Lawyers and deeds

girne 29


Joined: 06/12/2007
Posts: 1488

Message Posted:
10/09/2008 11:43

Has anyone first hand knowledge of new charges for transfer of deeds as stated in Cyprus Today, and can anyone itemise what exactly the £1100 pounds paid initially to advocate was for.



From Cyprus Today article.

' One solicitor has admitted privately to Cyprus Today that foreigners are seen as "milk cows".He said the transfer of title deeds did cost- but normally about 250YTL instead of £500.'

Pipie


Joined: 05/01/2008
Posts: 5499

Message Posted:
10/09/2008 11:51

If you go to HOME BUYERS PRESSURE GROUP for advice you can get deeds youre'self , coupled up with the fact you know the jobs done properley , as quite clearly in most cases we cannot trust anyone but ourselves to sort out our property purchase , the buyers i feel sorry for , are buyers who do not have access to forums such as this one .

PtePike



Joined: 20/05/2008
Posts: 2334

Message Posted:
10/09/2008 11:55

First off, there aren't any lawyers in the TRNC. Secondly, you don't need the services of someone calling themselves a lawyer. When mugs start handing over £1000+ for something they could largely do themselves with a notar, you can't blame sharks for cashing in. They're only doing what comes naturally in a place like the TRNC.

girne 29


Joined: 06/12/2007
Posts: 1488

Message Posted:
10/09/2008 19:36

Pte Pike

Aware and agree with of all you say. My question was what exactly is the service given for the thousand and if anyone had been charged this extra amount for deed transfer ,not whether you needed or were conned into using the service of advocate.



Some people cannot , for financial and timing reasons ,just fly out to meet some deadline whenever a new law change such as the registration of contract comes into force or to pay stamp duty.As such for better or worse they were hoping that the £1000 was for advocate to do it on their behalf.

Also most people believe that any property purchase is best handled with the help of some legal representation.

Hindsight is a wonderful thing.



Pipie

Cant find the bit on HBPG that tells you how to get hold of deeds on your own.

Would I not need to get in touch with vendors advocate in order to pursue?

Pipie


Joined: 05/01/2008
Posts: 5499

Message Posted:
10/09/2008 19:50

girne 29 E-mail Marian and she will advise , also pop a post on forums and ask for feedback from those who have done it thereselves , hope this helps .

PtePike



Joined: 20/05/2008
Posts: 2334

Message Posted:
10/09/2008 22:53

girne29,



No probs. I just do the mantra in the hope that newbies can save themselves grief and money.

wireless


Joined: 10/08/2008
Posts: 157

Message Posted:
11/09/2008 01:51

I am sure that Mr Pte Pike is a GC trying to put off people that are buying or enjoying the TRNC.



There are no lawyers in northern cyprus? On what do you base this sweeping statement?



Like anywhere in the world there are good lawyers and bad lawyers and good laws and bad laws. If you want to attempt a transaction yourself then of course you have that option just as in the UK you are welcome to attempt a conveyancing transactions yourself as well.



Transactions in the TRNC can last anywhere from 10 minutes to 6 years. The shorter periods are for transfer of existing titles to turkish or TC nationals and the longer transactions for off plan new build's.



During the time of the transactions your solicitor will have to liaise with the builder and pay them according to your negotiated stage payments. The contract for the build and appropriate stages will have to be agreed - any permission to purchase will also have to be sought and acquired. Disputes over the transaction and stages will need to be negotiated.



What is £1000? at British rates about 5 hours of a solicitors time - at TRNC rates perhaps 7 hours? Is this too much time for such a long transactions.



By the way when I suggested to someone else that they read 'the genocide files' as a decent history of Cyprus and the Cyprus problem - Mr PtePike dismissed the book out of hand. This is despite the fact it has factual references and is in living memory - on that basis I think we have to conclude that he/she is a GC with no regard to history or truth - simply propaganda.

fire starter


Joined: 19/06/2008
Posts: 3401

Message Posted:
11/09/2008 07:26

wireless, i'm not sure what uk solicitors you have been useing in and for what reason. at the moment mine is conveyancing for a lot less than 1000 gbp. and doing a thorough job. my other friend in the uk is a criminal lawyer he charges 600 gbp per hour. as for pike he is only trying to be helpfull. why would you think hes a gc? i think he was quoting re another post where i had done some research on lawyers qualifications. many of the trnc lawyers say they qualified in the uk. somethink we now know is not quite the truth. as a law degree does not qualify you to practice as a solicitor.

PtePike



Joined: 20/05/2008
Posts: 2334

Message Posted:
11/09/2008 13:22

wireless: "I am sure that Mr Pte Pike is a GC..."



Well, that's my cover blown. Mind you, the paranoia in your opening words would suggest you mix with the usual suspects.



"There are no lawyers in northern cyprus? On what do you base this sweeping statement?"



