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Paphos timeshare touts out of control

Bejay Browne
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AGGRESSIVE timeshare touts have resorted to hassling guests inside top-class hotels along the Paphos seafront in a desperate attempt to drum up new business.

“Most of the hotels along the Kato Paphos and Yeroskipou seafront have recently been subjected to the increasingly aggressive behaviour of these people trying to sell time- share and holiday ownership. They are venturing into the hotels and harassing guests, it’s become out of hand,” said Nassos Hadjigeorgiou, the tourist manager of the Paphos regional board of tourism.

“We’ve had numerous complaints from hotel guests and visitors to Paphos who said they would never come back.”

An emergency meeting to discuss the situation was held at Paphos Town hall, which Hadjigeorgiou attended along with, Themis Philipides, the President of the Paphos branch of PASYXE, the Cyprus Hotels Association, Paphos assistant Divisional Police Commander, Nicos Sophocleous, the Mayor of Paphos, Savvas Vergas, members of the CTO, and other concerned official bodies.

“Urgent steps need to be taken to stop the behaviour of these people, and we pledged to start working on the problem immediately,” said Hadjigeorgiou.

He stressed that the problem didn’t lie with timeshare or holiday ownership as a product, but the way in which was promoted.

There have been reports by guests of touting by hotel swimming pools, as couples and their families are trying to relax, as well as in hotel bars, restaurants and foyers.

“These ‘sellers’ are giving such a hard time to customers in order to sell their timeshare. They’re pouncing on visitors wherever guests may be out walking and enjoying the sights or ambience of Paphos. They have been reported along the new pedestrianised seafront area, the Tombs of the Kings, the archaeological park, the municipal market, and in fact everywhere there may be tourists,” said Hadjigeorgiou.

Despite the fact that the companies involved have received numerous requests to halt conducting their business in this manner, their aggressive behaviour is getting worse, he said.

“I’ve walked up and down the seafront for the past nine years and this is a problem I can see for myself. I have been trying to put a stop to it for a long time,” Hadjigeorgiou added.

He said he understood that there was a problem of inadequate numbers of police officers available in Paphos to help stamp out touting but said the Divisional Commander and been very helpful when he realised that the situation had become so much worse lately.

Hadjigeorgiou believes that touts have become more aggressive.

“Their targets, who are mainly British, don’t have the financial means anymore, and this is causing them to become increasingly persistent. Everyone, including the Paphos Chamber of Commerce is keen to see an end to this phenomenon,” said hadjigeorgiou.

He said the touting was destroying the image of Paphos and could only be bad for the town in the long run.

The CTO has also received complaints but the legal framework doesn’t give it the power to do anything. Hadjigeorgiou said tourism officials were hoping for a far-reaching change to existing laws.

In the meantime, he said, a plan has been put into action to stop the touting.

“There are six or seven of these companies. They are known to all of us, and are all owned by British nationals who employ aggressive British staff,” said Hadjigeorgiou.

He said unwanted touts in hotels were violating private property, and advised hoteliers to call the police. “They don’t seem to want to accept that they’re causing a problem in many cases,” he added.

“Touts chase down holidaymakers and use lottery cards to entice people; and everyone of them is a winner. They then take them to a specified place to collect their so-called ‘prize’ and get them involved in the property presentations. Often the people are then pressurised into signing contracts of sale, which then cause big problems for them in the future. They’re brainwashed by these people.”

Hadjigeorgiou had some advice for people who want to put an end to this practice in the town.

“The police told us to report any incidents to the officer on duty. I would advise the public to report to restaurants, bars, and hotels of any of these sorts of activity, or to call the officer on duty at Paphos police station on 26806050.”

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009

Cyprus Title Deeds: an avenue of hope?

Tasos Coucounis
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tasos-coucounisTHE ways the Cypriot legal system affords buyers of immovable property in Cyprus to obtain Title Deeds for their properties was explored at a Title Deeds Seminar held by the Cyprus Property Action Group in Paphos recently.

The aim of this article is to give a brief summary of what was presented by the present writer in that seminar.

