Am I a trapped buyer?

Do you have a problem getting your Title Deeds?
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coops
Posts: 24
Joined: 04 Nov 2018 12:36

Am I a trapped buyer?

Post by coops »

Hi, I am not sure if I am a trapped buyer. We have been waiting for our title deeds for over 10 years. The problem is that they say our development is complex and because it has been a while people have added pergolas on their properties etc. So they say this has changed the plans. For a number of years we were waiting for the certificate of final permission which seemed to hinge on the appropriate certifcates being issued. There seems to have been a number of different excuses. However, we have not been prevented from getting our title deeds due to a mortgage on the land- until we are at the last stage it is not possible to know about whether there is a mortgage- there have been some rumours that our developer owes money but nothing confirmed. Does this mean that we are not classed as trapped buyers and hence this will not be expedited by Christmas? Thanks.
Nigel Howarth
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Re: Am I a trapped buyer?

Post by Nigel Howarth »

Hi copps and welcome to the forum.

I've answered your question in my corrects in Cyprus Property News. But as others may benefit, here's what I wrote:

Regardless of whether you are a trapped buyer you need to apply for your Title Deeds as described in my article Applying for Title Deeds (update 17 May). The application fee is €10.00

You can check at the Land Registry to see if there are any financial issues preventing the transfer by asking them to carry out a Title Search. You can find out how to do that in my article New title search procedures in Cyprus. The fee is €20.00.

Although others on your development have added pergolas, etc. these will not prevent you from getting your deeds (and those who've added pergolas, etc. need to remove them until the development's been inspected).

Regards,
Nigel Howarth
Independent information & advice for Cyprus property buyers
Contact Nigel Howarth
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coops
Posts: 24
Joined: 04 Nov 2018 12:36

Re: Am I a trapped buyer?

Post by coops »

Thank you Nigel. We have applied for our title. The only issue I can see is the issue of the legacy IPT- the developer has a rather large amount for this but we do not know whether he has paid it or is expecting us to pay then try to reclaim the overpayment. Not sure whether the DLO will hit a problem when they check our application.
coops
Posts: 24
Joined: 04 Nov 2018 12:36

Re: Am I a trapped buyer?

Post by coops »

From reading around your excellent site, I think that if we apply for the trapped buyer clause then it will be possible to pay the correct amount of IPT and not have to pay the developer at inflated cost - is this correct?

Do you know how long the DLO take to register our application for a title as a trapped buyer? I am concerned as we may be close to horizontal division and only just submitted this.
Nigel Howarth
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Re: Am I a trapped buyer?

Post by Nigel Howarth »

If the developer has not paid the IPT then you will pay IPT at the rate applicable to yourself. If the developer has paid IPT then you will have to repay him the amount he has paid for the property you purchased and then recover overpayments from the Tax Department.

The Land Registry will register your trapped buyer application immediately you submit the form and pay the €10.00. But it can't start the process of issuing the deeds until the Planning Authority has completed its work and passed your file to the Land Registry.

The fact that you may be close to horizontal division will not affect your application.

Regards,
Nigel Howarth
Independent information & advice for Cyprus property buyers
Contact Nigel Howarth
Read the latest Cyprus property news
coops
Posts: 24
Joined: 04 Nov 2018 12:36

Re: Am I a trapped buyer?

Post by coops »

OK thank you for this advice- it will be interesting to understand if our developer has paid the IPT. They seem to suggest that he has but I guess it would be prudent to get proof he has done so. I presume the land registry will know this.

One point, I get confused about horizontal vs vertical division. As we have a house maybe we are waiting for vertical division not horizontal?
Nigel Howarth
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Re: Am I a trapped buyer?

Post by Nigel Howarth »

Vertical division is when land is separated into individual building plots.

Regards,
Nigel Howarth
Independent information & advice for Cyprus property buyers
Contact Nigel Howarth
Read the latest Cyprus property news
coops
Posts: 24
Joined: 04 Nov 2018 12:36

Re: Am I a trapped buyer?

Post by coops »

Right. Thanks. I am hoping that we are vertical then. Is it likely that on a development of 90+ houses they will vertically divide it so we have our own marked out title deed covering our exact area or will they just leave it as one title with a map of the project showing each house? I wasnt sure what to expect here.
Nigel Howarth
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Re: Am I a trapped buyer?

Post by Nigel Howarth »

The subdivision of the land into individual plots enables the Land Registry to issue a Title Deed for each of the individual properties. So the Title Deed you will receive will show your property alone - no-one else's.

Regards,
Nigel Howarth
Independent information & advice for Cyprus property buyers
Contact Nigel Howarth
Read the latest Cyprus property news
coops
Posts: 24
Joined: 04 Nov 2018 12:36

Re: Am I a trapped buyer?

Post by coops »

OK thanks- that is what we wanted so helpful. I was worried that we wouldnt have our own title for our property.
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