Can anyone recommend a decent solicitor

Misty


Joined: 09/01/2008
Posts: 2

Message Posted:
10/01/2008 17:27

Hi, Visited northern cyprus about 5 years ago, and decided that if I had a little money I would buy a property. After my mother died, I bought off plan from Unwins, who were highly recommended to me. In a nutshell property was to be finished in 15months, if delayed builder was to write to me requesting 3 months extra time, after which for every month delayed I was to be paid £500 per month till completion. Builder therefore really owes me £4000. Contract states that apart form the fees listed in the contract no other fees were to be paid, builder is claiming I owe him for a transformer. Unwins refuse to intervene claiming that though their signature is on the contract, they were merely a witness, even though its to their bank account I would send money. Builder is in breech of contract. My solicitor to whom I paid money said he will contact builders solicitor. Contacted me via email with a feeble 'builders solicitor is not responding to my emails'. I then contacted builders solicitors myself who claimed that they had no receipt of email from my solicitor. Builders solicitor also said to me that sometimes builders dont bother to read the contract properly. As I see it nobody is taking the contract seriously. Have contacted another solicitor to whom I sent details, he is unavailable at present due to family problems. Can anyone recomment a solicitor in Northern Cyprus who is honest, and actually gets things done.

Graham


Joined: 20/10/2007
Posts: 397

Message Posted:
10/01/2008 18:26

Lisa my first action would be to register with the Home Buyers Pressure Group (hbpg) and let them advise you.

Graham

simbas



Joined: 16/07/2007
Posts: 5943

Message Posted:
10/01/2008 18:52

sound advice graham

regards simbas

Tim10


Joined: 01/01/2008
Posts: 114

Message Posted:
10/01/2008 19:11

Whatever you do, get a soliciter that is:



1 -- independent

2 -- does not work for the developer or developers in general

3 -- Is well-versed in TRNC property law



Make sure the soliciter works for you! (and you only).



Graham's advice is solid (in my opinion).

butterfly



Joined: 26/01/2007
Posts: 164

Message Posted:
12/01/2008 16:41

Dervishe Chekez 0392 815 4818

Bradus


Joined: 25/02/2007
Posts: 2641

Message Posted:
12/01/2008 17:43

Did Unwins recommend your solicitor when you first purchased? Can you tell us who your present solicitor is so that we might avoid him/her? Did you ought to be looking at a solicitor from Lefkosa (more likely to be non-partial)who practices in contract law rather than merely conveyancing? Best advice is to seek advice from HBG although do people get the picture they appear less proactive these days? Have you registered your complaints with the PCO? Again looking at PCO monitoring since its establishment, very few users seem to have had successful outcomes despite the length of time involved. http://www.homebuyerspressuregroup.com/

Sorry to say this but I would not worry too much about the delay. What is more important in the TRNC is that you end up with a good quality build and title deeds. Persue the transformer costs and full completion but from what I have read buildres rarely end up paying compensation for late finishes. Sorry if you didn't want to hear this and what has happened is not right but sometimes you have to look at the big picture and prioritise. Hope someone can give you a more optimistic view and advice because such things should not be happening and I'm sorry you have experienced this. However you are not alone, perhaps someone on here will share similar experiences with you and point you in the right direction.

Good Luck

JamesB


Joined: 07/02/2007
Posts: 450

Message Posted:
12/01/2008 18:16

I agree with Bradus, Its not right, but alot of people have lost a lot more. Name and shame!!!!!!!

Bradus


Joined: 25/02/2007
Posts: 2641

Message Posted:
12/01/2008 22:14

I see that the HBPG have now displayed the list of legally registered estate agents. Many well known ones appear missing. Does this mean we will no longer see them trading?

beejay


Joined: 21/03/2008
Posts: 68

Message Posted:
23/03/2008 21:31

Was your solicitor Munir Akil? Reccommended by Unwins?

TimothyCadman


Joined: 13/12/2007
Posts: 1040

Message Posted:
23/03/2008 22:09

The list on HBPG is out of date.



Unwins are number 144. Hayran Unwin being the listed Turkish Cypriot and 51% stake holder. As their reputation preceeds them, it's obvious that as long as they can come with the registration fees and insurance bond the government don't give a damn about business practices.



