Stranded property sellers

It is interesting that on the one hand there are complaints from trapped buyers about the inability to transfer their properties (either due to illegalities or due to non-issuance of titles) and on the other hand the absence of the buyers themselves to push with transfers, even where the titles exist.

The result is that the seller is charged with the operating costs of the property, the maintenance (perhaps) of the company, if the property is owned by such, the submission of bills, a tax of EUR 300 a year for the company, the payment to auditors and submission of accounts, the payment of common expenses and municipal taxes, etc.

Due to the prevailing mentality, it is very difficult, or almost impossible to convince uncooperative buyers to secure a transfer, since they will have to pay all their debts as buyers, taxes, transfer fees, etc, while others resell their right to buy to third parties through the transfer of rights (in most cases without the knowledge of the original seller).

So, what should the seller do?

While the buyer has the right to apply through a court for the execution of the transfer by filing the sale document, the seller will have to undertake the cost of court proceedings which include the payment of all costs that include the debts of the buyer, pay the lawyer’s and court fees and perhaps in many cases pay capital gains tax.

And after obtaining a court order they will have to wait for the buyer to cover all the costs, set by the seller in a Memo (prohibitory order) to the alienation of the property under study.

We have, as an office, waited for no buyers to arrive after the issuance of the titles and up to 15 years and in the meantime the owner or seller still waits.

The legal advisers informed us that “make the transfer and put a Memo (obstacle to the buyer’s ownership) until he pays you”. But is this a solution?

There is a solution for a seller to “close” the selling company, but this causes other problems (who will transfer the property when and if the buyer arrives, since the selling company will not exist?).

What about our 85-year-old seller who has been waiting for the buyer to arrive for eight years, while in the case of particularly foreign buyers they usually disappear.

The issue is serious and is to the detriment of sellers who are in a situation of long-term uncertainty. Maybe a solution is some kind of summary transfer and let the buyer object afterwards?

As it stands today, the prevailing opinion of the real estate market is that “the seller is to blame”.

In reality, however, a large part is the fault of the buyers, while the “curse” of real estate (communal expenses) from the data seems that the owner (the seller) will be responsible for paying the common expenses until the transfer date.

What strikes us is the silence from the developers who have to face multiple problems due to the above, while professional bodies (the Chamber KEVE, employers federation OEB), the state technical advisor (ETEK) also remain silent.

It is for this reason that we propose the need for a Deputy Ministry of Interior.

However competent the current Minister of the Interior as we believe he is, it is humanly impossible for him to deal with such and other related issues concerning the Lands Office and Town Planning matters.

Do we expect any developments in this regard? Not really.