Hi from North Cyprus!

Hello everyone and I am so glad I have found your forum and site. It is a lovely introduction to Paraguay. I have been an expat most of my life, and have spent the last 21 years living in North Cyprus with my 2 rescue pointers and family of 4 rescue cats.

My story is quite sad really because I came here to start a farming, healing and spritual community in the lovely mountains here in 2004. The land is absolutely unspoilt, beautiful with only views of the greenery, pine, carob and olive trees, orchids, rockroses, the sea and the mountains as backdrop.

It was here I intended to spend the rest of my days in a like minded community of kindred spirits....

However, foreigners are no longer so welcome here. Laws have been suddenly introduced out of the blue as well as made to effect taxes on all assets retrospecitvely. This has caused grief now for so many people, especially pensioners, who will not be able to pay huge taxes. May will lose their only homes and become homeless.

Many have been waiting decades to obtain their title deeds withheld by unscrupulous developers or sellers, many of whom are also demanding tens of thousands of pounds just to provide the long awaited deeds. Most know the deeds will not be forthcoming yet they still are held ransom to pay 12% tax on current value of their homes, and 12% every 6 months until they have a the title deed they will never get (as they never got it for the last 15 plus years). Failing to get a title deed the sales contract will also now become invalid, which then means they no longer own their home!

Also on the long list of 'changes' is the fact that foreigners can now no longer own or buy more than 1/4 acre plot with their house. Nor are they allowed to buy a plot of land or land in the mountains. Anyone who has such land - even with title deeds - has 2 years to liquidate it. As nobody is allowed to now purchase land in the mountains, nobody - including myself with my project land, can sell it to anyone! Nobody except locals are allowed to buy it. They will not buy it as they can rent it for peanuts.

So very sadly this is the situation I find myself in.

Those that have sold their properties to date have only got 1/3 of the true value so are also very much out of pocket.

None of this was their fault.

Even properties that are in legally required trusts also now have to be liquidated!

Everyone is so traumatised, and most have nowhere to go as they no longer own anything back in their original country.

I personally doubt I will be able to extract much of my capital from my few assets here, but until I can retrieve anything, I like others, feel like prisoners waiting for the executioner!!

I am a very happy and adventurous person normally. But this is a risk that most expats don't expect to happen to their home and security. So many people totally shafted to get taxes in for the Government deficit.

It contravenes the Constitutions here and human rights would have a hey day. There are lawyers and the Bar Association taking this to the Constitutional court, and the tax deadlines keep getting extended as the Government itself is even in disarray at the moment!

I share this also because we expats never expect such things to happen to us. And tens of thousands of people here are affected.

So if I can move to Paraguay, I am impatient to leave here now. However, you can guess my first questions are going to be how reliable is the legal system there, and the lawyers, as sadly corruption and greed is now totally rife here.

Also how secure are the actual title deeds?  There seem to be all sorts of different types of titles and some farms with titles yet stating x number of hectares on the plot on't have titles.

I have been submersed in property since 1976, when I had my own successful property consultancy in Abu Dhabi. Yet title deed issues now baffle even the most seasoned of entrepreneurs.

Is there are requirement to have a local partner/trust? Or can anyone securely buy and own property directly in their own name for posterity?

Are there any complicated inheritance laws. High death duties or Capital Gains taxes?

What is the tax position on transferring house purchase funds into a bank in Paraguay?

On purchasing land or a farm, what outlays/costs are there in the buying process until 100% ownership?

As you can imagine I am wary about jumping from the frying pan into the fire.

So I will definite arrange a familiarisation trip, rekke of the areas, and property search early next year.

I very much appreciate your patience, especially due to my current circumstances of having my life pulled from underneath me, with not any warnings for anyone as to what was going to happen.

Blessings and hugs

Caesarea x