Irate landowners in the Nassau Village and Pinewood Gardens areas, on Tuesday night, told how their properties were illegally acquired, either by land developers or the government. Some said they have yet to be compensated for their loss, while others claimed that their plot was acquired while making monthly payments to the bank.
“I bought a property for some $40,000 in Pinewood Gardens, but I lost it when the government decided to build the Cleveland W. Eneas School on it. I also know of someone who had a property in the same area and it was taken away by Arawak Homes,” said an irate resident attending the Coalition for Democratic Reform’s town meeting on property titles and acquisitions at the Sadie Curtis Primary School.
The town meeting was held to inform residents on how to take possible action against the government for acquiring their land. On hand to offer legal advice to the residents were lawyers Fayne Thompson and Anthony Rolle.
One resident in particular, who spoke to The Guardian on the condition of anonymity, said she has exhausted all avenues to obtain compensation for her land that was acquired by the government. She said she purchased a piece of property in the Pinewood Gardens area, some 20 years ago when she was only making $100 a week. She told how she struggled to make monthly payments to eventually become the rightful owner of the property, but shortly after making her last payment to the bank, the government without question, tore down the fence that surrounded her plot of land, with the intention of constructing the Cleveland Eneas School.
“When I went to investigate what was going on, I was only told by the Government that my title was not good, even though I had my papers in my hand. This is just ridiculous and pressure must be put on those individuals selling properties to ensure the owners title is protected,” she said.
Lawyer, Anthony Rolle explained to residents that Nassau Village existed since 1926 and it was not until 1988 that landholders in these areas had their plans approved. He said because of this, the plans of Arawak Homes when they purchased property in the area during the same time, overlapped with the original plans that were already purchased by other residents.
“Because they overlapped, the surveyor general recommended to The Ministry of Works for several years, that no approval, with regards to new buildings, should take place by the Ministry of Works, but there is a problem in government and government departments don’t listen to one another and they don’t cooperate,” he said.
Mr. Thompson, on the other hand, pointed out that it is not only land developers and the government that may be taking property owners for a ride, but unscrupulous real estate agents that are selling property for little or nothing, of which they are not the sole owner.
“This normally happens to single mothers who are anxious to obtain a piece of property, but they are not doing the necessary research,” he said, adding that individuals upon purchasing property or completely paying their mortgage payments, should have their documents registered.
Mr. Thompson further told The Guardian that those individuals who have had their property acquired by the government or by land developers, can take legal action against the land developer or the government.
“Legislation provides for recourse. If in fact you have been abused by the government you can actually sue the government to be compensated for wherever wrong has befallen you. In fact there are three actions before the court on this very matter,” he said, adding that most of the residents at Tuesday night’s town meeting held two main complaints. These included, he said: The government not fairly compensating land owners, of which they have since built upon their land and the issuing of defective titles by Arawak Homes.
Mr. Thompson however, said that acquisitions by law can be allowed, but the land has to be acquired compulsorily and the person who initially held the land must be fairly compensated.
“This can happen, but residents of these areas are not being compensated. They can take representative action or individually instruct lawyers to sue them, otherwise just publicly embarrass them until you get what you want,” said Mr. Thompson.
Chairman of Arawak Homes, Mr. Franklyn Wilson, told The Guardian Wednesday that he “categorically denies” the claims made by residents of Pinewood Gardens and Nassau Village of his company acquiring and building on land that does not belong to them.
“Any individual who believes that we are building on their property improperly is free to visit with us and bring us whatever evidence they think they have to support their claim to ownership,” he said, adding that if an individual wished not to carry out this action, they are free to pursue the matter through the courts.
“Obviously, no court would allow people to build on other people’s land without their permission. That is just illegal,” he said, but stated however, that there have in fact been individuals who have visited the Arawak Homes office about land acquisition claims.
“We have encountered several individuals of this type and there are several attorneys in town today who gave opinions to people that they had brought the land properly. When Arawak Homes pointed out the errors in their judgment, several attorneys have, in the interest of their clients, said OK Arawak, we made a mistake in our title search and they have in effect brought the property from us, so that they can regularize their position and the position of their clients and predict their own reputation and relationships with banks,” he said.
According to the Arawak Homes Chief, he acquired some 3,000 lots and other properties from Pinewood Gardens Limited who were in liquidation at the time. He said that this company was owned at the time by Mr. Robert Petrie who was the then Proprietor when he acquired the properties more than 20 years ago.
“We are satisfied that we have titles to everything that we claim to own,” he said, adding that those who purchase property from agents should keep in mind that: “Individuals cannot buy something from someone, if they do not have anything to sell.”
Mr. Wilson also mentioned that the lawyers at Tuesday nights meeting, if they are politically oriented and really want to do something for the people, should investigate the matters Pro Bono.
By Tamara McKenzie, The Nassau Guardian
