For all the towns and for some villages there are water development zones and it is most difficult to get public water supply to a property sited outside the zone. Do not take, therefore, the word of the estate agent, the owner or the village muchtar, that water supply can be made available. Remember that the appropriate water authority is the Water Development Department only.
The next step is to appoint an architect to carry out the design. There is an abundance of well qualified architects on the island and many capable technicians as well. We suggest that you appoint an architect for the purpose (not an engineer or technician). Architect fees range from 4%-6% (on the building cost) but you can agree also on a fixed fee. The prevailing fees are 3.8% on the building cost for a complete set of architectural plans and 1.6% for supervision (including the issuing of certificates).
In addition a 1.5%-2% is payable for the structural design and 0.3% for structural supervision. If you are at a loss as to the choice of a suitable consultant, seek the advice of the Registrar of the Association of Architects & Engineers (all licenced architects must be registered). Please bear in mind that in case of large buildings you may be able to negotiate a lower fee (as also in the case of repetitive work).
Permission to purchase a property must be obtained from the Council of Ministers by written application. This must be submitted by the non-Cypriot purchaser after the agreement has been signed. However, the permission is granted more or less as a matter of course to all bona fide buyers. In the meantime purchasers may take possession of their property without restriction.
The quality of construction is another problem. Normally the developer’s reputation and a visit to a previous project will give you an idea of what you can expect. Show a preference to blocks utilising low maintenance materials: sprits finish to a block as opposed to decoration is an advantage; the use of timber windows as opposed to plastic ones is a disadvantage; a poor quality lift will cause you major future difficulties etc.