Cyprus-Forum.com

[Walker Family]

Hello everyone

I have purchased a villa from Aristo Developers however have encountered problems with them demanding a supplementary agreement be paid for having a bank loan; as this was never mentioned at the time of purchase or in our contract for the villa we are refusing to pay and have therefore incurred an interest bill for non payment of our deposits as the bank could not release the funds. The bank we are using is the Alpha Bank and on speaking to a solicitor in Cyprus I have been informed the bank and Aristo work together to obtain further money from ex pats (this was the solicitors comment, not mine). This solicitor said they would look at my papers to see if we had a case against Aristo but they have now asked for funds to look at our papers to decide if we have a case: Obviously we are reluctant to do this as we could part with our money for the Solicitor to then come back to us and say we do not have a case.
Can anyone recommend a good solicitor who we may approach regarding this matter?

[carolh]

Contact someone from this site:
http://www.cyprus-property-action-group.net/

I will also send you a pm.

[simonwjones]

If something is not in the contract - then why should you be requested to pay? Sounds a little strange to me. I would contact Nigel Howarth on the forum, he's not a solicitor, but knows everything there is to know about buying in Cyprus.

Good luck

[Shipwreck]

I feel for you. Is it too late to cut losses and drop Aristo? There do not appear to be a majority of folks who are happy with his services. Good luck

[carolh]

Did the pm get through to you? If not let me know and I will resend!
Carol

[Michael Coumas]

Walker Family
Sorry to hear of your predicament. I appreciate your reluctance to part with more cash presumably not wanting to throw good money after bad. Without doing too much injustice to the proffessional integrity of the Cypriot legal profession you may wish to either find a lawyer in England totally familiar with the Cypriot conveyancing system (it is not the same no matter how many times developers & everybody else involved do their best to convince you that it is) or contact the Cypriot bar association for a list of reputable lawyers. (The British high commission also offers a list)
Lawyers in Cyprus are not cheap, this unfortunately leads many Europeans to believe their duty of care must be faultless & beyond reproach. Some however only do the basic minimum often leaving the buyer with a headache and an expensive one at that.
Can I ask, did you use an independant lawyer for the initial purchase or if no money has changed hands would you not be better advised to walk away from the deal as presumably you must now feel all trust between you and the developer is lost. (I am assuming here that the developer knew you would be seeking to finance the project by way of a bank loan in which case it would be reasonable to expect them to advise you of any charges associated with such a transaction).
I obviously cannot comment on whether or not Alpha & Aristo are allegedly in collusion but why not write to the Bank & ask the direct question. I am sure the board at Alpha would love to know too.
Buying property in Cyprus is a minefield for the unweary fraught with loopholes and uncertainty. Ensure you have the services of a lawyer with whom you can communicate and do not be afraid to set out your expectations from his or her interventions. If you want a weekly report say so but of course at the end of the day it will cost.
Please also be aware that there are allegedly so called lawyers in Cyprus who do what little they can get away with in the hope that the resultant legal mess will ensure future income from court appearances trying to unravel the mess they were partially responsible for. CAVEAT EMPTOR should be emblazoned at the arrivals gates at all the airports. I am once again back in Cheshire, I have been away from this forum for a couple of years but return to Limassol in a month. I wish you the very best of luck & hope that events turn out well for you. Finaly might I remind you that as Cyprus is now part of Europe it has to comply with community guidance consequently if you feel that is not the case you have the right as a European Citizen to take the matter further. Good luck.

[devil]

The title of your thread is an oxymoron!

[cyprusgrump]

The title of your thread is an oxymoron!

No doubt the Walker family will find your hilarity at their expense most comforting…

[Pyrpolizer]

Hello everyone

I have purchased a villa from Aristo Developers however have encountered problems with them demanding a supplementary agreement be paid for having a bank loan; as this was never mentioned at the time of purchase or in our contract for the villa we are refusing to pay and have therefore incurred an interest bill for non payment of our deposits as the bank could not release the funds. The bank we are using is the Alpha Bank and on speaking to a solicitor in Cyprus I have been informed the bank and Aristo work together to obtain further money from ex pats (this was the solicitors comment, not mine). This solicitor said they would look at my papers to see if we had a case against Aristo but they have now asked for funds to look at our papers to decide if we have a case: Obviously we are reluctant to do this as we could part with our money for the Solicitor to then come back to us and say we do not have a case.
Can anyone recommend a good solicitor who we may approach regarding this matter?

What is this supplementary agreement they require?????

I will just make a guess here. You signed the contract to buy the villa for XXX pounds.The agreement assumed FULL payment directly from YOU. Aristo never assumed you were going to take a loan from the Bank to pay them. So...

Aristo delivered you the Villa but you didn't have all the money so you applied to the Bank for a loan. Obviously the Bank will not give you a loan unless you put the villa on mortgage.
In this respect Aristo will NOT transfer the title deeds to YOU, but to BOTH YOU AND THE BANK.This is not because Aristo wants it, but because the Bank will demand it to give you the loan. So the initial agreement with Arist must be amended to reflect this new reality.

Hence there is NO WAY you can avoid a supplementary agreement. I don't see what the problem really is. Aristo will not charge you anything, what you should worry tough is how much the Bank will charge you for guarantees/interest and so on. Furthermore if you suspect ALPHA bank will overcharge you you are always free to take the loan from any other Bank, Aristo cannot deny you anything as long as they get paid from ANY Bank.

I don't think you really have a case.

NB. I know the Aristo Company, they are very honest and clear with their deals. And one of the best -if not the best developers in Paphos. In which project is your villa?

[Pyrpolizer]

Hello everyone

I have purchased a villa from Aristo Developers however have encountered problems with them demanding a supplementary agreement be paid for having a bank loan; as this was never mentioned at the time of purchase or in our contract for the villa we are refusing to pay and have therefore incurred an interest bill for non payment of our deposits as the bank could not release the funds. The bank we are using is the Alpha Bank and on speaking to a solicitor in Cyprus I have been informed the bank and Aristo work together to obtain further money from ex pats (this was the solicitors comment, not mine). This solicitor said they would look at my papers to see if we had a case against Aristo but they have now asked for funds to look at our papers to decide if we have a case: Obviously we are reluctant to do this as we could part with our money for the Solicitor to then come back to us and say we do not have a case.
Can anyone recommend a good solicitor who we may approach regarding this matter?

Well look at it this way. Instead of paying interest to the Bank you are paying interest to Aristo. In the end there is no loss for you. The sooner you clear this out the better for you anyway.