returning house to bank?

Legal questions answered by Cyprus property lawyer Louise Zambartas

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tbateman57
Posts: 3
Joined: 20 Dec 2018 00:13

returning house to bank?

Post by tbateman57 »

Hi. I am looking for some urgent advice if possible.
Back in January 2007, myself and my partner at the time decided to buy an off plan property in Cyprus. My partner would be paying for it, but the developer Paphilia said that if my name was added too, then it would be cheaper for tax purposes. A Swiss Franc mortgage was arranged which was going to be paid to the developer in instalments.
However, a couple of months later, my partner and I ended our relationship. The solicitor who was dealing with the property sale was informed that everything was to be in my partners name only and I also signed a document to this effect.

Fast forward 9 years and I get a message from my ex (who I haven't had anything to do with in all this time), saying that The Bank of Cyprus are taking us to court for the total of however much the mortgage would have been, plus interest. I replied to him that I had nothing to do with this anymore. He said he would sort it out.

Nothing heard again from anyone until a couple of weeks ago when he got in touch again to say that my name was never removed from anything and that his Cypriot solicitor needed documents from me.
From what I have been able to find out it seems that the solicitor wants me and my ex to both give him power of attorney so he can sign the house back over to the bank as a full settlement of the so called debt. (I don't even know if it was ever built, who got the keys if it was, or even if the developer got the money from the bank.)

Seeing as I know absolutely nothing about this , does this sound legitimate? I don't want to have to pay out to get his power of attorney notarised and made apostille (which is what is being asked of me), just to find out I am allowing him to do anything he wants.

He says that if I don't send him this, then a judgement will be made against myself and my ex. What is this likely to be?

Personally i just want to ignore everything in the hope it will go away. I never had any money from the bank (I presume that was paphillia), I never took possession of any house. So what can the bank hope to get from me?

Thanks in advance

Tina
Nigel Howarth
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Re: returning house to bank?

Post by Nigel Howarth »

Hi Tina and welcome to the forum.

I expect what has happened is that your name was taken off the contract of sale - but not from the loan agreement. This would explain why the bank is involving you in their action.

Do you have a copy of the document you signed and gave to your lawyer at the time? That would help you.

I think it would be best if you contacted another lawyer to sort this out as the one you were dealing with may have done nothing to take your name of the contracts.

Louise is too busy to visit the forum these days, but you can get in touch with her law firm L.G. Zambartas LLC.

This could be legitimate but you'd need to see the court papers. If you fail to defend the action, the bank will be awarded an uncontested judgement - and that would allow the bank to obtain an EU Enforcement Order enabling the decision of the Cypriot court to be enforced in the UK. And that could result in a charge against your property in the UK or pay a regular contribution to repay the debt.

I doubt the bank would accept taking the house you both purchased as full settlement of the debt (i) property prices have fallen since 2007 and (ii) The bank will have added interest and penalties to the debt for non-payment.

I'm afraid you can't bury your head in the sand in the hope it will go away.

Regards,
Nigel Howarth
Independent information & advice for Cyprus property buyers
Contact Nigel Howarth
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tbateman57
Posts: 3
Joined: 20 Dec 2018 00:13

Re: returning house to bank?

Post by tbateman57 »

Thankyou for replying Nigel.

I don't have copies of anything I'm afraid. I don't have a lawyer. The lawyer that has been in touch with me via email is working for my ex, and is not the same one as we originally dealt with for the house purchase.

The power of attorney he emailed to me was in my maiden name and even though I have emailed him back to say that I had married and my surname was now different he has not responded. I also asked him for details about the court case and again, no response.

I personally cannot afford a lawyer. I am not in the best of health and am living in rented accomodation and on benefits, hence hoping somebody could tell me on here if I should sign the power of attorney or not. I only have a few weeks to get this sent to him before the court case goes ahead if I should

If it helps at all, when my ex initially emailed me to tell me about this case, the following emails were included .

