Armou family told it is not safe to stay in their home

Bejay Browne
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5

A FAMILY who bought a home on a stricken development in Armou in Paphos were told by authorities yesterday they must move out within seven days as the house was no longer safe.

Resident Geoff Higgs told the Cyprus Mail yesterday that two men from the district office came in the morning and examined the entire development in order to compile a full report.

“My daughter, her husband and two children, who live in house number two opposite us, have been told they have to vacate the premises within seven days, as it is not safe to stay,” said Higgs.

“In my opinion, this house is a candidate for being knocked down. Obviously, I’m not a civil engineer, but the foundations are tipped and a huge amount of reconstruction would need to be done to try to save it.”

The stricken house is now on a visible slant. Six houses which make up the recently-built development in the picturesque village have continued to move down the hillside. Electricity poles in the area are also now leaning at an angle and although Higgs says the EAC was swift in showing up and trying to temporarily ease the problem, the poles were still moving.

The entire estate is in imminent danger of collapse after it was constructed on land locals had long been warned was unsafe.

“The officials had files with them containing all of the relevant paper work associated with each property and made copious amounts of notes. They also took photos,” said Higgs.

Higgs said that officials commented that the site should’ve been cleared by the developer at the start of the project, taking away the native soil and replacing it with a ‘different hardcore and subsoil.’

“He said that the preparation of the site wasn’t correct.”

The development was built by JNM developers. The Cyprus Mail has been unable to contact them for a comment. A number of the homeowners have issued court proceedings against the developer.

Last week, one of the access roads to the estate dropped a further 7cm.Two of the access roads to the development are currently impassable with giant gaps in both, the third is barely useable.

“One of the officials was visibly shocked when he saw the state of the road,” said Higgs.

Evagoros Andreou, of the Paphos district office planning permits department said after the visit: “As promised, representatives of the district office went to the site in Armou and will prepare a report. I will examine it tomorrow and according to the findings, we will decide how to proceed.”

Higgs’ neighbour Simon Phillips said a gaping hole has appeared outside the front of his house since last week.

“We now have a huge hole like a cave outside our entrance door. It’s about two and a half metres deep and three quarters of a meter wide. The foundation of the house is now exposed,” he said, adding that the stress has been “monumental” for both him and his wife and children.

Although he says it was a positive step that officials from the Paphos district office had gone to the site yesterday, Phillips said his hopes are mainly pinned on someone accepting responsibility for the problems and putting them right.

In the meantime Higgs and his wife Maggie have made the decision to move back to the UK next month, as they no longer feel safe in their home.

Forty percent fall in residential buildings

David Crowther
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4

ACCORDING to figures released by CySTAT, the number of building permits issued in January fell to 555 compared with the 638 issued in January 2011; a fall of 13%.

In January, building permits were issued for:

  • Residential buildings – 376 permits
  • Non-residential buildings – 99 permits
  • Civil engineering projects – 34 permits
  • Division of plots of land – 42 permits
  • Road construction – 4 permits

The total value of these permits reached €125.4 million and their total area 127.1 thousand square metres.

Residential buildings

In January, the 398 permits were approved for the construction of 468 residential properties comprising 304 single houses and 164 multiple housing units (such as apartments and other residential complexes).

This is a fall of 40.5% compared with January 2011 when building permits were issued for the construction of 916 dwellings and the slowdown is likely to continue until the number of unsold apartments and houses is reduced.

Cyprus building permits - January 2012
Source: Cyprus Statistical Service

According to the Cyprus Statistical Service, building permits constitute a leading indicator of future activity in the construction sector.

VAT exemption announced

In an effort to stimulate the Island’s construction industry the VAT Service announced today that there will be a VAT exemption for goods and services provided for the construction or maintenance of buildings from the 9th March. The exemption will only apply to VAT registered companies.

