Jim Murphy

We have now been in the E.U. for 4 years+ and this problem was going on many,many years before that why is something not done earlier Cyprus has had hospitals built for it, has been given millions over the past decade to upgrade hospital systems. Anyone in the Government Hospital system, will no it is not bad but has no qualified persons to operate this machinery.I know this has nil to do with property, but it is how they are here and I think it is the people that get away with murder here where else could you throw blazing vehicles over m/way bridges and get away with it. Do 'wheelies' past crowds of people, builders blatantly overcharging for pools as much as 80-100, this is third time in 4 years we have been promised deeds, now people have to take down garden sheds, pergolas, and fences to make the dees legal, whose fault is it that we are not given these deeds with the purchase this would slow down the dwindling of green areas and make the whole procedure of this greed slower and make all concerned pull their fingers out and be 'good' Look at the price of will writing from €300- € 800 estate agents fees up to 17 unbelievable commission rates make the most of it, it can't last much longer. then they can go back to growing potatoes, if they can find land. What is the training period for a solicitor and/or conveyancer here-----3 months. Where have they all come from, so many were not needed 10 years.

Posted by Dave on May 07, 2008 at 08:35 AM BST #

As Dave has pointed out, many people who have bought property in Cyprus compound the problems by erecting garden sheds, pergolas, swimming pools, etc illegally - without having obtained the required permits. Looking at the overall situation, there are many problems: Bureaucratic delays and other impediments result in Title Deeds taking ten, twenty, or even thirty years to be issued; planning and building applications can take two years or even longer to process. Unscrupulous property developers prey on unsuspecting property buyers. They build without planning and building permits, they sell property that is mortgaged, they introduce buyers to their friends in the legal profession who draw up contracts that give buyers little protection. They demand payment for work that hasn't been done, and they extort money from buyers using the threat of withholding Title Deeds to elicit payment. In one case in which I was recently involved, a property developer tried to extort 50 of the property's purchase price from the hapless buyer a 94 year old lady. Imagine buying a property for € 350,000 and then, some years later, receiving a demand from the developer for a further € 175,000 before he'll release Title! Developers even take loans on property that they have sold and which buyers have paid for in full. Due to outstanding loans on property, planning irregularities and unscrupulous individuals and companies that exploit the system to maximise their income, some buyers may never receive the Deeds to their property and become its legal owner. Developers have been known to threaten violence and, in a case currently under Police investigation, two of them allegedly assaulted a British property buyer. So severe was the brutal beating dished out by these louts that the buyer spent several days in hospital recovering from his ordeal. These incidents were widely reported in the local English press. Nigel Howarth

Posted by Nigel Howarth on May 07, 2008 at 03:57 PM BST #