Subject: FW: Case no 1319/10, Paphos District Court, Bank of Cyprus Public Co ltd v Coza Michael David and others

Dear Mr. Koza,

I am forwarding you the e-mail sent to me by the Bank of Cyprus(Ms Annie Orphanidou-Mavroudi) and I would ask you to send back to me as soon as possible the documents requested in the e-mail.

Kind Regards,
Marios i.Kyriakides
Solicitor


From: Annie Orphanidou-Mavroudi []
Sent: 12 November 2018 10:37
To:
Cc: Kakoyiannis Law Office; Vakis Savvopoulos; Constantinos Frantzides
Subject: RE: Case no 1319/10, Paphos District Court, Bank of Cyprus Public Co ltd v Coza Michael David and others

WITHOUT PREJUDICE

Dear Mr Kyriakides, Good Morning and Good Day to you.

According to the above subject and the emails below, kindly note that we have received approval from our Head Office for the full and final settlement of the case with the transfer of the property in the name of the Bank. The pending expenses of the property will be covered by the Bank as to be able to execute the transfer at the Land Registry.

Kindly inform your clients and provide us, the soonest possible, copies of their recent passports of Mr Koza and Mrs Mitchell along with a copy of a recent utility bill as proof of their permanent residence address in the UK.

Attached is a draft Power of Attorney for your review, in case the customers do not come to Cyprus as to execute the transfer of the property in the name of the Bank. In case we will proceed with this option, the Bank will need a copy of the ID of the representative.

Please do not hesitate to contact us with any furhter information required.

Kind Regards,

Kind Regards,



Annie Orphanidou-Mavroudi

Officer Retail Management
Retail Management Unit - Larnaka 2 (0731)

Office Address: Constantinou Palaiologou & Tinou | 6036 Larnaca | Cyprus
Postal Address: P.O. Box 21472 | 1599 Nicosia | Cyprus

Tel: +357 24144647 | Fax: +357 24140531

www.bankofcyprus.com



From: Kakoyiannis Law Office []
Sent: 04 July 2018 16:04
To: Annie Orphanidou-Mavroudi
Subject: FW: Case no 1319/10, Paphos District Court, Bank of Cyprus Public Co ltd v Coza Michael David and others
FYI

From: ΜΑΡΙΟΣ ΚΥΡΙΑΚΙΔΗΣ []
Sent: Wednesday, July 04, 2018 1:46 PM
To: info
Subject: Re: Case no 1319/10, Paphos District Court, Bank of Cyprus Public Co ltd v Coza Michael David and others

Αγαπητή κα. Άντρη

Ευχαριστώ για το σημερινό ηλεκτρονικό σας μήνυμα γιά την υπόθεση Koza.
Θα έχω τις πληροφορίες που μου ζητάτε σύντομα και θα σας πληροφορήσω.

Με συναδελφικούς χαιρετισμούς
Μάριος Κυριακίδης
Δικηγόρος



From: "info" <>
To: "mariosky" <>
Sent: Wednesday, July 4, 2018 8:45:41 AM
Subject: RE: Case no 1319/10, Paphos District Court, Bank of Cyprus Public Co ltd v Coza Michael David and others

Αγαπητέ κ. Μάριε καλημέρα


Ευχαριστώ για την ενημέρωση. Παρακαλώ όμως όπως ζητήσετε από τους πελάτες σας και τα στοιχεία του προσώπου που έχει την κατοχή του επίδικου ακινήτου για να μπορέσει η Τράπεζα να έχει πρόσβαση σε αυτό και να προχωρήσει σε εσωτερικές εκτιμήσεις. Αναμένουμε τις δικές σας ενέργειες.


Συναδελφικά
Αντρη Κακογιάννη Αχιλλέως
Δικηγόρος για Α. Κακογιάννης & Συνεργάτες ΔΕΠΕ

From: ΜΑΡΙΟΣ ΚΥΡΙΑΚΙΔΗΣ []
Sent: Tuesday, July 03, 2018 8:16 PM
To: subski999
Cc:
Subject: Case no 1319/10, Paphos District Court, Bank of Cyprus Public Co ltd v Coza Michael David and others


Case no 1319/10, Paphos District Court, Bank of Cyprus Public Co ltd v Coza Michael David and others


Dear Mr Koza,
We are in consultations with the Plaintiffs, the Bank of Cyprus, aiming at a settlement in the above case on the basis of an agreement forfeiting your deposit and taking the property sold to you, and in return to release you from any claim related to the loan made to you for purchasing the property from Paphilia.
In this respect they require proof of your financial standing by way of a capital statement and income details preferably issued by the Tax Authorities, as soon as possible as the case is fixed for hearing on the 25.9.2018.

