LOOKING for a way to reach potential buyers directly, a family with a commercial property to sell in a prime location in Paphos, in a novel move, has turned to internet giant eBay.
The listing says that “all reasonable offers will be considered”.
“We wanted to reach a bigger audience online,” said the Manchester-based Nick Georgiou, 31, whose Cyprus-based grandfather asked him and his family to help him sell the property.
The detached property is listed as lying in the heart of Paphos just across the entrance to popular Tomb of the Kings archaeological site. It was completed in 2009 and according to the sellers its basement comes with a night club/recreational centre licence. The rest of the property offered as a potential restaurant and shop complex.
Georgiou’s 84-year-old grandfather George Nicolaou is based in the coastal city of Limassol. But he asked his family to help him sell the property, which was previously advertised via real estate agents.
“We struggled to sell the property for various reasons,” says Georgiou talking of a financial crisis in Europe and later in Cyprus. There was also the matter of timing. In 2009, after years of a property boom which saw soaring property prices with banks eager to lend and take on Title Deeds as collateral, the overheated market started slowing down. Paphos was among the first regions to be affected and prices have been dropping ever since.
Georgiou says the family had hoped the situation would get better. “But [it] kept getting worse.”
On eBay, people offer for auction anything from their unwanted collectibles and clothes to services. But selling a commercial property is different to selling a comic book collection. For one thing, the suggested buy-it-now price is 1.38 million pounds sterling, roughly €1.6 million. But, whether a seller is offering a Fantastic Four comic book or a commercial shop unit, the principle is the same: sellers negotiate directly with interested parties.
So why not try eBay? “There’s no harm in doing it (and) people haven’t tried it much,” said Georgiou.
The Title Deed is held as collateral by the owner’s lender, but Georgiou says it will be handed over following a contract agreement. “We are trying to be straightforward with people,” Georgiou says. Prospective buyers may conduct independent surveys at their own cost, and are encouraged to get their own lawyer.
Visit New-Build Restaurant/Commercial Shop Unit in Paphos, Cyprus to find out more. Georgiou’s contact details are available on the eBay listing.
PH: I’m talking about MoU and Troika requirement that IPT from 2014 will be based on ‘current property values’. See Nigel’s post today re THIS years IPT bills, but more particularly:
“Tax estimates for this year are based on 1980 values of property, while as of next year a new valuation will be made based on the current value of properties”.
Nigel does well to keep us all updated on such matters.
Hence we got the following key extract from the MOU 12th April 2013:
………..
3.10. (In view of this) the Cypriot authorities have agreed to implement the following measures:
• implement a property price index that establishes the average property market valuation in 2013 by square meter of habitable surface and land plot. This index shall be operational to provide imputed market valuations for each non-agricultural cadastral plot by Q2-2014, in time for its application in the calculation of the immovable property tax in 2014. The index shall vary according to location and zoning as well as other building- and plot-related characteristics. Moreover, propose and implement a methodology for annual updates of such imputed market valuations;
• implement the recurrent immovable property tax based on imputed market valuations of land plots according to a unit tax base established by this property index by Q3- 2014. The tax rates shall reflect the progressivity and revenue of the preceding property tax. For co-owned land plots, individual owners shall be taxed according to ownership proportions as provided in the cadastre;
• establish the legal basis for a mandatory annual adjustment of the property unit tax base by a competent executive authority by Q3-2014;
……………..ends…….
Heads in the sand tactics regarding Cyprus taxes and the payment thereof have clearly worked well, in some cases very well, in the past but clearly the Troika via agreed MoU want to see MUCH more IP tax payable – and Paid – with effect from next year. Maybe the only good thing might be that property values on the island seem to have fallen by a further 5 – 20% already since the MoU was published in April? And, many say, are due to fall further for the remainder of this year
I bought my apartment in Peyia through ebay a couple of years ago, got the bargain of the season and now moving to Peyia in October to retire.
In the late 1980’s we stayed in the Damon apartments almost next door to this property. In those days, Peyia was a little village with a lovely square where you could drive up and park and have halloumi and tomato sandwiches and Cyprus brandy or Zivania and sit and talk to the locals all afternoon. We were so enthralled by this holiday, which followed visits to Larnaca and Limassol in earlier years, that we said we will come back and buy something. We came back and came back again and then we were not so keen on Peyia any more; it was too big and impersonal, but the decision to buy persisted and we looked for what we had seen in Peyia. We found it again twenty years later in Neo Chorio and we took the plunge, but every time we drive past the Damon apartments we and our (now grown up) kids remember how lovely and relatively unspoilt that area was back then and how it motivated us to buy in Cyprus. At the same time, we see how how things have changed. I hope the owners of this property get a reasonable offer.
Many interesting comments on these people who are trying to sell a property and seeking publicity !! I am actually surprised that Nigel who is very good at dealing with serious issues has included it on this site. It has not sold through agents as it is vastly overpriced – who in their right mind would pay this overinflated figure for a shell of a building. Even after purchase it needs to be fitted out a large expense – and at the present time there are a large number of fully operational and well equipped restaurants available for a fraction of the price. These people are dreamers !!
As for Martyn – what are you talking about ? Nigel has written many fully informative articles about IPT, which everybody is panicking about, and totally unnecessarily – why do you think that they would need to pay IPT of 1.7% on current day values ? IPT is based on property values of 1980.
Nothing new, I have been advertising my property in Cyprus on e-bay since 2008. Two potential buyers ended up buying off plan in the end, despite my warning of potential dangers and dropping my price to a rock bottom figure. Beware though, it is not cheap to advertise property on e-bay. We have found that most websites want hundreds of Euros up front to use their site, A neighbour found that a personal board on her property proved successful but she was then hounded for commission by the agent who`s possible client bought it. We tried the same but our sign was removed so it needs to be checked on frequently.
The Very Best of Luck to them, I say. A rapidly downward spiralling Cyprus economy and a particularly badly hit Paphos scene suggests that unless they want to wait 5, 7, maybe more years for a ‘decent price’ they need to try every legal, legitimate channel to effect a Best Possible sale price.
The Vultures will circle, one or two might swoop: some crazy Bids will be made but they may at least get a Sale.
A Question arises re IPT, especially the Troika imposed increases in annual IPT payments. If a property such as this sells publicly for let’s just say between €800,000- 1.3m will the Price Paid in effect establish the ‘new’ value for future IPT purposes. In which case the IPT at 1.7% on €1m could be €17,000 p.a., or if €1.3m is achieved then, maybe, €22,100??
I don’t suppose the Cypriot Estate agents will be too pleased to lose out on their massive commission for this sale?
Is there a guide published anywhere about selling a Cypriot property and what the various steps, processes and charges may exist at each stage or is this process as opaque and problem ridden as that for buying a Cypriot property?
It would have been very interesting to see what price the property would sell for if it were entered into a true ebay auction with NO RESERVE.
Opening bids anyone ?
@jon frazer – The property does have its Title Deeds and under the ‘new’ Specific Performance law that was introduced a couple of years ago, the purchaser can repay the outstanding mortgage to the bank to clear the debt – and the balance of the sale price to the vendor.
And unlike the nefarious developers and lawyers who hide the fact that a property is mortgaged, this guy is open about it.
I haven’t seen any stats on how the government is getting on clearing the backlog of Title Deeds – as soon as they’re made public, I will publish.
I suppose that is one way to get a free advert in both CM and CPN – even without title deeds! (but good luck anyway.)
On a related matter, I recall one of the demands of the Troika in relation to the clearing of the deeds backlog by end of 2014, was that full quarterly updates on the progress of the issue were to be published.
I for one haven’t heard anything.