Why do I recommend not buying a property in Turkish Cyprus?

Many are considering buying an apartment in Turkish Cyprus. Usually this is due to the attractiveness of Turkish Cypriot prices which are about 20% cheaper than the prices on the Greek side of Cyprus.
However, I do not recommend purchasing properties on the Turkish side of Cyprus.

This is for the following reasons:

A. Turkish Cyprus is an “occupied territory” whose international status is in dispute. No country in the world recognizes the existence of a country called Northern or Turkish Cyprus except the conqueror itself, the country of Turkey. Southern Cyprus, which is a Western country recognized by all countries of the world and international organizations, has territorial disputes with the authorities of Northern Cyprus and Turkey, and they call the northern part of Cyprus “occupied territory”. Northern Cyprus was born as a result of a violent war by the Turks which led to a disconnection between the two main populations which reside on the island: the Greeks and the Turks, and caused the island of Cyprus to be divided into two diferent cultural entities. Southern Cyprus has never accepted the existence of a Turkish Cyprus, and till this day lay claim to certain lands in the northern part. 50 years after the war and the occupation, the relations between the two parts of the island are still hostile and estranged. Greek Cyprus has laws that prohibit its residents from establishing commercial and economic ties with the northern part. Although the passage between the two sides of the island is open, except for border checkpoints, there is no economic cooperation between the two sides.

B. Turkish Cyprus is a Muslim country and as such dictator Erdohan who sits in Turkey is its de facto ruler. This is not a Western country that operates according to the codes and laws of the West and of Greek Cyprus. By buying an apartment on the Turkish side, you are risking all of your money or at least part of it in case draconian regulations are issued by the unstable government in Turkey. Muslim culture in general and the Turks in Northern Cyprus are racist and do not look favorably on Western culture and Christianity. I myself suffered some racist reactions being on the Turkish side. It’s a negative and unpleasant energy you get from the locals. Buying a property should be in a mentally and emotionally supportive environment. No savings in the world is worth it when people around you treat you with hostility and hatred and are intolerant of who you are.

C. Draconian regulations:
During the Corona period severe restrictions were imposed on entry and travel on the Turkish side. Regulations on the Greek side of Cyprus were not as strict.  Global events are unpredicatble and so are the regulations that follow them. As such, by purchasing property in the Northen part you are risking the sudden loss of access to you property. 

D. It is one thing to visit and travel in Turkish Cyprus and another thing is to buy property there. At some point in time you will want to sell the property and then you will have to deal with a cunning Turkish real estate agent who will demand 10% of the value of your apartment just to sell it. That is, you may lose all of your profit from buying cheap when you want to sell the property. If you do not master the Turkish language, you are expected to have more problems during the sale phase and taxes that will reduce you tens of percent of the value of the property. You will not find officials in authorities and government offices who will speak to you in English or give you English copies of your documents, so you will have to sign like blind people on every binding legal document.

E. Regarding the economic stability.

As I said above, Turkish Cyprus is an area that is not actually recognized by any country in the world as a country. The only one that recognizes them is Turkey which created the occupation of Turkish Cyprus. In such a situation, you may have a problem transferring your moeny from a bank on the Turkish side to other places in the world, and especially to the Greek side. In fact, Greek Cyprus forbids its residents to establish commercial and economic links with the Turkish side of occupied Cyprus.
Again, banking in Turkish Cyprus is controlled by Turkey and the laws of its dictatorial ruler. Can you be sure that in the future you will certainly be able to sell and transfer your money from there to another place in the world and will the bankers in the West accept your money? And when they ask you for confirmation about the source of the money, will the documents you have be enough for western banks and they will accept it? You may be in a situation where your money is stuck in an apartment in the Turkish part or in a bank there and you cannot return it to you. Do not accept the stories of real estate agents who try to sell you properties for their own profit. They will paint everything for you in pink. We encountered difficulty transferring money from a company we had in Bulgaria, a country in the European Union, to Greek Cyprus. They just said they dont trust their reports. Today, the banking system is much more careful about every transfer.

