This page includes:
Citizens of countries
who have a reciprocity agreement with Turkey can purchase a
property. This includes all countries within the EU.
The only restriction is that the property cannot be on
military designated land. The majority of properties in
Turkey is 'Freehold.'
Buying a property in Turkey does
not need to be any more difficult than buying in the UK. It is
advisable to have an English speaking lawyer involved from the
start. Here are the steps involved:
1. Reservation Fee
A reservation fee is taken normally
£2000 or Euro 3000. This takes the property off the market for
a month and freezes the price of the property.
2.
Appoint an independent lawyer
3. Power of Attorney
to your lawyer
You can decide
on how much power of attorney you would like to give your lawyer.
Some prefer to be in Turkey for the whole process, whereas others
prefer their lawyers to complete all the transitions on their
behalf. Power of attorney can be given for:
-
signing the private
purchase contract
-
opening a bank account
-
connecting to water,
electric and phone
-
transferring title deeds
into your name
Power of attorney is given at
the Turkish Notary Public. Passports are translated into
Turkish and then the power of attorney document is made up. As
the power of attorney is in Turkish, there is always an official
oath / sworn translator present to translate the power of attorney
into English,
When clients are not present in
Turkey to organise a power of attorney, the lawyer can send it by
post. Client will need to go with this document to a solicitor
or notary in their country to sign it. The power of attorney
must be stamped at the Commonwealth office. The power of
attorney is then sent back to Turkey and is translated into Turkish
at the Notary Public by an official oath / sworn translator.
4.
Title deed and building licence checks are made by your
independent lawyer
The necessary
check to be made are:
-
Title deed of plot is free
of debts and other charges
-
Title deed of property is
free of debts and other charges
-
The property is a freehold
property and can be purchased by a foreigner
-
The current ownership of the
property at the land registry
-
The builder has all the
necessary planning permissions and building licences
5.
Private Purchase Contract (max'm 4 weeks from reservation)
If the title
deeds are clear then your lawyer makes up a draft of the contract
between the buyer and vendor / builder. This contract mentions
all the details of the property - including delivery date, technical
specifications, payment terms, and any special adjustments to be
made to the property.
The draft is made in both English and Turkish and is then sent to
you. If the terms and conditions are agreed, the lawyer will
then confirm approval for signing the contract. Any amendments
can also be made until both parties are satisfied.
6. Payment of the
first instalment
If clients
already have their own bank account in Turkey the first instalment
can be paid from their own account to the vendor on the day of
signing the contract. If no Turkish account has been set
up, the first instalment will be sent to your lawyer's client
account (not to the builder direct). The lawyer will arrange
for it to be forwarded to the vendor on the day of signing.
All other stage payments can be made similarly.
7.
Military approval by the Turkish Government
Your lawyer
will need to send details of the property purchase to the Turkish
government military approval. This is to check that the
property is not located in a restricted zone for property.
The council of Ministers is authorised to determine specific zones
to be preserved such as lands that have strategic importance in
terms of agriculture, energy, history, mining, cultural, flora,
fauna and national security. Foreign nationals and foreign
companies will not be able to purchase property in these preserved
zones.
8. Independent
Surveyor (optional)
From the
second payment until the last payment of the property
are due, you have the option to hire an independent surveyor (cost
Euro 150-300 for a full report on the property).
9.
Transfer of title deed (Tapu)
Once military
approval has been granted and the last payment of full amount has
been paid to the vendor / builder, the title deed transfer takes
place at the Property Registry Department. Both the buyer (or
legal representative with power of attorney) and the vendor needs to
be present for exchanging of signatures and title deeds placed in
your name........ Congratulations the property is yours!
Buying Costs (about 5% of the property
value)
-
Purchase tax ~3% of sale
agreement price
-
Property tax ~ 0.5% of sale
agreement price
-
Legal fees 1-1.25% of sale
agreement price
-
Government tax ~ £100
-
Water & electricity connect fee
~ £250
Telephone: Connection fee £15 approx.
-
Notary charges ~ £100 - £250
Taxation in Turkey
-
Income tax ranges fro 15% to 40%
-
Capital Gains Tax ranges between
15% - 40% - but property is exempt CGT if you own it for more than
four years.
-
Real Estate Tax - annual payment
of 0.1% of the value of the property
-
Corporation tax is 30%
Estimated Property Running Costs in Turkey
For a free, no obligation, consultation simply complete the online enquiry form on this page - it only
takes a couple of minutes or
click here to use our call back feature
