North Cyprus: A Mediterranean Rising Star – Insights from Era Excellence Real Estate
Greetings to all,
I am Reşat İnceer, the company director of Era Excellence Real Estate. As you all know we are located in beautiful North Cyprus, a rising star of the Mediterranean. As a Turkish Cypriot I would like to tell you about the political situation our country is in.
CURRENT DIVISION
Cyprus has been divided since 1974, after Turkey intervened to stop the massacre that was going on by Greece and Greek Cypriots. Since then, there is cease fire agreement between the two sides. Over the years there has been lot of talks, debates, meetings and a referendum etc to see if the island can be reunited one day as one but none of the attempts have resulted positively. Since the two sides have different languages, different religions and different ancestry, it doesn’t seem like a solution on the island will be easy, which is why all this is continuing for 40 years. However, since the opening of check points at the border in 2004, all Cypriots can cross to North or South Cyprus and there has been lots of good energy between both sides. There are many joint events and organisations between the civil and private groups. Also, the two sides are allowed to do trade with each other which helps the relationship building.
Kyrenia
DIFFERENT TITLE DEEDS
The division of the island has brought its own dynamics and issues of property ownership. Lots of Turkish and Greek Cypriots had to leave their immovable properties behind to migrate. Turkish Cypriot administration has compensated its people by distributing the lands in the North in exchange of what they had left in the South. At this point I would like to tell you why we have different type of title deeds. So, there are 3 types of title deeds in North Cyprus: Turkish, Exchange (Eşdeğer) and Allocated (Tahsis). Turkish title deed means that, that piece of land belonged to a Turkish Cypriot before 1974. Exchange title deed means that, that piece of land used to belong to a Greek Cypriot, and it was given to a Turkish Cypriot in exchange of what he or she left in the South after 1974. Because of all the events that took place before the war, the numbers of Turkish Cypriots declined considerably. Therefore, North Cyprus opened its doors to settlers from Turkey to increase the population. To encourage people to come over, lands were allocated to these settlers so they can live and make a living. So, these are the lands that have the Allocated title deed.
POLITICS ABOUT THE LAND TITLE DEEDS
There have been times when certain issues arose regarding these lands and/or their title deeds. For example, there was a referendum in 2004 to reunite the island, which Turkish Cypriots said yes, and Greek Cypriots said no even though they portrayed the Turkish side as the problem and as the side who doesn’t want solution. According to the agreement that was made at the time in case of both sides saying yes, certain amount of land in certain areas were going to be given back to Greek Cypriot administration. And since the procedure would be easier, some of the Allocated lands were on top of the list. So, this raised the fear of ‘what if’ in people who were occupying and/or planning to buy these types of lands. However, the dynamics and terms and conditions of the Cyprus issue has changed a lot since then. After so many trials and not getting any solutions, giving any land back is out of the question for either side. But because the Cyprus issue has not been resolved in any way plus the fact that there is only cease fire on the island and because there are guarantor countries (Turkey, Greece and England) that are involved in this topic, causes this topic to continue as a political ‘issue or problem’ and as long as this situation continues, we will continue to have these 3 different types of title deeds. Ending of this situation could be in either signing a peace agreement and solving all differences or closing the borders and making the division permanent and not ever attending to any kind of deals whatsoever regarding the Cyprus issue which means permanent separation. Only then we could have only Turkish title deed for all lands. Greek side has their argument, and we have our argument regarding these lands, and it is an ongoing debate, but one thing seems to be for sure; no land will be given to anyone which means it doesn’t really matter on a personal level what type of title deed your property has.
POPULARITY
As I said in the beginning, North Cyprus is the rising star of the Mediterranean. There are lots of investors from many different countries who are buying here. The fact that we are outside the EU zone is actually attracting European buyers. Because geographically they can still live in Europe, continue earning from Europe and live in a country where their currency is more valuable and live without the difficulties and high costs and pressures of living in the EU. Common attraction points for buyers in general are lower real estate costs, almost 0 crime rate, lots of universities, laid back way of life, lots of 5-star hotels with casinos, 275 days of sunshine, unspoilt nature etc.
Iskele
WELCOMING ALL
We as Turkish Cypriots want to share these beautiful features and opportunities of our country with the world. And as Era Excellence Real Estate, we would like to help and assist everyone who is interested about anything in North Cyprus. As we are a part of a global brand you will be provided with a service of high standards.
Hoping to see you in North Cyprus one day.
Best regards.
Author
