HI

Sorry for a late reply on this but I have been in Hurghada last week.

Re your reply from your Agent, as below:

This looks very short of facts and I would treat this more as being something to be seen as "ducking the issue" rather being of any value. Where is the information on the 2nd Option ???

There is another thread on this forum that is accurate in stating the facts - there is no proven legal way to re-sell before 5 years AND to legally have a commercial rental agreement, in the way that many agents and developers are selling.
There may well be locations within Egypt where the law about 5 years etc DOES NOT APPLY, and that is the best way around this.
It is VITAL ask about any exemption from an Egyptian Lawyer, NOT an agent. Most of Hurghada falls under the normal rules where the 5 years no re-sell applies for non-Egyptians.

There is one legal way around the 5 year rules which is stated in the Law as noted on this forum, which is to apply to the Prime Minister for permission to re-sell. This has been known to work but takes anything upto a year to get approved, but once approved allows you to re-sell at any time in the future.
The issue about commercial rentals is more tricky and I suspect will only ever be an issue if the Egyptian Government decide to take action on properties that have been registered and have been identified as being rented commercially, which is then a buisness which you will not legally allowed to do unless you register as a business in Egypt and pay tax etc.

Ad hoc rentals with substantial "own use" are never likely to fall foul of this restriction.

The note about non-Egyptians rarely registering is probably true since it then makes the property known to the Government, however it is ESSENTIAL for you since it will uncover any issues of the original land not being owned by the person or company that you bought from.
ANY Laywer working for YOU, not the seller will be able to confirm, or otherwise the ownership of the land where you are buying - if you have not already been given a certified copy of the LAND REGISTRATION entry then I suggest you get this BEFORE you make any further payments - you need it in ENGLISH (from a certified translation Company) and ARABIC, then your Lawyer can check it in the Land Registry in Hurghada.

So far there has been very few properties sold to non-Egyptians that have been finished that can be registerted hence no response via this forum on this concern.

The key issue for you is that YOU need to convice the NEXT owner that the property is legally yours - you will find it VERT difficlut (but not impossible) to sell to any non-Egyptian without the normally accepted proof of ownership given by registration.
Part of your contract should state that the property is free for all debt etc, however without registation your Lawyer cannot find out on your behalf if the land already has been a HUGH loan taken out on it, which leaves you potentially open to all sorts of scams I'm afraid.

It is VERY COMMON for Egyptians to buy and sell land and property without any registration because they all accept the same risk in order to hide evrything from the Government, and avoid paying any fees or taxes.

PROPERTY REGISTRATION IN EGYPT

There are two types of registration for properties in Egypt, the most formal of which restricts sale and rental in the first 5 years and is rarely used by foreign purchasers. The second of these is used by investors for the flexibility to determine where and when they rent and sell their property.

We therefore will register all properties using the second method unless requested otherwise.

Regarding residency, purchasing a property in Egypt automatically gives the purchaser the right to apply for residency.

Our lawyer who has carried out the due diligence for the development has many years experience in dealing with properties in Egypt and has successfully completed many purchases without complications.

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