F. The legality degree of your transaction:
As i mentioned, Turkish Cyprus is an occupied territory that is not recognized by any country in the world as an independent country. The state of Cyprus claims on behalf of many citizens to own many of the lands of the Turkish side. It does not deny the right of Turkish residents to own land in the north, but it has a claim regarding the Greek lands which were abandoned by their owners when fleeing the north. Most likely in Northern Cyprus they are trading in land that actually according to international law does not belong to them. These lands are apparently sold to real estate developers who sell the apartments they built on to citizens from around the world. As far as Greek Cyprus is concerned, this action is illegal. An Israeli entrepreneur has been in a Cypriot prison for about six months for trading in Greek land on the Turkish side and building apartments on it that he sold to citizens from around the world. Have you checked whether your apartment is not sitting on such problematic land? The fact that the land is illegally registered by the Turkish authorities in the name of some person does not make the transaction legal for you. All these lands are marked by the authorities on the Greek side and the claim for their return is valid and exists. What will you do if they claim the land of your apartment?
Can you really know the nature of the land on which your apartment was built and when it will return to its owner?
Why should you put a healthy head in a sick bed?
Theoretically, the only way to check the legality of this transaction could be to transfer your plot map to the authorities in southern Cyprus and ask theo if they have no legal claim regarding it.
But I believe that no matter what your citizenship is, you will not get any cooperation with the authorities in the south regarding any deal that one wants to do in the north.

G. The culture:
Do you really want a house in a racist Muslim country? Maybe yes, if you yourself are Muslim and hold the same moral and religious code that the rest of the world except you are infidels who must convert to Islam. Which education system will you send your children to? Who will be their friends there, Muslim Turks?

H. Harassment of foreign citizens:
I will give you a small example of how you can get rid of all your desire to travel or live in Turkish Cyprus. The Turks invested a lot of money in building wide four-lane roads. Such roads are adapted to travel at 120 km/h. Nevertheless, probably to enrich the pockts of the state, they limit the speed of travel on such roads for the most part to 50 km/h and before intersections even to 30 km/h. It is impossible to withstand this. I know many who have received fines for a total speed of 60-70 km/h on a road that corresponds to 120. I do not believe that there is a connection between caution, A desire to protect the lives of citizens and these ridiculous speed laws.

I. You do not need to buy a property to travel in Turkish Cyprus. Are the landscapes on the Turkish side very different from what you will see in Greek Cyprus? not. I didn’t see anything very different there, neither the beaches nor nature sites. Still, take a trip there if you feel like it, but why buy a property there?

J. Increase in property value
You will not expect a significant increase in the value of your property on the north side. There are not many people who jump on living in a Muslim country with a Muslim culture around. What does a western person have to look for in such a place? It follows that you are investing in a place that will not keep the value of your money and maybe even the fund will decrease.

K. Greek Cyprus:
Greek Cyprus is a country recognized by the whole world and a member of the European Union. An apartment and living here will give you all the rights of owning a property and living in Europe. You are exposed here to western culture, a western economic system and the logical laws and regulations of the western world. One of the official languages ​​in Greek Cyprus is English, so you will be able to explain yourself and understand others in any municipal or government office. Every document you need to read will also appear in English so you will feel at home. Greek Cyprus is a much more sought-after place than the northern, Muslim part. The construction boom there is huge and the real estate prices there keep going up. This means that buying a property on the Greek side is a smart and worthwhile financial action. Your level of risk compared to buying a property in the north is zero and you will have complete flexibility in using your property for any purpose and investment.

These are the main reasons why I do not recommend anyone to buy any property in Muslim Turkish Cyprus despite all kinds of “attractive properties” that shrewd real estate agents will offer you. I suggest you invest your money in a safe, peaceful and calm place without any risk.