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Property buying in Tunisia

Discussion in 'Tunisian Property Forum' started by kdparker, Jul 8, 2006.

  1. Offline

    Cas Guest

    What other countries have this law daffodil ?
  2. Offline

    daffodil Well-Known Member

    Malta has a mimimum purchase price for outside investors.

    In certain areas of Spain (traditional Basque regions).....

    There are others, but i think large property developers have loop holes, and therefore many investors never know the law exists.

    I have been told that the Tunisian government believe that European buyers push the house prices too high and therefore local people can not compete.

    They have even tried to stop the influx of buyers from England here in Wales, as they feel it is diluting the culture here (language etc) and also because buyers from certain areas can afford to pay a premium and often only use the property a few weeks of the yr.

    Pembrokeshire County Council, stipulate now that you must have a connection to the area before you can buy a second home there.
  3. Offline

    Cas Guest

    My parents not Welsh, have recently left Pembrokeshire after 17 years there was no sales stipulation whatsoever.
  4. Offline

    daffodil Well-Known Member

    I can assure you that it has been widely publicised that Pembrokeshire are really trying to get the Welsh indigenous population back and lose the title they have become known as "Little England " They also want people to live in the villages and towns permanently in order for the business's, schools etc to survive.

    I am Welsh and have lived back here for 30yrs, in the heart of Welsh speaking Wales. I know what is happening around me.

    I also know that the law has been criticised and challenged here, but i am not sure what the outcome of the case is/was.

    Did your parents live there full time......if so that is the difference, it is second home owners that are targeted.

    This is not a new thing either, in the early 80's many holiday homes were burnt to the ground by Welsh activists.

    I know from personal experience that many Tunisian people have the same feelings when they see expensive holiday apartments. left for months empty, and just used for a few weeks here and there by their foreign owners.
  5. Offline

    Essem Administrator



    How short sighted is that then?

    The owners are still paying for syndicate charges, etc., therefore keeping someone/some people in jobs whether the are there or not.

    Most of the owners where I live are Tunisians living in or married to Europeans (possibly hy they could afford to buy in the first place!) who leave their apartments empty and only visit 3/4 times a year.

    And most foreign owners that I know are either there all the time, apart from a couple of weeks back home, or they rent out again making money for themselves and the local economy.
  6. Offline

    daffodil Well-Known Member

    I agree Essem......

    Maybe the average Tunisian knows he/she will never be able to afford one of those apartments and hence where the resentment comes from??
    Essem likes this.
  7. Offline

    Cas Guest

    Yes it was my parents primary residence but in their little enclave many of the homes you are right were 2nd homes but their owners are all Welsh. My folks had many Welsh friends and my cousin owns a hill farm by Maenclogogh also. I agree with the principle of course but hope the same thing doesn`t happen in Tunisia to a total degree. Much of the enterprise is English owned or instigated in Pembrokeshire, in the early 90`s it was desperately in need of new money and ideas, it is now developing in a positive manner and therefore creating jobs for local people. I hope foreign investment yes, is controlled in Tunisia but not too tightly. I believe I just read where 147 foreign owned companies have left since the uprising, what does this do for employment which in turn leads to local property ownership ? Also seems many of the holiday homes are owned by Tunisians working abroad, that`s what my Tunisian friends tell me, even farms way out from the coast.
  8. Offline

    Trulymadlydeeply Moderator

    Excuse me if I'm having a blonde moment, but I didn't think foreigners could own companies outright in Tunisia, I thought a Tunisian had to own the majority??
  9. Offline

    daffodil Well-Known Member

    Hi Cas,

    I agree with you and yes it is often the case that both here and in Tunisia second homes are owned by people who are originally from the area. ( Although where i live 75percent of homes are owned by people from other places.)

    It would seem then that people would like to stay in the area they are used to, but are forced to move away for economic reasons, lack of jobs etc. If they then make enough they buy somewhere they are familiar with to return to for holidays etc.

