A special case for getting Title deed

Do you have a problem getting your Title Deeds?
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HaoranSu
Posts: 10
Joined: 10 Oct 2021 16:09

A special case for getting Title deed

Post by HaoranSu »

We signed a house purchase agreement with a developer in Limassol on December 30, 2014. Fully payment has been paid. The contract terms promise to be updated within 2 years from the date of signing and get the building permit, and get title deed within 4 years. But the developer has not renewed the building permit until now, and we have not been able to contact the developer. The Land office told us that this matter has been delayed for too long. It has been 7 years, and they have turned to be a special case.
Question 1. Is the Land office applying for compulsory land deed acquisition procedures? Or another formalities? Can we apply for the Compulsory acquisition of title by ourselves? And how can we apply?
Question 2: The developer has mortgaged this plot(including our house) to banks. We had an waiver letter from the bank when we signed purchase agreement. But after then he applied several more mortgages on this plot from several banks. Does these mortgages have any influence for us?
Question 3. The house purchase agreement stipulates that if the building permit and title deed are not obtained within the specified time due to developer’s responsibility, they will compensate. Can this part of the overdue expenses be resolved through a lawyer? Or is it that in the light of the business situation in Cyprus, even if you find a lawyer, you will be deceived. Is it impossible to get it?
Nigel Howarth
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Re: A special case for getting Title deed

Post by Nigel Howarth »

Hello HaoranSu and welcome to the forum.

If your contract was deposited at the Land Registry before the developer mortgaged the land, they will not affect you. I suggest you apply at the Land Registry for a search certificate. You'll find my guide on how to do this at title search procedures in Cyprus.

The search certificate will list all the claims against the property and their date. As claims are dealt with in chronological order, it's only those that pre-date the deposit of your contract of sale that will affect you.

Question 1. I cannot say what the Land Registry is doing, but you can apply for Specific Performance. You can find out how to do this on pages 53 to 56 of the Department of Lands & Surveys Citizen's Charter.

Question 2. Any mortgages that your developer took after your contract of sale was deposited at the Land Registry will not have any influence for us.

Question 3. If the amount of compensation is written into your purchase agreement, you can pursue the developer through the courts for payment. However, if the amount of compensation is not written, the chances of getting any compensation are minimal as you've suffered no financial loss.

I recommend you take advice from a lawyer on the best way to proceed. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office publishes a list of lawyers that you can find at List of English-speaking lawyers for British nationals in Cyprus.

I suggest that you do not us the lawyer who acted on your behalf when you bought the property; it appears that he did a poor job and may have given you poor advice when you purchased.

Regards,
Nigel Howarth
Independent information & advice for Cyprus property buyers
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HaoranSu
Posts: 10
Joined: 10 Oct 2021 16:09

Re: A special case for getting Title deed

Post by HaoranSu »

Thank you so much. You are so professional and friendly. The answer is very helpful.

Our law firm was introduced from our real estate agent. Though it is a large law firm, they are lazy, greedy and will not stand for the interest of customers. Their answer were always “we will”, “we are doing”.

We still have a few more questions:
1.Our house purchase contract was signed on December 30, 2014. It may be deposited in the Land Office in 2015. The land office is going to open a “special case” for this plot. We are waiting for reply from land office. If there’s no satisfied answer may we apply for a compulsory performance to get the title? Should we apply from the Land office or from the court? If apply from the court, should we hire a lawyer?

2.If a compulsory transfer is made, do we need to bear the fees that the developer should pay?

3. I just learned that the developer has not connected the sewage discharge of this plot (on this plot there are 15 houses) to the public sewage network. I think the developer will not pay the connection fee. Will this cause obstacles against applying for title deed? I mean if we applied for a compulsory title transfer procedure, should the sewage connection have to be done by us (including our neighbors)?


Many thanks.
HaoranSu
Posts: 10
Joined: 10 Oct 2021 16:09

Re: A special case for getting Title deed

Post by HaoranSu »

I just read this article (https://www.news.cyprus-property-buyers ... d=00164552), according to our current situation, even if we get the title deed with notes, but it is not a clean title deed. and our house cannot be sold or mortgaged. If we want to obtain a clean title deed, we have to pay the fees that should have been paid by the developer.
Nigel Howarth
Site Admin
Posts: 2911
Joined: 24 Oct 2007 14:38
Location: Erimi, Limassol, Cyprus
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Re: A special case for getting Title deed

Post by Nigel Howarth »

Hello HaoranSu

I suggest that you wait until the Land Office gets back to you before deciding your next move.

But if you do decide to sue the developer for 'Specific Performance', you'll need a lawyer to represent you in court.

If the report you were given that the developer has not connected the sewerage discharge from the plot is accurate, then the Planning Department will have visited and inspected the development. (You can assume that the developer has all the permits necessary and has requested the planning department to inspect the development.) Try to get more information from who advised you - and check with the planning department to see if there are any other issues.

