I'm interested to hear from anyone that purchased an Armonia Apartment through MRI. Did the purchase go smoothly? Did you or do you have any issues with MRI. What do you think of the cost for the MRI Funiture package? What extras did you agree with purchase cost include? etc..
My wife and I purchased a 2 bed apartment last year on this development.
The whole purchase through MRI went smoothly and we don't have any complaints about them.
Their aftersales is pretty good in terms of keeping you up to date. I have not really spent much time looking at their furniture packs in detail but my first thoughts perhaps it was a little expensive compared to sourcing the goods yourself - Depends if you want the hassle free option of buying their pack.
We were one of the first to purchase on this development and I still have the full price list - Not sure how many units have been shifted so far or if MRI are discounting from the original prices.
E-mail me offline if you want more info.
I must admit the MRI furniture packages are a lot more than we were first told when we purchased our apartment. So are the Air Con units. I feel quite annoyed that MRI misled us with these prices. So, we will be looking at other companies to provide these items.
MRI advised me a few weeks ago the developer is not commencing until October this year and then we will be supplied with photographs to show the progress.
I can't give you a precise location perhaps someone else can. Why do you ask anyway?
Hi Drew,
We purchased in block A back in Oct 06 expecting the cost of these apartments would have increased a bit by now but I noticed on the MRI web site they are cheaper. I have also seen a post that suggested the land in front of our apartments has been sold. Do you know whether this is true?
Not sure if the land in front of Armonia has been sold but I wouldn't be suprised.
When signing the paperwork, I was told the land belonged to the Government and was likely going to be baron for some time - This I took with a pinch of salt!!
I think the properties have taken a little longer to sell than anticipated and the ones left perhaps don't have a sea view.
Have you done anything yet about the stage payments for Amonia if you bought last year like ourselves?
We have arranged a mortgage which will release funding for the stage payments as the mortgage payments are interest only for 5 years and the monthly payments are quite low and I hope to sell the apartment well before the five year are up anyway. Were you offered this deal?
Did your purchase include any extras like free Aircon?
lads,
the last post concerned me in relation to building on the goverment land in front of the armonia apartments. i emailed the agents on this and this was the reply:
'there are no plans for any building to be done in the land in front of the Armonia Development, that it shall be empty for a long time, although obviously there are no guarantees that this will be the case in the far future'
Hi Paul,
It actually was MRI who provided me with that information. But you're right, best to get the info from an independant body. There must be some website out there that deals with these sort of queries?
Do you know much about the aftersales lifetime membership?
I reckon it's probably worth joining nearer completion but not any sooner.
In relation to the furniture package, the agent from MRI pretty much stated their packages were expensive, which is fair enough. There is actually an IKEA opening up in Nicosia so i think a quick trip over to Cyprus is in order just before the apartments are finished.
Good to hear from another buyer in the complex - Which block did you buy in?
Agree entirely with your comments regarding the lifetime aftersales - MRI were continually asking me about joining initially for 1 year and then 2 years at a discounted rate - I am waiting probably until early next year before considering.
One of the things I didn't try was to get the air con units included free as part of the deal - Did you have any success or were they sticking to the original purchase price?
It was the MRI rep who mentioned to me about the 'Governement land' being in front of the complex but I really doubt it will be left baron for long if looking at the number of new developments in Kapparis.
Hi Drew,
I bought in Block B, a 2 bed. I don't get a sea view but i'm pleased at the size of the apartment and the balcony. What block did you buy yourself? I have to buy the air con units seperately i'm afraid. They were flogging some other apartments in other complexes that included air con units and white goods. However, i reckon this complex is superior to all the other ones (touch wood) as there was a positive article about it in the 'Overseas Property' magazine. Also, the finish from the Developer of Armonia is quality.
The other thing that was concerning me was flights into Larnaca. When i put a deposit down in April there was only one budget airline flying into Larnaca (Monarch). I've heard through the grapevine that Ryanair are now flying into Larnaca. Without budget airlines, we wont have many tenants!
lads,
you may find this article interesting, it was published in May 2007:
Changes on the horizon - Cyprus
Now there are signs that the Cypriot market is about to enter a new phase.
Various large UK property agents have been actively looking for property in Cyprus recently.
Unfortunately, they are the kind of agents who make large commissions (often by pumping the prices up), have large marketing budgets and employ sharp salesmen.
Each company plans to sell between 500 and 1000 properties a year. This will increase investor demand by 1,000's of off-plan (not resale) units per year over the next few years.
This will have dramatic effects on prices and the way the Cypriot property market functions currently.
Can developers supply this much new build property to satisfy this level of demand?
There is already a shortage of land for developers to build upon and it is predicted that zoned land will run out completely in around 5 years time, wherein only a resale market will exist, so the long term prospects are good.
