How to choose a trusted property advisor for Northern Cyprus

What "trusted" should mean in practice

Trust is not a feeling you get from a website or a viewing; it is the result of things you can verify. If you are still deciding whether you need an advisor at all, start with property portals vs buyer representation. For a property advisor, five things carry most of the weight:

1. Identity. You know which legal entity you are dealing with, where it is registered and who will actually work on your purchase.
2. Scope. You know in writing what the advisor will and will not do.
3. Money. You know what you will pay, to whom, when, and whether anyone else pays the advisor on the same purchase.
4. Independence. Your lawyer acts only for you, and the advisor discloses any interest in the property, the developer or the building's management.
5. Evidence discipline. The advisor tells you where each fact comes from, labels opinion as opinion, and says "unknown" when something is unknown.

Get these in writing before you share your budget

• the firm's legal name, registered office and company registration number;
• if the firm says it holds a licence or registration for the service it offers, the licence or registration number and the body that issued it;
• the name of the person who will handle your purchase, and the languages they actually work in;
• the scope of the service, step by step, from search to completion and aftercare;
• the fee: how it is calculated, when it is payable, and whether it is paid by you, by the seller or developer, or by both;
• how third-party costs such as legal fees, taxes, surveys, translations and bank charges are paid, and to whom;
• how your personal data and documents will be handled.

Northea's pre-contractual information states: "Company registration No. kteb13. Office address: Özcan Çağaloğlu Plaza, A Block, Floor 2, Yenikent, North Cyprus" and that "Northea Property Development Ltd holds estate agency licence No. kteb13, issued by the TRNC Ministry of the Interior under Law No. 38/2007." It also states that Northea's fees, and whether they are payable by the buyer, the seller or both, are set out in writing in the engagement letter before any service is rendered.

Twelve questions to ask any advisor

1. Whom do you act for in this purchase: me, the seller, the developer, or more than one of us?
2. Will you receive anything from the seller or developer if I buy this property? If so, how much, and will you tell me before I make an offer?
3. Do you, your colleagues or your family have any interest in this property, this developer or the company that will manage the building?
4. Which lawyer do you suggest, and do they act for the seller or developer in this or any related transaction?
5. What will you give me in writing about each shortlisted property, and how will you mark what is verified and what is not?
6. Where do your price figures come from, and are they asking prices or completed sales?
7. What will you do if the title search or the permit check raises a problem?
8. How will you track the legal deadlines, starting with the one-month period for registering the contract, and has my lawyer confirmed from which event that month runs?
9. Who holds my money at each stage, and into which account do I pay?
10. Who will be my point of contact after completion, and what happens if that person leaves?
11. How do I complain, and how do you correct a mistake?
12. Which parts of this process will you not handle, and who will?

A good advisor answers these without discomfort. Several of the answers should end up in your engagement letter.

The lawyer question deserves its own check

The single most important appointment in a North Cyprus purchase is your own lawyer. Our due diligence guide explains why your lawyer should be TRNC-licensed and should not act for the seller or the developer; GOV.UK's Cyprus: buying property page lists "lawyers acting for both vendors or builders therefore not independent" among the problems it warns buyers about (last updated 27 November 2019). The Cyprus Turkish Bar Association publishes lawyer lists by district bar. An advisor who discourages you from appointing your own lawyer, or presses you to use the seller's, is giving you useful information about the advisor.

Red flags

Stop and reconsider if an advisor or agent:

• promises an outcome: a rental return, a resale price, purchase permission, residence or citizenship. Property ownership, immigration status and citizenship are separate legal matters, and Northea's editorial policy states that it does not promise rental yields, capital growth, permission approvals or legal outcomes;
• calls a title "safe" or "clean" before your lawyer has searched it and given you a written opinion;
• asks for a deposit before your own lawyer has seen the reservation terms, or will not put those terms in writing;
• asks you to pay into an account not named in the contract, or sends changed bank details by email or message (our guide to banking and transferring funds covers payment fraud);
• will not say who pays them, or becomes vague when you ask about the developer's commission;
• pushes urgency: the price will rise tomorrow, another buyer is waiting, sign today;
• claims to give legal or tax opinions without being a lawyer or tax adviser;
• asks for passport scans or bank details through a public web form or chat before any engagement exists;
• describes illustrative or sample material as current stock.

How to check what you are told

• Company details: ask for a company registry extract and compare the name with the engagement letter and the bank account you are asked to pay.
• Licences or registrations: if a licence is claimed, ask for the number and the issuing body, and ask your lawyer whether that licence is required for the service you are buying and whether it is current.
• Lawyers: check the lawyer against the Cyprus Turkish Bar Association's district lists.
• Developers: the Cyprus Turkish Building Contractors Association (KTİMB) publishes its member list, and Northea's developer database records what could be verified from public sources, with a source for every fact.
• Prices: compare any figure you are given with completed comparable sales your lawyer or advisor can document; Northea's price-per-m² index shows asking-price levels, not transactions.
• Content: a firm that publishes guides should date them, name its sources and correct errors. Northea's editorial policy sets out its standard, and corrections go to support@northea.dev.

How Northea answers the same questions

• Who you deal with: one named advisor, Al Bazarov, who works in Turkish and English, as one point of contact from first enquiry to aftercare.
• What Northea is not: a law firm, bank, tax adviser, immigration adviser, investment adviser or escrow provider. Independent lawyers, accountants, surveyors, banks and immigration professionals remain responsible for their own advice under their own engagement terms (pre-contractual information).
• Lawyers: Northea coordinates independent professionals; legal advice comes from your own lawyer.
• Money: fees, and who pays them, are in the engagement letter before any service is rendered. Third-party costs are paid directly to the relevant party unless otherwise agreed in writing.
• Data: no public forms for sensitive documents (privacy).
• Evidence: the editorial policy separates official rules, market observation and Northea analysis. Illustrative dossiers are examples of format and are not offers; verified material replaces them on engagement (pre-contractual information).

Ask us the twelve questions above. We would rather answer them early than late.

What this page does not do

Northea is not a law firm, tax adviser or immigration adviser. This page is a checklist for choosing an advisor; it is not legal advice and it does not say whether any licence is required for a given service. Confirm every legal point with your own TRNC lawyer before you commit.