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28th March 2024
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HomeNewsCyprus protest at Birmingham property exhibition

Cyprus protest at Birmingham property exhibition

Cyprus protest
PROTESTORS from around the UK braved the chill autumn weather and converged on the NEC Birmingham and greeted visitors to the ‘A Place in the Sun’ exhibition to raise awareness of the potential problems associated with buying property in Cyprus.

Those taking part in the demonstration believe they have been mis-lead and cheated by estate agents, financial consultants, developers, lawyers and bankers in Cyprus and the UK.

The plight of some of the protestors was the subject of a BBC TV documentary broadcast last year that investigated a 500 million pound property scheme that had turned sour. Many hundreds involved in that scheme and others caught in similar schemes are now taking legal action in efforts to recover their money.

The protesters discussed the potential pitfalls of buying off-plan properties with visitors to the exhibition and handed out leaflets warning of the possible dangers.

Organised in conjunction with the popular Channel 4 TV programme, ‘A Place in the Sun Live’ claims to be ‘the UK’s biggest and best-attended overseas property exhibition’.

Over 100 agents and developers selling property attended the exhibition; those promoting Cyprus included: 21st Century Overseas, Aristo Developers, Moving Earth Construction and Sold on Cyprus.

The three day protest passed without incident.

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16 COMMENTS

  1. The Cyprus Property Market will remain unsafe for buyers while the Attorney General & CBA continue to ignore the crooked actions of certain members of the legal profession.

    As the CBA Disciplinary Board chaired by the AG will not make public there findings, or have ever been known to strike off any members, just issue 1000 euro fines as a heavy punishment.

    A simple fast answer would be to replace the AG & Senior office holders of the CBA to save the Cypriot Property Market.

  2. Gavin, you are correct in what you say, plus if there were any kind of effective building control procedures that were correctly implemented in Cyprus, then maybe this would stop Developers moving purchasers into houses before they even have the Certificate of Final Completion for the development, which as you know is illegal and also is a pre-requisite for obtaining individual Title Deeds for those very same purchasers.

    This is something that ETEK and such bodies should have been demanding for years, but of course most of their members, (i.e. Architects and Civil Engineers), have a cosy relationship with Property Developers which means that this has not been seen as a desirable priority.

  3. My compliments to the Team, at this property exhibition, who are letting people know what the actual score is with the Cyprus property scene. R.B.

  4. Maria.

    Thank you for speaking up.

    The key to all this is the legal ‘profession’ and too many of their number have not looked after their clients interests and have besmirched their ethics. There have been too many proven cases of lawyers working in tandem with developers AND purchasers, as often as not without the knowledge of the latter, thus ignoring the basic conflict of issue parameter.

    In addition, the lawyers’ regulatory authority, the Disciplinary Board of Advocates, knows full well what’s going on and yet turns a blind eye to these unscrupulous practices.

    The buck stops with lawyers for if they conducted their affairs in a manner becoming of their calling, hardly any of the problems that we witness in the business of buying and selling property would arise.

  5. Richard, Cyprus will not let the good guys work and restructure and help, Cyprus legal system are making life difficult for us good Solicitors, Developers and Estate Agents to work for the good of Cyprus.

  6. Cyprus lover, I agree it is only by a corrupt few, but that few are the ones that create laws that makes it impossible for anyone to do business in Cyprus like Responsible Estate Agents, Developers, Solicitors etc etc.

    If they are honest they are not allowed to have a licence in Cyprus no matter what there experience are. This is what is a shame, the corrupt few. Any lawyer, Broker, Real Estate, builder trying to work in Cyprus there is a rule to close them down.

  7. @Hector – I would say that the situation is even worse in the north (as you may know companies selling property in the occupied areas have been banned from overseas property exhibitions in the UK).

    Many Brits and others have bought property in the north that lawfully belongs to Greek Cypriot refugees and their families living in the government controlled areas of the island in spite of the warnings published by the Cypriot and British governments and the UK press.

  8. Anyone buying in Cyprus NORTH or SOUTH is risking severe HEALTH and WEALTH problems.

    No one is safe, before, during and after the purchase process, buyer beware and be very aware.

  9. The only reason it is now possible to buy safely in Cyprus is because of the less fortunate who went before them and now speak out together with organisations such as CPAG and PICAS and indeed Nigel’s site who have rallied to help and educate.

    Most of these buyers are still stuck without deeds, developer’s mortgages on their properties, Swiss Franc mortgages and a bad taste in their mouths about the Cyprus legal profession who were supposed to safeguard them.

    Their plight is yet to be resolved but they have ensured that others who follow do not fall in to the same traps.

  10. In all fairness not all developers are corrupt and if you are careful and use your brain you can invest in Cyprus. I wanted a summer house and was afraid of buying anything ready built with or without title deeds. I bought some land from Aristo who was very helpful throughout the process even waiving some of the late payment charges due to the bank delays in acquiring the funds for the purchase. I am in the process of building and have been working with some excellent contractors.

    It’s unfortunate that the corrupt developers have given Cyprus such a bad name.

  11. I have just read what “Fighting For Justice” has said and it made me smile, because before the Internet the statement “there are no problems in Cyprus” would have been almost impossible to disprove, but as most people now have access to a great deal of information these people who just want to take our money and run can no longer get away with it.

    The only shame is that Cyrus is such a lovely place and it has been ruined by a corrupt few.

  12. Excellent that people will keep up the slow, relentless and steady pressure to keep this issue on the radar.

    This serves to build a case for the UK Government to intervene on behalf of it’s citizens when the time is right.

    In my view now – until such time as title deeds, reckless and inadequately explained CHF mortgages, questionable legal practices (and worse) are all investigated and victims compensated – an INJUNCTION barring any further property sales to the general public on the island should be put in place in the UK.

    The good guys out there (and yes – there are some) are re-structuring their businesses and helping people instead of continuing malpractice.

    Some of them just cannot be re-educated however – and they are the ones we can no longer tolerate.

  13. I have only heard of Aristo Developers.

    Who are the other three,are they ones we know, but changed their names?

    Well done those who protested.

  14. People will be pleased to know that one of the agents in this exhibition was claiming there is no problem in the Cyprus property industry and that our protest was just one man with a problem with one developer.

    They claim there is no problem getting title deeds and no developer mortgage problem.

    I think their office is in cloud cuckoo land.

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