British Couple Lose Dream Home in Northern Cyprus

Cyprus has been a popular expat destination for some time – but the division of the island into the Turkish north and the Greek south has been an underlying problem for property owners.  
Foreigners have been warned against buying propery in the Turkish north for some time and a recent ruling by the UK Court of Appeal has made the risks of buying on that side of the island even more serious.
A British couple have been ordered to hand back their dream home to the Turkish Cypriot owner, who fled the north when the Turks invaded the island in 1974.
Linda and David Orams, not only have to give up their property, they have been ordered to pull down the villa they built and bear all the legal costs of a long running dispute. They will also now have to pay rent for the period they occupied the land.
The Cypriot property market has gone through a major slump in the last three years; in the south the drop in sales has been about 90%.  The majority of investors in the past have been from the UK but the weakening pound has sent many of them scurrying back home.  
Property experts hope that the Osrams court ruling may attract foreign purchasers back to the south.