Paphos People

Hello!!!
My husband, daughter (10) and I have just come back from our most recent trip to Paphos and purchased our one way tickets for the end of June 2016.

We have been coming to Cyprus several times a year for 8 years and planning the move for 18 months now - I have done lots of research online and no doubt will have questions but thought a quick hello would start us off.

Our daughter took her entrance exams for ISOP and we visited various properties of interest this October, timing the journeys etc. We are hoping to rent a house when we first arrive but looking to buy somewhere before the end of 2016 to take advantage of the current tax breaks. We are hoping to buy somewhere with at least 1000m2 garden so my husband can grow vegetables and we can indulge our walking and geo-caching hobbies.

So my first question, bound to be controversial I suspect, is where are the best villages to buy a property and where to avoid?

Thanks in advance

Alex

I suppose it all depends on what you are looking for in a village. As you intend to rent initially that will give you a chance to look around for a place that suits you. Do you want to live among Cypriots or expats, have pubs and tavernas close by,peaceful rural or tourist oriented?

Thank you for this:

We want to be amongst Cypriots and expats - but not be in mainly expat area! And to be in a more rural area - looking at Polemi, Stroumbi, Kathikas, Giolou, Arodes etc. at present.

Obviously we will be 'commuting' to Paphos daily for school and also work, hence the timing of journeys on our last visit.

Our daughter has a place at ISOP for September 2016 now. So that is a major item ticked off....

there are some weird expats in that polemi place , be carefull .. joke ..

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REACH 1000`s of PAPHOS CUSTOMERS EVERY DAY FOR A FRACTION OF WHAT THE OTHERS CHARGE
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Whilst the optimist and the pessimist argued that the whisky glass was either half full
or half empty ? .
I drank it .....
The opportunist..

make sure that your house has a wood burner or "proper" heating......as it will be cold in them there hills in winter time

we have a wood burner and wouldn;t be without it........and we live down in Peyia which is much warmer
but these houses definitely need "proper heating" in them

don;t be fobbed off with aircon heating and stand alone gas fires, they are not warm enough for these freezing cold houses, and the gas fires can cause serious condensation and damp, wood burners are dry heat and wonderful in comparison, we have lived with all 3 types of heating

bring electric under-blankets and winter weight quilts and warm clothes for winter

the rest of the time is shorts and T's as you know

best of luck with your move

you will LOVE living here

we do

Maggie

Thank you both - I had read on here about the 'Polemi People' - I think we'd fit in well!!! Good information on the heating side, will add that to my property checklist.

Oi - I could take offence, you know - well, that's if I was the type, of course
Nuffin' wrong with us 'illbillies up in these yer 'ills.

Maggie Migmogs is correct - you do need "proper" heating up here. Decent lined curtains are a boon too - keep the cold out in winter and the heat out in the summer. Keep a UK bank account with internet banking if you can - very useful for paying for those extras you can't find over here. Furniture, electrical and white goods are more expensive over here than in UK, so it may well pay you to ship everything over in a container - and when I say everything, I mean everything - tools & gardening equipment, books, the lot.

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Kay

Those who do not like cats, must have been mice in a previous life.

TBH we were thinking try to sell everything rather than ship but definitely worth noting! The heating thing is clearly one I need to take into account; I knew it would be colder in winter and 'up the hills' but hadn't thought about different types of heating.

As far as the container thing goes how long do they take to get to Cyprus - if we are renting to start with don't really want to be hauling stuff around too much? Who did people use for shipping?

This is all great info keep it coming, please

Well, we were given the impression ours would be with us in less than 2 weeks. However, it went from Guernsey in the Channel Islands to Portsmouth. Sat there for a while, then got moved to somewhere else on south coast of England. Then it finally set sail and eventually arrived in the eastern end of the Med via Port Said east, Port Said west, several other ports in the Levant area, and finally arrived in Limassol after month or so. Peter Morton was brilliant this end - wish we'd known about him right from the start.

If you search on here, I'm sure you will find various tales and recommendations - but bear in mind you need RECENT info, we moved out 7 years ago so no point in me telling you what we paid. Ask around, and get quotes or estimates.

