Buying a property in turkey
In this blog, we are trying to clarify some of the important issues and processes that you should pay attention in buying real property in Turkey and also provide you with some advices. We are aware of the challenges that foreigners might experience in investing in Turkey. With the intention to help new enters to the property market, we are going to elaborate on issues that matters during the process.
Some facts about Turkey
Turkey is a country that connects different continents together. Its proximity to Europe, Asia and Africa makes Turkey one of the favorite destination of people from different background. Istanbul is a commercial city. Some people might think Istanbul is the capital city of Turkey. Although Istanbul is the most famous city in Turkey with a lot of historical icons, the actual capital is Ankara.
There are a lot of historic places and attractive beaches throughout Turkey. From them Ayasofia is the prominent. Anyone visiting Istanbul would like to see this amazing place. Furthermore, there are beach side cities like Antalya which attract plenty of tourists globally especially in the summer holiday. As compared with other European countries, Turkey is relatively affordable to live and to do transaction. It has one of the fast-growing economies in the world and the real estate sector is booming. The country is stable and convenient to do business.
Interims of infrastructure Turkey is virtually connected by public transport, including long-distance buses, domestic flights, minibuses and ferries. High speed train connecting Istanbul, Ankara, and other cities is available. You can use air transport to almost all major cities. Booking and getting ticket is completely online and there is no inconvenience whatsoever. Metro is accessible in major cities and the taxi service is also very organized. Private and public companies are providing water, electricity, and natural gas and in stable manner.
In addition to that the people, food and the culture is mind blowing. The society is so accommodative and supportive of foreigners. The food is one of the best in the world. For these and other more reasons, Turkey is the kind of place everyone would like to have important investment like real property.
The real estate market in Turkey
There are different categories of real asset available for sale in Turkey. You can find villas, apartments, commercial places and shops and varies in qualities, size and price. Most foreigners tend to buy apartments to spend their summer holidays. There are a lot of real estate companies building houses and apartments for sale all over the country.
When we see the market price, it has been soared in 2021 mainly because of the general inflation. But given the protentional high inflation in the country, the price of houses is relatively stable. Yet the current increase in house price is one of the highest over the past few years. Having said that, the government is working on different stabilization activities and it is highly likely that the market will be stable soon. Interims of demand, the total number of home sale was high in 2019/20 but relatively decreased in 2020/21 due to the lockdown and global pandemic.
The dollar against Turkish lira value has been depreciated in apparent reason to attract more foreign investor to the country. The devaluation will give an opportunity for investor to buy real asset by using strong hard currency. The price of house in dollar is lower than the value in local currency due to the devaluation. Aside from that the general economic maintain growth despite the pandemic as most countries are struggling in economic fallout.
The other important thing is that the price of real estate varies from city to city and even differs in the same city depending on the value of place where the property is situated. For instance, price of home in Istanbul is expansive compared with other cities. Even in Istanbul, the value of houses at city center and the suburb has a huge disparity. Houses are relatively cheap in the suburb and new development areas. If someone is looking for a house in a quiet place and with reasonable price, suburbs of Istanbul would be the best chose. You can get the benefit of the city without being going far looking of a cheaper city to buy a house and also you can own a house with less spending.
In buying real estate, the first thing that you should pay attention is the transaction process. Before starting a transaction, you should set your mind together and determine in which part of Turkey you want to have a house. You might want a holiday home or want to invest in house for resale but in all cases, you need to be careful in choosing the right place. You may wonder where is the best place to buy a home/house in Turkey? The answer varies. If you want to invest in real asset to later sell it with a higher price, owning a property in Istanbul would be ideal. But your intention is a holiday home to relax and entertain the city of Antalya offers a wide range of luxury houses for holiday. Or you might want to live permanently in Turkey with your family, the clean, fast growing and quite city of Konya would be your first destination. Furthermore, there are homes available for sell in different cities of Turkey with attractive price and great features.
The next point is finding and researching about the house you are looking for. You may want the house to have certain specific features and you may also want a house situated at place which is possible to have accesses to sea view. To learn the specifics about home in Turkey, there are plenty of websites that you can visit. The website introduces you with a question about best place to buy a house in Turkey or best city to buy a property in Turkey. You should pay attention to the details in the website and that would be really helpful. There are independent websites working on real estate market which are gathering contemporary information regarding the different assets and the process on the transaction. Individual real estate companies also have their own web page to sell and advertise their product. Thus, you can either do your research from individual real estate website or from third party page which can provide you the general aspect of the market.
Doing your own research before getting it to a transaction could give you a clear mind to decide in one or another way. Besides in the course of researching you can learn, compare and contrast the price, qualities and places of different properties across Turkey. Most importantly by doing research you can make yourself familiar with the market price. Some people might want to take advantage of you. Since you are new to the place, you might be a victim of deceitful acts. For that, doing your research would give you the confidence to confront unreasonable bargain during the transaction process.