    The problem with this is the area suffers when too many take this option as normal everyday services suffer, esp the schools and shops.

    Many people who come to their holiday homes here bring all their own supplies with them and have no need of the local shop.

    It is not an easy problem to solve, and like you say, if in Tunisia foreign companies invest and create jobs, then it is a positive situation for everyone.......I guess it depends on the type of jobs on offer though and the renumeration.
  10. Offline

    Kris Administrator

    The main issue is that we dont know what is going to happen and you need to know when forking a lot of money out on property.

    There was never that many foreign property owners and TBH with corrupt banking system and rampant house price rises in Tunisia made the prices far to high for the normal Tunisian years ago.

    I think something will happen in this area property is an emotive subject in Tunisia, the controls they need to put on are expat Tunisians as they earn foreign money, borrow at lower rates and buy in poorer areas as investments etc which foreigners do not do.
    Marie1959 and Cas like this.
  11. Offline

    caveatemptor Well-Known Member

    It seems you took a long time to make your mind up.lol
    huttan likes this.
  12. Offline

    Kris Administrator

    lol

    Been thinking about this subject again today and had a search about it seems that interest has dropped off a cliff if you take articles and updates into consideration. This thread seems to have popped its clogs having been so busy before.

    I found this interesting thread on no marmite which has a different point of view to myself which I greatly respect on this subject but again no posts since Nov 2010.

    http://www.nomarmiteintunisia.co.uk/apps/forums/topics/show/3706851

    Even the great Tunisia forum on skyscraper city once a hub for all the new projects in Tunisia has become a grave yard with only a few posts.

    http://www.skyscrapercity.com/forumdisplay.php?f=1478

    The prices have not fallen yet overall in Tunisia but surely even if it was a great investment it would be down due to insecurity and lack of knowledge as to where the rights and tax of foreign investors is headed.

    Really bizarre market hundreds of empty offices and when you ant to rent them its crazy and some even ask for a FDC.... to rent a never used shop!
  13. Offline

    caveatemptor Well-Known Member

    A tax on empty commercial property and apartment blocks would probably concentrate the minds of the owners into being more realistic. Sousse looks like a half-finished building site right now with even more apartment blocks going up. Will the bubble burst?
  14. Offline

    Kris Administrator

    Wife tells me people are moving their cash into property expecting a further devaluation of the currency.

    Property cheaper in £ but more expensive in dinars now.

    Crack up boom?

    What is a Crack Up Boom?
    This first stage of the inflationary process may last for many years. While it lasts, the prices of many goods and services are not yet adjusted to the altered money relation. There are still people in the country who have not yet become aware of the fact that they are confronted with a price revolution which will finally result in a considerable rise of all prices, although the extent of this rise will not be the same in the various commodities and services. These people still believe that prices one day will drop. Waiting for this day, they restrict their purchases and concomitantly increase their cash holdings. As long as such ideas are still held by public opinion, it is not yet too late for the government to abandon its inflationary policy.
    But then, finally, the masses wake up. They become suddenly aware of the fact that inflation is a deliberate policy and will go on endlessly. A breakdown occurs. The crack-up boom appears. Everybody is anxious to swap his money against ‘real’ goods, no matter whether he needs them or not, no matter how much money he has to pay for them. Within a very short time, within a few weeks or even days, the things which were used as money are no longer used as media of exchange. They become scrap paper. Nobody wants to give away anything against them.

    http://crackupboom.net/2009/03/what-is-a-crack-up-boom/

    Tunisia has may of the issues of other countries including the UK large debts especially the rich and companies.

    Raising interest rates will reduce the prices for the poor but destroy those with leveraged assets......you see that happening? Me neither lol
  15. Offline

    Kris Administrator

    It burst ages ago the banks are like in the UK zombied up to the hilt with bad loans or even worse loans to "mafia" families who owned the bank and the project.

    They never ment to sell them as it was never a proper business.

