"The time to buy is when there is blood in the streets" – Rothschild
Long before the travels to Egypt became affordable and therefore, popular with Russian people, I associated the name of this country with the history book – with pyramids, pharos, ancient pictures of chariots. Everything was weird, strange and exciting. And if at those times of Soviet stagnation somebody would have told me that I could touch all of that with my own hands, and, moreover, that I would visit that wonderful country 2-3 times a year, I would never believe that!
It turned out that splendor of pyramids was not the most mind-bending matter. THE SEA!!! Despite the fact that I have seen enough of the seas (the Baltic sea, the Black sea, Mediterranean, Aegean, Barents, and the North sea) – all of them were merely the seas. But the Red sea is the SEA!!! At the day of my arrival I virtually did not get out of it. Fishes of all colors of the rainbow that I have never seen before were swimming just under my feet! I suppose it was the moment when I made a decision somewhere at the back of my mind.
The idea of purchase a place for living at the sea-side came up to my mind after the 10th trip. We have been to Sharm three times and seven times to Hurgada.
So, my train of thought was something like that:
Why Egypt?
Summertime is 12 months per year. No way to Turkey and Tunisia. Flight to any other resort, so much liked by our compatriots, like India, Thailand, Dominican would take twice as long as the way to Egypt. To be honest, 5 hours on board are also quite stressful but 10… it’s too much.
Prices.
A flat in Egypt costs 5,000 USD (although you could hardly live in such a flat). But for 20,000 you can find quite acceptable one. Besides, an interest-free installment plan is negotiable. Payments of the utility bills are inessential – about 500 USD per year. Of course, there were more expensive options but I was looking for a “summerhouse” which I could visit several times a year. I was not likely to lease it out. I was rather willing to invest my spare cash.
But the main reason was the Sea!!! Here it is, just nearby!
And I wanted to settle in Hurgada. In Sharm, the land is only for lease. A bit troublesome, I suppose (although the leasing is for 99 years).
So, I started to study the issues on the web. The issues were as follows:
- Real estate market supply;
- Paperwork procedure;
- Selection of a reliable real estate agency.
It turned out that the paperwork procedure was really simple.
And whereas, according the famous proverb, Russia has two problems – fools and bad roads, in Egypt they are unfinished buildings and scams.
Unfinished building projects may be found all over Hurgada. Wherever you go from the airport, you will see the reinforcement units of unfinished buildings. Many businessmen kick-started development projects, having overrated their strengths. The web-sites bristle with offers at the initial stage of development at very lucrative prices. But the risk is too high. If money falls into the hand of an Egyptian man, he will never give them back. So, after hours of searching the world-web, I came to conclusion that probably only a few projects were worth of interest. First, Florenza Hamsin, second, Cleopatra, third Nur Plaza (now re-called Pyramids-2). All of them are run by reputable developers and the works were not suspended even during the uprisings. All the tree sites are residential compounds within walking distance of the sea-side, with a swimming-pool, security service etc. Of course, it is easier and safer to buy a ready-to-live flat but investment in the development project will generate more profits. So, that was settled.
Next and the most important issue was to select the agency. That was the most complicated task. I had to read loads of discussions on the web. I suppose, I have read all of the internet sources directly or indirectly associated with real estate business in Hurgada.
And the more I was looking into this topic, the narrower was the search. When only 2 reliable candidates were left, I read posting of one of the permanent residents of Hurgada, a diehard skeptic, Samson70 (Vadim residing in Lotos compound). There he, in the manner not usual for him, highly appreciated the activity of Anastasia from Akar Real Estate. “Akar” was in the list of my two candidates. Moreover, I signed up on this site and was a regular user of it. Liked that they not merely offered the property but followed up the entire development process. The site visitors are timely informed on all the special offers and the prices are regularly updated. And communication with Nastia was nothing but pleasure. She has been nursing all my fancies for more than a year. At the same time, I got in touch with her market competitors: All of them plainly circulated the same offers meaning “Let’s talk when you arrive”.
When I was on my way to the place, carrying the amount of first installment in my pocket, the final decision was made. 
They picked us up at the hotel and we went to see Florenza and Cleopatra – just for pro-forma, of course (or rather in order to persuade ourselves that we were making the right choice). But the choice had been already made in favor of Nur Plaza. The main criteria were the location outside Hurgada (we really got tired of bothersome merchants, never-ending honking car-horns and so on), vicinity to the sea-shore (and they promise a kind of private beach that is veeery important in Egypt), a big shopping mall in the neighborhood (they are developing the Karfur mall in some hundreds of meters). And the finishing touch was high appreciation of the developer, its reputability, which with the help of Akar agency representatives allowed for an interest-free installment plan.
So, here I am – the happy owner of F-10 studio in Nur Plaza.
Please, do not consider this posting and a guideline – I just shared my experience. I will be glad to answer any questions. My name is Anton Lobynichev. I live in St-Petersburg. You may easily find me in social networks. Good luck to you all!
Anton Lobynichev.
St-Petersburg
2012