Making your Property Purchase

Important Terms:

Promoter: What in South Africa we call the developer
EDB: Mauritian Economic Development Board
CRP: Contrat de Reservation Preliminaire or your Reservation Contract
GFA: Garantie Financiere d’Achievement or Completion Guarantee from the Bank

Stages of an Off Plan Property Purchase

  • Step1: The Reservation Contract
    The CRP is the document with which a property is reserved and the deposit paid. The application is made to the Mauritian Economic Development Board (EDB) for their authorization for the sale to proceed. Upon receipt of their approval, construction may commence., however if their permission is not obtained, the deposit the returned.
  • Step 2: The Deed of Sale
    This document is drafted by a Notary and details the various provisions of the transaction. For example: Date of Delivery/Completion, Penalties for late completion, Insurances and Guarantees.
  • Step 3: Instalment Fees
    In accordance with the provisions of Article 1601-30 of the Civil Code, the price of a residential property sold under “Vente en L’etat Futur d’Achievement” is payable in instalments as the work progresses. Those instalments are set out as follows:
    25%:    Upon Signing the Deed of Sale
    10%:    Upon Completion of Foundation Works
    35%:    Upon Completion of Walls and Roofing Works
    25%:    Upon Completion of the Building
    5%:      Upon availability of the Premises
  • Step 4: Handover
    Upon the handing over of keys and taking possession of the property, the guarantees, such as the 10-year Latent Defect Guarantee from the developer and contractors activate. It is important to have a thorough understanding of these guarantees in the event that a defect needs to be brought to the developer’s attention.

Fees to expect when purchasing your property

Deposit Payment: 30% – 40% (Foreign buyers)

Bank Fees:

Stamp Duty: MUR 1,500
Loan Registration Fee MUR 50,000
Loan Maintenance Fee MUR 100/month
Life Insurance Policy MUR 10,500/annum paid upfront

Registration Fee: 5%

Notary Fees: 0,5%-2% but it is predetermined in accordance with a specific scale of fees

Syndic Fee: MUR 2,000/month – MUR30,000/month

Home Insurance: MUR6,000 – MUR300,000/annu

Documentation Typically Required from a Bank in Mauritius

A Copy of the Applicant’s

  • Valid Passport
  • Birth Certificate
  • Marriage Certificate (If Applicable)
  • Proof of Address no more than 6 months old
  • Banking Certificate certifying the Applicant’s account is in good standing
  • 3 months’ Bank Statements
  • 3 months’ Salary Slips
  • For Business Owners – 2 years Audited Financial Statements
  • Most recent Income Tax Return
  • Evidence of any additional recurring Income
  • Evidence of Deposit Payment
  • Signed Reservation Contract and a plan of the property
  • GFA Certification
  • EDB Approval to Purchase the Property

NOTE: All supporting documents will have to be certified as true original certificate by a financial institution, a lawyer, a notary or any other authorised person/institution

helvetia, helvétia, investment

Bank Financing

OVERVIEW

  • Mauritian Banks provide financing to both residents and non-residents .
  • Residents may be granted a home loan for up to 90% of purchase price over a period of up to 30years. Non-Residents may be granted a home loan of up to 70% of purchase price over a period of up to 15 years. Both, whether property is completed or off-plan
  • Once a loan is approved, the Buyer will request for his Letter of Authorization from the EDB to acquire the said property. This process takes up to 2 months. In that time, the customer can start the process to meet the different conditions set by the bank. That may include obtaining life insurance, a valuation of the property and provision of the draft Deed of Sale as example. Once all conditions have been met, the bank can proceed to disbursement.
  • For off-plan acquisitions, the Buyer must pay his own deposit and the bank will then provide the loan for the subsequent payments upon call of funds from the promoter/developer. So, during construction phase, the Buyer will repay a monthly instalment pro-rated to the disbursed amount.
  •  Facilities can be availed in MUR, EUR or USD

Making your Application - Financing Process

  • Upon receipt of complete set of documents , the bank will take 10 – 14 days to review the loan application, check the Mauritian Credit Information Bureau and decide if they can grant an approval.  If necessary additional documentation may be requested.
  • The loan application is then assessed by the Credit Committee of the bank in line with its risk policies and the Committee may either approve the loan request or request more information/additional documents.
  • Once approved, the bank will prepare a Letter of Offer and all other Regulatory Documentation for signature by the Loan Applicant.
  • This Loan Offer will be  valid for 3 months from the date of approval from the bank and is also the period during which the bank will have to proceed with the first disbursement to the promoter/developer.  Note: if that payment has not been effected within the indicated period, a revalidation of the offer will be required.

