Real Estate in Turkey - partwise different rules

Flats, plots and beautiful villas for a reasonable amount of money! European buyers of real estate in Turkey will get the full guarantee and security of the Turkish government concerning their property.

As is common all over Europe, the business of buying real estate is confirmed by fixing it into the official register in the name of the new owner. This is called the tapu. But don´t miss the notarised buyers contract, even people explain, it is not necessary. To get permission to live in Turkey is easy. If you are not staying for more than three months, visitors from some countries just need a tourist visa. Visitors from certain other countries do not even need that. It is reasonably easy to get the visa extended.

You will sign a contract with the construction company covering the complete process, handing over of the keys and the sales price, including the plot. All details of the sale such as price and dates of payment should be written precisely in the contract. Please make sure that the tapu is clear of any problems and also remember that all real estate paperwork and contracts must be signed by a notary. This is usual everywhere in Europe and it is the same in Turkey. Do not believe anybody who tells you otherwise.

Once you have the tapu written in your name, you are the new owner! This counts for everything.

Buying Real Estate in Turkey

Whatever European people are looking for when searching for real estate can be found in Turkey, especially on the coastlines to the south and west, which offer sun, sandy beaches, deep blue sea and cheap prices. This makes Turkey Spain?s biggest rival, especially where real estate is concerned. To be able to go shopping and pay reasonable prices, and to have a low cost of living are the most important reasons for people who decide to live in this country.
In every case, you should check that your chosen real estate can actually be sold to you. Sales to foreigners in, or next to, military areas are absolutely forbidden. There are certain laws in village areas as well. Foreigners are allowed to buy within the borders of a village only up to a certain size of property. However, these regulations are always changing.
As in most other countries, there are many regulations concerning the buying of real estate, but there are different ways to go about it. But be careful. Even your so?called best friend can change his mind and you could lose everything. If you give the tapu to him, he can even sell your property without a problem. Don't do anything you would never do at home.
Be especially careful if you are offered anything that might be called timesharing or even being a member of a building cooperative. They take your money but you can never be sure when the construction will be finished, if at all.
Depending on the region, you should be careful about the risk of earthquakes. There is a map available on the internet showing the likelihood of earthquakes.
Most important of all is the quality of the construction. Whenever possible, use an architect to oversee the whole construction for you if you are not over here. This does not cost much but may make a big difference in quality.

Sales Contract and Property Endorsement

Before signing any contract you should always check the tapu. To make absolutely sure the official sales contract is legal, especially if it becomes necessary in the future to use it at a court of law, you need to have all contracts notarized.
This is most important and is written in Turkish law. All real estate documents need to be notarized.
Whatever you may believe, you are not the owner of any real estate until your name is written in the tapu. Both the seller and buyer need to make a declaration at the tapu office, not at a notary, that the ownership of the property is changing. If you are buying a flat in an apartment block, you need to check whether the flats are individually owned (with their own tapu) before signing any contract. If there is no single tapu for each flat, you will not be owner of that flat.

This normally needs to be done initially by the existing owner of the apartment. He needs to go to the tapu office and try to get an official, signed document that each flat is an officially independent flat. If there is an agreement between the different owners of the apartments, that should be checked as well.
Even though you know that construction without any permission is quite common over here, you should not take any risks. Please make sure you have building permission. If you do not, there is a high risk of later problems with the government.
Whenever you are building your own house, you should not pay large amounts of money at the beginning. As construction progresses you should make payments. If at all possible, try to keep a small amount of up to 10% unpaid. This will help if you need to exert a little pressure if there are some small problems needing to be fixed at the end.

Please read as well:

The population of Turkey - a colourful mixture
Turkey - country based on two continents