Finding out that your lawyer is guilty of malpractice is not something that you’d like to experience, I would guess. This small guide is to help you avoid experiencing such an incident.Finding a lawyer is the first and most important step in purchasing property abroad. I would imagine that you tried to find an independent lawyer and that you have most probably picked the one suggested by the real estate agent dealing with the transaction. I have witnessed this way of finding a lawyer several times. Having no better choice, buyers choose lawyers introduced by the other party -- most of the time by developers or agents. In such a case, a foreign buyer certainly and naturally thinks that any lawyer would provide services to his client with loyalty and in a way to protect the rights of his client. This is indeed what he is paid for. Lawyers are supposed to be independent, but if the lawyer is referred and recommended by the other party, you should stop and think about this. It is a good idea to check your lawyer’s credentials and references. You may have already asked for former clients of the recommended lawyer as references. References, as well as credentials, are always important and should give you an idea about the quality of service of the professional you have hired, but to what extent?
When you find out that you did not actually buy a house but a piece of paper, then you go back to your lawyer and find out that the person who recommended this lawyer was working with the lawyer.
Please read the following letter and inform others about this situation. If there are other people still waiting for their tapu (property deed), they may soon find out that they will not get it. The letter about the situation is as follows:
“We are one of 19 owners who used various solicitors in the Bodrum area to buy apartments at Marina Vista, Gulluk. We personally used K … Lawyers [I will not mention the name in case there is a lawsuit against him/her or his/her associate lawyers.] However, the solicitors did not look after our interests -- did not notarize our contract, and so we later found out it was not a legal document and that our tapu had been passed on to someone else over a year after we had paid for the apartment, furnished it and had been using it. We spoke to someone at K … Lawyers, and they said, “Just because you paid for it doesn’t mean you necessarily own it, and there is a risk involved”!!! We said, “Do you think we would have handed over all our money if we had been advised of any risk!” -- we had paid them money to look after our interests, trusting them the same way we would trust a solicitor in the UK. We would appreciate your comments regarding this, as we don’t know what course of action to take. The builder is already in a court case with the landowner. We have approached other solicitors, and they have said we will not be able to get our tapu. We think we should take the solicitors to court, but don’t think we could get another solicitor to take action against them.Also, we seem to keep paying for help, action, never to get anywhere and can’t keep paying out. We have got to the point of not really feeling able to trust anyone. Hopefully you can give us some guidance about this.”
I will write more about this in the second part of this article on Wednesday.
NOTE: Berk Çektir is a licensed attorney at law and available to answer questions on the legal aspects of living in Turkey. Send enquiries to b.cektir@todayszaman.com The names of the readers are disclosed only upon written approval of the sender.DISCLAIMER: The information provided here is intended to give basic legal information. You should get legal assistance from a licensed attorney at law while conducting legal transactions and not just rely on the information in this corner.