The experience of many buyers of immovable property abroad has been that such a purchase is straightforward with a Title Deed for the acquired property obtained within a few weeks of the transaction.

The situation in Cyprus would not be much different if we were talking about old properties that have Title Deeds: you go to the Land Registry and transfer the Title Deed in the name of the purchaser.

However, if the property you have bought does not have a separate Title Deed, then you may wait for a long time for such transfer. In the meantime your protection against a prospective ill-intentioned vendor is the lodging of your sale contract at the Land Registry for Specific Performance purposes.

A definition of “Specific Performance” is found in Osborn’s Concise Law Dictionary:

“Where damages would be inadequate compensation for the breach of an agreement, the contractor may be compelled to perform what he has agreed to do by a decree of specific performance, e.g. in contracts for the sale…”

Thus, what the vendor has agreed to do in his sale contract with the purchaser is, amongst other things but most important of all, to transfer the Title Deed of the bought property in the name of the purchaser. It is this obligation which Specific Performance upholds, that no monetary or other damages can replace. This obligation is upheld by the court.

One might ask why can’t a purchaser who has lodged his sale contract with the Land Registry go ahead in court and ask for Specific Performance against the vendor. The answer is quite simple:

Specific Performance cannot be ordered by the court unless there is a separate Title Deed for the property bought.

You might ask: Who is the person responsible to issue such a separate Title Deed? The vendor, of course.

Obviously, the problem arises where the vendor is doing nothing or too little in order to issue a separate Title Deed.

Thus, the purchaser is held hostage. Can we do anything about this? Yes, we can.

We can file an action in court and ask for either of two things: either:

  • ask the court to issue a Court Order against the vendor ordering him to issue a separate Title Deed within a specific time period that the court will determine, or
  • ask the court to appoint and authorise any other person the court determines as suitable to sign any document and to take any action whatsoever in order for a separate Title Deed to be issued.

Assuming such a legal remedy is awarded to the purchaser and the separate Title Deed is issued, this is the time when the vendor must transfer the separate Title Deed in the name of the purchaser.

If he refuses to do so, this is when the purchaser can ask for Specific Performance of his sale contract from the court, in which case a Court Order for Specific Performance can be issued fast and presented at the Land Registry for transfer of the Title Deed without the vendor’s signature or participation.

Tasos Coucounis is a partner in the Law Firm of Andreas Coucounis & Co.
([email protected], Tel. 00357 24822460)

Copyright © Cyprus Weekly 2009

Cyprus building permits Jan 2009

Alan Lawton
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ACCORDING to the latest figures published by the Cyprus Statistical Service (CYSTAT) on the building permits authorised in January 2009, investment activity in the construction sector is showing signs of recovery.

The total area of projects that secured building permits in the first month of the year increased by 11.6% to 278.9 thousand sq. meters compared to 249.8 thousand sq. meters in the corresponding month of 2008, when they had decreased by 5.3% compared to 2007.

0901-permits

The area of the projects in Famagusta soared 41.6% to 29.3 thousand square meters from 20.7 thousand square meters.

In Paphos, the area surged 30.8% to 53.7 thousand sq. meters from 41 thousand sq. meters in January 2008, while in Limassol it recorded an increase of 6%, in Larnaca of 2.9% and in Nicosia of 3.8%.

The number of building permits authorized by the municipal authorities and the District Administration offices during January 2009 stood at 694 compared to 687 in January 2008. The total value of these permits reached €234.1 million and the total area 278.9 thousand square metres, compared to €193.2 million and 249.8 thousand square metres in the corresponding month of the previous year. These building permits provide for the construction of 1,585 dwelling units compared to 1,229 in January 2008.

© 1999 – 2009 Stockwatch Ltd.

Government inaction over Title Deeds is irresponsible

Editorial
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ALTHOUGH the problem of the Title Deeds is not of this government’s making, its handling of the matter could not have been worse. Without properly studying the matter, it made promises to interested parties that it could not keep, given the complexity of the matter.

