Brand new and off plan villas and apartments along the beautiful coast of Turkey

Buying Procedure

General Information

Buying a property in Turkey is extremely straightforward and certainly easier than many other European countries - including the UK. Europeans (and most other nationalities - ask for specific details) may purchase land and property in Turkey in their own names provided that the properties are not inside military zones or within/on government land. 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 the necessary searches and checks for the abovementioned requirements, the transfer of both sides (the seller and the buyer) to be present at the entry in the property register. However, as this is often inconvenient for people who are residing abroad, a purchaser can authorise a third party to act as a power of attorney for this transaction. 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. The acquired property may be resold and the proceeds may be transferred out of Turkey.

The selling agent/developer will provide a purchase contract for the buyer and this will confirm:

Full details of the property being bought/sold.
The agreed price of the property.
Full details of the negotiated and agreed stage payment terms.
Any agreed extras (included within the price of the property, or included at the cost of the purchaser).

In the case of off-plan purchases, confirmation will normally be made of the buyers choice of fittings such as work surfaces, colours, ceramics etc. (project progress/schedule allowing).

The buyer(s) passport(s) will be taken to a notary for translation. This is a necessity for the security and property location checks mentioned above. The translation takes no more than an hour after which the passports are returned to the buyer. Once the application has been approved by the Land Registry Office (it takes 2-3 months for the security and property location checks to be made and approved), the vendor/developer will sign over the title deed ("Tapu") of the property to the buyer (assuming all outstanding agreed payments have been received). It is at the point of deed transfer that the purchase tax (3%) is paid.

It should be noted that independent legal representation is available to all potential purchasers if requested. In reality, the procedure is a very simple one and the employment of a lawyer is not necessary. However, when purchasing abroad the services of a solicitor to act on your behalf may help your confidence during the purchase, especially if you haven't bought abroad before.

Purchasing Real Estate for Private Use in Turkey (Information from the Turkish Consulate, London)

Foreigners may purchase land and property in Turkey in their own names provided that properties are located in towns (i.e. there must be municipality in the area where the property is and the property must be situated within the boundaries of that municipality or borough), not in villages or rural areas and outside of military zones. 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 abovementioned requirements, the transfer of the title is done by the Land Registry Office. 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. Also a three per cent duty (i.e. tax) is due and collected during the transaction. There exists an annual property tax, collected by the municipalities (i.e. local governments) at the rate of 0.3 per cent for private buildings. The newly built properties are exempt from the annual property tax for 5 years. All properties are subject to revaluation for every five years for tax purposes. The acquired property may be resold or rented out and the proceeds may be transferred out of Turkey. Different regulations apply when a property is purchased for business related purposes.