Can foreigners get a credit in Egypt?

Many foreigners think that they cannot get a real estate loan in Egypt. That’s not true, it just works differently here. When buying property or investing in Egypt, you typically have three payment options available. Of course, this depends on which builder you buy from or where you invest. We at Living Point explain how it works here.

Pay in cash, on an installment plan with interest, or on an installment plan with no interest.

These options are offered not only to buyers and investors with Egyptian citizenship, but also to overseas buyers and investors (non-Egyptian citizens) and most often without credit checks.

Installment payments for a turnkey property?

If you decide to buy a “turnkey” property, you generally pay in cash (or by bank transfer, but the entire purchase price). Sometimes a “turnkey” property can be placed on either payment plan. However, this is quite rare and usually only exists in new buildings that are nearing completion. However, if the property is finished, payment in installments is almost never offered.

So you usually get a real estate loan in Egypt from the builder or the operating company itself.

Installment plan for unfinished properties in Egypt

If you decide on a new building project that is under construction or is still to be built (this is also known in technical language as an OFF-plan), you can choose between different (installment) payment plans. Pay in cash with an attractive discount (usually 5 – 20% of the purchase price) or pay over several years using an installment plan ( as a credit in Egypt ) with interest or without interest – depending on the builder.

What the installment plans look like can vary from builder to builder and from project to project.
Below is an example of an installment plan with no interest

The property price is: €60,000 (Note: The percentage and payment schedules below is an example)

10% reservation – 10% of the total price of the reservation (€6,000)
20% deposit – 20% of the total price upon signing the contract (€12,000)
10% upon handover – 10% of the total price upon handover (€6,000)
60% payment plan (installments) as an example over 3 years – the rest is 60%, in this case €46,000 with an installment plan without interest over 36 months

Cash payment: 20% discount on the total price – so you get a hefty discount of €12,000 on the total price. So your new purchase price is only €48,000 for the example above.

And why can I buy in Egypt without checking my creditworthiness? The simple answer is: the builder takes the risk and you lose your property if you fail to make your payments.

Our tip: Some properties are quoted in Egyptian pounds. We use the XE.COM currency calculator for conversion. In our many years of experience, this usually has the most correct prices.