Good luck!

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Kay

Those who do not like cats, must have been mice in a previous life.

Thank you again!

please also bare in mind and take into consideration Health needs

you being younger than a retiree, will need to pay into the Cyprus tax and insurance system for 3 years (correct me if I am wrong please someone) before you are eligible for the local NHS treatment at the General in Paphos etc

you might therefore want to consider private health cover, or pay privately for your health needs both at the Dr's, hospitals and at the chemists

just things that crop up when here :)

that are taken for granted when back in the uk

even though Cyprus is in the EU, it is a myth and farce that all EU countries do as the uk does and give out benefits and hospital care freely to all Immigrants as they arrive.They don't and one EU country that doesn't is Cyprus

Thank you - yes we are aware of the need for private cover. I have been reading some of the threads on treatment, medicines etc. while in Cyprus so realise we need to tackle that one. Our intention is to be tax payers once we move so hopefully we will eventually qualify!!!

excellent
forewarned .... fore armed

It cost me almost 500 Euro's for a 16 hours stay in a private hospital!

so Insurance needs to be tackled especially with a young one with you as well

being young and probably fit it should be easy to get full insurance

we have too many Illnesses to get the right cover

all the best

We are up in Kathikas, cooler in the summer and a little colder in the winter. Biggest problem is the hunting!! I wish we had been made aware of this before we brought.

It's so easy to take the NHS for granted isn't it?!

Interesting about Kathikas as this is one of our preferred areas - what problems does the hunting cause?

The villages offer a great way of living and a fantastic ambiance to do it in. Clearly you will be examining the issues of housing and heating etc and inspecting many before you come. Its often better to get one bedroom extra as in many properties there is insufficient storage. A pool really isnt necessary in the country areas unless its heated. Its usually much nicer to get out and about exploring the coastal areas and swimming or simply walking for a few hours in different directions.

One big issue is the inclusion of the children at the ISOP..... Transport there on a daily basis is clearly going to be a must, so you should (at least initially) be prepared to make this trip yourself before you can combine with other families in the area and run shuttles etc.

Popular villages at present for viewers are as you state Kathikas and Polemi probably due to the higher density of British Nationals, however popularity of villages like Stroumbi, Kallepia, Letympou and Giolou are growing. Kallepia in particular is getting some great attention being so close to Minthis Hills and only a 10 minute drive (in slow mode) to the ISOP.

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Straight talking, no Gimmicks.

Live your dreams.

None of our expat circle in Cyprus has children living with them as they're all retirees both pension age and early retirees as we once where...I do know of one couple whose daughter arrived at roughly the same age as yours, she seems to have done very well, but has now returned to the UK to attend uni and her parents are returning also...so I guess they achieved what they wanted, which is good....

My opinion is definitely emigrate if you want, but don't buy, rent your place in the UK and use the money to rent in Cyprus, if it doesn't work out you can return, and even if it does, like us you won't be stuck with a nice property in Cyprus that you can't sell when you want to....we are lucky in that we own in both countries and are retired and can do what we like, but we initially burned all our bridges in the UK and committed it all to Cyprus....on reflection we wouldn't do the same as we did...

If Neil doesn't mind the link, here's a Schools thread link to the easterncyprus forum which will give you lots of information re schooling for expat children, from those who know it best, the expat parents...

I think coming to Cyprus is a brave decision for anyone to start a new life, but with children it's more complex...if you already have your daughter learning Greek it will open doors for her, her friends and neighbours you want to be Greek you say not expat, so she needs to speak the language well before she gets here....my OH is already bilingual so found it easier to learn Greek Cypriot, he also is Asian and looks Greek Cypriot and this made our life very easy in Cyprus...he ran a business and most of his customers were Greek, his closest friend became a British Cypriot and all of this made life easier and we avoided the pitfalls eventually....we also dropped out of expat gatherings ......as that became a real problem...mostly because we don't drink and we were expected to pay a share of the whole bill... expats in a large group are best avoided...our close friends were British and one of our neighbours were British Cypriot, but they all like us avoided the expat scene....it's a whinging mass of I know best...when they don't...

