How to take a name off the mortgage?

[Wayne]

Hi Nigel,
I am new to your forum & would like to ask a few questions if i may.How easyis it to take my wife's name off the mortgage & how you go about this? Also if you know of pmp adamia developers & if so what sort of reputation do they have. I bought a property off them back in 2007 & unfortunately have been caught up in the swiss franc mortgage which is causing me nothing but stress as it is everyone else on your forum!
I am trying to explore the options i have as i believe i was mis sold my property & not advised by my solicitor or bank who did not send me loan agreements or warn me of the possibility that the exchange rate could have the negative effect & relied on power of attorney documents to allow a solicitor to sign on my behalf. What would you advise i do in this situation,i have very little paper work & i'm wandering what the solicitor has signed exactly because i would not have agreed to purchase under these circumstances.
Sorry if this email is a bit of a mess!
Thanks
Wayne

[Nigel Howarth]

Hi Wayne,

I'm not an expert on mortgages I'm afraid, but I suspect it will be a case of re-negotiating the mortgage with the bank. Whether this will be possible I don't know as the bank will have taken both your salaries into consideration when granting the mortgage.

Your lawyer should have forwarded you the mortgage agreement + terms and conditions for you to sign so that you would have been aware of what you were signing up for.

If you feel that you have been mis-lead, there's an article that you should read at http://www.news.cyprus-property-buyers. ... /id=006686

Louise Zambartas, who is mentioned in the article, will be able to give you a legal opinion on the matter.

Regards,

[Wayne]

Hi Nigel

Many thanks for your response.

I have just read the article 'The EU & the cyprus property scandal' & would like to know where it say's 'the buyers have assumed that if their contracts were signed before Dec 07 they were not covered by the law' what is it reffering to exactly? My contract was signed in sept 07, does this mean there's a way out for me (wishful thinking i'm sure)
Is the article by MEP Daniel Hannan's still available to view anywhere?

I have signed up for the news letter from Healy's & will definately contact them but myself like many other's are very concerned about losing more money,which i can't afford!

As i said in my previous email, i was not warned by my solicitor or bank that the exchange rate could have the negative effect it has when the swiss mortgage was set up for me, i had nothing to do with picking this mortgage as it was all done through a UK agent. The bank did not send me any loan agreements & relied on power of attorney documents. Do you have any advice on what i should do next?

Thanks again

Wayne

[Nigel Howarth]

Hi Wayne,

The law on mis-selling came into force on December 12th 2007 and mainly relates to the mis-selling of property due to a pre-existing mortgage on the land that buyers were not advised about. You can read more about this on the Cyprus Property Action Group website (see half way down the page).

If your developer has a mortgage on the land and you were not advised about it, you may have a claim. To find out whether there is a mortgage, you'll need to do a Title search at the Land Registry - see New title search procedures in Cyprus on how to go about this.

I don't believe that your solicitor would be in a position to advise you about currency fluctuations - the bank should have advised you so that you would have been fully aware of the potential risk before you signed up.

You will see that Healys is working with the Zambartas law office in Cyprus. I suggest you contact Zambartas LLC in Cyprus and get a legal opinion on your case. (They will possibly be able to help with the Title search as well).

As for articles about Daniel Hannan's involvement, there are several in Cyprus Property News. Just do a search for Hannan in the box to the right of 'Weather Forecast'.

Regards,

[Wayne]

Hi Nigel,

I suppose what i want to know is if i bought before the 12th dec 07 can i hand the keys back & walk away without the risk of being pursued? Or even less of a risk?

Also if i was unable to keep up my payments & was forced to hand my keys back do you know if the bank would still be able to find me if i had no assets i.e.went into rented accommadation so no property of my own,no car etc....Even went to the extent of trying not to be found i.e.changing contact details,bank accounts,even names,etc.......Could they still track you down?

Sometimes it seems like the only option left as i now owe the bank £92,000 for a STUDIO apartment with the swiss franc getting stronger by the day with no sign of things going the other way! This has just stopped me & my wife living our lives,the way i look at it is hand the keys back & suffer the consequences if & when your found.

Wayne

[Nigel Howarth]

I suppose what I want to know is if I bought before the 12th Dec 07 can I hand the keys back & walk away without the risk of being pursued? Or even less of a risk?

I'm afraid not. The bank could seek an order against you in Cyprus - and if successful it could apply to an English court to have that order enforced (and you would not have an opportunity to defend that action in the English court).

Having got the order enforced, the bank could then liquidate your UK assets to recover the debt.

I know this is what you didn't want to hear - and I'm sorry to be the messenger.

Your best approach is to see if there is a legal way out of your situation - if not, negotiate with the bank - see the article HELP – I can’t pay the mortgage!

Regards,

[Wayne]

Thanks Nigel

It was the answer i expected.

Do you have a view on the other question i asked:

Also if i was unable to keep up my payments & was forced to hand my keys back do you know if the bank would still be able to find me if i had no assets i.e.went into rented accommadation so no property of my own,no car etc....Even went to the extent of trying not to be found i.e.changing contact details,bank accounts,even names,etc.......Could they still track you down?

Regards

Wayne

[Nigel Howarth]

Also if I was unable to keep up my payments & was forced to hand my keys back do you know if the bank would still be able to find me if I had no assets i.e.went into rented accommodation so no property of my own,no car etc....Even went to the extent of trying not to be found i.e.changing contact details,bank accounts,even names,etc.......Could they still track you down?

I can't really answer you, but I suspect the bank may employ a company to track you down.

If you have no assets whatsoever in the UK, you may wish to consider making yourself bankrupt. However, you should seek advise on the implications of doing this - your family solicitor perhaps?

Regards,

[Wayne]

Hi Nigel

Thanks for giving your opinion on these questions, i know there almost impossible to answer.

Thanks again

Wayne

[Wayne]

Hi Nigel

I have been offered the chance by the bank to convert my chf mortgage to a euro or sterling account for a minimal fee but i'm not sure which, if any, is the best option? The capital of my loan is now nearly double it was when i took it out, I wondered whether you have any opinion on whether I should convert it to prevent it getting any worse, or wait for the euro to improve against the swiss franc (assmuing it will) until the loan gets somewhere near the amount i borrowed?

If i decide to convert what are your thoughts on which currency to go with,is either a better bet? What if the euro was to go, with all the problems in greece? What do you think would happen,would the cypriot pound come back?

Thanks

Wayne

[Nigel Howarth]

Hi Wayne,

I am not qualified to give you advice on this matter - you should speak with an independent financial advisor or a mortgage specialist.

No-one really knows hat is going to happen with the Euro. Some analysts have been talking about a two level Euro - one for the southern European countries, such as Portugal, Spain, Italy & Greece and the other for the northern countries.

If the Swiss Franc devalues, I'm sure a lot of people will breath a sigh of relief.

Regards,