Abadoned Property

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barryshattock
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Abadoned Property

Post by barryshattock »

Hello
The property above ours is in extremely poor state of repair the owners abandoned the property some 10 years ago have not paid any communal fees and are not traceable (according to our committee) the veranda in particularly poor state resulting in a me outlaying significant sums of money regularly repairing my ceilings and or sealing the tiles on the above veranda. (The developer is also bankrupt!) Any ideas how to try and recoup some of my costs?
Nigel Howarth
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Re: Abadoned Property

Post by Nigel Howarth »

Hi Barry & welcome to the forum

Your committee needs to visit the Land Registry office. Assuming it's been correctly set up and is operating according to the law, they will be able to get the contact details of the owner of the abandoned property.

They need to apply in writing and the char and secretary should sign the letter and rubber stamp it with the name of the committee (the rubber stamp should only cost a few Euros.)

As for paying for repairs, the buildings insurance should cover the cost. Your committee must insure the whole of the jointly-owned building as required by the law - see https://www.news.cyprus-property-buyers ... d=00157820 . But there's a possibility that your Management Committee has only paid for the basic insurance required by law. I.e. fire, lightning and earthquakes.

If they haven't penny-pinched on the insurance, all you need to pay is your contribution to communal fund. Otherwise you'll need to pursue the leaking unit's owner for compensation.

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Nigel Howarth
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barryshattock
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Re: Abadoned Property

Post by barryshattock »

Thankyou

Yes the committee penny pinch.Cover of 500,000 for aq 44 unit complex,I estimate it should be around 6 million ! roughly 6000 Euro per annum.that works out at Euro 110 more than the current cover per owner per annum roughly a lot less the cost of individual cover (about Euro 250 per annum)
But they wont listen to reason,saying that if not all owners pay then the one that do will be footing the bill for the whole complex.My reasoning is that even if a third of the owners did not pay it would not work out any more expensive for the owners who each take out a private cover (about 250 Euros per year) if less than 33% dont pay it will stil work out cheaper for each owner than paying for individual cover.
Is my reasoning ...reasonable ?
Best
Barry
Nigel Howarth
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Re: Abadoned Property

Post by Nigel Howarth »

Hi Barry

You can force the insurance issue by calling an extraordinary general meeting. This has to made in writing to the MC and you will need the support of at least twenty-five (25%) of the owners.

You will need 50% of the owners to agree to extending the insurance cover beyond the basic fire, lightning and earthquakes.

You'll need to do a bit of homework, the link I gave in my earlier reply will set you in the right direction.

Cheers

Nigel
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Pantheman
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Re: Abadoned Property

Post by Pantheman »

barryshattock wrote: 29 Jul 2021 11:24 Thankyou

Yes the committee penny pinch.Cover of 500,000 for aq 44 unit complex,I estimate it should be around 6 million ! roughly 6000 Euro per annum.that works out at Euro 110 more than the current cover per owner per annum roughly a lot less the cost of individual cover (about Euro 250 per annum)
But they wont listen to reason,saying that if not all owners pay then the one that do will be footing the bill for the whole complex.My reasoning is that even if a third of the owners did not pay it would not work out any more expensive for the owners who each take out a private cover (about 250 Euros per year) if less than 33% dont pay it will stil work out cheaper for each owner than paying for individual cover.
Is my reasoning ...reasonable ?
Best
Barry
That's well under insured and if you were to have a problem the insurance company won't pay out in full only pro rate.

You need to have words with the MC, in fact you actually sue them if you wished!
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Re: Abadoned Property

Post by Nigel Howarth »

Hi Pan

Presumably if the Management Committee hasn't insured the Jointly-Owned Building against water damage, they will have to pay for the repairs to Barry's property out of their own pockets (or the communal fund.)?