Many companies haven't actually registered under their trading names but used the personal name of a person; as in Hayran Unwin of Unwins and Guray Haksever in the case of Korinia.

maggie


Joined: 25/03/2008
Posts: 192

Message Posted:
26/03/2008 10:48

Mine Konat is a good solicitor, her office in the harbour by the main car park and high street.

tonyhickey



Joined: 13/06/2007
Posts: 413

Message Posted:
26/03/2008 14:27

Hi misty

You don’t say if your house is finish are not. If its not try talking to the builder one to one to reach a compromise. I personal would give up any compensation claim, If the house is finished just sit back and enjoy the rest of your life. Try putting this down to one of life’s little ups and down .Who really needs stress and hassle on this beautiful island

Tony

orangekazzie



Joined: 31/07/2007
Posts: 1091

Message Posted:
26/03/2008 14:47

Just one point from Misty's message above I would like to pick up on and that is never, ever send your money to the Estate Agent. Always send it to your solicitor who will hold it as stakeholder. Its the same with the stamp duty. Estate Agents will charge you 5% up front but quite often you will only pay 3% and if you are not informed of this reduced amount the estate agent will keep it. This does actually happen. I know of one Estate Agent who will write a cheque and keep it on your file and if you never ask for it then they are quids in. If you happen to go into the office and mention it they just open your file and there it is. Simple. I can name the Estate Agent if anyone is interested.

Karen

glencoe


Joined: 01/02/2008
Posts: 256

Message Posted:
26/03/2008 15:46

Dont listen to what people on the board say with regard to who is good or bad, check it out yourself with the HBPG as one of the ones mentioned recently I would not touch with the proverbial.

Unhappy Buyer


Joined: 26/03/2008
Posts: 17

Message Posted:
26/03/2008 17:55

Hello - I usually just watch the comments on these bulletin boards, never join in. But this time I just have to say that if you are only owed £4000 in compensation from your builder for the overrunning build time, then you are doing well! So far we are owed £36,000 for the 3 years + beyond the contracted completion that we have been waiting for our house. AND now he tells us he can't afford to pay the VAT that he should pay according to this (worthless pointless) contract. Yes we have registered our case with the PIO/ PCO but they really can't do anything about this stuff but they are very sympathetic!

joandjelly


Joined: 24/02/2008
Posts: 2953

Message Posted:
26/03/2008 18:08

Hi Misty you haven't said to what extent your house is not finished and this makes a difference to the course of action I would recommend you take. But I would totally agree with message 12. You really don't have a cat's chance to get compensation as per your contract so you really should try talking to your builder. Our house was overdue by about 6 months but we have always tried to be nice and respectful to our builder and consequently he has done quite a lot for us over and above the original spec and we have used this as a trade off for late completion. It has kind of been an unspoken agreement between us and because we have maintained a good relationship with him he is still doing things for us 2 years down the line. At the end of the day he is the only builder you have so it is better to try and sort things amicably rather than resort to solicitors who vary rarely achieve anything anyway.



Obviously if your house is nowhere near finished after all this time then try going down the route of the HPBG and ask them to recommend the best course of action.



Good luck.

ive@karsiyaka



Joined: 24/02/2008
Posts: 169

Message Posted:
26/03/2008 21:39

Hi Misty,



After being let down by one solicitor I have recently instructed about 3-4 months ago Peyman Erginel to act for me so far so good she has always kept me up to speed with things and she is registered with the british consulate.

I f you like I will give you her e-mail if you contact me whiteivan8@aol.com



Regards Ive.

dawnie


Joined: 14/08/2007
Posts: 12

Message Posted:
27/03/2008 16:33

I would also recommend Peyman Erginel

rosiem


Joined: 14/05/2008
Posts: 11

Message Posted:
18/05/2008 20:53

Senner Law Firm who occupy offices with Evergreen Developments , Ayhan Senner and her husband are excellent and speak perfect English as they both studied Law in England

manko


Joined: 14/02/2009
Posts: 13

Message Posted:
17/05/2009 13:07

Referring to Misty {10.1.'08 } I am in exactly the same position. Referring to the replies I have tried nearly all

avenues with no success . It seems I have to resort to using another lawyer but that appears to be another

mine-field? Any suggestions please?

keithr


Joined: 20/08/2008
Posts: 720

Message Posted:
17/05/2009 22:20

The one who gets MP's off their expense scams....

eager


Joined: 23/02/2007
Posts: 1272

Message Posted:
17/05/2009 22:54

Too many new posters posting,............but not replying,.... very strange

Nunu1


Joined: 31/03/2008
Posts: 536

Message Posted:
18/05/2009 01:18

Hello Misty,

I can recommend Mr Terry James Hamilton. Have spoken to him several times for legal advice. He is based in Girne. He also has a Turkish Cypriot Lawyer business partner.



Good luck!



nunu1

denbenhen


Joined: 18/05/2009
Posts: 2

Message Posted:
18/05/2009 08:47

We have friends who would never in a millions years use message 17 & 18.

We have also been told the soliciters secretary posts on this forum

Aga Buyers A G


Joined: 04/10/2007
Posts: 488

Message Posted:
18/05/2009 09:14

There are NO solicitors in the TRNC only Advokates and............see Kay's Posting



http://trncpropertywarning.freewebsites.com/index.php?p=1_41_Lawyer---Defined



ABAG