It is more than 40 years since Turkey invaded the north of Cyprus following a military coup and effectively partitioned the island.
That left the self-declared Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) in the north mostly inhabited by Turkish Cypriots and the southern two-thirds by Greek Cypriots. A UN Buffer Zone divides the two parts.
The TRNC declared independence in 1983 and has only received diplomatic recognition from Turkey. The rest of the international community, including the United Nations and European Union, recognises the sovereignty of the Republic of Cyprus over the whole island.
The issues over the disputed northern territory has long affected its property, as many of the Greek Cypriot owners still claim many of the properties there and there are considerable risks for anyone thinking of buying.
But it’s good to see that some progress is at last being made in relations between Cyprus and Turkey and what to do about the disputed northern territory. Talks between the two sides led by Greek Cypriot negotiator Andreas Mavroyiannis and Turkish Cypriot negotiator Ozdil Nami aimed at reuniting Cyprus are progressing well.
Next week, there are even plans for a working group to discuss the property situation and see what solutions can be found.
Among those welcoming the talks is leading Cypriot international developer, Imperio Properties, which is based in Limassol, in the south.
Founder and Director, Yiannis Misirlis, says a solution is necessary – as long as it is fair, viable and functional, and if one can be found then it would pave the way to increased property investment.
“The island has been divided for too long. In the case of such a solution, Cyprus will become not only the touristic hot-spot it is today, but also a hot-spot for global investors.
“If you combine the prospects of the solution together with the prospects of the income from natural gas and oil exploitation, then the opportunities are endless. An island of peace and stability could play an important role in this region of the world, and it will be enjoyed not only by its own citizens but by the global citizens, too.”
The Turkish/Greek Cypriot talks are only the first step towards starting to solve the political and the real estate issues, but they are a positive move and it is heartening that they seem to be progressing well.
But there are big issues ahead to resolve, including the fact that many younger Greek and Turkish Cypriots have been brought up on Greek and Turkish patriotism, rather than a shared Cypriot identity.
Talking of major difficulties with Cypriot real estate, there is the separate on-going issue for foreign real estate owners over the action that the Cypriot banks are taking against an estimated 20,000 UK buyers for defaulting on their obligations against loan agreements in Swiss Francs taken out for the purchase of property in Cyprus. The loans used to purchase off-plan properties ballooned when the Swiss Franc soared in value.
UK buyers say they were misadvised and missold ‘unpayable’ Swiss Franc loans when buying properties in Cyprus but the banks continue to press for action in the courts against clients for failing to make payments towards their loans.
The banks are continuing to serve Writs of Summons on clients at their UK residences and legal specialist and as many buyers are left frightened as to what to do, Judicare says it is critical that the writs are not left undefended. Christos Triantafyllides, Barrister, and Lead Council for Judicare in Cyprus advises, “In my opinion a local Cyprus Lawyer must immediately be instructed in order to file a Notice of Appearance in Court in the proceedings in relation to which the defendant was served. This means that the plaintiff will no longer be able to proceed on his own and through his or her lawyer the defendant will be able to defend the plaintiff’s claim.”
It would be welcome to see the same progress and positivity that is being made in the Turkish/Greek Cypriot talks happening in the Swiss Franc loan cases, but that looks highly unlikely at the moment.
The image of Kyrenia Harbour, in Northern Cyprus, is taken by Jpatokal and is reproduced from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons licence.
Source: OPP Today
http://www.opp.today/property-on-agenda-for-turkish-and-greek-cypriot-talks/