Visit stand E49 at the A Place in the Sun Live show

Nigel Howarth
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9

THE FOREIGN OFFICE’S ‘Know Before You Go’ team will be at the ‘A Place in The Sun Live’ show at Earls Court, London on 30 March – 1 April.

Stephen Jones from the British Consulate in Spain and Stelios Kyriakides from the Consular Directorate in London will be taking questions from the public.

They’ll be on panel sessions throughout the three days, and available the rest of the time at ‘Know Before You Go’ stand (number E49).

Brits remain one of the biggest ex pat groups overseas, with over 5.6 million living abroad. Research is key to planning to move or buy property abroad. Property laws in other countries often differ from the UK, and it is also important to ensure you plan for the long term, for example pension arrangements.

Foreign Office staff overseas regularly hear from British nationals who have got into difficulty as a result of not researching fully before signing that contract.

The Foreign Office has produced advice on before you go, when you arrive and buying property to help get you started.

Homes at Armou in Paphos continue to slip

Bejay Browne
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9

THE PROMISE of help from the Paphos District office has been welcomed by residents of a stricken development in Armou, but it has come too late for one couple who have already decided to move back to the UK.

Six houses which make up a recently built development in the picturesque village have continued to move down the hillside.

The estate is in imminent danger of collapse after it was constructed on land locals had long been warned was unsafe.

The home owners’ plight was highlighted in last weeks Sunday Mail, and just one week on, one of the access roads to the estate has dropped a further 7cm.

Two of the access roads to the development are currently impassable with giant gaps in both, the third is barely useable, and could also be out of action at any time.

The developer responsible for the estate is JNM, but the Cyprus Mail has been unable to contact them. A number of the homeowners have issued court proceedings against them however.

Geoff Higgs, one of the homeowners said: “We don’t feel safe here any more and my wife Maggie is now too frightened to stay. We are worried that we could wake up one morning half way down the ravine.”

Higgs’ wife will move back to the UK in April, and her husband will follow her in June. “We are going to be staying with friends as we sold up everything back home to move to Cyprus to retire and buy our dream house. All the money we have is tied up in this house,” he said.

In just a week, cracks have appeared in the interior walls and front retaining wall top to bottom. The rear retaining wall which backs onto a steep ravine has split apart with a one-foot gap.

The pool pump house is above the retaining wall and according to Higgs, if the wall gives way it will take the pump house and the pool- which weighs about 50 tonnes, into the ravine with it.

“It’s very worrying and stressful and we’ve had enough,” said Higgs.

The president of Paphos’ architects and civil engineers association, Chrysostomos Italos was contacted by a number of the home owners to prepare a report, which he is currently completing.

He said: “I met with the district office chief engineer on Wednesday and gave him pictures of the development so that he would understand how serious the problem is. I want to help these people.”

Evagoros Andreou, of the Paphos district office planning permits department said they would inspect all of the files and draw up a report.

“We also have to follow certain procedures if a building may be dangerous and to see the reasons for this. We have to check if they are covered by the final certificate. We will also see who signed the supervision of the works, as well as the civil engineer who is responsible,” he said.

Higgs said that at least was something. “We would move back if the development could be saved and made safe,” he said.

All of the houses have serious structural problems, from slanting floors, to the partial collapse of stairs, walls, swimming pools and patio areas. Outside drains are now exposed in one garden and retaining walls have split.

All of the homeowners believe the land was unfit to build on and recent bad weather and a water leak underneath one of the access roads have compounded the problem.

Deal for development of old Larnaca airport signed

Nigel Howarth
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14

FAR EASTERN PHOENIX plans to develop the old Larnaca airport with a large commercial showroom for Chinese products and a logistics centre. The project will include exhibition areas, re-import of products and a small conference centre.

The chairman of Hermes Airport, Adamos Aspris, said that the final agreement was signed at 1:00 am this morning

According to the agreement, the firm will take over the management of the area for the next 19 years with the possibility of extending it to 50.

