Buying a property in Turkey is a lot easier than in
many other European countries. 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 located 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.
Once you have decided to buy and have paid a deposit
this represents an agreement between you and the
vendor. The following steps must be taken in order
to complete your purchase in accordance with Turkish
property laws.
Your passports are required so that a translation can
be made by a legal notary, after this a copy of the deed
to the property (the tapu) is sent with the copy of your
passport to the army, together with a copy of the
district plan showing the location of the premises.
About 8 weeks later these documents are returned
to us. The cost is approximately 30 GBP.
After carrying out necessary searches and checks for
the above mentioned requirements, the transfer of
the title is done by the Land Registry Office. In Turkey,
it is legally compulsory for both sides (the seller and
the buyer) to be present at the entry in the property
register. 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. A purchase tax of 3% is collected from
the purchaser during the transaction.
An annual property tax is collected by the
municipalities (i.e. local governments) at the rate of
0.3% for land and 0.1% for a house in the Fethiye area.
In the big cities these figures are double. All properties
are subject to revaluation every year for tax purposes.
On newly built properties, within 3 months of
construction finishing, the buyer must complete an
affidavit and submit it to the municipality for these
tax purposes. Lion Developments are happy to guide
customers through this process for the first time. 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.
Lion Developments Purchase Procedure
1) Lion Developments will draw up a contract with
the buyer detailing the agreed terms and conditions
of the purchase.
2) The buyer’s passport(s) will be taken to the Notary
for translation. This is necessary for the security
and property location checks mentioned previously.
The translation takes a maximum of half an hour,
after which the passport(s) will be returned to the
buyer.
3) Approx 2-3 months later when all necessary checks
have been made, the vendor and the buyer,
together with a witness will attend the Land
Registry Office.
Once the application has been approved by the Land
Registry Office, Lion Developments will sign over
the deed of the property to the buyer (assuming
all outstanding payments have been received). It
is at the point of deed transfer that the purchase
tax will be paid. (3%)
For peace of mind Purchases may use a solicitor at
their own expense. However, the use of solicitors
in property purchase in Turkey is not required, can
be costly and is rarely used. Lion Developments
would be happy to arrange the services of a solicitor
if requested.