I hope this link helps with some information...

http://www.easterncyprus.com/viewforum.php?f=10

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First they ignore you, then they mock you, then they fight you...then you win.

We have had a number of issues regarding the hunters, like many others around us in other villages.
They hunt where they want to and a few time we have had the house hit by pellets.
They enter our garden and land, some are rude. Only last week we were told to move our house, lol
They will shoot anything that moves, including each other !!

If possible view your intended property in the hunting season and speak with neighbouring property owners. Just be very careful.

Apart from the painful 5 months Kathikas is a wonderful place to live

5 months? Hunting season is from 1 Nov to end Feb, Sundays and Wednesdays only (except for the last week of Feb when the Minister grants dispensation and allows hunting every day 'cos it's been a poor hunting season ). There is a small amount of hunting in August, but only in certain areas where the prey lives, and not in Polemi

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Kay

Those who do not like cats, must have been mice in a previous life.

we have had our house in Polemi since 2010 and have lived here fulltime since 2014, it has a nice mix of ex pat and local Cypriots, it is very much a working village, farmers working the land etc.
Nice taverna. Agree 100% re the heating though our house was sooo cold last winter we have a small log burner, our house is an 'L' shaped bungalow so the heat doesn't go around corners so it's cold in the bedrooms Brr
Love living here, only problem we have is wherever we go to eat out etc. we have to drive so nominated drivers are a must

Enjoy

WOW thank you so much this is all really helpful.

So very excited to have our house in the UK valued and it turns out to be worth more than we thought so that's really nice. Just got to sell it now!

Quick question as one of our current 'possible' houses, when we move over, uses gas from a tank for it's central heating? How much gas do people use in a quarter if they have this type of heating and how easy is it to get deliveries?

Have to agree with Sadie - nominated drivers are a must as loads of places to eat and drink, and taxis can be expensive.

Re the question on heating it's one of those how long is a piece of sting questions , but it cost us a thousand euros for 3 months up in Kathikas , and yes it is very easy to have gas delivered .

Thank you ....I realise everyone's usage and the weather will vary but any information is better than none at all;)

As far as I know, the gas tank is owned by the gas company so you have to get the gas from them, you cannot shop around for a better price/more convenient deliveries/friendlier driver/whatever.

The gas company we use visits Polemi and surrounding villages approximately every 2 weeks - but you can't just "stop him and buy one" if you see him delivering to your neighbour. You have to phone and have your top-up request logged in the office, so the driver knows in advance how many properties he's going to and approximately how much gas each one will take. The tank is not usually completely filled (80%ish) to allow expansion room in hot weather. And you can't use the last 10-20%ish in the tank because the pressure is too low to fire the boiler!

And of course the delivery schedule is shot to pieces over the Christmas/New Year/Epiphany period, so don't forget to top up before then. (Our first top up this season is Thursday this week and if it weren't for C/NY/E, we probably wouldn't bother.)

Also, many tanks are only 500 litres, which (depending on how cold a mortal you are and the size and location of your house) may or may not hold enough gas to suffice until the next delivery, especially over C/NY/E. Apparently, regulations state that the bigger (1000 litre) tanks are too dangerous to site adjacent to the house. But you can site 2 x 500 litre tanks side by side beside your house, as our neighbour has done.

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Kay

Those who do not like cats, must have been mice in a previous life.

Thank you PW that is all great practical info...

Thank you PW for reminding me about the gas top up prior to Christmas! On order!

Hi there...I moved to Cyprus 4 months ago and bought a place in Polemi....so far have found it a lovely place to live...yes it is cold in the winter.....I have a large open fire and central heating.....my ceilings are very high, which is great in the summer but a big space to heat in the winter.......I buy logs off my next door neighbour for €150 a truck load...the fire heats the open plan living space but you need the CH for the bedrooms and bathrooms....when I moved in the gas tank was less than 10% full...a delivery taking it to 80% cost €170...I've used approx 30% in the last month and approx half the logs which works out to around €150 a month for both gas and logs....more expensive than the UK but the community charges (council tax equivalent) offset the additional cost as they're very low in comparison.