Furthermore, planning laws restrict the height and density of property than can be built in Cyprus further reducing supply and increasing prices as developers can't use the space they have available as efficiently to make the same margins.
* judging by the permits / completion ratio there should have been just over 16,000 units completed in 2006.
There has been around 16,000 units build per year over the last couple of years which has been about the right level for the demand. If we see a sudden increase in demand for off-plan property then agents will have to sell anything they can get their hands on (to reap those juicy commissions) and developers will naturally increase prices.
Either way I think we will see prices increase (as demand is strong and supply finite), but along with the price rises it will become increasingly hard to rent out or resell your property in the short term.
If many of the big agents achieve their large sales goals they will be inclined to implement a rental solution for their clients. Whether this works or not, the result will be more competition for tenants, so good rental yields may become harder to obtain.
While tourist numbers are increasing in Cyprus, the increase is unlikely to be enough to satisfy the supply, particularly for apartments which are harder to rent than villas.
Now that cheap airlines have started flying to Larnaca , we can expect to see more independent travellers going to Cyprus. This trend of increasing tourist numbers will continue as the skies above Cyprus open up, though it will take a number of years to see significant increases as overall flights are still expensive to Cyprus, which has always been a limiting factor in the market.
Short term uncertainties
In the short term a number of effects are likely to be seen:
Resales will become even more difficult due to over-supply as the primary demand is coming from off-plan
Rentals will become much more difficult due to over-supply
Prices will become inflated, due to agent over-pricing and developers not paving enough units to sell, which could lead to medium term instability if there is not enough new build product to satisfy demand
Developers could be tempted to build more quickly and in less desirable areas so clients will have to be extra careful what they buy
Some agents, who want to remain active in Cyprus, may be forced to sell resales as there is not enough off-plan, which would be a very positive influence - though this is unlikely in the short term
Developers will offer less attractive terms as they have more choice and could sell to so many groups, so it becomes a sellers' market
Long term - bright outlook
In the longer term demand will continue to be strong, because of the factors in the first part of this article. Supply will slow down and eventually Cyprus will become primarily a resale market.
Capital Growth predictions
In the medium term we predict that capital growth will continue at between 15-25% a year, just as it is now (the exact figure depends on the area).
Though we expect to see price inflation (this is different from real capital growth) of quite a bit more than this on certain developments as they get pumped up by commission hungry agents, so expect figures of over 30% being quoted.
The trouble is you won't be able to sell at these inflated prices, so always discount by at least 10% for the resale market.
Possible strategies
If you already own investment property in Cyprus then you have two main options:
Ride the wave for the next 6 to 12 months and sell early next year before the increased supply factors hit, thus cashing in on your gains
Hold for the long term (5-plus years), in which time new build prices could double. Those companies pumping and dumping off-plan property will have moved on, leaving, after some turbulence, a healthy resale market and improving rental market. In the short term rentals and resales may be more difficult, but if you can deal with this, the long term outlook is positive.
If you're looking to buy property in Cyprus right now as a holiday home, which you plan to hold for a number of years, then you can't go too far wrong. As a pure investment location I'd look to the cities such as Nicosia or further afield to Eastern Europe.
Overall, the Cyprus market is attractive to both investors and second home buyers, when compared to many other sun destinations. But there are choppy uncertain waters ahead that could send the market in who knows which direction.
If you are risk-averse, then plan to get out of the market over the next 6-12 months; or , if you want an exciting ride, then stay in the market and hang on to your hat. The long term gains could be very good indeed.
My wife and I bought a 2 bed in block C mainly for family use but may considering renting out.
In terms of the low cost airlines, there are a number of other threads which sort of give the up to date position but the likes of Easyjet & Ryanair flying to Cyprus appears to be only speculation.
I know that Jet2 have launched a service from Leeds to Paphos.
With the expensive flights and the number of apartments that will hit the rental market I think it will be extremely difficult for the investors who are hoping to get some of their mortgage payments covered by rental income.
I think you are right regarding the rental potential without the budget airlines but I never went into this investment thinking I would get the rental to offset the mortgage. Nevertheless, I do believe that there is good capital growth potential over the next five years.
However, my immediate concern are more towards the cost of the furniture and air con units which are a lot higher than MRI advised me during the purchase discussions. I know that I can purchase furniture through other retail outlets myself but that would mean that I would not be able to rent my property through MRI unless I arranged to obtain a health and safety certificate. I will now need to market the property myself which I had not planned to do as I am not paying their furniture and air con prices.
Do you have any idea what the maintenance charges will be? During the purchase discussions I was told that the pool side bar charges will be used help to fund the gym and other amenities. Were you told this? MRI seem a little coy over this now.
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