Nicholas Homes - Wrong Bim Number

[Ian]

This is awful. Was the wrong bim number part of the fraud or a mistake and is there a reason the original owner would personally point it out?

[sadler]

Absolutely horrendous!  I thank my lucky stars that we dealt with an honest and highly respected builder/agent as we bought absolutely on the hoof, during our first visit to Turkey when we went for a beach holiday and had no plans in place to buy.  Such frauds really give a bad impression of the Turkish as a whole, but IMHO the vast majority are totally honest and reliable.   

[Scunner]

Absolutely horrendous!  I thank my lucky stars that we dealt with an honest and highly respected builder/agent

I'm sure everyone burned by this (and I know of others, just can't post about them - yet) believed they were very much dealing with  "an honest and highly respected builder".

I left the word 'agent' off that quote because it's different - this scam only works for people who deal direct with the builder/developer. There is no way your agent would sign a tapu into your name knowing the builder had taken out a loan on the property!!!

And 12 year on, I still stand by my view that a good agent is money well spent and going direct (sometimes after we showed them the property!) isn't the smart move some people thought. For example, the money one family had to pay to clear a Nicholas Homes debt off their tapu so they could sell was WAY IN EXCESS of the 3% they saved by cutting the middle man out!!!

Use a good agent. I may have mentioned it once or twice before. And hey, I was right.

[Scunner]

Just a footnote - this may be the tip of this rotten iceberg. These things only come to light if/when you want to sell. I'd suggest any NH direct purchasers to enlist the help of a solicitor, just to check the situation of their tapu. Any can do it but for property matters I would suggest Sule or Ozlen.

[Lotty]

I imagine a lot if people hardly dare check! Ostrich syndrome, I know I'd be scared.

[Scunner]

Me too, it's horrendous. There is a view that the only way to know for sure if your ownership is full and uncomplicated is to try and sell it, which is an awful state of affairs. But a good lawyer would be able to advise.

[cef]

This is awful. Was the wrong bim number part of the fraud or a mistake and is there a reason the original owner would personally point it out?

It could be either Ian, I think this happens more frequently than anybody realises & often isn't picked-up until the property is put up for sale or, because there are also other problems (as in my case) looked at far more closely, it took me 6 years to find out they had switched the numbers of the apartment around.  The apartment I chose, was given the keys for, furnished etc etc, I eventually learned wasn't 'on the deeds' that one at all!.  That also 'masked' the fact that Debts had also been taken out against mine   The only saving grace for me was Not signing for the Tapu, as I would have inadvertently also accepted the extra debt as well - Lucky escape eh!!!!!!

Even the MP they applied for was fraudulent!  The ex-landowner had already transferred 'my' Tapu into another's name when he signed the paper-work applying for my MP, declaring he was still the Legal Owner (one of my ex-lawyers - didn't notice this!)....... I have the original paper-work to prove this, just couldn't find any Honest Legal body to help me prove it

You really do need eyes in the back of your head if you're unfortunate enough to deal with one of the many rogues about!  My advice Re: POA's - Don't give yours to anyone (lawyers, agents etc. etc) that you wouldn't trust with all your bank account details including your pin number

The only lawyer I've haven't heard (or experienced) anything bad about is: Sule Beder.

[Ian]

Nightmare! - as Scunner says "reputable agent" every time!

[sadler]

Scunner, perhaps I should alter my comment to "in retrospect I thank my lucky stars. ........".  We could have very easily found ourselves in a similar position but the gods shone down and we bought from an honest developer who was also the agent.   

[Scunner]

I absolutely agree - you have to put your trust (and money) in the hands of someone when buying in Turkey and the rest is down in part to how your luck is.