My house is in the valley surrounded by orchards and vineyards...it's a lovely area for walking and you can eat your fill of fruit on the way! Barking dogs can be a problem....my neighbour has 10 hunting dogs...they're very noisy at feed times or when they're going off hunting but they're quiet at night unless they hear something...over the other side of the valley are some other hunting dogs who aren't as controlled as the ones next door.....but it's still not a nuisance as far as I'm concerned.

My neighbours are Cypriot and they've made me very welcome...anything I want or need I only have to ask...I'm treated as one of the family....I had a leak on one of the toilets and within 5 minutes a plumber was at my door having received a phone call from my neighbour...whilst he was fixing the loo he also changed the valve on one of the bath taps which wasn't working...having to go back home for the parts....total charge €25! Imagine what that would have cost in the UK.

Telephone and Internet can be a problem in parts of Polemi....this was quite a frustration initially as you take Internet for granted in the UK and assume in this day and age it's available anywhere....I don't have a phone line or broadband....I use my mobile which is cheap compared to the UK...calls to the UK are a fraction of the cost....I use wifi in a box for Internet connection which works brilliantly for €29 a month....100gb and approx 8mps speed....no good for watching live TV but OK for catch up, films etc.

Hope this is of some help

Debs

Goldano that is really useful info - Polemi is one of the villages we are considering too! Thank You

With regards to moving....I used RSS logistics in Peyia.....they were not the cheapest compared to other Uk companies but they made the whole move hassle free....and the price quoted was fully inclusive of insurance.....customs duty/fees etc......I brought everything I could possibly need including my car....all fitted into a 40' container....took less than 4 weeks to arrive in Cyprus but it depends on sailings....RSS store FOC for however long you need.....this was useful to me as I had rented a furnished apartment prior to buying.

Please feel free to PM me for more detailed info if required.

Regards
Debs

thanks :)

Hello, Another question - although I know we will need to check this out with insurers and in surveys etc - you have all been so helpful I thought someone might know/have an opinion!?

When narrowing down our shortlist of properties to view/buy I have noticed that some mention the construction as steel framed or SIPs. I have looked these up and know what that means technically but am not sure what is the 'normal' construction used in a property in Cyprus and whether we should avoid any type?

"Normal" construction in Cyprus is:

A thick concrete slab, well reinforced with rebar to Government seismic specifications. Reinforced concrete pillars at the corners and other strategic points. Reinforced concrete roof, either sloping or flat. The bulk of the walls (between the pillars) are red holey bricks - you may have seen some being used as broom/mop holders (stand the brick upright, stick the handle into the hole and the broom/mop stays upright, head up). If the developer was conscientious (or the person having it built kept an eye on him, as we did ), then a good layer of thick plastic would have been laid under the slab as a Damp Proof Course. Many buildings do not have this, and suffer rising damp as a result.

Ours is built like this (with the DPC) - but with the addition of under floor central heating (no cold tiled floors in winter), and an internal framework holding loads of insulation against each external wall and the ceilings. Then a double layer of plasterboard over that. Toasty!

Basically, the only type of construction to avoid in Cyprus is either one that is so old it is not up to current seismic specifications (and we do occasionally get quite large earthquakes here), or one with no insulation (cold and possibly damp in winter, hot in summer) - and get details of any claimed insulation. Our developer told us we didn't need roof insulation as they painted the flat section of the roof with a special insulating paint. Thank goodness we didn't believe him - the paint was simply the usual roofing waterproof paint that needs replacing every 2 years or so. (Concrete is not impermeable, so needs covering/sealing to prevent water ingress.)

Be very careful with your choice of lawyer - they are not all as reputable as one expects UK lawyers to be. And make sure that your purchase contract stipulates no payment without title deeds, preferably full rather than just land deeds, although land deeds are a good start. In the UK, you expect your lawyer to thoroughly investigate the title, mortgage if any, exact land boundaries, etc etc before you part with any pennies - over here, it's not always that good. Also, when you've made a short list of properties you like, ask around about problems with the area - from dogs barking to land slippage, it's worth knowing in advance before you commit yourself to a purchase.

I'm sure if you search on here you will find many recommendations - just make sure they are for recent use as standards can change over the years.

