The Secret Jewel in the Mediterranean Crown

Since the Northern Cypriots famously voted 'yes' to the UN backed Annan plan for the peaceful reunification of Cyprus in 2004 the world has awoken to the secret and hidden beauty of this untouched jewel in the Mediterranean crown. Those open-minded and individual thinkers seeking elegant living, unrivalled Mediterranean-region investment property opportunities or their own hideaway are today embracing Northern Cyprus.

Discover a new world, discover a new opportunity, discover North Cyprus.

Basking in the beautiful Mediterranean, enjoying 320 days sunshine a year, with stunning natural beauty, a rich and diverse 10,000 year history, rare and abundant flora and fauna is Aphrodite's island of Cyprus. The Northern third of this island paradise has the most beautiful and unspoilt coastline on the Mediterranean because during the 1960s and 1970s when bad building practices in the rest of the world allowed for ugly concrete high-rise buildings on every beach, Northern Cyprus remained completely untouched.

Today the forward thinking Turkish Cypriot people have been rewarded for their hard work in protecting their paradise and they're proud to welcome visitors to their uniquely preserved island haven, to introduce new residents to their incredible quality of life and to embrace investors looking to nurture and develop this corner of heaven on earth.

The Turkish Cypriot Government encourages sensitive, low density, high quality property development and they're establishing an incredibly attractive and strong property market as a result.

The attraction of the property market in North Cyprus is obvious and manifold, for example: -

o Where else in the world can 'normal' people afford to live in an untouched, unspoilt and underdeveloped location with the perfect climate, year round sunshine, pretty harbours, crusader castles, stunning mountains, wild natural beaches, trendy bars, quality restaurants and endless entertainment opportunities?

o Where else in the Mediterranean region can you purchase quality housing from as little as £40,000?

o Where else in the world is there such a huge discrepancy between house prices than in Cyprus with properties in the South selling for up to 150% more than properties in the North?

o Independent expert analysis predicts that the property market in the South will continue to rise over the medium term, that the property market in Northern Cyprus will come in line with the South over the medium term and that investment in property across Cyprus is "highly attractive," with the property market in Northern Cyprus "about to boom."

o Property prices in the North have at least doubled in recent years making significant short term gains achievable.

o Those who invest for the medium to long term will maximise capital growth and investment returns.

Purchasing property in Northern Cyprus couldn't be simpler, there's no need to establish a company to purchase, no need to learn a whole new legal system or even a foreign language, no need to add 20% to the purchase price for hidden taxes and no need to worry that you could buy better for less anywhere else on the Med! Non-residents can own freehold property in North Cyprus, the legal system is based on the British system, lawyers, estate agents and developers all speak English to a high standard and legal fees and taxes are low and always clearly detailed.

One word of warning, care needs to be taken relating to the title deed of any property you're considering purchasing. Negative press reports you may have read regarding the purchase of illegal property in Northern Cyprus relate to people who have not bought property with clean title deeds. Despite propaganda to the contrary, it is internationally accepted that many types of land and property purchase in North Cyprus are 100% legal with correct application; the legality and legitimacy of the purchase depends on the title deed the property holds. Therefore, just as it is essential to appoint legal representation when buying property 'back home,' so it is equally essential to appoint independent legal representation in Northern Cyprus and for your lawyer to research the title deed of the property or land you're seeking to purchase and to advise you on the legality of the transaction accordingly.

Rhiannon Williamson is the publisher of http://www.shelteroffshore.com/ - the online resource that guides you to a low tax, maximum investment profit lifestyle abroad.

Shelter Offshore features three main channels - offshore investment, property investment abroad and overseas lifestyle.

Rhiannon Williamson is also the author of 'The Offshore Advantage' http://www.shelteroffshore.com/index.php/shelter/offshore_advantage/ which teaches readers how to build secure wealth using their secret offshore advantage.