Thus, before starting the transaction make a good research by yourself and then try to contact people. For that visit different local and international websites about real asset in Turkey and the market condition. There are a lot of information about housing and real estate in Turkey. You should start the study before coming to the country. Doing the research while you are in your place would save you from unnecessary travel and accommodation expenses if in case you are not interested after the study.
The other crucial issue is finding a genuine and reputable real estate company to do business with. There are plenty of international and local real estate developing companies in Turkey. Most of them have their headquarter in Istanbul even though they have projects running in other cities or country. The government regulatory body closely monitor them and the building they are working on are beyond the minimum safety standard. They build houses that can sustain unfortunate incident of earthquake. The Turkish government tighten its regulation on safety of building and their durability during accidents.
As mentioned above, most of Turkish real estate companies are found in major cities like Ankara, Istanbul and Izmir. They have offices and they usually make advertisement in different digital and electronic media. Most of the advertises are on TV during prime time. From the advertisement, you can easily learn their business place and you can visit them in person. Going to the company office in person can be advantages on the ground that you can make a direct contact with the concerned body and this in result facilitate the transaction process. You can also avoid any potential misleading activities form unwarranted third party. You can trust real estate companies as they are working on a defined objective and goal to satisfy their customer.
Real estate companies have different packages to their customers from discount to facilitating mortgage. They also provide a long-time payment by installment to their instant buyers. If you pay in lump sum, you could get an attractive discount. Being a foreigner does not have any impact in getting discount and other packages from the company. They treat their buyers irrespective of their background whether they are local or foreigners.
Real estate is a very important asset. People spend a considerable amount of their money on real assets. The value of real estate is beyond price. it is a source of other funding to do business. It is also one of the most important security to get loan from banks. For this reason, you need to be extremely careful and you should pay attention to every detail to avoid any defect in the process. Agents are playing a vital role in Turkish real estate market. They are a catalyst by bringing buyers and sellers together. They are very resourceful and also, they can inquire contemporary information about the market. Some people who claimed to be agents working on real state may approach you to process the transaction and promised you to get a house with fair price and discount. To that end you will be asked to make advance deposit to get a preemption right when the property is available two sell. But you have to be aware that advance deposit neither a grantee to have a contract eventually nor legal. No matter how you have been persuaded, we advise you to avoid advance payment whatsoever. Besides, there are a lot of reputable real estate agents who are authorized to deals with such matters and if you made a carefully chose and pay attention, they would be extremely helpful. But you need to make sure that the agent is licensed and who is not insisting on advance payment. You can make research about them from their website and/ by going personally to their office.
Starting a transaction with a licensed lawyer would be both safe and helpful. Buying property in a new place is always be a challenge. You are new to the working environment and more importantly to the legal system. For that you might need to have a good lawyer based in the city where you want to buy the property. You can visit local websites to get a reputable lawyer or you can visit the office. With the help of your lawyer, you need to make sure that the seller has uncontested title deed which is not compromised by mortgage or not being part of a previous transaction. lawyers are trained for that. They have the knowledge of the law and they can access information about the statues of a certain property accurately. They can give expert advice on how to make a fruitful transaction. seeking lawyer’s insight during important transaction like is unavoidable.
You can find licensed lawyers and big law firms in all major cities across Turkey. Real estate transaction has both contract and property aspect. Working with a lawyer who have a working knowledge of both property and contract laws of Turkey is advisable. Law firms can meet your needs as they have lawyers working in variety of legal issues at the same place. But they may charge you more than individually lawyer. In Istanbul and in some other big cities you can even find lawyers speaking a foreign language like English, Arabic and Russia.
Legal Process
Legal process involves signing a contract, transferring title deeds and complying with relevant tax rules. This part is very sensitive. You need to pay at most attention or else result in unsuccessful or illegal transaction. As per Turkish contract law, a real estate agreement should be in writing and the paper should also be approved by a notary with authority. So first you should make a contract in accordance with the rule of validity. This is where an advice from a lawyer is very important. Different countries have different validity requirements for a legal contract. In fact, the real estate company could help you and guide you on this issue. But in order to maintain clarity in your transaction, it would be better to have a lawyer during the signing of the contract. After signing the contract, for it to have a legal effect it has to be attested by a notary in that specific jurisdiction. This part is helpful to the buyer in two ways. First the notary evaluates any contested interest on the property. Which means, the notary makes sure that you have a property which is not conditioned in mortgage or court order. And also, this is the time when you can be sure that there is a valid contract.