Regards,
Marios I. Kyriakides
Marios I. Kyriakides LLC
Solicitors
Nigel Howarth
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Posts: 2905
Joined: 24 Oct 2007 14:38
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Re: returning house to bank?

Post by Nigel Howarth »

Dear Tina

Thank you for the email correspondence. I suggest you proceed as requested by your former partmner and lawyer.

I note that the bank has said that the bank will accept the house in 'full and final settlement of the case', which means that they will not pursue you or your former partner for further payment.

Regarding the Power of Attorney, I suggest you retype it with your married name and then (in brackets) your single name. You'll need to take the unsigned PoA together with your passport and your marriage certificate to a Cyprus Govt. office in the UK and sign it in the presence of a Certifying Officer. The Cyprus High Commission is at 13 St. James's, in London but there may be an office closer to you. Phone them first and make an appointment.

Regards.
Nigel Howarth
Independent information & advice for Cyprus property buyers
Contact Nigel Howarth
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Pantheman
Posts: 806
Joined: 26 Jan 2008 14:44
Location: Famagusta District
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Re: returning house to bank?

Post by Pantheman »

Nigel Howarth wrote: 21 Dec 2018 09:42 Dear Tina

Thank you for the email correspondence. I suggest you proceed as requested by your former partmner and lawyer.

I note that the bank has said that the bank will accept the house in 'full and final settlement of the case', which means that they will not pursue you or your former partner for further payment.

Regarding the Power of Attorney, I suggest you retype it with your married name and then (in brackets) your single name. You'll need to take the unsigned PoA together with your passport and your marriage certificate to a Cyprus Govt. office in the UK and sign it in the presence of a Certifying Officer. The Cyprus High Commission is at 13 St. James's, in London but there may be an office closer to you. Phone them first and make an appointment.

Regards.
If I am not mistaken, if they have asked for it by the Apostille method, it needs to be send to the Home Office in the UK for signing...
For all your property needs, we offer Trust, Integrity, Honesty.
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tbateman57
Posts: 3
Joined: 20 Dec 2018 00:13

Re: returning house to bank?

Post by tbateman57 »

Thankyou for all your advice.
I have done as you said and changed my name on the power of attorney with my maiden name in brackets, and am now getting in touch with a Notary public to witness my signature and hopefully she can sort the apostille thing out too. I just hope that this will be the end of it all.

Thanks again
Tina
Nigel Howarth
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Re: returning house to bank?

Post by Nigel Howarth »

Pantheman wrote: 21 Dec 2018 10:28they have asked for it by the Apostille method, it needs to be send to the Home Office in the UK for signing...
Thanks Pan - I was running on autopilot.

Best regards, best wishes for Christmas & the New Year and thanks for your help on the forum.
Nigel Howarth
Independent information & advice for Cyprus property buyers
Contact Nigel Howarth
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Pantheman
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Re: returning house to bank?

Post by Pantheman »

Nigel Howarth wrote: 23 Dec 2018 10:04
Pantheman wrote: 21 Dec 2018 10:28they have asked for it by the Apostille method, it needs to be send to the Home Office in the UK for signing...
Thanks Pan - I was running on autopilot.

Best regards, best wishes for Christmas & the New Year and thanks for your help on the forum.
No worries and the same to you too!
For all your property needs, we offer Trust, Integrity, Honesty.
FSB Properties Ltd
Registered and Licensed Real Estate Company. Reg. No. 1145, Lic. No. 572/E
Member of ETEK Registration No. A201999
https://www.fsbproperties.com
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