A “Vulture Fund” is an investment fund that will seek out and purchase securities in distressed investments, such as non-performing loans (NPL’s) from foreign banks. Typically, these NPL’s are loans or mortgages taken out on properties which have not been serviced by the borrowers for many years.
The objective of the fund is to 'swoop in' and pick up under-priced assets at a fraction of the debt, with a view to collecting from debtors an increased percentage on the bad debts. This is a common occurrence within the European Banking sector.
These funds then aggressively pursue the mortgage defaulters, seeking to recover the remaining amounts. Companies like Cerberus (SKY CAC Ltd ) Blackstone and Axactor are a few of the main organisations presently chasing clients in the UK.
Can a vulture fund pursue you in the UK for a Cypriot mortgage debt?
Once the vulture fund takes ownership of the debt, the sole aim is to pursue the defaulter for the outstanding amounts. Post Brexit, the majority of UK borrowers believed that the Bank(s) in Cyprus (or the acquiring entity) could not legally pursue them or the debt in the UK. However, this is not the case, and as more Funds acquire these debts from the Banks in Cyprus, being pursued for Cypriot mortgage debts in the UK has now become a reality.
What should you do if pursued by a vulture fund from Cyprus?
If you are pursued by a vulture fund, it is important that you get in touch with a specialist solicitor with experience handling Cyprus mortgage problems.
Many people mistakenly believe that, if they do not receive communications from their Bank in Cyprus regarding their mortgage debt for several years, this means that the debt has been written off. In fact, where an individual has stopped paying their Cyprus housing Loan, they are likely to now receive a legal demand for the immediate payment of the entire debt, even if years have passed.
The only way to ensure that the debt is written off is the work with solicitors with experience in this legal area, such as our solicitors at Judicare.
How can we help with your mortgage problems in Cyprus?
Depending on individual circumstances and always on a case-by-case basis, we can support clients in various ways:
For example, our solicitors can help in the following ways:
- Once we are engaged to negotiate with a fund on the client’s behalf, the client can take a back seat and we will handle the settlement negotiations.
- This is a good opportunity to negotiate a full and final settlement of the mortgage debt. The vulture fund will want to settle the matter themselves rather than having to seek the legal enforcement of the debt in a foreign jurisdiction.
Why work with Judicare?
Below are some of the reasons why our clients choose to work with us:
- Our legal team has decades of combined experience of handling mortgage problems with Spanish banks.
- We are regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA).
- We hold professional Indemnity Insurance, offering our clients essential protection.
- Instructing one of the unregulated so called (advisory” firms providing foreign property debt solutions across the EU can be risky, as there are no safeguards or any regulatory redress for clients if there is an issue.
- We have successfully negotiated over £40m of foreign Bank debt being written off for our clients.
- We’re members of the Association of International Property Professionals
- We are committed to principles of excellent practice within the international property industry.
Get in touch with our specialist solicitors.
Whatever your circumstances, we are here to provide practical guidance, tailored to your requirements.
If you are experiencing mortgage issues with a Cyprus bank, you can contact us by calling 01438 840258 or filling in our short enquiry form on this page. We offer a no obligation free consultation.