Off plan property investors in Egypt can look forward to a straightforward process with the minimum of fuss – there is an amount of red tape to get through, but the appointment of a trusted local lawyer will help in all facets of the buying process.

Once a property has been decided on, a holding deposit is paid to the seller usually of around 10 to 15 percent. Once this has been paid, the lawyer can carry out a number of checks on behalf of the buyer – one important check being that the property is registered, which is a legal requirement in Egypt even though a lot of properties aren’t registered already. Once the necessary checks have been completed – and when the property has been registered, if it needs to be (usually taking around four months) – the sale can be completed, contract signed and the final fee paid. It should be noted that only contracts written in Arabic are valid by law, but the lawyer should be able to help with this.

Once the sale is complete, any remaining taxes and other charges are paid. Tax usually hits around the six percent of the total cost mark, and charges for lawyers, estate agents etc. vary from place to place.