There is something emotionally charged about the buying and selling of New York high-end real estate. How else to explain the juggernaut of reality TV shows about high-end brokers?

After 30 years of marriage, Sharon and Michael Newman decided it was finally time to move from the Catskills to New York City.

On blocks near Kissena Park streets are quiet, houses are small, and the electricity that charges the atmosphere in downtown Flushing is nowhere to be found.

A five-story, seven-bedroom house in Brooklyn Heights has sweeping views of New York Harbor and the Manhattan skyline.

Demand is so intense that there are waiting lists in some buildings, and a few landlords report that eager renters are even bidding up rents.

Sales at the very high end of the market barely missed a beat in the recession. But that prosperity hasn’t yet trickled down.

A Flatiron condo, a Midtown South co-op and a Brooklyn Heights carriage house.

A four-bedroom ranch in Montclair, N.J., and a four-bedroom colonial Cape in Babylon, N.Y.

For a century, Roosevelt Island housed a grim penitentiary. It was demolished in the 1930s.

More borrowers are opting for fixed-rate loans with terms other than the standard 30 or 15 years, especially when it comes to refinancings.

Two more glass skyscrapers are added to a group of towers on the waterfront of Long Island City.

Insurance coverage for a co-op unit; when a tenant is ‘blacklisted’; a co-op is smaller than estimated.

The market for $500,000-to-$600,000 houses in Westchester has become especially active.

A shaky real estate market means more sellers are providing buyer concessions, from gift cards to help with paying property taxes.

Houses of worship are adaptable to residential and other uses as congregations dwindle.

Nearly two million Americans could benefit from mortgage relief from the nation’s biggest banks, as part of a broad government settlement to be announced on Thursday.

A cold war-era satellite relay station is for sale in California after a Silicon Valley mogul gave up on plans to turn it into a weekend home.

How can I make my front porch more appealing to buyers?

Court hearings meant to protect New York homeowners from foreclosure are hopelessly slowed by endless paperwork and requests for additional information.

The Bay Area and Silicon Valley expect the windfall from the Facebook stock offering to make their in-demand region even hotter.

The house, designed by the architect Eric Fisher, looms over the street like a big industrial arm.

A town house in Dallas, a midcentury modern in Rhode Island and a Tudor in Denver.

Prices in some parts of the country are still off by as much as 25 percent from their 2007 peak.

Trinity Church is the largest landlord in Hudson Square and is part of the effort to rezone the area to residential from manufacturing.

Rising oil prices and a boom in shale exploration are leading companies to add office space in the Houston area, most notably Exxon Mobil.

Ms. de França is the president and chief executive of Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, which focuses on new residential developments.

Meet the real estate broker’s interns: an ambitious group willing to do anything, earn nothing and wake up early on a Sunday to fluff the couch cushions at open houses.

A Flatiron condo, a Midtown South co-op and a Brooklyn Heights carriage house.

A four-bedroom ranch in Montclair, N.J., and a four-bedroom colonial Cape in Babylon, N.Y.

Homes in Dallas, Rhode Island and Denver.

Compare the cost of renting and buying equivalent homes.

For recently divorced men, a new breed of decorators offers help navigating a strange new world.

Plants that light up the winter garden can be found at Broken Arrow Nursery in Connecticut, which has long been a favorite of gardening geeks.

A sister in need drew the painter Beverly McIver back home to North Carolina, unaware that a new beginning was in store for both of them.

A jewelry designer finds striking new objects for storage.

Timothy Sakamoto and Jochen Repolust are part of the small but growing niche making mobile apps focused on specific works of architecture.

To promote an auction of 20th- and 21st-century design, the interior designer Stephen Sills has created a preview exhibition in an apartment at the Apthorp.

Fishs Eddy now sells plates acquired from the archives of the now-defunct Syracuse China Corporation, many more than 100 years old.

The designer Russell Greenberg creates custom baby rattles with ends shaped like profiles of mom and dad.