From reservation to handover

Every purchase follows the same sequence — reservation, due diligence, contract deposit, staged payments, snagging, keys. This page sets out how it works in practice in Cyprus, what it costs, where buyers most often get caught out, and what to ask for in writing before you commit to anything.

A reservation agreement removes the unit from the market while your lawyer runs due diligence. That is the single most useful thing to understand before you go any further, because almost every subsequent decision follows from it.

A property transaction in Cyprus is a defined sequence rather than a negotiation that happens all at once. A reservation takes the unit off the market while an independent lawyer carries out due diligence on title, planning permits and encumbrances. The contract of sale is then signed and deposited at the Land Registry, which is the step that legally protects the buyer's interest in the property from that moment forward.

Depositing the contract of sale at the Land Registry is the step that legally protects your interest. Payments for an off-plan purchase follow certified construction milestones, so the money released always corresponds to work completed on site. The final instalment falls due at handover, after the snagging inspection has been carried out and the list agreed, which keeps accountability with the developer where it belongs.

Budget for more than the purchase price. Stamp duty applies to the contract value, legal fees cover due diligence and Land Registry deposit, transfer fees apply on title, and VAT applies at the reduced rate on a qualifying primary residence or at the standard rate otherwise. Beyond the transaction there is the first year of ownership: service charges, insurance, utilities connection and furnishing.

Our calculators exist so these numbers stop being abstract. You can model VAT treatment, the full payment schedule, mortgage affordability and net rental yield for a specific unit rather than for a generic average, which is the only way the comparison is meaningful.

Snagging happens before the final instalment, not after, which keeps the developer accountable. The pattern we see repeatedly is a decision made on a verbal assurance that was never written into the contract. Anything material — specification, delivery window, what happens if the programme slips, who certifies each milestone — should exist in the documents rather than in someone's memory of a meeting.

The second recurring issue is comparing incomparable things: a price that includes parking, storage and a full kitchen against one that does not, or a gross rental yield against a net one. Normalise every offer to the same basis before you rank them, and the right answer usually becomes obvious without further debate.

We publish rather than gate. Availability, pricing logic, specifications and payment schedules are set out in writing, and every buyer has one named contact from first enquiry through to aftercare. Construction updates arrive on a schedule instead of on request, and the handover pack contains manuals, warranties and as-built information as a complete file.

That approach is a direct expression of thoughtful design and lasting value. A transaction that is clear at the start produces an owner who is still satisfied in year five, and that is the only outcome that compounds for a boutique developer.