“I don't understand why I can't sell the apartment!” he practically barked at me over the phone.
“Remember when you bought the apartment, I explained to you that the land attached to the apartment couldn't be registered in your name because you're not a local citizen. After consulting with the broker, you agreed that the land would be registered in her name.
I warned you back then that this might create problems in the future, and that perhaps you should look for another solution, and that at the very least you needed to get an irrevocable power of attorney from her. You said you trusted her and that everything would be fine, so how is it my fault now that she doesn't answer you and you can't manage to locate her?” I replied angrily.
The next day I consulted with the team. We found a solution that took longer and cost the client quite a bit of money. We went to court and showed that the broker had left Romania several months earlier and had not yet returned; the client stated that she was not answering his phone calls; and we also presented email correspondence showing that the parties' intention was for the land to be registered in the broker's name only formally, in order to meet the requirements of the law, and that the entire payment for the apartment had been transferred by the client.
After 2 hearings and further demands from the judge, in a rather unprecedented step, an order was issued instructing the land registry to register the sale in the name of whoever buys from our client, including the proportionate share of the land.
Stories are based on real situations, with identifying details changed. Not legal advice.
Translated from the Hebrew original. עברית