Sands of Time: The Overseas Property professional

Simple and straightforward anyone thinking of going into the Egyptian property market should remember two things:

First in the case of brand new land, it’s easy, it’s clean cut. The land will only have been owned by the government prior to that. It’s very simple and straightforward, there’s no lien on the land or the property, a client can have something built and they own the Title immediately.

Second is when a client buys on a development. Title Deed registration may not be given to the client until the last property is completed. That angle is now being reviewed by the government because otherwise it could take a client a number of years to obtain their Title Deed.

The change will mean that once an individual property is completed, they will effectively cut that piece of land out of the overall development. So that will give the owner personal registration and Title Deed to the land. “Then we have the case of a client buying an existing or resale property.

If the land hasn’t been properly registered, then they have to seek a registration in their own name. The warning here is that when they buy a resale property, a villa or an apartment, it is essential for the lawyer to be rigorous in their investigations, Egyptian residential ownership “The Italians love it, Scandinavians adore it but the British own only a small percentage of the second homes in Egypt. It is the lowest entry level in terms of price that you can find in any developed country.

It’s reminiscent of the early days of Spain, France, Portugal, Italy, where as we know now the prices have escalated, due in some part to our desire to won second home abroad, at prices we are able to afford, compared to the UK. For example, you have the one of the best golf courses in the world, clients can have golf apartment overlooking the 1st tee, the mountains, the Red Sea, and they can have a very highly finished apartment of 2,200 square feet for £ 90,000. This is not an opportunity I am going to miss out on” “The average property price is £40 per square foot finished plus fittings. You have to ask where these prices will end up as the popularity grows.

It’s possible to go and buy in the Four Seasons, a world class resort, in Sharm El Sheikh where it is considerably more but that includes facilities, management and services and that’s run similar to an aparthotel.

Clients purchase in a number of different ways: Equity release against a UK property. A loan against a personal pension.

Loans from Egyptian developers for up to seven years (in some cases with nil per cent interest). You can get a loan from an Egyptian based Bank for up to 15 years. “One of the most interesting areas in Egypt is the Red Sea Coast; north of Alexandria towards Libya. The Tripoli/Alamein coast is the C?te d’Azur of the future with miles of white sand beaches, a turquoise sea and some of the most beautiful landscape you could ever hope to see.

The temperature is more like Cyprus or Turkey and there’s an international airport at Alamein. There are a number of charter airlines flying in every week but not the budget airlines yet.

Generally speaking, getting to Egypt is easy and relatively quick. The typical flying time from UK is around 4.5 hours direct, but as an extra option with greater flexibility and in some cases better prices, you may wish to look at flights from Europe.

The easiest way is to hop across to mainland Europe and pick up an onward flight from there. “I’d possibly spend three to six months a year there. The first three months would be in my apartment in Cairo but the second three months would be in my villa. I can’t afford to let go the opportunity go, especially when I can buy an off-plan 4,000 square foot villa with a pool for £ 175,000+. The property would be near the sea in a place called Soma Bay, with diving, snorkeling, wind surfing and golf all on hand. The rental yield would be about 8 to 10 per cent and the cost to have somebody clean and maintain your property is very low.

Egypt is a very tax-friendly environment. There are no Capital Gains, there’s no Inheritance Tax and a UK Will would cover property held in Egypt as long as the owner was a UK resident. For anyone setting up in real estate dealing with Egypt, a developer would normally pay a commission rate of around four or five per cent. Anyone wishing to sell properties in Egypt can get a good supply of properties to offer to clients in the UK thorough us and our associated partners as well as support, such as an interactive web site, information centre as well as a full range of financial services should they want”.

Source: London based magazine