Hi all,

My first post so please bear with me. My wife and I have two boys aged 19 + 21 andare considering purchasing at Sierra Nabq or Sharm Bride.

I worked for 25 years selling into Egypt and the Middle East so know a little about the way of doing business etc but nothing about the property market and laws apart from sales literature and reading some very good informatione here.

We just returned from a week in Sharm el Sheikh and took the opportunity to look at some property whilst out there.

We have so many questions and were interested to see others who have bought in the same development or considering buying, posting on this Forum.

I want to table a few questions in the hope that somebody may be able to answer some of them.

The legal system re purchasing in Sharm is a little confusing and worrying but I think we can cope with that.

If we want to sell for some reason after say, 2 years do we incurr serious costs?

We are struggling to get info on the practicalities of beach use (understand we get access via the hotel but will this cost per visist) ?

How do you protect your money when paying - before documentation is in place?

We like Sharm though in many ways Hurgada looks a safer investment - any comments?

We would be interested in communicating with anyone looking at or who had bought in these two developments for some help and re-assurance on general matters.

Looking forward to contact from prospective future neighbours/friends

Iain

Sue, reading the "Propertasic" news letter link in an earlier post this paragraph seems to cover your question

"You will also need the assistance of a lawyer in order to guide you through the process of registering the ownership of your property as there are two methods of doing this. The first method registers you as the owner in the Land Registry. The downside to this however is that, as a foreigner, you are restricted to the number of properties you are allowed to buy in Egypt and you will also be unable to sell on the property in a period of less than five years. The second method, which is probably the better of the two, is to register your ownership with a notary but not have your name listed at the Land Registry. This avoids the restrictions placed upon you as a foreigner."

Iain

Hi Ian

I have bought a 1 bedroom at Sierra. Most questions will be answered by SRE. You really need to get a good lawyer ( we paid £500 ) and he will be able to answer your legal questions.
Zeiad has already checked the land registry etc for Sierra to ensure that it is owned by the developer and it is all legal and above water.
You need to get POA and give to your lawyer. I went to El Tor and got my multi entry visa and residents visa which you then take to the government also in El Tor where you obtain the POA for 40le. Once your contract ( must be in English and Arabic ) has been signed by yourself and the developer the lawyer then takes it to the courts in Cairo.
I have asked if the pools will be supplied with sunloungers as per the artists impression and have been told yes.
Im sure we have free beach access as it is solely for the use of Sierra and Sharm Bride.
The contract states that the 2nd party ( buyer ) may dispose of usufruct of such sold unit before the total price is fully paid pursuant to a prior written consent of the 1st party ( developer ). In the event the 2nd party may commit any act of disposition in the absence of consent by 1st party, in its capacity as seller, assignor and assignee shall be jointly obliged to reimburse all unmatured installments and obliged to pay 10,000 le to change the contract ( aound £1000 )
In case the full price is paid, the 2nd party may assign such usufruct right to the allocated unit without consulting or referring to the 1st party and pay 10,000 to change the contract ( this cost could be passed onto the new owner - think basically it means you can sell and the new owner then has the new lease )
There is alot more on this in the contract and I will gladly email you a ' blank copy ' if you would like to see it.

Did you take any photos when you where at Sierra?

Queenie

I've just been told by an advisor at the Egyptian Consulate in London this morning that a Residence Visa is not required in order to buy property in Egpyt. He seemed pretty adamant that this is the case, but I'm perplexed as I've read here that you DO need this visa. I thought I should check with you guys here on the forum what the situation is in practice, as I know that the "official line" in Egypt is notoriously changeable!

I plan to buy a property over there shortly and intend to stay for at least a few months and see how things go, maybe invest in another flat, before deciding whether I want to live/work there permanently.

The Consulate advisor reckons, as a British citizen, I can just turn up at the airport, get the usual tourist visa, and then go to the Immigration Office in Hurghada and extend it for up to a year or for however long I want. Is this true and is this the best way of doing things? I would hate to be given the wrong info and to then have to leave the country and re-enter for the proper visa!

In addition, a friend of mine is also interested in buying Egyptian property, but only as an investment and does not intend to stay here. So obviously for him it would be important to know whether he would still need to get a Residence Visa (and whether he has to go through all the prerequisite hassles such as the AIDS test etc!)

Is perhaps a Residence Visa required when you go via the registration route of buying property and not when you buy through the more common "Signature Validity Court Verdict" method?

Thanks in advance for any replies.