    I hear on the grapevine "allegedly" that there is another round of corruption investigations incoming as the government have not been seen to do enough.

    Some banks are still owned by people who bought them behind the scenes due to assistance from the old clan so more problems ahead.

    I used to be a Cebsi fan but my children's doctor is a minister in the CA for Ennahdah and he is a very good man I trust him to a certain extent.

    During the last days of Cebsi they passed a rule apparently that inherited wealth was not included.... however some people used that inherited wealth to buy land, banks companies for pennies in the £ of their real value in some cases as wedding presents.

    Ergo designed to protect old money which might be impacted.

    Its not as simple as you think in Tunisia there are a lot of very rich people who make a lot of money by pandering to the mafia and to steal a phrase are "restored virgins".

    This is a lot of money and many of these people where behind the revolution also, its this balance that needs to be found between punishment and forgiveness as in some cases you had to play along to survive....the key info is that its not resolved yet by a long shot if the economy does not turn around people will feel vindictive and want more done.

    http://www.africaintelligence.com/M...more-businesses-could-be-seized,102035094-ART

    http://www.africaintelligence.com/M...7/biat-on-government-s-hit-list,102035106-ART
  16. Offline

    Kris Administrator

    Good idea we also have to remember that at the moment there is little regulation on building so if you want to build a monstrosity or block another persons view this is the time to do it!
  17. Offline

    ROULLA Super Moderator

    Buying a property or land in Tunisia is not as hard as some people may think but it is a long process as you have to first find what you are looking for
    1. Is it a piece of land and is it residential or agricultural.( Find out everything before even thinking about exchanging money)

    2. You need to go to the DAFDER KHANA to see who the property or land belongs too, they will tell you there how big the place is,where and what name it is registered on.

    3. Your next step is to go to the ADEL ICHHAD so that you can have papers drawn up, sign it and have it stamped. Once he has drawn up the papers and all the rest is ok that is when you will exchange money to pay for the property or land.

    4. You then need to go to the KEBATHA so that you can pay all the tax on the property or land and the tax depends on how much it is worth in other words how much you paid for it.

    5. You then need to go back to the DAFDER KHANA to have everything registered and get the certificate to say that the property or land is yours..

    Happy property/land hunting:)
    Essem, salim and janebenmohamed like this.
  18. Offline

    Kris Administrator

    This is a red herring to fool the masses....

    • Do you ever see an advert on this site for Tunisian property?
    • Have any of the large projects ever been completed?
    • How many of your friends own large swathes of cheap Tunisian houses?
    • How many British agents are in Tunisia?
    The facts are Tunisians buy all the property I am better off than most and I bought in Norwich before Tunisia as Norwich was cheaper for a nice area!
    The banks in Tunisia lent to much money and are insolvent like in the UK
    Rich Tunisians fiddle their money in property and don't invest in young people
    Tunisian dont pay their council tax most of the time ergo property has so little tax on it its horded.
    Any rules will be a waste of time if they dont include Tunisians living abroad in this as they are the one buying all the houses only an expat Tunisian would want to own blocks of low priced housing.
    15% of the property in Tunis is empty if they want to make property cheaper they need to make sure people pay their council tax or have a property tax and double tax on something empty otherwise people will just leave property empty.
  19. Offline

    Tunisianbelle Well-Known Member

    Since the Revolution, dealings with land are a gamble. There are people who have had their whole houses torn down due to disputes over land. Squatters are a huge problems for both private owners and the government. They try to claim the land as theirs, or in the case of those who have previously sold their land to the government, they say they want it back and refuse to leave.

    And times are difficult right now and it is not an easy thing to get the police involved like it once was. We have squatters on our land we purchased earlier this year and have been waiting for 4 months for them to leave. They at first promised to leave after the olive harvest, yet that has come and gone and they are still there! Police are involved, but as I said, it's a whole different ball game than what it once used to be - police are scared of coming off as the bad guys like they did during the Revolution.

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