Hurghada Properties - Buying

Post by **Netyoda** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 3:22 pm

I've been looking through some property sites and noticed a few apartments in Hurghada selling for around the £10k mark.

Is this a common sort of price or is it for buildings that will never be completed / are in a bad area / have other hidden costs ?

I know that IS cheap, but there seemed to be a few around the £10-15k mark.

Also, once bought, are there more headaches to owning rather than renting?

Thanks again for all advice.

Lee

Post by **Scott** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 3:25 pm

Well, as you now know, owning gets you a resident visa. Also, your money is not being flushed down the toilet.

Post by **Netyoda** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 3:27 pm

Doesn't the house you own have to be worth £20k or more for a resi visa?

Lee

Post by **Susue** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 4:30 pm

Lee..... my advice would be to rent for a while before you buy.
I saw many people become unstuck with buying..... deciding they want to be in Hurghada for the rest of their lives... and changing their mind after a couple of years.

Also... residency isn't guaranteed...but it's very easy to renew a 1-year tourist visa.

I actually moved to Hurghada permanently.... lived there for 4 years and left.

I have a friend who owns 2 properties... desperately wants to move away but can't sell her flats.

I know you're all fired up and ready to go.... but I really would live there a few years before you decide to buy. I know you've done tons of research, but...
Living there is totally different to having holidays there.

JMHO.

Post by **Hurghadapat** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 4:55 pm

Lee,i like suesue went to Hurghada permanently but after five years have returned to the UK,I don't say i will never return but really think what she is telling you is true rent until you get the feel of the place and see how you like the life because as suesue says living there was whole different ball game from being there on holiday but you go and hope you find a job with decent pay so you can enjoy your time without having to watch every penny

Post by **Hurghada Lady** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 5:08 pm

Lee, I have been here 12 years and still haven't bought anywhere. Everywhere we move to I see how I like the area the property etc., I find out all the problems by renting them first.

Now that we have moved into the present villa, we have both decided where we would like to buy..........unfortunately, that is the previous villa, so looks like packing and moving again!

So it is better to live here and get the feel of the place before jumping in head first Lee.

Post by **Scott** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 5:49 pm

Well, the requirement for a res. visa is equivalent of USD$ 50 000 or more,
or escrow,
or relative

As for reliability, if I may point out yet again Egyptian law, it is the repeated TUORIST visa which is in danger NOT the RESIDENT visa. If you have the land, or money, or relative, as I have described before, the Res visa is GUARANTEED, not in any way uncertain!

A forum member, recently, in the process of returning to the UK for a while, went to Mogamma for her next 1 year visa renewal - and she was REFUSED. She was told, as the sign says, 3 renewals is the max. Upon her return she was told that she would be offered a 3 month visa, max.

As for money, when you rent for, say 5 years, you have 5 years of receipts (well, maybe not here in Egypt, LOL!). Put them in the fireplace, they will keep you warm for a little while. When you own, you keep the value. Our house here in Luxor has gone from 340 000 LE to 500 000 LE in 18 months.

HOWEVER, I do agree, RENT for a while! If you decide to buy, you are committed - so be sure.

My plan would be:
Get here on 30 day visa,
get a 1 year tourist visa,
rent for 6 months - 1 year,
make up your mind what you want to do, and then do it.

Best!
Scott

Post by **Susue** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 6:01 pm

Another consideration with buying an apartment is...... you never know who your neighbours will be!!

EXAMPLE.... a friend bought a beautiful apartment in Al hHdaba.... it had everything she wanted... it was a new building, and she was very happy there... until....
her neighbours moved in.... they were the FAMILY FROM HELL!!!!
She was a diving instructor, and had to be up at 7am..
This family would go to sleep at 5am... they had TV or music blaring....
kids screaming...
visitors coming and going all night....

She wanted to sell up and move away.... but she couldn't sell, as the owner of the building hadn't registered the building, and refused to do so until all the other flats were sold!!

So..... just be warned!!

iIt's easy to rent in Hurghada.... and you've still got the freedom to move if you need it!!

Post by **Netyoda** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 6:41 pm

Wow, what a response

I always believed that money spent on rent was wasted until I became ill a few years back and unable to work.

If I had been renting, the council would happily have kept me in my home.

As I owned my own home (well, the bank did) I received no support whatsoever and things were very bad for a while. I managed to sell the house 2 days before it was repossessed.

I will be renting until I find an area of Egypt that I'm happy with. I may even move around for the first few years, I was just wondering (yes, thinking too far ahead as NewGal would say) what the pitfalls of buying were, and whether that was a good/average starter price for an apartment.