It turns out now that the legislation the Cyprus government had promised to pass to help owners obtain Title Deeds for their properties is only targeted at a select group of buyers: those who had properties in buildings for which the developer had not obtained a final certificate of completion because certain planning laws had been violated. With the new legislation, a final certificate of completion would presumably be issued irrespective of the illegalities so that people can receive their Title Deeds.

This law will be of no help the majority of the 30,000 foreign home-buyers who cannot obtain Title Deeds because their properties are technically still owned by the banks and being held as collateral against loans given to developers.

It is a scandalous state of affairs that fully protects the interests of the banks while leaving ordinary people without any protection. Cyprus is probably the only country in the developed world where a property seller is not obliged to hand over the Title Deed to the buyer as soon as full payment is made.

Now that we have entered an economic downturn and the property market has slumped, property-owners are understandably in a panic over what might happen to them. What would happen if the developer from whom they had bought their holiday home goes bankrupt – a real possibility in today’s conditions? Would they be kicked out of the property they had paid for, so it can be re-sold by the bank? Would they have to buy it again from the bank wanting to cut its losses?

Despite its promises, it appears the government has done nothing to allay the fears of foreign home-owners. The legislation currently being prepared could help a few of the 100,000 people without Title Deeds, even though the idea of an amnesty failed when it was tried in the past.

Cash-strapped developers would be reluctant to issue Title Deeds, because they would have to pay capital gains tax for every Title Deed transferred to the rightful owner. The authorities allowed developers to exploit the loopholes in the law for so long that any messing with the big anomalies that were created could now lead to an economic collapse.

This is no excuse for the government’s inaction and certainly no consolation to property owners. The government needs to examine the matter in great detail: establish the exact number of home-owners without Title Deeds, then examine what needs to be done for these to be issued and set targets. It may take several years to clear the backlog, but this would be a start and people might feel a bit more secure, knowing that the government is treating the matter seriously.

But promises not backed with action are guaranteed to make anxious home-owners fear the worst. They do not deserve to be treated so shabbily.

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009

Outraged property buyers call for direct action

Nathan Morley
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PROPERTY buyers have accused the Cyprus government of misleading the British government by giving assurances of new legislation to tackle the Title Deeds issue when no such plans exist.

Interior Minister Neoclis Sylikiotis was invited to a meeting of home buyers last week in Paphos but opted instead to send Andreas Symeou from the Land and Surveys Department. During a short speech by Symeou the atmosphere soon turned sour when it became apparent that no new legislation for existing owners was actually being drafted.

“During the meeting Mr. Symeou was forced to disclose that the only legislation under review was another amnesty for developers who had broken the planning laws and were unable to obtain a Final Certificate of Completion; plus legislation to protect future buyers was being developed. We note that an amnesty was tried three years ago and produced no tangible results in the issuance of Title Deeds then, as the overriding problem is the developer loans, currently these are estimated at €4 billion,” said Denis O’Hare, who leads the Cyprus Property Action Group (CPAG).

“The Ministry misled the British Government and the thousands of worried buyers who had been promised suitable legislation. But this irresponsible Cyprus government was now admitting that many buyers were being left to sink with their developers who will surely go bust in today’s economic climate.”

O’Hare’s sentiments were echoed by property advisor Nigel Howarth, who was also at the meeting.

“The atmosphere of the meeting turned from high expectation to shock and anger when we learned that the plans were nothing more than hot air,” he said.

The ongoing Title Deed fiasco, which has left some 100,000 home buyers – including 30,000 foreigners – without their Title Deeds could turn ugly as fed up residents say they may be forced to resort to direct action.

At the packed meeting of disgruntled home owners last week, it was decided that the time for talking was over. Hundreds of property buyers are now in the early stages of planning marches and demonstrations in both Cyprus and the United Kingdom.

“Enough is enough, we are fed up with empty talk, false promises and being fed lie after lie,” one owner told the Sunday Mail, “We need to be marching, shouting and taking action against a corrupt system that puts profit above honest people.”

Over 500 people crammed into the Elysium Hotel in Paphos for the gathering organised by CPAG, which is demanding that long-suffering home owners finally be given the deeds to their properties.

