You can read about any possible overseas property destination – Cyprus included – until you’re blue in the face. You can learn about rich culture, awe-inspiring history, armies of attractions and wonderful weather until your head explodes. Plus, you can listen to an array of property agents and a dirge of developers as they explain why their properties for sale are the perfect investment for your pound until the cows come home.

But, when all’s said and done, cliché and hyperbole mean nothing – if you want to get the most out of your investment, you should look at official facts, figures and previous precedents alone. So, how does Cyprus measure up in the numbers game?

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a hard-nosed investor adding to your portfolio, second home buyer or just trying to get your foot on the property ladder, there are three things you must consider: entry strategy (how easy is it to buy?); potential (will the price increase?) and exit strategy (who’ll buy it when you’re ready to sell?).

Entry Strategy

Low-entry level properties are available from around CY£60,000 (the Cypriot Pound is roughly similar to Pound Sterling, 1.16 GBP to the CYP) and that’s not just for a run-down bed-sit in the deepest darkest countryside. Stump up just CY£80,000, and you’ll get a gorgeous, luxurious off-plan two-bedroom apartment in the popular resorts in and around Larnaca. Typically, this involves a 20% deposit and you won’t pay another penny until completion – typically 2009 at the moment – giving you a two-year grace period.

When it is completed, of course, you’ll have to pay for it; that’s easy too in Cyprus, as the British legacy over the island involves more than the chippies and burger bars of Ayia Napa. The banking system will be familiar, comforting and helpful to Brits and northern Europeans – funds can usually be transferred in any currency. Most off-plan developers will have preferential packages with mortgage lenders and, therefore, you can expect to find 80% loan-to-value mortgages, terms of up to 40 years (rates currently around 4%), interest-only and capital-repayments mortgages with 5-year fixed-rate and grace periods – all arrangeable without even ever having to step foot on Cypriot soil.

Add the fact that many developers guarantee mortgages until the title deed is issued, and buying off-plan in Cyprus is easier, and just plain less cruel, than stealing candy from a baby.