What Changes When a Development Finally Completes
For two years the project existed as progress photos and payment receipts. Then five letters arrive in a few weeks, and each one changes what you owe, what you control and what you can still claim.
The Journal
North Cyprus property guides and market notes
Market analysis, legal explainers and honest area portraits from our research desk in Germany and our experts in Cyprus. No sales talk, just what we would want to know before buying here ourselves.
From the archive
Every article, in one place
Browse by topic
32 matching articles Clear filters
The Handover Day Itself: Hour by Hour
You have signed, paid and waited. Now one day stands between you and the keys, and how you spend its hours decides how your first year in the property goes.
Letting a North Cyprus Property Out: Seasons, Rates and What Management Really Costs
Holiday lets and winter tenancies are two different businesses in the same apartment. Here is what each one earns, what each one costs to run, and why the number you were quoted is rarely the number you keep.
Questions to Ask Before Reserving a North Cyprus Property
The reservation is the moment your position changes. Twenty three questions worth asking first, what a good answer sounds like, and the four replies that should stop you signing.
North Cyprus Property Under 150,000 Euros: What Buyers Can Realistically Expect
A realistic guide to budget property searches in North Cyprus, including what under 150,000 euros may buy, what trade offs to expect and which extra costs to keep aside.
Sea View Property in North Cyprus: What Is Worth Paying For
Sea view covers everything from a full horizon to a blue triangle between two roofs. How to tell which one you are being sold, what the premium is really for, and the checks that stop a view disappearing.
Property Management in North Cyprus: Costs, Keys, Cleaning and Guest Support
If the home will sit empty for part of the year, somebody has to look after it. What management companies actually do, the fee models you will be offered, and the questions that separate a good one from an expensive one.
When the Neighbour Builds: Views, Rights and What You Can Actually Object To
One morning there are surveyor's stakes on the empty plot below your terrace. Here is the ladder of responses that actually exists, rung by rung, without false promises about any of them.
Rental Guarantee Schemes: How to Read One Before You Sign
A fixed percentage, paid for a fixed period, printed next to a photograph of a pool. This is not an endorsement of these offers. It is how to take one apart and see what is actually being promised.
Title Deeds in North Cyprus: A Simple Guide for Buyers
A plain language guide to title deed questions in North Cyprus and why buyers should check the paperwork before paying a reservation fee.
Buying Property in North Cyprus: Process, Costs and Key Checks
A detailed buyer guide to viewings, reservation, contract checks, purchase costs, title questions and the documents you should ask for before signing.
Currency, Payment Stages and Moving Large Sums Safely
The largest transfer most people ever make, sent to a country they do not bank in, on instructions received by email. The fraud that targets exactly this, and the habits that defeat it.
Buying Off Plan in North Cyprus: Payment Stages, Delays and Buyer Protection
Off plan is how most new homes here are sold, and it works well when the contract is written properly. What the payment schedule should look like, what happens when a build runs late, and the clauses worth arguing over.
New Build or Resale Property in North Cyprus: Benefits, Risks and Costs
A detailed comparison of new build and resale property in North Cyprus, with practical checks, cost differences and who each option suits.
Buying in a Complex That Is Only Half Sold
The pool is blue, the lobby smells of paint, and half the balconies are bare concrete. Whether that is an opportunity or a warning depends on things you can count yourself.
Viewing Trip to North Cyprus: How to Plan 3 Useful Days on the Ground
Three days is plenty if you spend them on the right things. A realistic plan for a first viewing trip, including the two hours that tell you more than any brochure.
North Cyprus or South Cyprus: What German Buyers Should Know Before Buying
A balanced comparison for German buyers looking at both sides of Cyprus, covering budget, access, legal process, lifestyle and long term use.
Is North Cyprus Safe for Foreign Buyers: Practical Checks Before You Travel
Two very different questions hide inside the word safe. Here is the honest answer to both, and the checks that remove almost all of the real risk before you book a flight.
The Second Property: What Repeat Buyers Do Differently
Watch someone buy here for the second time and the change is obvious. They ask fewer questions, and much better ones. What they stop doing, what they start doing, and what that tells a first time buyer.
Land and Plots in North Cyprus: What to Check Before You Buy to Build
A plot with a view is the cheapest way to own a dream and the most expensive way to own a problem. The checks that decide which one you have bought, in the order a careful buyer does them.
Buying With a Partner, a Company or Adult Children: How Ownership Is Held
Whose name goes on the deed gets about three minutes of thought and then governs the next thirty years. The common structures, what each one solves, what each one costs, and the questions that belong with your lawyer.
Why we write
“An informed buyer asks harder questions. We prefer working with those.”