BUYING PROCESS IN TURKEY

 

INTRODUCTION

Foreign nationals are entitled to buy a property or land in Turkey under the Turkish reciprocity agreements. Although there are some restrictions which apply, the buying process is actually quite straightforward. According to Turkish Law, foreigners cannot buy property or land in some designated areas and the property or land must be within a municipality or borough boundaries. Foreigners cannot purchase in rural areas or military sensitive zones as well as archaeological sites. Also, you will need approval from The Turkish Cabinet of Ministers if the land or property is larger than 74 acres.

THE STAGES

Once you have found property of interest the stages would be as follows:

 

Stage 1: A reservation contract is drawn up in to hold the property you wish to purchase.
Stage 2: A reservation deposit is payable upon signing the contract, usually around £2,000 per property. The remainder of the balance will be payable as detailed in the sales contract. A typical payment plan on a off-plan property might be £2,000 deposit, then 30% of the balance in 4 weeks time, then the remainder of 70% on completion.
Stage 3: A solicitor draws up a sales contract in both English and Turkish, detailing what it is the purchaser is buying, the price that will be paid, and terms of the payment. These are signed by both the seller and the purchaser, usually in front of the Notary as witness.
Stage 4: You may wish to instruct a solicitor to carry out checks on the property you are buying, and to act on your behalf with power of attorney. The latter is usually done in a case where the purchaser is too busy to travel to Turkey. You or your solicitor can then get a tax number and open a bank account for transferring funds.
Stage 5: You make further payments as specified in the sales contract.
Stage 6: The title deeds "TAPU" are transferred into your name, after the application has been approved by the Land Registry Office (passing security and property location checks). This process may take 2 - 3 months to complete. You may be present for this or a solicitor can do this on your behalf with power of attorney. The TAPU property title deeds are then signed over to the new owner subject to all outstanding monies being paid. It is at this point that purchase tax of 3% is payable by the purchaser.

In some cases when purchasing property in Turkey, it is advisable to use an independant solicitor to carry out checks for you. Although it is not absolutely neccessary, a solicitor will check:

 

  • The property was built legally
  • If the property has any outstanding debts or mortgage
  • The person or company selling it is the actual owner
  • You are allowed to purchase in that area

 

Aegean Homes would like to stress that the above checks have already been made with the developers that we work with, for greater peace of mind. We only work with reputable developers who have already passed this vital criteria, and so we would warn you to be careful if considering purchasing from a private seller.


COMPLETION

As the new owner of your freehold property, you have to apply to the local council to register your property for the electricity and water bills etc.

AGENT COSTS

In Turkey there is also a typical agent commission rate of 3% of the value of the property for sale. This is a typical agent commission rate in Turkey, and it may not clear if you will need to pay this.

 

Aegean Homes does not charge you the purchaser any commission, we charge our fee to the developer.