Unfortunately, if the developer fails to connect the sewerage discharge and you get Title Deeds, they will be marked with a note that prevents you from selling or mortgaging the properties affected until the connection's been completed.

And to answer your question - yes, you and your neighbours will have to pay for the sewerage connection and then sue the developer to recover your costs.

Regards,
Nigel Howarth
Independent information & advice for Cyprus property buyers
Contact Nigel Howarth
Read the latest Cyprus property news
HaoranSu
Posts: 10
Joined: 10 Oct 2021 16:09

Re: A special case for getting Title deed

Post by HaoranSu »

thanks a lot.
HaoranSu
Posts: 10
Joined: 10 Oct 2021 16:09

Re: A special case for getting Title deed

Post by HaoranSu »

Could you please recommend a reliable lawyer with reasonable fees or tell me a forum for discussing the reputation of lawyers?

Thanks
Nigel Howarth
Site Admin
Posts: 2911
Joined: 24 Oct 2007 14:38
Location: Erimi, Limassol, Cyprus
Contact:

Re: A special case for getting Title deed

Post by Nigel Howarth »

Hi HaoranSu

I suggest you contact Louise Zambartas in Limassol - https://www.zambartaslawoffices.com/

The firm is on the list provided by the UK Foreign, Commonwealth and Development office.

Louise and another lawyer at the firm are doing work for me as we speak.

Regards,
Nigel Howarth
Independent information & advice for Cyprus property buyers
Contact Nigel Howarth
Read the latest Cyprus property news
HaoranSu
Posts: 10
Joined: 10 Oct 2021 16:09

Re: A special case for getting Title deed

Post by HaoranSu »

thanks
HaoranSu
Posts: 10
Joined: 10 Oct 2021 16:09

Re: A special case for getting Title deed

Post by HaoranSu »

Hi, Nigel Howarth
I have some new questions now .
In 2014, we bought a villa with full payment from the developer, and the developer has not yet applied for a title deed. When buying the house, the real estate developer had a mortgage on this plot, but the bank issued a bank waiver to us. Now that the developer is dead, the company is going to disintegrate. The sewage of the house is not connected to the municipality and some other problems that are not in line with the plan have not been solved, and the developer has made a number of bank loans on the land that have not been repaid.
1. Will the unpaid bank loan affect the processing of the real estate certificate? How can we need a title deed in this situation?
2. If I want to sell the house, what procedures do I need to go through? Do I still need the developer's consent procedure, even though they no longer exist?

thanks
Nigel Howarth
Site Admin
Posts: 2911
Joined: 24 Oct 2007 14:38
Location: Erimi, Limassol, Cyprus
Contact:

Re: A special case for getting Title deed

Post by Nigel Howarth »

Hi HaoranSu

I'm sorry to hear of your situation, I'm afraid this will take some time to resolve.

Firstly, the fact that you have a bank waiver means that you house will not be repossessed and you will not be asked to pay any money to help pay the development company's outstanding debts.

It's too early to say what will happen, but I suspect the bank who loaned the money will appoint a receiver to dispose of any remaining assets to help repay the debt. (If this happens the receiver will be able to give consent to sell the villa.)

But you say there are planning issues - sewerage not connected and planning issues. I'm sorry to say that you will have to pay for any work that needs to be done to get the Title Deed for your villa.

I suggest you take legal advice on how best to proceed. The UK Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office has published a list of English speaking
lawyers
who may be able to assist.

Regards
Nigel Howarth
Independent information & advice for Cyprus property buyers
Contact Nigel Howarth
Read the latest Cyprus property news
HaoranSu
Posts: 10
Joined: 10 Oct 2021 16:09

Re: A special case for getting Title deed

Post by HaoranSu »

thanks a lot
HaoranSu
Posts: 10
Joined: 10 Oct 2021 16:09

Re: A special case for getting Title deed

Post by HaoranSu »

Hello, Nigel Howarth,
we discovered another bad thing during the process of applying for the real estate certificate. We contacted the building designer of the house, and he told us that the approved architectural drawings of the house were for a two-story building, but now it has been changed to a three-story building for sale by the developer, without approval from the government department. But our sales contract and the attachment of the 3-story building drawings are both registered with the Land Bureau. In this case, how can we obtain the land certificate? In addition, how can the Land Bureau allow drawings that have not been approved to be completed and filed?

thank you
HaoranSu
Posts: 10
Joined: 10 Oct 2021 16:09

Re: A special case for getting Title deed

Post by HaoranSu »

Hello, Nigel Howarth,
we discovered another bad thing during the process of applying for the real estate certificate. We contacted the building designer of the house, and he told us that the approved architectural drawings of the house were for a two-story building, but now it has been changed to a three-story building for sale by the developer, without approval from the government department. But our sales contract and the attachment of the 3-story building drawings are both registered with the Land Bureau. In this case, how can we obtain the land certificate? In addition, how can the Land Bureau allow drawings that have not been approved to be completed and filed?

thank you
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