Hi all,
I am thinking of buying an apartment in Hurghada, I have looked all over the web these last couple of months, read lot's of posts in this forum and read the propertastics 'book' on hurghada (very good).

My question as a newbie to buying property abroad is do I use the developers lawyers which are probably a bit cheaper (not too important that).

Or do I use a lawyer of my own.
One who is conversant in Egyptian law and English speaking.
If it is better to us my own lawyer how do i find a good one?

any help much appreciated .
Alan

Its very much your choice Alan; the big Developers like Resort Alliance (Sahl Hasheesh) have their own contracts in English and in Arabic and you do not need your own lawyer. However, many clients like to appoint their own just for the peace of mind of knowing that everything is in order.

__________________
PROPERTY SHOP INC. International Property Brokers
EGYPT REAL - Your One Stop Shop for Hurghada Property

Hi Alang,

If you are really wanting to employ a lawyer then you should in my opinion Employ your own lawyer,However saying this I have also purchased an apartment in Hurghada and was happy to use the services of the developers lawyers.
Do you have an issue of trust with the developer?.. If not then use the developers legal team.Just remember any thing you want to put into the contract will automatically be translated from Arabic to English with most developers.

I would always recommend using your own lawyer. Although the terms of the contracts might be OK... developers contracts are very much 1 sided! It is YOUR lawyers job to make them fairer.

Good question.

Why does anyone need a contract anyway !

The sheer fact that we EXPECT a contract means that there is already a lack of trust between the two partries. The point is really just how much do we trust each other. For this type of contract there has to be doubt on both sides since there is no personal background on which to develop any trust.
The actual words in any contract have to be fair to both parties.
If you are competent to read English (note ALL contracts are in English, or dual language not just with big developers), YOU can decide if you need a lawyer to change the terms.

Any sensible developer will change a contract to suit a buyer if there is sufficient incentive so to do. The bigger developers have lots of reason NOT to do this, even if you use a lawyer.

The most important reason to use a lawyer is to prove that what you think you are buying is actually owned buy the other party to the contract, and that there is a reasonable belief that your property will be delivered, as specified. This is where a lawyer acting soley for you is most appropriate if the information is difficult to find, or you have some doubts. If the information has already been freely given by the developer (deeds to the land, building license etc), then you are simply spending money to give yourself "piece of mind", and we all need that when spending lots of money.

Another option that my owner are using is to find ONE lawyer that all owners use (not linked to the developer), this should make everything very simple and inexpensive. NO brainer really - but the developer has to co-operate and give you at least ONE other owners name. We have an Owners Club already so everyone knows each other and have chosen to co-operate, and even give help to potential new owners.

..


.

__________________

Checking up on Land title, licences, debts, previous owners I believe is the easy part! The difficult part is when the developer doesnt keep to his side of the agreement... Thats what you really need the contract for...and normally they have a few get out clauses, penalties for buyers etc etc!

USE YOUR OWN LAWYER - ALWAYS.

IF YOU WANT SOMEONE IN EGYPT TRY THIS LINK Chambers and Partners : Home THEY HAVE LAWYERS GLOBALLY, IS FREE AND IMPARTIAL.

__________________

I have lived in Egypt for 16 years, and believe me - you need to use a lawyer. Your own lawyer. And then hire another lawyer to watch out that your first lawyer doesn't roll you into the gutter!

Again, excellent advice. One will probably do, just make sure you get the RIGHT one....

__________________
PROPERTY SHOP INC. International Property Brokers
EGYPT REAL - Your One Stop Shop for Hurghada Property

Boy is that true!!!