as much as 50 per cent of their business from abroad.

This is very good news for people that are emigrating as it will ensure them that the health system will continuously improve and offer a wide variety of treatments. Further, people that are buying in Cyprus for investment will be able to attract these health tourists as tenants.

Just another reason as to why Cyprus is a great place to buy property!

Are you learning a foreign language too? By Karen Gilbert

(Karen is the girl that joined me on my last trip to Cyprus. She writes a newsletter for people buying anywhere overseas and thought this was interesting, so I've included her write-up below. Learning Greek is very important if you want to get a job in Cyprus OR if you simply want to try and integrate more....)

"Bonjour, Kali Mara, Buongiorno, Gunaydin, Guten Tag…

Summer time is finally here and as ever I always end up looking back at my list of ‘things to do this year’. One of mine is always to brush up on my Italian, I have to admit, it reappears time and time again as I haven’t actually been back to Italy for about 4 years – I lived there for 6 months back in 2002 and stayed at Lake Garda, it was a beautiful area and I really fell in love with the region, the people and of course the food and wine!

My Italian was actually coming along in leaps and bounds and I took a few courses upon my return to the UK to try and keep it fresh in my mind, I also listen to Italian CD’s in my car from time to time and find this really helps as well as finding un-suspecting Italians to practice on!

I find learning Italian on top of my school-girl French is a tricky business - though I find most people tell me it should make things easier! I somehow just end up speaking an odd mixture of the two!

Anyhow, looking back at my ‘brush up on Italian’ aim I suddenly began wondering if you have a similar aim and how you are getting on with learning a language? If you have any words of encouragement I’d love to hear them!

While discussing the topic I thought I’d include some information below on the CD guides which I’ve found useful (They’re great to listen to in the car if you’re short of free time!). The CD is from Rosetta Stone and are the number 1 language-learning software in the world. Listening to spoken language and repeating back is widely renowned as being the best system available to learn a new language – so it’s certainly worth a go!

Rosetta Stone have guides for all European languages right through to Swahili, Tagalog, Vietnamese and Korean and each is available in various levels to suit your ability.

Anyhow, if you’re like me and want to get back into learning that language, or if you’re just thinking of learning ready for the grocery shopping at your home overseas, then take a look…

Roseta Stone

Let me know how you get on and I’d really love to hear any language learning tips!

Bonne chance, bol sans, gut gluck, buona fortuna, good luck! (I really hope my foreign spelling is up to scratch!) "

Anyhow – have a GREAT Easter and I hope to hear from you soon.

Kim
Cyprus Buying Guide
The Overseas Guides Company Limited.
mailto:Kim@OverseasGuidesCompany.com