Oh, just one other thing, Houdinibun. When you come over for a look-see, remember to leave your rose-tinted specs at home! Cyprus is lovely - but it's not perfect.

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Kay

Those who do not like cats, must have been mice in a previous life.

Houdinibun
I would advise as others house owners have advised us
RENT!
we are so glad, at first we where looking to buy, but we settled on being long term renters instead, and I know of others who are looking to sell in order to rent themselves, best advice that we where given

we have learned that you do not need to be a house owner over here at all, the market is awash with beautiful properties to rent

and if you then find that the area that you are living in, is not what you wanted , then you can just at the end of the contract leave and move to an area that is better suited to you :)

Live here as a renter at least at first before committing to a purchase

AS ever thank you for your advice, information and guidance it is VERY much appreciated.

As far as renting is concerned we will be renting for 6 months to a year but do want to buy - we have been planning this move for sometime and keep abreast of the stories of land slippage etc. and have investigated various villages quite extensively. I make use of all the government portals in Cyprus, the online papers and have even carried out my own searches a couple of times.

Yes the lawyer thing is very important and we have a list of recommendations from various forums etc. as well as friends of friends who already live out in Cyprus. Again I have drawn up my own checklist of things I know we should get a lawyer to check before we pay over our hard earned money!!

In my time I have been a bank manager, primary school teacher and now own and run my own business so while I am sure we will not get everything right I hope we won't jump in too quickly, but will wait for the right property at the right price in the right place??!!

all the best with this big move for you all
you sound well clued up
have a great Christmas xx

Thanks migmogs - Merry Christmas to you too!

Happy New Year

2016 is the year we move to Cyprus yipeee!

Happy New year
almost time

remember to pack your snow boots and winter coats as snow fell last night and this morning in them there hills :) and it is definitely brrrrrrrrr here today :)

I saw about the snow...

As well as electric under blankets, thermal vests and bed socks are a God send too!

Kali xronia, Happy New Year and best of luck for your move!

So our house in the UK went on the market today and we have 3 viewings lined up tomorrow - fingers crossed they like the place! Exciting, scary and nerve wracking all at once...

Also our daughter has just been diagnosed as needing a wheat free diet - most things I know will be fine and we have seen 'free from' equivalents in Paphos before but any help or advice from you lovely people would, as ever, be gratefully received.

Alpha Mega supermarket has a reasonable range of gluten free items - including some yummy crunchy little slices of toast and also corn tortillas. I can pass on some gluten free cake recipes if you want, just let me know. When a friend of mine returns to Cyprus, I will ask her for more information, especially about the little card thingy to show at restaurants and other eateries so they know what NOT to provide!

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Kay

Those who do not like cats, must have been mice in a previous life.

PW thank you - we are quite up on the gluten free cooking as there is a lot of coeliac in the family. But all help is gratefully received - we will check out Alphamega!

Sorry not many updates but we have managed to sell our house and boked Pickfords to ship our personal belongings so all now full steam ahead. On a cold and very wet day in the UK it is great to think we have 10 weeks to go and we will be starting our new life in Cyprus

Congratulations on selling your house! Very exciting time for you....the weeks will fly by

Thirteen years ago this month we used pickfords to move here, found them very efficient and helpful. All the best with your move.

Our "stuff" is currently on its' way back to the UK by sea, packed and shipped using Peter Morton Removals and the great bunch of lads he sent to us this time last week.

We went for a 20ft sole use container as the difference between a shared and sole use was only a few hundred euro. We've paid a bit under 3,500 EUR.

We came out just over 12yrs ago and we shared a 20ft container with friends (so again, sole use container but shared by two parties) and all the stuff went to just a single address. For that we used Britannia Removals and found they were very good too.

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Busy exploring England's green & pleasant lands since May 2016 after 12yrs in Cyprus.
There appears to be a misapprehension I run a photography business... it's my passion as a hobby.
I sell and buy postage stamps!

25 days to go!

The house is in chaos - boxes everywhere. We did a car boot to sell some items and are now using facebook for various others that we are not bringing with us.

My brain is finding it all rather befuddling - can't wait