Trapped buyers could lose their homes

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memory man
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Trapped buyers could lose their homes

Post by memory man »

By: Nigel Howarth



The Limassol and Paphos District Courts in Cyprus have both ruled that the trapped buyers’ law, which enabled those duped into buying property built on mortgaged land to get their Title Deeds, is unconstitutional.

Tens of thousands of people who bought property in Cyprus in good faith will be affected. The so called trapped buyers law was introduced in 2015 as part of Cyprus’ bailout agreement with its troika of international lenders. Its objective was to transfer properties to their purchasers who, although they had fulfilled their contractual obligations to the vendor, were unable to obtain its Title Deed. Typically this occurred when a developer had mortgaged the land on which he was building or a memo or any other encumbrance has been registered against the property in question and the developer was unable or unwilling to repay this mortgage and other debts. In Cyprus, like many other countries, a Title Deed is a legal document that confirms the rights of ownership of a property. Until such time as a Title Deed bears the name of its purchaser, that purchaser does not own the property. The European Commission’s post-programme surveillance report was highly critical of progress being made on Title Deeds when it wrote: “The currently dysfunctional Title Deeds issuance and transfer system is deterring potential investors and thus, weighing on the liquidity of the property market. Although some measures were taken to streamline the issuance of Title Deeds for new properties, no new measure was announced to provide for a sustainable system of transfer of Title Deeds.

What are the possible implications?

In theory the decision by the courts will enable the banks to seize the mortgaged land and all the properties built thereon. The banks could then sell the land and properties to recover the debt. If the proceeds of the sale exceed the debt, the purchasers affected may receive compensation. The courts’ ruling is set to have disastrous consequences for Cypriots and foreigners who were duped into buying property built on mortgaged land by nefarious property developers, lawyers, estate agents and bankers. Who in their right mind is going to buy a property in Cyprus without its all-important Title Deed? Probably those seeking Cypriot passports and citizenship falling victims to the cheats and liars that still pervade the island’s property industry and legal ‘profession’.

source:- http://www.news.cyprus-property-buyers. ... d=00152467
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darrow
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Re: Trapped buyers could lose their homes

Post by darrow »

Well, I hope this gets overturned by the higher courts! I don't see how 2 district courts can overturn a law made in Parliment. Unconstitutional is what it is for people who still don't have their deeds despite paying in full for their properties. The banks got themselves in this mess, and is it a coincedence that some board members were/are developers? They could approve loans to themselves without any intention of paying of the debts fully . speaking as someone who has spent 3 years trying to get deeds and now on the final hurdle, this could wipe out a major chunk of our life savings if we don't keep our house. That doesn't matter though, seemingly! :twisted:
Steve - SJD
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Why trapped buyers law unconstitutional

Post by Steve - SJD »

Just further info on this:

Why trapped buyers law unconstitutional
Marina Massoura from the law firm of L.G. Zambartas LLC explains why the trapped buyers law was ruled as being
unconstitutional by the District Courts in Limassol and Paphos.

The Limassol and Paphos District Courts in Cyprus have both ruled that specific articles of the Entrapped Purchaser’s
Law were unconstitutional, cancelling therefore, the decision of the Director of the Land Registry to transfer the
Title Deeds into the names of the purchasers. In both cases, the ... [Read More]

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memory man
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Re: Trapped buyers could lose their homes

Post by memory man »

Trapped buyers update



The House Legal Affairs Committee is meeting today in efforts to resolve constitutional issues with the trapped buyers law. Meanwhile here is sitrep from Marina Massoura from the law firm of L.G. Zambartas LLC.

THE DECISIONS of the Paphos and Limassol District Courts regarding the trapped buyer’s law have created confusion and anger amongst property buyers in Cyprus. It needs to be remembered that the Transfer and Mortgage Law 9/65 was amended in 2015 by introducing Articles 44IH-44KZ and the main purpose was to protect trapped buyers. The amended law and subsequent transfer of title deeds using this law were challenged by the banks and the courts were of the opinion that the decision of the Director of the Land Registry to transfer the property into the names of the buyers violated Articles 23 and 26 of the Constitution, as these decisions were taken without the consent of the bank. Two weeks after the issuance of the decisions, it seems that the Cyprus Land Registry has been instructed not to proceed with transferring any title deeds under the trapped buyer’s law. It seems that the Cyprus land registry will still work on applications which have already been submitted and they will accept the submission of new applications, but they will not proceed with any transfer of title deeds until the situation has been clarified. It remains to be seen whether the Land Registry, developer or the buyers will appeal the District Court decisions to the Supreme Court of Cyprus. An appeal against a court judgement must be filed within 42 days from the issuance of the judgement, if there is still time. Marina Massoura Lawyer L.G. Zambartas LLC



source:- http://www.news.cyprus-property-buyers. ... d=00152539
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memory man
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Re: Trapped buyers could lose their homes

Post by memory man »

Reprieve for trapped buyers




The Cyprus government has vowed to continue issuing Title Deeds to trapped buyers despite the recent court rulings that left them in legal limbo according to a report in the Cyprus Weekly.

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