Advise needed

[clacher]

Hi.
Looking for a lot of help and advise,partner and I purchased 3 properties through Pafilia all off-plan in 2005 with a solid gold promise from company that they would easily sell and make a great investment for us .Now sitting in March 2009 with the though of bankrupty looming over our head .
The company (Pafilia) who would be selling the houses for us through their resale dept took down all the "For Sale" signs as it was bad for prospective buyers and their website does not even give a picture of our houses .And we cannot afford to go and pay expensive property agents rates ,also they have got so many on their books they do not want any more.

I am now in debt to the value of 480,000€,thanks to Pafilia and they are not helping me in any way ,therefore it looks as though we will have to make ourselves bankrupt can anyone advise us of how we proceed .

The sad thing is when we applied for the loan through Hellenic Bank we were turned down ,told Pafilia next thing we knew loan approved ,wish we had just walked away then.Have used up all our own monies also £180,000.So we are in a bad way any advise would be gratefully accepted

Clacher

 

[Lysos]

Ouch !. Two valuable lessons to be learned (albeit too late in this instance): "solid gold promises" from sales agents/developers are not worth the paper they are not written on, and with any investment - not just property - spread the risk. Of course Pafilia are not going to help - they've got your money !. The property market in Cyprus, like most places, is dead. Thousands of workers laid off, developments on hold, and resales that have been on the market for over 18 months.

You need urgent legal advice; I suggest you start at your local Citizens Advice Bureau.

 

[clacher]

Thank you Lysos,for your quick reply. Have to say that our houses have been on the market for over a year now ,and not one single enquiry .

Will take your advise and contact CAB .

Have e-mailed Pafilia 2/3 times now they are just ignoring me. So much for my dream in the sun

Clacher

 

[Veronica]

Thank you Lysos,for your quick reply. Have to say that our houses have been on the market for over a year now ,and not one single enquiry .

Will take your advise and contact CAB .

Have e-mailed Pafilia 2/3 times now they are just ignoring me. So much for my dream in the sun

Clacher

I am afraid that this is a common story. Certain developers (not all) are very unhelpful when it comes to reselling as they only want to sell new properties.
They have got your money and selling the properties for you won't make them as money as selling new ones.
We had a similar experience with pafilia who just used our property as a show house for people who they were trying to sell off plan to.
Eventually we told them not to bother to bring anyone to see the property and we sold it ourselves. Even then they tried to rip us off and not refund money which they owed us but luckily we had not used their solicitor like so many unsuspecting buyers do and our solicitor sorted things out of us.
As long as you are just dependant on pafilia you will never sell your houses.
You need to put it on t he market yourself. You have the right to sell and they cannot put obstacles in your way.

Regards Veronica

Ps.
You say you cannot afford to pay expensive property agents. Pafilia charge at least 5% if they even bother to sell for you. Some agents will charge as little as 3% for resales and they will actually make efforts to sell for you.

 

[clacher]

Hi PIPPIN.

Thanks for your reply, the 5% Pafilia charge was going to come off sale price and unfortunately we are with the company lawyer.It just seems all so doom and gloom , would appreicate if you could recall any estate agents.

As we live and work in Italy we cannot get back to Cyprus as often as we would like therefore all must be done through laptop and telephone . Like you I do feel like sueing ,but to what purpose they have everything tied up all nice and neat and again it would be me who would have to foot the bill.

But I do want to thank you for your support.

Again I will try e-mailing them ,but of course I know they will not reply

Many Thanks

Clacher

 

[Jackie Adams]

Pafilia Property

Hi Clacher,

I have only logged into this forum tonight for the very first time and your message was the first one that I read. I am in pretty much the same boat - only with one property.

I too purchased a property from Pafilia - off plan - in 2007 - and lo and behold once they have your money they don't want to know. It is heartbreaking. I am a single parent who is about to lose everything that I have worked for during the last 25 years. Pafilia also assured me that there would be no problem renting or re-selling - what a joke. Although the development is lovely (it is Peyia Gardens) I am no longer in a position to keep it on and really need to sell it - but with many more people in the same position I can't see that happening - especially as there is still a tremendous amount of new build going on.
If you get a positive reply on how to deal with this problem from anyone I would appreciate being in the loop

Regards

Jackie Adams:

 

[clacher]

Hi Jackie,

What can I say we are like hundreds of others ,who have well and truely been taken for a ride .I am not a stupid woman and I consider myself smart and I will not let this go ,like yourself it was my life savings and my kids future inheritance .

I need an independant lawyer who will sue Pafilia for "Breach of Contract"as they have done nothing whatsoever to sell or promote my houses, an e-mail from Mr Simillides told me that my houses where to be priority marketed , again I have heard nothing .

Surely we must have some rights , is there anybody out there who can help or advise us PLEASE, we can only hope someone will see these e-mails.

Do keep in touch and let me know how things go

Regards

Clacher

 

[Veronica]

Hi Jackie,

What can I say we are like hundreds of others ,who have well and truely been taken for a ride .I am not a stupid woman and I consider myself smart and I will not let this go ,like yourself it was my life savings and my kids future inheritance .

I need an independant lawyer who will sue Pafilia for "Breach of Contract"as they have done nothing whatsoever to sell or promote my houses, an e-mail from Mr Simillides told me that my houses where to be priority marketed , again I have heard nothing .

Surely we must have some rights , is there anybody out there who can help or advise us PLEASE, we can only hope someone will see these e-mails.

