As soon as you have found your perfect home, it is time to deal with the actual property transaction, which includes several steps. Turkey offers a simplified procedure of buying a property to foreigners. However, you may face some challenges because of the language barrier and not knowing the local legislation. That is why to avoid any possible problems it is better if you entrust this business to a professional. Local real estate experts will ensure that your transaction goes smoothly and is legally correct.
Let’s now look what the process of buying a home in Turkey involves.
Step 1. Sales contract
After you have negotiated agreed with all terms and conditions, you sign a sales contract that specifies the information about the seller and buyer, description of the property to be purchased, payment terms and conditions and rights and obligations of both parties.
Signing a contract does not mean that the transaction has been completed. You get the ownership only when the property is registered at the Land Registry Office.
Step 2. Papers
The next step is to collect the required papers: the tax identification number, power of attorney that gives a real estate agent the right to take part in the transaction on your behalf, a bank account in the Turkish bank.
Step 3. Payment
You can pay for the property in dollars, euros, pounds, Turkish liras. A seller can choose a currency that suits them more, but it is better to pay in the currency that is more popular in the area where you are buying your property. For instance, in the coastline areas euro is more popular. In Istanbul property sellers prefer dollars.
As for the payment options, usually property buyers transfer money via a bank. You can also pay partly by cash. You should keep in mind that you can get the TAPU (title deed) only after you pay for a property in full. If you get a mortgage, then it will be mentioned in the TAPU.
Step 4. Title deed (Tapu)
The key step of buying a home is getting the title deed. A seller and buyer or their representatives register a property transaction at the Land Registry Office. After that a buyer receives the Tapu (the title deed).
Step 5. Utility contracts
After you get the Tapu, you need to deal with the utility contracts. To do this, you will need:
- Copy of passport;
- Copy of the Tapu;
- Copy of the Iskan (certificate of habitation);
- DASK (home insurance);
- serial numbers of water meters;
- application form;
- power of attorney to represent the owner if needed.
As soon as you sign utility contracts, you can consider your home purchase is completed.
Related expenses when buying a property in Turkey
The additional expenses usually do not exceed 7% of the property price. This figure is considerably lower than in most European countries. So, what will you need to pay for?
- Power of attorney – up to €150
- Property tax – 4% of the cadastral value
- Stamp duty and translation services – up to €300
- Iskan - €1000
- DASK insurance - €150
- Utility contracts - €150-300
- Real estate agent service – according to the contract.