Property Buying Guide

Finances

Once you have decided to buy your future property, it is necessary to arrange your finances.  To secure the sale you must make a minimum deposit of 5% of the total price of the property and make a sales agreement.  International money transfer takes 2 up to 5 days depending on the method you choose.  If you need the money transferred within 1 or 2 days you can contact Western Union (affiliated with the bank in Kalkan), the fastest international money transfer in the world.  If you plan to buy with cash from a cash advance on a credit card, be sure to explain to your credit card company that you will be making a large transaction while in Turkey before you attempt to make the cash advance.  Most credit card companies will not allow abnormally high unauthorized transactions to occur in Turkey, in an effort to guard against fraud.

Before the deposit is paid to the seller we can help you prepare a sale agreement using an authorized translator as a witness and/or an English speaking lawyer.  The approximate cost of a lawyer is £300 for a sale agreement.  This fee can increase depending on additional legal services, such as power of attorney.

We can also help you open a bank account (any currency) at a local bank either in Kalkan or Kaş should you decide to transfer money (for a deposit) before you arrive in Kalkan or while you are here.

Completion

The entry in the property register in Turkey is not performed by a public notary, but by an official of the Property Registry Department (in Kaş if you are buying a Kalkan property).

You can secure a sale of a property at public notary (satiş vaadi seneti) through a legally binding agreement (max. 5 year under the same agreement) in the rare case that the title deed transferring process may take a long time before being transferred in your name.  By doing that you can put a hold against the sale of the property registered at the land registry.

If the buyer wishes to have the sale authorized by the notary the must pay a 0.3% authorization fee out of the property price. It is legally compulsory for both sides (the seller and the buyer) to be present at the entry together with an authorized translator for the transfer of the title deed.  If the property is to be in joint names both parties must be present for completion.  This means that buyers must be in or return to Turkey.  However, it is possible to authorize another person to act in your behalf through power of attorney.  This is a very convenient and legal way to complete your purchase while saving time and travel expenses for you.  With power of attorney we can act for you in the submission of your passports, in the transfer of money to the seller, the payment of sales tax (which is 3% total - 1.5% from the buyer and 1.5% from the seller) and in the exchange of the Title Deed. On completion of the transfer the Title Deed - which is called ‘Tapu’ - will be produced in your name(s) and we can safely hold it for you until you return to Kalkan.   Ownership is only obtained at the moment that the building(s), if under construction, has been completed and the full amount has been paid.

Property Buying Stages

Stage 1:

Mavi Real Estate and Property Services or any independent solicitor will draw up a contract with the buyer(s) detailing the agreed terms and conditions of the purchase.

(Gunal Law Office - A recommended Kalkan solicitor).

Stage 2:

Mavi Real Estate and Property Services or any independent solicitor will take a copy of the buyer’s passport and a copy of the title deed and submit them at the zoning department and the land registry office for military clearance and all the relating governmental departments (such as Ministry of Public Works and the Ministry of Reconstruction and Settlement, Ministry of Agriculture, Ministry of Forestry and Environment according to the new real estate law). Should the buyer(s) wish to give a power of attorney (POA) either to the agent or the solicitor at the public notary (in case the buyer may not be present during the deed transfer) this can be arranged within few hours through the week days.

Stage 3:
Mavi Real Estate and Property Services provides the documents by the local government that the property has no outstanding debts and was planned and built legally according to the building regulations enforced by the local government to which the property is registered. Those documents are submitted at the Land Registry Office prior to the title deed transfer.

Stage 4:
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), then it is at this point that the deed transfer takes place following the payment of the real estate purchase and sale tax (stamp duty).  A translation of the buyer(s) passport must be made and signed at the public notary. The buyer will pay half of the real estate purchase and sale tax, which is 3% of the property declared value determined by the local government).

Stage 5:
The agent, solicitor or other person holding the POA receives a copy of the new title deed, through which the utility registrations (water, electricity, council tax as well as earthquake insurance etc.) are made during the absence of the property owner(s). Otherwise the property owner(s) must be present at the local government and the at the electric company in order to comlete all the registrations.

Please Note: Conditions and/or stages may differ depending on the type of property involved, such as off-plan projects, commercial property, plots of land etc. The stages outlined above are rather applicable for completed residential properties.  However, they are the main stages that have to be followed in most cases.