Buying Guide
Buying a property in Turkey is a relatively simple process. This guide has been created to assist foreigners who wish to purchase a property in Turkey, however it is not a substitute for independent professional consultancy services.
Where can I buy property in Turkey?
Foreigners may purchase land and property in Turkey in their own names provided that properties are located in towns, not in villages or rural areas. The property purchased must be located within the boundaries of a municipality or borough. The land or home purchased must also be located outside of military zones.
There is no real difference between Turkish citizens and foreign people with regards to the documents required and issued during a property / land sale simply that all relevant paperwork must be translated into Turkish.
Property Purchase Procedure
Find your property
To begin with, you need to find a property that you want to buy. For our British buyers, buying a holiday home is a lifestyle choice and most tend to look at the country’s coastal areas on the Aegean or Mediterranean Seas. We offer properties in all of the popular coastal resorts such as Dalyan, Köyceğiz, Dalaman and many more. Most people tend to buy a relatively modern property in Turkey and the quality of new-build homes has improved drastically in the past decade. Brand new apartments and villas are available with a more contemporary open plan style, some with beautiful outdoor areas and swimming pools. Whatever kind of property or location you are looking for, we have something for everyone.
Once you have found your dream holiday home, we will draw up a contract with you detailing the agreed terms and conditions of the purchase. This will include the amount of your holding deposit, a date agreed where you will pay a full deposit and the final balance cost of the property. A legal translator appointed by government notary offices will be present for the duration of the process so that you fully understand everything.
Paper work required
The legal translator then takes the buyer’s passport(s) to the Notary for translation. This is necessary for security and property location checks. The translation takes a maximum of half an hour, after which the passport(s) will be returned to the buyer.
A member of our estate agents office will take you to acquire a tax number from the governmental tax office which you need to enable you to open up a bank account with both an GBP and TL currency facility.
You will need to get 6 passport sized photographs taken.
Next you must go to the notary where you will get a translation of your passport carried out and then give power of attorney to our estate agents office.
Please Note: This is only in regards to the purchase process of this specific property and is automatically cancelled once the purchase has completed.
After this has been done it means that you no longer have to actually be here as our office will do everything required on your behalf.
In order to acquire the title of a property, an application has to be submitted to the local Land Registry Office in which the property is situated. After carrying out necessary searches and checks for the above-mentioned requirements, the transfer of the title is done by the Land Registry Office. In Turkey, it is legally compulsory for both sides (the seller and the buyer) to be present at the entry in the property register during the transaction, the proofs or the documents concerning the transfer of the full purchase price into Turkey must be presented to the Land Registry Office.
We will oversee the applications for the TAPU (title deeds) and the Iskan (habitation licence) as well as dealing with contracts. The Iskan is a technical passport for your real estate which holds information about your property such as the number of floors and indoor infrastructure. The TAPU is an official document that shows property ownership. This document will include the owner’s photo and an official stamp and signature. It is vital that a TAPU is checked for authenticity by making sure that the name on the TAPU matches the sellers. We will check all of this for you as well as making sure that the TAPU does not come with any debts and matches the property in question.
Payment
On completion of the contract, you will be required to leave a holding deposit to secure the property. This is usually a 10% sale deposit and an earnest deposit plus 1% of the sale commission.
It usually takes between four and six weeks for the security and property location checks to be made and approved. The first step is military clearance, whereby it is checked that the property you are buying is not situated in a military zone. Once the application has been approved by the Land Registry Office and all other paperwork is in place, you will pay the remaining balance on your property and your seller will sign over the deeds of the property.
IMPORTANT CHANGE: The requirement of the “military check” for sales to foreigners has been removed in 16 provinces – including the province of Muğla. http://www.dalyanturkuazhomes.com/category/information/
Final payment
The remaining 90% of the purchase price must now be transferred into your Turkish bank account and again authority granted for the funds to be withdrawn. Also the 4% property purchase tax must be transferred at this stage as this must be paid in full before the new title deeds (tapu) will be issued.
The office will collect the new title deed (tapu) and transfer the electric and water supply into your name.
Collecting the keys!
Once all this has been completed we will contact you immediately to let you know that you are legally the new owner of the property.
The only thing left to do is pay the remaining 2% commission fee to our office and then we will very happily hand over the keys to your new property!.
Connection Fees, Tax and Insurance
Once you have the keys to your new holiday home, you will need to pay one off connection fees for utilities such as electric, gas and water. You will also be required to purchase earthquake insurance. Turkey does experience earthquakes and this insurance is mainly for peace of mind. All new build properties come with an earthquake warranty certificate by developers, but if you are buying a slightly older property, we recommend that you ask for one of these certificates.
Annual property tax is collected by the municipalities (the equivalent of council tax) at the rate of 0.3% for land and 0.1% for a house. Costs can vary slightly depending on your municipality and in the big cities these figures are double. All properties are subject to revaluation every year for tax purposes. If you are buying off-plan, as the buyer you must complete an affidavit and submit this to the municipality for tax purposes within 3 months of completed construction.