I've also seen 1 or 2 (one actually) business that I may be able to afford but again, I'd rather find a business on a purely rented basis.

The $50k investment causes a slight issue due to the current exchange rate - when it was £2-$1 I may have just scraped in

Renewing a visa is not an issue although from the posts of people who've lived in Egypt for a long time, 100 LE is a lot of money. I've just spent 250 LE in the off licence for 3 bottles of cheap wine and 3 packs of cheap fags, so that's something I'll definitely be giving up

(well, the wine, anyway).

It's all going to be exciting and a challenge however it's put

Marsalama for now, I have a fever at the moment so I'm off to bed with a glass of red and a book xxx

Post by **Scott** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 6:42 pm

I think that's called - investigation.

Post by **Scott** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 6:51 pm

Again, I just think any residence should be investigated well before you move in - who wants to pull up stakes every time you get a noisy neighbor? Also, with a rental property, neighbors are likely to change much more often than if you own the place.

Personally, I just can't throw my money away. At the end of the day, as an owner - I have MADE money, not lost it.

Somebody once said: the best investment you can make is land, it is immutable.

Post by **Netyoda** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 6:59 pm

yep, they've said that Scott - and I always believed it - was brought up to.

But I've made AND lost money on bricks and mortar.

It may be an age thing, but the ability to pull up your magic carpet and fly away becomes an essential part of life eventually

Lee

Post by **Scott** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 7:51 pm

There's no one right answer - you know what is best for you.

The very best of Luck - come visit Luxor!!!!

Scott

Post by **Netyoda** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 7:54 pm

I'll be out there and when I am I want everyone from the blue and red sides out!

There's be lots of drinkies, so I hope no-one's offended (wait, it doesn't usually bother me lol!).

I just wish certain issues would resolve themselves and let me get on with it.

Red wine seems to be curing the fever by the way, hence I'm still on here lol

Lee x

Post by **Scott** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 8:19 pm

You'll be right at home here!

Post by **Hurghada Lady** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 1:47 am

You won't need to give up the cigarettes Lee, they are really cheap here. Merit is only 8.50le, L&M 5.00le, Marlborough 8.50le, Rothmans 8.50le or the dreaded Cleopatra 3.00le.

Post by **Goddess** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 9:12 am

Hurghada Lady wrote:or the dreaded Cleopatra 3.00le.

Ugggh! I swear I saw half a cockroach in one of them years ago! Have you noticed that whenever an Egyptian buys Cleopatra - the first thing they do is roll it around a bit between their fingers and pull lumps out of odd stuff??

Lee: I'm a firm believer in buying, purely because I hate throwing money down the toilet, which I believe is all renting does.
On saying that though - we rented for 7 years before we bought somewhere and I was glad we did. Buying in Egypt is not easy, selling is even harder; you have to be really sure before you buy that it will be in your best interests.

Post by **Hurghadapat** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 9:28 am

And you wont need to give up the booze as you can go to the duty free and buy egyptian spirits for about 40le a bottle gin.whisky,brandy,bacardi,vodka,tequila and rum with no restrictions on the amount and without passport,red wine is about the same price and not the best but amazing how you can aquire the taste for it

.Stella you can get for about 8le a bottle so not bad eh

Post by **New Gal** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 10:51 am

Hope you’re feeling better Lee.

As you know, what I would say is “chill, rent for a bit, see what the crack is and then decide”…rent is dead money but its really cheap in Hurghada as compared to the UK and you’ve just said yourself that you want to be able to roll up your carpet as and when so why limit yourself by buying?

I know I’m young

and therefore haven’t had as much experience as most on here but from my point of view, I haven’t got any security in terms of money or property which you have Lee which is a disadvantage yes, BUT, it also means you’re free of some of these trappings which make it hard to move about if Hurghada isn’t what you thought it would be.

So, just chill and rent for a bit, seriously, you wont have to give any vices up, who knows, you may pick a few new ones up

Post by **Netyoda** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:06 am

Wow, those are great prices on the booze, although I don't drink spirits except medicinially (as in today, for a gum infection). Red wine's my poison and if I remember the cheap Egyptian wine correctly, it IS poison

It looks as though rent really is the biggie then, with bills being less then 200 LE a month, me cooking fresh food from the market and fishing and the booze and fags so cheap, maybe I can live on next to nothing

I think a studio apartment for the first 6 months (1000 LE) is the plan - I'm bringing next to nothing out with me so I won't really have any possessions to lug around (camera, laptop, a suitcase or two of clothes).

I was going to try and give up the fags anyway as they're costing me about £250/month here and that sort of money can be put to better use if saved! Each month I go without them here would mean 2 months rent when I get out there

Sooo hard to do tho!

Lee x