There are a rash of bogus estate agents in the market, the head of the Turkish Cypriot Estate Agents’ union Hasan Gungur has warned. He added that foreigners who want to invest in North Cyprus are being defrauded.
Sungur said that due to the fact that the locals have realised that they cannot buy a house in sterling, since they are paid in Turkish Lira, foreign investors have appeared on the market, especially Arabs and Russians, who want to invest in property in the TRNC. “This situation has led to the beginning of a particular kind of fraud against these people”, Sungur said. Despite the fact that the cost of building materials has shot up because of the devaluation of the Turkish lira, foreigners are being offered property at below market rates, when if fact, these properties do not even exist. Foreign investors will soon realise that they were victims of fraud, and this will damage the TRNC, he added.
He also stated that non-registered estate agents are hurting the business and said that in Famagusta and North Nicosia alone, there are 100 non-registered estate agents.
Kibris