Dear Jon,

Kindly get informed that the sole purpose of the residence visa is NOT to buy a property, but to allow you to issue a Power of Attorney to a lawyer in the notary office.

However, you can do all the legal procedures while being in your country and without even visiting Egypt! Needless to mention that you wouldn't then have to obtain the aforementioned visa, given that your procedures are secured properly via a lawyer and / or a trusted real estate agency.

Zeiad Yehia
Solicitor

Thanks Zeiad.

I understand that the Residence Visa allows you to give Power of Attorney to your lawyer at the notary office. But when you say you don't need the Residence Visa if your procedures are properly secured by a lawyer, what would be that procedure exactly (if, as in my friends case, he won't visit Egypt - he justs wants to invest)?

@ Awahee : "Is your mate going to give power of attorney to someone then?"

Yes, it looks like my friend would have to give power of attorney to someone if he doesn't go to Egypt.

From what you say, it looks like I, on the other hand, should get the Residence Visa, rather than extend the tourist visa, as I intend to stay in Egypt at least for a few months. I take it, judging by the postings here, it's better do that while you're out in Hurghada, rather than the Embassy in London?

Hi Zeiad,

Can you tell me what the process is for purchasing in Hurghada as a Foreigner.

We have encounted problems with our solicitor and have since been told that if we just go to the local council (Not sure wat you call it in egypt) and pay them a small fee this constitutes that u own the property. Would you be kind enough to just clarify this for please.

Hi when I got my 12m resident visa and 6m multi entry visa I just took my passport to the passport office in El Tor. The residents visa cost 83 LE and the multi entry was 61 LE ( it is £18 if you apply at the Embassy in the UK )

Egypt grants legitimate foreign nationals the right for temporary residence in the country.

You can find out more here Egypt: Travel Tips - Visas and Passports

Dear Jon123,

Dear egypt,

Regarding your enquiry on how to secure a transaction via a solicitor while not even being in Egypt, you first have to make sure your solicitor has revised your purchase contract precisely and has amended any suspicious articles that might need amendment.

Then the contract can be sent to you in your country via email, along with a power of attorney form from your lawyer in order to be able to act officially on your behalf.

Then you should follow the following procedures:

1/ look in Yellow Pages for a local notary public (NP), who are always lawyers in practice; there is one at least in every small town and many more in cities

2/ Take the PoA along with passport and sign name in front of the NP who will then add his signature and details. He will want paying cash which is normally about GBP20.

3/ Take the PoA along, or post it to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in London Legalisation*Foreign & Commonwealth Office who will check the NP's details on their database and legalise the PoA by apostille. This costs GBP27.

4/ Take or post the PoA to the Egyptian Consulate General in London http://www.egyptianconsulate.co.uk/ who will then check everything over and will legalise it in Arabic. Cost of this is GBP20.

5/ Post the PoA to you by recorded delivery or better still by DHL or the like.

The above is really very straight forward and in fact there are companies that will do 3/ and 4/ for people at a relatively cheap price as they do so many a day; details can be found on the internet.



Then the PoA shall be sent back to the solicitor, along with the signed contract. Please note that contracts must be signed on the bottom of EACH PAGE "initials only" until you reach the last page, then you shall print your full name on the last page and sign below.

When your solicitor gets these items back he shall authenticate the PoA "again" in the Ministry of External Affairs "Ratification Section" either in Cairo or Alexandria.

Your solicitor can now act officially on your behalf.

Also please be aware that some developers "few of them actually" write different stuff in the Arabic part of the contract "Small details" than the English part which may look satisfactory for the foreigner client. However, The Arabic language is the language SOLELY RECOGNIZED by Egyptian courts, and consequently the English part is for the mere purpose of guidance, but legally talking it is valueless.

Your solicitor shall then receive their fees via bank transfer, and secure your bank transfer with the real estate agency or the developer via a money transfer agreement "bilingual one" or by receiving the funds to their own account then pay it on your behalf "you still would need a money transfer agreement then. I personally refrain from doing this."

Please do not hesitate to ask more questions,

Zeiad Yehia
Solicitor

Hi Zeiad,

Sorry i think I confused matters slightly. I have already bought the place and was in egypt to sign the contract written in both Arabic and English. containing how much was paid what the apartment number is etc etc.

My main concern is from here as it is simply a piece of paper and what from a legal point of view proves that the ownership is mine of this place?
(Is there another piece of paper that I should be receiving from a government body etc??)