Cheers
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barryshattock
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Re: Abadoned Property

Post by barryshattock »

Quite a lot of damge again this year,I assume the membrane on the Veranda above us (Whick constitutes our ceiling) is "shot".As mentioned before the property has been abandoned by the owners and they have vanisched of the face of the earth !.You say that any repairs should be paid for by the committee, are you sure about that. How far cn I go myself if I had to pay for a repair ? For example could I put a new membran over the exiting tiles and just leave it so without retiling ? or put roof tile selant over the suspect areas ?
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Re: Abadoned Property

Post by Nigel Howarth »

Hi Barry

Sorry to hear the leading veranda has caused a lot of damage - it's been a very wet winter.

As for who should pay for the damage, I suggest you take legal advice on the matter.

As it's a private property, you cannot enter, BUT the committee can - and I suggest you go with them.

As for what you can do to prevent further damage, perhaps place a heavy-duty plastic sheet over the veranda and seal it in place with waterproof tape and put a few stones on it to prevent it blowing away. Also, clean out the drain and make sure rainwater is drained away.

It will take some time for your ceiling to completely dry for repair.

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Nigel Howarth
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Pantheman
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Re: Abadoned Property

Post by Pantheman »

Nigel Howarth wrote: 30 Jul 2021 13:29 Hi Pan

Presumably if the Management Committee hasn't insured the Jointly-Owned Building against water damage, they will have to pay for the repairs to Barry's property out of their own pockets (or the communal fund.)?

Cheers
Hi Barry,

My wife works in the rental business and they manage a complex with an owner with exactly the same problem as yours. The lawyer has advise them that they cannot enter the property, so they used a ladder from the roof onto the verandah and repaired the leaks. The cost was paid for from the communal fund, since they are already chasing the owner for communal fees, they just added it to his bill.

If you can access the verandah, ladder or forklift (telescopic type) then get up and fix it. Of course discuss with your MC first.

Good luck.

Pan
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barryshattock
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Re: Abadoned Property

Post by barryshattock »

Thanks for the repies. gettin on to the verand above is no problem at all , I was thinking of either coating the suspect areas with roof tile sealant OR fixng a new membrane on top of the existing tiles. I would not intend however make good the areas to make the areas good again (Roofvsealant stays sometimes white or retile on top of the new membrane) SO NO ESTHETIC WORK purely an emergency repair. Do you think I am in my rights to leave things that way ?
Regards
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Re: Abadoned Property

Post by Nigel Howarth »

Hi Barry

I would be wary of doing anything that cannot be removed easily as it could be considered criminal damage.

Regards
Nigel Howarth
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Pantheman
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Re: Abadoned Property

Post by Pantheman »

Nigel Howarth wrote: 21 Feb 2022 19:54 Hi Barry

I would be wary of doing anything that cannot be removed easily as it could be considered criminal damage.

Regards
Although I tend to agree with Nigel, personally I would take a flyer on this, since it is abandoned and in the event the owners return and argued it, you have a good enough case as it was an emergency. That said, the decision is ultimately yours on how to proceed.
For all your property needs, we offer Trust, Integrity, Honesty.
FSB Properties Ltd
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barryshattock
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Re: Abadoned Property

Post by barryshattock »

Thankyou both
barryshattock
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Re: Abadoned Property

Post by barryshattock »

Me again

The veranda above my Property forms the ceiling of my property.

Having just "googled" this

Party structures are walls, floors and ceilings that separate two or more properties that are owned by different owners. As examples, two semi-detached houses share the party wall between them, while a ground floor flat shares a ceiling or floor with the flat above.

Who would be responsible if the Veranda / Ceiling is damaged. Both of us ? is the "structure as much mine as my nieghbors ?
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Re: Abadoned Property

Post by Nigel Howarth »

As I said earlier Barry, the whole of the jointly-owned building, which includes party walls, balconies, floors & ceilings are the responsibility of the Management Committee.

Please refer to my article at https://www.news.cyprus-property-buyers ... d=00157820 , which also contains a link to the law.

Regards,
Nigel Howarth
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