Those at the event say they are just ordinary hard-working people that saved hard to purchase their holiday and retirement homes and that they won’t give up without a fight.

In December the government assured the British High Commission that legislation to deal with the problem was being drafted, but since then nothing more has been heard about the matter.

A British High Commission spokesman told the Sunday Mail that they were in constant contact with the government and had been assured that legislation was being drafted to solve the matter, but could not give any timeframe or further details. “We are aware that the government is trying to address this issue, and we have no reason to believe otherwise,” he added.

One owner from Paphos, who has waited twelve years for his deeds, mocked that promised legislation by the government was “pure fiction“.

When a suggestion was made to ‘up the ante’ and take direct action, the crowd gave a wave of applause, with some audience members even cheering.

Until recently, Cyprus had seemed like the ideal place for pensioners to spend the rest of their lives, but for most their hopes have quickly been marred by property scam nightmares and the Title Deed shambles.

“It is sad that it has come to this but the full blame for the need for this action by these desperate homebuyers who brought their wealth to Cyprus only to be treated in this shabby fashion now lies with this government,” O’Hare added.

One couple spoke of trouble trying to sell their property without the deeds: “The pain, despair and anger gets worse actually, we desperately wanted to sell, but the people that have viewed our property ask one thing, have we got the deeds?”

Title Deeds, which are officially referred to as “Certificates of Registration of Immovable Property”, are the most important evidence of property ownership, but with hardly any buyers receiving the documents after paying hundreds of thousands of pounds for houses and apartments, confidence from potential buyers is at an all time low. Under present legislation it is the developers who took out mortgages on those properties – either to build them in the first place or to finance other projects – who remain, as far as the banks are concerned, the legal owners until those mortgages are paid off. In the meantime, the Title Deeds are kept by the banks rather than the people who actually bought the individual houses.

The situation is now so dire that CPAG are receiving an unprecedented amount of calls and emails every day from people pleading for help.

“We now take on average 100 or more telephone calls and emails daily, it really is getting out of control,” O’Hare added.

Prospective property buyers are already cautious about investing in Cyprus and a recently updated warning on the British Foreign Office Website gives blunt advice.

“We warn British citizens of the risks involved in purchasing property in Cyprus, and that many British citizens face problems, including not having Title Deeds.”

The no-nonsense Foreign Office bulletin adds, “We also advise British citizens to proceed with caution and seek legal advice from a source that is independent from anyone else in the transaction.”

Copyright © Cyprus Mail 2009

Property prices in Cyprus will stop surging

Alan Lawton
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The Economic Research Unit anticipates that the surges in Cyprus property prices will stop in the next few years. The study, which is based on newspaper advertisements over the past two decades, registers all increases in the price of housing properties in the past few years, as well as the decreases in the 1990s. It expects that it will be difficult for the house prices to repeat the same upward trends in the near future.

“This is because the growth rate of two of the four most significant factors that led to the price hikes, inflation and GDP growth, will slow down significantly“, Panos Pasiardis and Christos Savva noted.

The study evaluates a number of macroeconomic factors that contribute to the variation in the property prices and supports that the increase in inflation, the cost of building material, the cost of labour and the growth rate of economy are the most significant factors affecting prices. The foreign workers and the CSE index affect negatively prices too.

The sample on which the study is based includes 4872 observations for the period January 1988 – July 2008, which include the house prices for the five municipalities of free Cyprus. These figures have been collected by the advertising part of two local newspapers and are based on “special offer”.

The authors of the study prepared the property price index using the prices of 1988 as a basis.

The index confirms the Land Registry’s estimates that the average annual increase in property prices reached 10%.

According to the study, in the past 20 years the average house price per square metre increased by 6.5 times.

In the past five years they doubled: In 2003, the prices recorded an increase of 27% and in 2008 (until July) of 23%. The figures change the picture on the annual increases released by the Central Bank.

The figures also show that property prices have dropped three times since 1988; in 1996 they fell by 7%, in 1998 by 10% and in 1999 by 1%.

© 1999 – 2009 Stockwatch Ltd.

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