Another property scam claim rises from Didim
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Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 20, 2009 00:00
DİDİM - A title deed scandal is putting British families at risk of losing their homes in Didim, an Aegean town home to 8,000 expats. The familes say they are just ordinary hard-working people that saved to purchase their holiday homes and that they won’t give up without a fight
Didem is a popular town in Turkey’s Aegean region for British pensioners looking for a place to spend the rest of their lives, but for some the seaside paradise has been marred by property scam nightmares.
British families have lost their homes and many others are at risk after a builder used the title deeds to secure loans both with banks and suppliers.
Rosalind Wells said her family has been fighting this difficult situation since 2007, speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
"In July 2007 we all came out again, and were told that debt had been put against our apartments and so the title deed could not be issued," she said. "The builder had used our title deed to secure loans both with banks and suppliers."
She said they spent a week visiting the Deed Office, the debt office and a solicitor in Altınkum. "We were left in a situation of not knowing how much debt was against our properties, who that debt was with, and there was no sign of the builder Ğ a man who previously had always spent some time socially with us as a friend! We had discovered that a mortgage of some description was against both our properties, from İşbank, and that our builder had defaulted on these payments already," Wells said.
"Then, we returned to the UK under the impression that our solicitor would be investigating the debt, would be able to move it to unsold properties, and so would get our title deed for us," she said. "We also were led to believe we had secured our apartments and that our property was ours again.
"But we had to return urgently in October 2008 because there were more problems. The bank that was now holding our deeds was Halkbank and our solicitor was no longer prepared to act on our behalf due to a conflict of interest. No details were given to us and Halkbank was ready to evict us, remove all our possessions and charge us for the storage." Wells said they were advised by their estate agents to have a solicitor send a letter to Halkbank to prevent the eviction. She said they hired a solicitor from the Turkish Legal Center in Istanbul, who then wrote a letter to the Halkbank manager in Didim on their behalf.
Notification of eviction
Stating that they have received an eviction notification from the bank, Wells said: "At the time of leaving we had not received any notice of eviction and had not been evicted. Our personal possessions were still in the apartments."
"The situation is getting confused," she said. "How did Halkbank end up with our apartments when the debt, as far as we were told was with İşbank and a variety of suppliers? Have our apartments already gone to auction without us knowing? Who has our title deed now? Are our possessions still in our apartments or have they been removed?
"So, 48,000 pounds for each apartment, plus additional costs of furnishings and domestic appliances, and what we really thought was a dream holiday home bought with our hard-earned money Ğ and now nothing to show for it," she said, adding they were just "ordinary people who aspired and worked hard to own a holiday home in a part of the world that they all truly love."
"The company run by the builder that we dealt with has now been declared bankrupt," she said. "But, we do know that he is building again in the area and has assets and is apparently attending auctions to buy back some of the apartments at rock bottom prices."
The Daily News learned some British people who were unjustly treated are setting up an action group.
British families have lost their homes and many others are at risk after a builder used the title deeds to secure loans both with banks and suppliers.
Rosalind Wells said her family has been fighting this difficult situation since 2007, speaking to the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
"In July 2007 we all came out again, and were told that debt had been put against our apartments and so the title deed could not be issued," she said. "The builder had used our title deed to secure loans both with banks and suppliers."
She said they spent a week visiting the Deed Office, the debt office and a solicitor in Altınkum. "We were left in a situation of not knowing how much debt was against our properties, who that debt was with, and there was no sign of the builder Ğ a man who previously had always spent some time socially with us as a friend! We had discovered that a mortgage of some description was against both our properties, from İşbank, and that our builder had defaulted on these payments already," Wells said.
"Then, we returned to the UK under the impression that our solicitor would be investigating the debt, would be able to move it to unsold properties, and so would get our title deed for us," she said. "We also were led to believe we had secured our apartments and that our property was ours again.
"But we had to return urgently in October 2008 because there were more problems. The bank that was now holding our deeds was Halkbank and our solicitor was no longer prepared to act on our behalf due to a conflict of interest. No details were given to us and Halkbank was ready to evict us, remove all our possessions and charge us for the storage." Wells said they were advised by their estate agents to have a solicitor send a letter to Halkbank to prevent the eviction. She said they hired a solicitor from the Turkish Legal Center in Istanbul, who then wrote a letter to the Halkbank manager in Didim on their behalf.
Notification of eviction
Stating that they have received an eviction notification from the bank, Wells said: "At the time of leaving we had not received any notice of eviction and had not been evicted. Our personal possessions were still in the apartments."
"The situation is getting confused," she said. "How did Halkbank end up with our apartments when the debt, as far as we were told was with İşbank and a variety of suppliers? Have our apartments already gone to auction without us knowing? Who has our title deed now? Are our possessions still in our apartments or have they been removed?
"So, 48,000 pounds for each apartment, plus additional costs of furnishings and domestic appliances, and what we really thought was a dream holiday home bought with our hard-earned money Ğ and now nothing to show for it," she said, adding they were just "ordinary people who aspired and worked hard to own a holiday home in a part of the world that they all truly love."
"The company run by the builder that we dealt with has now been declared bankrupt," she said. "But, we do know that he is building again in the area and has assets and is apparently attending auctions to buy back some of the apartments at rock bottom prices."
The Daily News learned some British people who were unjustly treated are setting up an action group.