Do keep in touch and let me know how things go

Regards

Clacher

Calcher and Jackie try these people

Cyprus Property Action Group
They are a group of people who have got together to try sort out some of the problems people have had when buying property in Cyprus.
I am sorry I can't really give you much advice as I won't use the bigger developers for my clients as this sort of thing is far too common with them so apart from the minor problems we had with pafilia when we originally bought from them the experience I have had through my clients has always been very positive.
I hope you both get your problems sorted out soon.

Regards Veronica

 

[clacher]

Hi Pippin Thanks for private message ,cannot reply for some reason (gremlins) I would be ever so gratefull if you could contact me on my personal e-mail address ,I have filled out your form on your website so you should have it by now ,look forward to hearing from you ,you have given me a little hope ,Many thanks Clacher

 

[clacher]

Jackie, Hope you read "Pippin's" thread, have filled in form and hope to hear something back do the same maybe something may come of it ,I am sure we are not alone ,keep in touch
clacher

 

[Lysos]

clacher & Jackie,

I would counsel you against wasting money on legal action. Just how are Pafilia in 'Breach of Contract' ?. You bought properties from them - they delivered. Any talk of being a good investment, easy to sell/rent was just that - sales 'talk', and wasn't in your contract. The property market in Cyprus, in common with many areas, is dead in the water. If noone is buying, then the concept of suing an agent for not selling is ludicrous, and I doubt any ethical lawyer would even take on the case. I'm a regular visitor to the island (yes, I do own property there) and there has been a vast oversupply of holiday property for several years.

Your money would be better spent on marketing, and accepting that to sell today you need to drastically reduce your asking prices. Harsh words, but that's the reality.

 

[clacher]

Hi Lysos,
Yet again your words of wisdom are quite correct,although why should I pay a fee to a company who are not fulfulling their obligations.
You are quite correct about "too many houses and too little buyers and pricings "just sometimes it is all so sickening ,and upsetting , you really feel as though you want to hit somebody or something. Sorry it was only expressing my feelings.
clacher

 

[Veronica]

clacher & Jackie,

I would counsel you against wasting money on legal action. Just how are Pafilia in 'Breach of Contract' ?. You bought properties from them - they delivered. Any talk of being a good investment, easy to sell/rent was just that - sales 'talk', and wasn't in your contract. The property market in Cyprus, in common with many areas, is dead in the water. If noone is buying, then the concept of suing an agent for not selling is ludicrous, and I doubt any ethical lawyer would even take on the case. I'm a regular visitor to the island (yes, I do own property there) and there has been a vast oversupply of holiday property for several years.

Your money would be better spent on marketing, and accepting that to sell today you need to drastically reduce your asking prices. Harsh words, but that's the reality.

I agree with Lysos in that to ty to take legal action against the company would be futile.
For one thing even if you had any real concrete evidence of any sort of breach of contract, legal cases take so long to come to court and cost such a lot of money that I really think you would be giving yourself more problems and more expense.
Your best course of action is simply to try to sell your properties.



Veronica

 

[clacher]

Hi Pippin & Lysos.

I know what you are telling me its just so frustrating at times.

Thanks for advise

clacher

 

[Lysos]

clacher, I fully empathise with your predicament but don't undestand your refeence to 'paying a fee'. Surely, that only comes in to play if they actually sell ?. Take it off their books & appoint another agent, who will be able to set up 'For Sale' signs, not that I think they work. Try one of the established agencies. I've heard good things about Fitzgeralds, but that's only hearsay.

 

[clacher]

Thanks Lysos.

Have tried Fitzgerald they told me that they could not take anymore on , have hopefully found company who will help .

Never thought I was such a gullable person !!!How wrong was I .Nevertheless I take heed and advise from my peers.

Thanks

clacher

 

[grumpy001]

Clacher, there has been a great deal of sense spoken so far. One thing you must try to do is divorce the emotion from the current financial predicament.

Act purely on financial reasoning. You can have a dozen different agents market the property for you, so appoint as many as will take it on. If they dont sell then you dont pay. Theres even a couple do a zero commission but charge a set up fee.

I dont understand your logic about paying the fees as you were happy enough to purchase vastly overpriced property previously and included in that were fees and commissions to all sorts of people!

 

[clacher]

Hi Grumpy

Thank you for your thoughts, as like so many people I to was drawn in "hook line and sinker" and purchased what I thought was going to be a great investment.

Cyprus at the time I bought was still booming who saw what was coming , lots of excitement along side even more ignorance . Me being an honest person believing are that was told to her . Hind-sight is a wonderful thing !!!!!Yes I admit to being very silly and not doing enough homework, my lesson is well learnt now.

Will look at the attached website ,thank you for taking the time to answer my questions.

clacher

 

[reynolds]

Hi Clatcher, i know this development well also understand the market, am afraid you paid to much.

Anyway if you tell me the price you are prepared to sell, i will look as i am ready to but.

Sorry to sound so harsh but there are another 4 clients giving me figures, so quiet simply am going for the cheapest. Good luck to you both what ever you decide.

 

[clacher]

Good Morning Reynolds,
Thank you for your thread ,must ask the question are you asking the price?? as your e-mail was a little confusing. Also are you asking the price for all three properties or a specific one .As I have a Townhouse and a 1 bed apt and a 2 bed apt.Please let me know

Many Thanks

Clacher