In accordance with the Article 35 of the Land Registry Law No. 2644, amended by Law No. 6302, which entered into force on 18 May 2012, the condition of reciprocity for foreigners who wish to buy property in Turkey is abolished. The task of authorizing foreigners to buy real estate in Turkey has been given to Turkish Embassies/Consulates abroad and the General Directorate for Land Registry and Cadastre. Persons with foreign nationality can buy any kind of property (house, business place, land, field) within the legal restrictions.
There are some formal procedures to complete the purchasing process, such as obtaining a tax number, opening a bank account, and power of attorney to carry out the legal procedures if necessary. To buy a property in Turkey, you need to have a Turkish Tax Number. Sales agents will be happy to help you get a Turkish Tax Number from the Tax Administration Office. Regarding a bank account, you need to open a bank account in Turkey to make money transfers, pay taxes and utilities, etc. Your assigned real estate agent will help you to open a bank account in Turkey. If you cannot come to turkey to initiate the process or to complete the one already started, it is possible for you to give a power of attorney to someone in Turkey to act on your behalf.
The last step in completing your real estate purchase in Turkey is getting your title deed. Tapu is an official document that shows your ownership over the property and is issued by The Land Registry Office. It is the most important document since it is the proof of ownership of the property.
Having an asset in another country is valuable but the way-out is not easy. There are a lot of preconditions and requirements you need to follow. Without fulfilling the requirements, you cannot proceed and own a real estate. Any attempt to bypass the condition illegally will entail criminal sanction.
After concluding a contract with the seller, you have to make an application to Land Registry Directorate. The application is made from the institution website or by phone call. Following the application, a date is given to you to start the process. during the due date you need to bring documents regarding the transaction. The first document you need to have is the title deed of the property. This document verifies the transfer of from seller to buyer. Upon a successful contract, title deep can be transferred from seller to buyer. Along with the title deed, you need to bring your passport with translation. You can find a certified translator in working on Varity of languages all over Turkey. The other important document is property value statement document form the municipality. This document is issued by the mayor office the city where you are buying the real property. In Turkey, for those buying real estate required to have having insurance policy of earthquake. There are different private insurance company issuing policy on building in case of earthquake accident. The authority always wants to make sure that, the property you are purchasing is insured or otherwise you cannot proceed to the next step. For registry purpose, you a photo of the seller and your 2 photos are required. To buy property in Turkey, you do not need to speak Turkish language. For that, a certified translator is necessary form the language the language you speak to Turkish. The land registry directorate works only in Turkish. You may sometimes appoint an attorney representing you in the course of the transaction. You can appoint someone residing in Turkey, or form your own country. In case of power of attorney issued abroad, the document showing representation should be translated to Turkish. Besides, it would be better if authenticated by the relevant body in your country. The other important point is that the amount of real estate to be bought by a foreigner cannot exceed the area of 30 hectares in total. This rule does not change even if the property is found in different cities and it cannot exceed of 10% of the county’s surface area according to the article 35 of the 6302 Deed law and Cadastre Law.
You as a buyer required to pay a certain amount of service fee and tax. Both parties to a real estate transaction should pay a determined amount of money by the authority in the form of fee. Neither being foreign buyer nor the fact that a foreign buyer is a natural person or a legal person changes the rate of the title deed fee. According to the rules of real estate transaction, a buyer is required to pay a property tax. The owner of the property is the one who assumes the obligation of paying property tax. The tax is applied as one per thousand for buildings, two per thousand for workplaces, one per thousand for terrain and three per thousand for land. If the property is within a metropolis, the rate doubles.
A lot of tourists or holiday makers mostly coming from British and European have owned holiday homes in Fethiye. When ever they are not in need of using them, they are generating money by renting them to another holiday maker coming to the town. Real Estates found at the town center are consist of some stone built Greek-Ottoman homes and mostly older style authentic looking houses with traditional timber balconies built in a crowded narrow town street. It is difficult to buy a modern, luxury villa because of the fact that such kind of homes are not consistent with the architectural style of the town. Despite that, with ancient style homes, Fethiye offers high level of privacy.
Best place to buy a house in Turkey?
There are a lot of interesting places in Turkey but if you are looking for a residence house, suburbs would be your best suit.
Best city to buy a real estate in Turkey?
It depends. If you want to have a commercial real estate, Istanbul would be your chose.
Can a foreigner buy a house in Turkey?
The answer is yes. A foreigner who can fulfill the legal requirement can buy a house in Turkey.
Can a foreigner get mortgage in Turkey?
Subject to the legal requirement, a foreigner can get mortgage form Turkish banks.
Can a foreigner get residence permit for buying property in Turkey?
A foreign citizen can be given a residence permit.
Can a foreigner get citizenship for buying property in Turkey?
The answer is positive. Investment in real property amounts 250 thousand dollars could get you a Turkish citizenship.