In answer to a question about jobs raised during a press conference in Larnaca, Mr. Iacovou said that “We have been ensured that thousands of Cypriots will be employed”, adding that “I expect that a number of foreign workers will be employed too”.

“It is an agreement of exceptional importance, which will benefit not only the airports but the country in general since we expect that a large number of new job posts will be created for the Cypriots and the economy of Cyprus will be boosted, especially in those difficult conditions”, he stressed.

As for the 50-year lease, Mr. Iacovou said that the government must agree. “It is the government’s right to accept or reject it”.

Asked about the timetable for the agreement, Mr. Iacovou said that there isn’t one but the project will start as soon as the permits have been secured and will be completed in two years.

The Chinese company will be responsible for the project while its funding will be provided by the Chinese state bank.

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LMAxhNmVPk&w=470]

Property prices continuing to fall says RICS

Nigel Howarth
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10

THE NINTH edition of the RICS Cyprus Property Price Index reports that property prices in the Island’s main urban areas continued to fall during the fourth quarter of 2011 although there was a small increase in apartment rental values.

Commenting on the latest Index Pavlos Loizou MRICS, Board member of RICS Cyprus, said “During the fourth quarter of 2011 Cyprus’ economy bore the consequences of the decoupling of the Greek economy, the slowdown in mortgage and corporate lending, the increased cost of electricity, and the rising rate of unemployment. The combination of the above, along with the decrease in salaries of government workers and uncertainty surrounding Cyprus’ banking system, led to a decrease in retail spending and a slowdown of the economy”.

“Whilst the first and second quarters saw some signs of muted economic growth, the third and forth quarters saw investors postpone their decision making and banks retrenching by limiting the amount of credit available. This led to a low transaction turnover and to reduced interest, especially by local buyers, as they were more affected by the increase in unemployment and the decrease in credit.”

Prices

Prices of apartments and houses showed a quarterly fall of 1.3% and 1.6% respectively. Limassol experienced the biggest drop in apartment prices, down 3.5%. The largest drop in house prices was reported in Famagusta-Paralimni, where they went down by 5.6%.

Nationwide, the prices of retail properties fell by an average of 2.8%, while those of offices and warehouses fell by 2.6% and 3.2% respectively.

Compared with the fourth quarter of 2010, prices dropped 9.7% for apartments, 5.2% for houses, 10.1% for retail, 6.4% for office and 7.8% for warehouses.

Rental values

During the fourth quarter of 2011, rental values across Cyprus increased 1.4% for apartments, driven mainly by increases in rents in Famagusta-Paralimni and Paphos. However, rents fell 0.1% for houses, 3.4% for retail units, 2.01% for warehouses, and 6.9% for offices.

Compared to the fourth quarter of 2010, rents dropped 4.6% for apartments, 0.8% for houses, 11.5% for retail, 11.4% for offices and 9.2% for warehouses.

Investment yields

Yields are a useful tool showing the relationship between rent and property prices. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2011, average gross yields stood at 3.8% for apartments, 2.0% for houses, 5.9% for retail, 4.8% for warehouses, and 4.6% for offices.

Derived from the RICS Cyprus Property Price Index for Q4 2011

The parallel reduction in capital values and rents is keeping investment yields relatively stable and at very low levels (compared to yields overseas), suggesting that there is still room for re-pricing of capital values to take place.

Outline of properties used to calculate the index

Apartments: Residential, two bedroom, 85sqm, Medium quality.
Houses: Residential, three bedroom with garden, Semi-detached, 250sqm, Medium quality.
Retail: High-street retail, 100sqm ground floor area with 50sqm mezzanine.
Warehouse: Light industrial area, 2,000sqm, which includes 200sqm office space.
Office: Grade A, City centre location, 200sqm

Methodology

The methodology underpinning the RICS Cyprus Property Price Index was developed by the University of Reading UK and may be viewed by clicking here.

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