Many of our compatriots view foreign real estate as a 'backup airfield'
PERSONAL EXPERIENCE
And we went to the apartments, called 'Paphos Gardens'. They didn't have their own beach; we went to the city beach or drove around the area, but we had three rooms, kitchen, two toilets, bathtub, shower, washing machine, iron, dishwasher. My wife cooked herself. Products were of course more expensive than, say, in Spain. On the one hand, she got tired of it – thinking every day what to feed us. But on the other hand, having your own home is a special thing. We were our own masters; for the two weeks we spent there, we saw no one except neighbors. On one side, there were some Belgians: mom and dad, grandma and grandpa, a guy about fourteen and a younger brother, maybe three years old, and on the other side, Finns: a lean father in glasses and a fat son who kept playing with a ball.
We left home – cold, dirt, slush, someone getting killed every day... And everyone understands that you're going back to the same. And here, in Paphos – blue sky, warmth, everything in bloom. We slept on the open balcony, flowering greenery creeping into the window. We dried laundry on the roof, everything so fresh. Wake up in the morning – birds singing, a bus slowly driving down the street – picking up children for school (it was October). And then the Cypriot maid knocked on the door – to clean. My Katya says to her, 'wait for a minute', and the maid happily says: 'Are you from Britain?' Katya almost blushed with pleasure, although she gets 'Madame, madame' at shops and markets.
– Okay, that's it, – says my Katya. – You wanted to invest money in real estate? Invest. I like those little white houses we drive past to the market!
I generally liked them too. And I also liked 330 sunny days a year, good ecology, proximity to Europe and Asia, the possibility of traveling to any country in the world.
Returning home, I went to a company that sold real estate in Cyprus. They asked me straight up: why do you need this? Well, warmth, sunshine, and then you have to invest money somewhere...
– Exactly. Note that gambling, drug trafficking, arms dealing, and prostitution are prohibited in Cyprus...
And the manager and I started thinking where to buy. We chose Paphos. The former capital of the island. Its own airport. Clean sea, the greenest part of the island. That's where all the banana plantations are, warm in winter, not too hot in summer. In general – not a city, but an open-air museum, it was even included in some UNESCO list.
Coral Bay is a place where various very rich people build palaces for themselves. Well, we just have a little house in the Greek School area.
Even before starting negotiations with the company, I knew well that with my intentions to buy a house on this island, under their Cypriot law, I am not just a buyer but essentially an investor, since I intend to bring foreign currency into their country.
A foreigner in Cyprus can own an apartment, house, or other real estate on land not exceeding 2,675 square meters – 26 ares in our terms.
The procedure for taking ownership is simple. You register in the land registry and receive a property ownership document. You don't have to pay the entire amount at once. You can take a loan, pay 30 percent – and you are already a homeowner.
There are two Cypruses: one for tourists, and a completely different one for those who live there.
The dumbest thing is to buy a house in a tourist zone – everything there is two to three times more expensive.
Tomatoes by the sea cost 60 cents, but in the city center, at the market, you can buy them for 20.
Before the crisis, life in Cyprus was three times cheaper than here. Now prices are similar, though quality is higher.
All our people want a house by the sea. But that's a mistake. It's hot and humid there.
It makes sense to have a summer cottage by the sea, but you should live higher up. The prestigious areas are up there.
Real estate prices by the sea and closer to the mountains are almost the same, but the climate is better in the mountains, quieter, and life cheaper.
Since I decided to buy a standalone building (villa) with a pool, it was built to order.
I waited 9 months. I didn't want second-hand. And new housing – where no one has lived – is not available in Cyprus; it's not profitable for construction companies to build just like that without knowing for sure that someone will buy it.
Besides, some clients like a round pool with a square house, others a triangular house with a square pool. Everyone has their own taste. The only thing you can buy immediately ready is an apartment.
I bought my two-story house a 6-minute walk from the center of Paphos with a pool and courtyard last winter.
Currently I have a temporary residence permit. In three years I will apply for permanent. And in five years I can apply for Cypriot citizenship, only I don't know yet why I would need it.
Having received a temporary residence permit, I acquired the status of visitor, that is, essentially a guest status.
And it is customary to show hospitality to a guest. In Cyprus, a guest, according to his status, is exempt from taxes on profits derived from having some investments in Cyprus.
It's nice that Cyprus, unlike other states, does not try to fleece those who come to them. You put money in the bank, and all the interest is yours.
It's also nice that external accounts (i.e., foreigners' accounts, also external investors) in Cypriot banks are under state protection. If the island sinks underwater tomorrow, you will still get your money.
I basically intend to keep this status for a long time, maybe forever.
And what's the point of becoming a citizen if I then have to pay all taxes? Besides, you have to pursue this citizenship, ask the local authorities, get guarantees from four Cypriots, and so on. Why would I need these problems?
There are many of us on Cyprus, but there is no diaspora as such yet. Therefore, attitudes towards us are good. However, my wife and I – as well as my mother-in-law – try to assimilate as much as possible. We are the first to greet our neighbors (mostly Greeks, but also English, Germans, Belgians) in a friendly manner. My wife has started learning Greek and in the mornings she chatters with the concierge.
But my mother-in-law has integrated best of all. She goes out in the mornings to meet the garbage truck and strikes up lively conversations with its driver, just as she would at home.
Currently, several tens of thousands of people from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe work on Cyprus. But these are not the ones who buy property there. And those who do buy can be divided into three groups.
The first are those who have left Russia, Kazakhstan, Ukraine, Poland for good. They have a lot of money. They like that Cyprus is calm and that there are many schools where children are taught in English, and it's cheaper than in England. There is a Russian school at the Russian embassy on Cyprus. And if you send your child to a regular city school, where everything is in Greek, it's completely free.
The second group – the largest – are those who prepare a backup airfield for themselves. Businesspeople and politicians. They work in their home countries, but they are uneasy about their children's future. So they send their wives, children, and grandmothers to the island of Aphrodite. They live there from early spring to late autumn, while the fathers fly in on weekends.
The third group are those who make business out of this. They build or buy villas on Cyprus to rent them out. Local laws do not prohibit this – although, of course, it is not particularly encouraged either. No obstacles are placed in the way of any foreigners, primarily because there is a tourism and construction boom on Cyprus right now – and that is very good, especially considering that in neighboring countries – there are constant earthquakes or trials of terrorists... Who would want to slow down the influx of capital and refuse investments under such conditions?
Property on Cyprus interests, of course, not only our compatriots. There are many houses and apartments owned by the English. But their scheme is different. They move to the island when they retire. But they don't buy a house; they take it on a long-term lease. This is cheaper and also grants the right to a residence permit. Although, of course, such a permit is hardly likely to interest the English...