Property Due Diligence in Hurghada – Documents to Check

<br>Due diligence sounds like something banks do. For a private buyer in Hurghada it means a folder of documents, a few phone calls and one visit to a government office. It is dull, it takes a couple of weeks, and it is the cheapest insurance you will ever buy.<br>

Start with the seller

<br>You need to know who you are dealing with. Ask for identification and compare it with the name on the ownership documents. If the seller is a company, ask for the registration and for proof that the person signing is authorised to do so.<br>

<br>If somebody is selling on behalf of an owner, ask for a power of attorney and have your lawyer check its scope and validity. Agents sometimes sign on behalf of relatives without proper authority, and the resulting contract can be worthless.<br>

The ownership documents

<br>The core question is simple: is this person legally entitled to sell me this property? The answer is in the title documents and the registration record. Your lawyer should check the record directly rather than relying on photocopies.<br>

Title deed or registered ownership document
Registration status and any pending applications
Identity documents matching the registered owner
Building permit and completion documentation
Approval for the development as a whole

<br>Missing documents are common in older buildings. That does not automatically make the property unsellable, but it changes what you are buying and how easily you can sell it later.<br>

The building and its finances

<br>Ask the management for a statement of the service charge account for the unit. Unpaid charges can follow the property, and buyers have discovered arrears only after completion.<br>

<br>Ask about the building’s condition: roof, water tanks, lifts, pool equipment. Then ask the neighbours, who have no reason to be diplomatic. A five-minute conversation on the stairs often reveals more than an hour with the developer’s sales office.<br>

Restrictions that affect your plans

<br>If you intend to let the property short term, check whether the building permits it. If you plan to renovate, check what alterations are allowed and whether permits are needed. If you plan to rent to families, check whether the building has rules about children or pets.<br>

<br>These restrictions are usually written somewhere, and nobody volunteers them.<br>

Physical inspection

<br>Visit at a different time of day from your first viewing. Check water pressure, listen for noise from the street or the neighbours, look at the ceiling for damp, and test every air conditioning unit. In summer, ask whether the flat stays cool in the afternoon.<br>

<br>If you are abroad, arrange for somebody competent to do this on your behalf and send photographs. A video call works better than a report.<br>

Legal and financial checks

<br>Your lawyer should confirm there is no dispute, no mortgage and no claim against the property, and explain the tax consequences of the purchase. Your bank or money transfer records should show a clean trail from your account to the seller’s.<br>

<br>Keep every document. You will need them when you sell, and buyers will ask.<br>

Rental history, if there is one

<br>A property that has been let tells you something useful. For more about Sea view property Hurghada visit our own web-site. Ask for the tenancy agreements, the rent actually received and the vacancy periods between tenants. Owners sometimes inflate rental claims, and a written contract with a date on it is harder to exaggerate.<br>

<br>If the flat has been used for short lets, ask for the booking records and the reviews. A listing with a long history of good reviews is worth more than one with none, and the difference affects what you can earn from day one.<br>

When to walk away

<br>If the seller cannot prove ownership, if the price depends on you paying cash to somebody who is not the owner, or if the paperwork keeps changing, stop. There is no shortage of flats in Hurghada. There is a shortage of buyers who get their money back after a bad purchase.<br>