In half of all horror movies, the weirdest and scariest part of the movie starts when the characters move into an old apartment or house. Without claiming the laurels of Stephen King, we still note that in your life, you might encounter strange voices, and smells of bats and rats, if you buy an old house and don't listen to our advice. If you don't want to end up in a real-life thriller, read this article.
Older housing in Cyprus is considered to be houses that are more than 25-30 years old. They have great advantages: they are usually located in well-established green areas with developed infrastructure, are characterized by a good layout, and spacious rooms and bathrooms. However, significant disadvantages also reduce the attractiveness of buying such a dwelling. In this article, we will take a closer look at the hidden risks that may await you when buying apartments in old houses.
Old apartments in Cyprus can be divided into three categories
The first category - is expensive small apartment complexes, which are usually maintained in good condition, there are all the conventional signs of the Cypriot bourgeoisie: marble lobbies with mirrors and plants, fast elevators, intercoms, courtyards with gardens, and occasionally there are even swimming pools and concierges. Apartments in such houses are usually quite spacious, with quality finishes, several bathrooms, large balconies, or even patios on the ground floor.
In such houses, you can sometimes find super-comfortable duplexes - apartments on two levels with an internal staircase and an entrance door directly into the elevator. Rarely are there large apartments (more often on the top floor - penthouses), consisting of two or more apartments: buyers buy several apartments on one floor or even the whole floor at once, make redevelopment according to their taste and needs, and arrange a spacious apartment the size of a private house. If everything is in order with pipes and insulation, buying an apartment in such a complex, you will spend only on remodeling and cosmetic repairs.
The second, most common category is apartments in high-rise buildings of "economy class". Usually, there is a very diverse crowd: old tenants - mostly elderly Cypriots or low-income families, new ones - students, young families, and foreigners working in Cyprus. In addition, there are offices of doctors in private practice and offices of lawyers of the "second echelon". Apartments in such buildings are gradually becoming more and more inhabited by migrant guest workers, and in fact, there are many more of them than according to the documents.
Buying an apartment in such a building is always a lottery: you can get both a spacious apartment with a good view, microclimate, and wonderful polite neighbors, or a portal to hell with round-the-clock noise from the street, cheerful neighbors from southern countries, bags of garbage "forgotten" in the entrance, cockroaches, the smell of curry and fried herring at any time of day and so on.
The third category of old houses are very old buildings located in the most unprestigious neighborhoods. In Nicosia, it is mainly "inside the walls” center, in Limassol - the area of the old port, in Larnaca - the former Turkish quarters, in Paphos - the city center. This is because the status of Turkish Cypriot-owned properties has been in limbo for over four decades, many of the owned buildings have not been renovated and their condition is questionable.
As the buildings are jumbled together, the whole neighborhood is falling into disrepair - few people want to invest in the restoration of a building that is adjacent to no one’s abandoned site. In such neighborhoods live low-income Cypriots (minority) and migrants (up to 80-90%). As a rule, such apartments have a lot of pitfalls visible to the naked eye, and buying real estate in such houses should be very prudent. Everyone has heard the story of the collapsed balconies of two old houses in Paphos, which happened within a week in the summer of 2022: because of the heat, apartment dwellers slept on the balconies, which collapsed from dilapidation, and people were seriously injured.
What should be considered when buying an apartment in a sun-weary building, not of the first freshness?
Title (ownership) and legal due diligence
The most important thing, of course, is the legal aspects. In old houses over several decades, many owners have changed - they married, had children, divorced, remarried, and divorced again and again, their children also created families and had offspring, housing sold, divided, inherited - all these intricacies must be known before buying, and here you need the help of an experienced lawyer. Don't skimp on checking the status of the home and title - neglecting to do so could cost you dearly in the future.
Assess the condition of the building
Plumbing, sewer pipes, electrical wiring, good microclimate, sound, and waterproofing - each of these items is important to make your new apartment comfortable and safe for your health.
A faulty ventilation system can result in your apartment having foreign odors from other people's kitchens, and unhealthy stale air. Problems with the ventilation system are visible to the naked eye: pay attention to the ventilation grille in the kitchen or bathroom: if there is a lot of dust and dirt, there is reason to think about it.
Old rusty pipes can cause huge costs in the future and will require significant investments in major repairs. In addition, rusty pipes leak yellowish water with a foul odor that leaves stains on your plumbing fixtures. This means that the water contains a lot of iron and manganese, in large quantities they are harmful to your health. It is also necessary to carefully inspect the floors, ceilings, and walls and in case of signs of dampness, find out what the problem is: if the pipes in the risers are flowing or there are leaks in the neighbors from above, it can be a serious problem.
Old wiring creates electromagnetic fields that can exceed the standards recommended by the World Health Organization. In addition, old wires and outlets can cause short circuits and lead to fires.
Noise sources can include elevators, air conditioning, and ventilation systems installed on the roof, in underground parking, and in adjacent rooms, as well as noise from the street: traffic, a playground or school under the window, and, of course, noisy neighbors. Full soundproofing of walls, floor, and ceiling can cost a serious amount of money, so try to visit the apartment at different times of the day, and then the issue with the noise level will become clearer.
Infrastructure, neighbors, parking
If you have disabled and elderly people in your family, an apartment in an old building may not be suitable for you due to the lack of ramps (and sometimes an elevator). Previously, regulations did not prescribe mandatory ramps and a ground-floor restroom for people with disabilities; the law only came into effect about ten years ago. Parking can also be an issue in older homes, especially in densely populated downtown areas. If you don't have your own dedicated space, finding parking can be an exhausting daily quest. New buildings almost always have underground parking, which in the Cypriot climate is not a luxury but a necessity - your car will not get hot in the sun.
Another important point - despite the many advantages of small apartment buildings (cleanliness, silence, "chamber", greater security). There is one serious disadvantage: in case of overhaul, replacement of elevator, pipes, or roof repair, the amount is divided among several owners of the building and may become exorbitant for some tenants. In such cases, the issues are resolved by the court, which can stretch for many years. Therefore, when buying an apartment in an old building, it will not be unreasonable to ask when the last time the apartment was repaired, the elevator was changed, the roof was replaced, the condition of the water supply and sewage system was checked, etc.
When evaluating an apartment or house that you plan to buy to live (investment properties for rent have different requirements), in addition to the above-mentioned points, you should pay attention to such aspects as entrance, yard/parking, social status of neighbors, view from the windows, infrastructure, public utilities, proximity to schools, kindergartens, gym, supermarket, bakery, pharmacy - based on your priorities.
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