Guide to Holiday Home Insurance Egypt– The Arab Republic of Egypt is a historic area of the world famous for monuments such as the Pyramids and the Sphinx. The ancient Valley of the Kings have been visited by people from the whole world over keen to see a myriad of historic sights and artefact’s. Located in north east Africa it includes the Sinai peninsula, Egypt shares borders with Libya in the west, Sudan to the south, and Gaza and Israel to the east. It is has a fairly large population although most of these live in and around the Nile river which is the only fertile region of the country.
Holiday Home Insurance Egypt – Assetsure are able to offer insurance for an Egyptian holiday home. Holiday Home Insurance or second home insurance is now available for Egypt and can be purchased from the United Kingdom. Covers may be localised but should include a broad range of perils. If you are considering buying a property in Egypt as a buy to let, then insurance should be extended to include liability insurance cover. You will need to discuss this with the insurance company as well as your solicitor who can point out any rules and regulations to you with regard to the letting of property either on a short or a long term basis and also your ability under Egyptian law to acquire property for this purpose.
Why Buy a Holiday Home in Egypt? – Apart from the above, Egypt as a country needs no introduction, and in recent years, the purchase of holiday or second homes has been on the increase albeit in a somewhat low key way. The population of this historic country is increasing at quite a rapid pace as is the need for new property. For the holiday or second home owner, Egypt offers a large number of attractive features, for one thing entry level property is a lot lower than other countries and certainly for Europeans, it is a lot closer in flying time, than some of it’s rivals. Traditionally, people have visited this country, with a view to seeing it’s many historical treasures, the Pyramids, in particular but most have left, not realising the investment opportunities that exist in a country that is a tourist hot spot and has a growing population.
It is true, that compared with many other countries, property price increases have been fairly static, this has not been helped by a land registry that needs up dating and some building techniques that leave a lot to be desired. That said though, if you do your home work property, this is a country in which you certainly can obtain holiday home property bargains and once the issues relating to the land registry are sorted out ( the government are working on these) prices should start to see some healthy increases.
Along the north coast of the country, bordering the Mediterranean sea, most investors have restricted their property searches to sites around Alexandria but new resorts such as Ain Soukhna with modern facilities are growing in popularity. Many city dwellers living in the capital Cairo have bought or are looking to buy second homes in this resort, which is within driving distance, to make a weekend break realistic. This area boasts a vast expanse of sandy beaches and foreign property investment is just beginning in the area. If you venture across the Red Sea, the area Sharm el-Sheikh, is instantly recognisable to many holiday makers, property is more expensive in this area but you do get a resort that is fully developed with all modern facilities.
How to Buy a Holiday Home in Egypt – The purchase of property in Egypt is fairly straight forward for overseas investors although as mentioned above, the land registry in the country does need updating and in some cases, obtaining the title deeds to a property can take some time and it may even prove impossible. At the present moment, the process of registering property is riddled with bureaucracy thus it is thought that as little as 10% of current property has bona fida registration documents. There are restriction on overseas investors on the number, shape and size of property that can be purchased and it is a fairly complex matter, thus It is thus of paramount importance that quality legal advice is ought to establish the viability of property purchase. Quality legal advice should come from an expert in Egyptian property law.
As a general rule, property is bought freehold in Egypt, except for in Sinai, which includes Sharm el Sheikh an important resort area where you buy property with a 99-year leasehold. Once you have located a property, it’s usually to use the services of an agent and of course, you are free to negotiate the price with the vendor, unless of course, the property is being purchased off plan, when the costs tend to be pretty much fixed. Once the price is agreed, it is usual to offer a reservation fee which in many cases is refundable if the sale does not proceed. It takes about a month for all the Legal paperwork to be concluded, these documents will be sent to you for signing upon which it is customary to part with 40% of the purchase price, with the balance payable on completion.