Simple possession of a law degree maketh not a lawyer. Real lawyers need a diploma in legal practice and to have completed a lengthy traineeship with a legal firm before having any right of audience in the courts. Lawyers also belong to a professional body which has a public register of its members, their training history and holds disciplinary powers including striking off.



Tell me which of the above exist in the "TRNC"?

girne 29


Joined: 06/12/2007
Posts: 1488

Message Posted:
11/09/2008 14:26

PtePike

Dont know if it is as easy as you say so far nobody has said how they have done it

Can anyone out there who has got deeds themselves, please explain how to go about it without going thro advocate.



Wireless,

the article didnt deny lawyers need to make a living thats why dont have problem in paying the £1000 ,what it did deny was that they should charge £500 for what costs £130,



I also had to pay for the registration of contract.So again what exactly does the £1000 cover, if anything, apart from notarising the contract. I in my naivety thought it was for conveyancing.

Comparison with UK doesnt stand up. Lawyers fees for family member, start to finish last year were in the region of £800 for conveyancing,and included arranging loan . He didnt then proceed to charge extra to do a search, to register in Land Registry, to check that extension had planning permission,to lodge transaction with inland revenue,to liase with estate agent/vendor.lawyer.

The notary that did the POA for me to give to lawyer in trnc only charged £40 for his charity work.

jay76


Joined: 17/07/2008
Posts: 532

Message Posted:
11/09/2008 17:37

spot on wireless

andre 514


Joined: 31/03/2008
Posts: 1163

Message Posted:
11/09/2008 17:59

the latest theory is that private pike is of armenian descent...

interestingly prime minister gul of turkey just had a friendly visit

with the leader of armenia, quite a turnup fot the books

and the two countries recently played a football match together

very good signs of progress after such a history of bitterness



perhaps we need a truth and reconcilliation commission for cyprus

like they did in south africa after the end of apartheid

so the guilty ones could say their piece and apologise to the victims

without fear of legal process



it could be an eye-opener indeed



andre

Hector


Joined: 26/08/2008
Posts: 2352

Message Posted:
11/09/2008 18:25

Could take a long time as well

PtePike



Joined: 20/05/2008
Posts: 2334

Message Posted:
11/09/2008 19:48

wireless,



Correct - I dismissed "Genocide Files" out of hand - because it's pants. How could you possibly describe as a "decent history of Cyprus and the Cyprus problem" a book which contains zero references from the other side in its bibliography? That means you're only getting half the story. Have you ever heard of balance? How gullible are you?

PtePike



Joined: 20/05/2008
Posts: 2334

Message Posted:
11/09/2008 20:02

girne 29,



People have done it all without a "lawyer" - I'm one of them. I've described on other threads how to go about it. All you need is a notar (certifying officer) to draw up your contract. You or your TC estate agent can do the rest. Locals don't use "lawyers" to buy or sell a house so why should you?

missymongrel


Joined: 08/05/2007
Posts: 84

Message Posted:
11/09/2008 20:23

What if you haven't got a TC estate agent? We bought directly from the developer.

PtePike



Joined: 20/05/2008
Posts: 2334

Message Posted:
11/09/2008 20:53

missymongrel,



OK, in that case it doesn't apply to you. I was just recommending that people stay in control of the process at all times. So much money is wasted greasing greedy palms in circumstances close to extortion.

girne 29


Joined: 06/12/2007
Posts: 1488

Message Posted:
11/09/2008 21:41

PtePike

Most of the process I now know you can do yourself. I chose to use an advocate for better or worse as I could not guarantee being in the place at the right time, a concern that did not arise.

However back to the deeds, could you give specific details,as I cant find the info you mention.

Tomorrow I decide to chase up the deeds, where do I start. Do I go to the builder or developer, ask for the vendors contact details and ask whats happening .Do I ask for the developers lawyer,, turn up at the office and tell him I am there to negotiate the deed transfer.

If my own lawyer cant tell me the position on deeds, then what chance do I have.

PtePike



Joined: 20/05/2008
Posts: 2334

Message Posted:
12/09/2008 13:19

girne29,



I really don't know what to suggest in your case as you are dealing with a developer and I had a private seller selling an existing and completed house to me, so it was a bit easier. Also you have not always been in Cyprus so it's understandable you needed to hire the services of someone. Probably the HBPG is your best bet. But another idea would be to go to the land registry, be prepared to be frustrated and very patient, but tell them you are appealing to them over what you should do as an individual. That was at least you should get the official version from a civil servant used to dealing with it. I hope you get it sorted.

girne 29


Joined: 06/12/2007
Posts: 1488

Message Posted:
12/09/2008 14:08

PtePike

Many thanks, will try land registry.

fire starter


Joined: 19/06/2008
Posts: 3401

Message Posted:
15/09/2008 12:32

don't ever use the lawyer recommended by the builder or the estate agent.

buyer and sell never used the same lawyer in the uk, why would you do it here?