Residency by Investment

This is a program whereby a non-resident who buys a property valued at $375,000 or more, in an approved scheme becomes eligible to apply for a Residence Permit.

The purchase may be entered into in an individual’s personal capacity or via a company, a trust, a foundation, an LP or a Société and allows the recipient of the residency permit the right to work in Mauritius in the same way as someone who holds an Occupation Permit.

For the purchase to proceed, the transaction will first require an approval from either the PMO or the EDB depending on exactly what is being purchased. For example, a foreigner acquiring shares into a company that owns freehold immovable property will require PMO approval whereas the purchase of a property for business purposes will require EDB approval to proceed. This will be assessed and attended to by the developer or sales agent.

Once the approval to proceed with the transaction has been received and the property successfully purchased, the processing for the Residency Permit can then commence.

The residency permit will then remain in place for as long as what the purchaser remains the owner of the property.

Regulatory information worth knowing

On 1 January 2014, the Bank of Mauritius implemented more stringent rules in an effort to achieve more unified banking practices in the best interests of both Property Purchasers and Financial Institutions. Two pillars of this revision are:

1. Debt to Income Ratios (DTI)

Which directs the proportion of a borrowers monthly instalment to his/her gross monthly earnings to not exceed

  • 40% for individuals whose income is less than MUR 200,000 or equivalent in foreign currencies
  • 50% for individuals whose income is more than MUR 200,000 or equivalent in foreign currencies

Note – Gross Monthly Income includes:

  • Fixed Income e.g. salary
  • 70% of the average variable income over the past 12 months

*Future Rental Income is not taken into account.

2. Loan to Value Ratios (LTV)

This represents the proportion of borrowed funds to the Nett Price of the Property.

Note: Though the Bank of Mauritius makes a clear recommendation of what an ideal LTV ration would be, banks are left to define their own risk appetite based on internal risk management policies.

OUR AVAILABLE OFFERS

Off-Plan

  • Land
    3754
    m2
  • Moka

Price

On request

The most advanced smart city of the island with a strategic location

THE ENL GROUP

The ENL Group is a broad-based enterprise in Mauritius, developing and managing a portfolio of more than 120 international and homegrown brands across a 7 industries:

  1. Agribusiness
  2. Real Estate
  3. Hospitality
  4. Logistics
  5. Finance & Technology
  6. Commerce & Manufacturing
  7. Land & Investment

ENL owns 7% of all island land and is one of the most trusted developers with the likes of PWC, Bowmans, The United States of America Embassy and Shell all choose ENL developments as its home.

Past Developments

Gentilly Estate

Les Allées d'Helvétia

Heritage Villas Valriche

La Balise Marina

l'Avenir

Bagatelle Estate

Smart City Schemes

What is a Smart City Scheme ?

Smart City Scheme is the title given to an area of land exceeding 21 hectares which has been licensed by the Mauritian government for development into a self-contained lifestyle destination.

These developments are held to the highest international building, environmental and sustainability requirements, and are therefore usually quite technologically advanced and on par with some of the best lifestyle developments in the world.

One may imagine residential communities comprising well sized and built homes in good proximity to international schools and built to facilitate either a parent walking their child to school or that child being able to ride a bike to school. Another example may be a commercial area built in harmony with nature and serviced by a leisurely retail and restaurant offering that softens the workday experience.

With ENL for example, both these communities may be serviced by technology such as air quality monitors, refuse monitors and redundant 5G internet as the developer’s focus lies heavily on creating spaces that encourage living well.

MOKA SMART CITY

SAVANNAH CONNECTED COUNTRYSIDE