Mandatory taxes
Regular taxes related to the ownership of real estate in Cyprus, the owner must pay annually, regardless of how much time he spends on the island.
First of all, it is a tax on real estate ownership. The amount of the payment depends on the value of the property, apartments and houses worth less than 170,860 euros are exempt from tax. In other cases, the rate is from 0.25 to 0.40%.
The municipal fee, which is charged for garbage collection, street lighting and other services of this kind, depends on the type of housing and ranges from 85 to 260 euros per year.
Bills are not waiting
Most utility bills in Cyprus consist of a fixed part and an actual consumption fee.
So, you need to pay for electricity in Cyprus every two months for 16 euros plus the amount that the meter will show. Prices per kilowatt are not constant. "The country's power plants run on fuel oil, and the price of electricity is largely determined by the cost of imported oil," explains Marios Paschali, Sales Manager at Paschali Developers. "In the future, the cost of electricity may decrease, since now the government plans to produce electricity using solar, wind and biomass energy." Today, one kilowatt costs an average of 9-11 cents, depending on the time of day.
There are no main gas pipelines in Cyprus – but you can buy gas cylinders, which cost about 10-12 euros apiece. One cylinder, with reasonable consumption, can be enough for a year – although most new homes have electric stoves instead of gas stoves.
The main source of fresh water in Cyprus is rain. Due to the fact that very little precipitation fell in the summer of 2008 and the reservoirs remained almost empty, serious problems with water supply arose in the country – as a result, water had to be imported from Greece by tankers. To prevent such incidents, the Cypriot Government has taken a number of measures that will help resolve the problem. Thus, the construction of desalination plants has accelerated. Currently, there are two stationary desalination stations in Cyprus – in Dekeli and Larnaca, another mobile station, in Moni, was opened at the height of last year's drought. Another mobile station in Paphos is currently under construction, and there are plans to build a large plant in Limassol. "The water in Cyprus is getting better and better,– says Marios Paskhali. "In a couple of years, the country will fully meet its needs with desalination systems."
In addition, most of the new houses have individual tanks with a capacity of 700 liters to 2 tons. They are filled automatically, and in the event of a water outage, residents use this reserve. Thanks to this system, last year's outages were not so critical for many residents.
Water bills come in every two, three or four months, depending on the area. The subscription fee for three months is 12 euros, and 1 cubic meter of water costs from 43 cents to 4 euros (the higher the consumption, the higher the price). If the bill is not paid for a long time, utilities charge a 10% fine, and after a while they can turn off the water.
Cypriots strive to make the most of natural resources, especially when it allows significant savings. There are 340 sunny days a year on the island, and it would be foolish not to take advantage of this. "Solar panels are installed on the roof of almost every Cypriot house," explains Maria Edenina, sales manager at Leptos Estates. – The energy of the sun provides the household with hot water for washing, washing and cooking, and is also used for preheating water." Cyprus ranks first in Europe in terms of the number of solar collectors per capita. The laws of the country require that solar collectors be installed in every house during construction.
Property owners in residential complexes also pay for the services of a management company that performs maintenance work on the common territory of the complex (cleaning the pool, caring for flower beds and lawns), security, etc.
Savvas Pastellis, head of the Department for Eastern Europe at Cybarco, speaking about the costs of using the internal infrastructure of the residential complex, notes: "It is difficult to give exact figures. Each project is different. The total cost of utilities consists of many components: swimming pool, garden, security – you have to pay for all this. It all depends on the owner: the more he wants to get, the more he will have to spend. A preliminary calculation of the upcoming expenses for the maintenance of real estate can be obtained from the developer already at the construction stage."
Assistants at the ready
If the owner cannot personally pay the bills, the bank can debit the required amount automatically. "If the owner does not live in the country permanently, he can pay for utilities through any Cypriot bank," says Lilia Sarvarova, sales director of the Moscow representative office of Aristo Developers. "To do this, it is enough to open an account and give an order that funds are regularly debited from it. The main thing is that there should always be a sufficient amount on the deposit." The service that allows you to pay regular fixed payments from a bank account is called standing order. To use it, you need to come to the bank with the last paid utility bill, specify the details of the recipient and the account number from which the money should be debited.
By the way, the management companies serving a particular residential complex can also help to make payments on time and maintain comfort and cleanliness in the house in the absence of the owners. The owner can also apply to them if he wants to rent out his house.
There are several options for renting out housing. The head of the Russian representative office of Pafilia Property Developers Ltd. Andreas Huloudis talks about what services the owner of the facility in the Pafilia complexes can expect: "The owner can rent the property for a short period of time (up to two months). At the same time, you can visit the complex at any time, it is enough to notify the management company about your arrival three months in advance so that the property does not give up during this period. With this type of lease, the owner can expect a net annual income of 5-7% of the value of the property, provided that it is rented within 70% of the time. Another type of lease is long–term. In this case, the contract with the tenant is signed for at least 14 months, during which the owner cannot use his property. With this option, you can expect a net income of about 3-5% per annum."
The owner can search for tenants on his own or entrust this to a management company, which will not only find suitable tenants, but also prepare the property for rent, will clean and maintain it throughout the term of the contract. The owner can only think about how often he plans to visit his home in Cyprus, and then choose the period for which he is ready to give his property to someone else.
By the way, many developers offer customers such a service as a guaranteed rental. Having put their property under management, as a rule, for two years, the owner receives a certain fixed income. The developer assumes all the risks, so the amount of guaranteed income is usually not very high. However, at the same time, many problems are solved for the owner – therefore, such a scheme is a success.
