Hello. I went to Tunisia for a holiday recently and was very impressed by the place. I have been trying to find out information about buying property there by internet, yet it has been a little difficult. I would particularly like to find out the law regarding non Tunisians being able to buy or not. I would be grateful for any feedback.
The holiday resorts are good but the real Tunisia is a bit dodgy. Everybody is trying to rip you off! I went to Tunis recently and hated it. The place is dirty, no public loos and the bars that have toilets are just holes in the floor, taxi drivers want 100 euro's for a ten minute journey, people keep grabbing you and trying to get you inside their murky little bazaars. A friend of mine paid 100 Euro's to a taxi driver (He beat him down from 150) to take him, his wife and three kids on a ten minute journey and as the taxi was only licensed for three, he and his wife were made to get out at one busy intersection and picked up again 100 yards down the street. Do a lot of checking before committing to a property in Tunisia.
I have been to Tunisia many times&. have enjoyed it for the most part. I agree the sellers in the souks are rather 'in-your-face' &. persistant but that is the accepted method of sale in Arab countries &. has existed thus for centuries. Sure,there are no public 'loos' but we're talking of a Third World country not Northern Europe - the toilets in all the bars I have visited, tho' not sheer luxury, were reasonably clean &. certainly not 'holes-in-the-ground'. The figures you quote re taxis amaze me - in Sousse,where I mainly visit, the taxis are incredibly cheap &. I use them all the time: by law they are supposed to be metered &. mainly they are but if the meter is not switched on my request for it to be on, always worked with me.
Originally posted by Jean-Alain: I have been to Tunisia many times&. have enjoyed it for the most part. I agree the sellers in the souks are rather 'in-your-face' &. persistant but that is the accepted method of sale in Arab countries &. has existed thus for centuries. Sure,there are no public 'loos' but we're talking of a Third World country not Northern Europe - the toilets in all the bars I have visited, tho' not sheer luxury, were reasonably clean &. certainly not 'holes-in-the-ground'. The figures you quote re taxis amaze me - in Sousse,where I mainly visit, the taxis are incredibly cheap &. I use them all the time: by law they are supposed to be metered &. mainly they are but if the meter is not switched on my request for it to be on, always worked with me.
Yeah. Don't get mixed up though with staying in a Luxury Hotel and having guides show you around the towns and cities. We actually went to Tunis, arriving by ship and they are queuing on the dock to see who can be the first to rip you off. We were only there for the day and as far as I was concerned it was a day too long. It wouldn't put me off going to Tunisian holiday resorts and staying in their 5* hotels, but I definitely wouldn't want to spend another day in Tunis.
Hi martkir, i'm new to this so i hope it works. i'm also looking into buying an appartment in tunisia, and have found out some info. maybe we can swap out ideas.
We are in the process of buying a property in Tunisia, foreigners can buy there as long as its not designated as farmland. Our property is not in a tourist zone, so we have to make an application to the regional govorner to get permission before buying. This takes a long time (months/years depending on what problems you encounter along the way!) and a good lawyer. Prices are rising, as an Economic trade agreement with Europe is going to come into force in the next few years making trade with the EU simpler.
Things really do take a long time to sort anything out to do with property, so buying a property is going take a long time, but it will all be worth it having a second home in the sun.
We are still in the process of buying in tunisia, to be honest its been on the back burner due to work commitments in the UK, but we are not in any great hurry. Hopefully we will be out there again in july to chase the progress with the paperwork. Meanwhile, I suggest looking at www.thetunisiahouse.co.uk for a good site with properties for sale!
I'm very confused by the refs to Euros and taxis. By law taxis in Tunisia charge in Dinars according to their meter and are unbelievably cheap. 12 kms cost us in 2006 about 8 to 10 Dinars, depending on the traffic. The British Embassy told us that they could not help us at all with buying there! Helpful huh?
However as we shall soon have French nationality we understand that things will be easier. Please let me know any info re buying in Tunisia. We have lived in France for 14 years and need a change.
We have found the Tunisians charming! We buy there for our shop. We pay a fraction of the cost in France, not just for stock but for everything. We LOVE it!!
