HOW TO BUY PROPERTY IN TURKEY AS A FOREIGNER

INTRODUCTION

With the law no 6302 (Law on title deeds and cadastral) which removed the mutuality principle regarding the foreigners’ ability to buy real estate in Turkey, lots of foreigners start to buy huge amounts of real estate in Turkey.

In this article, we will explain to our client how they can buy property in Turkey if they do not have Turkish citizenship. The constraints and principles will be explained in a detailed manner.

CONDITIONS FOR FOREIGNERS TO BUY PROPERTY IN TURKEY

Turkish Property Law brings special constraints and conditions for foreigner who are trying to buy real estate in Turkey. These are;

- If the land is in military security areas, the buyer must take permission from the relevant military authorities.

- Turkey must allow the foreigner’s country’s citizens to buy property in Turkey. The buyer must check the allowed countries list from the internet site of the “Title Deed Directorate of Turkey”.

- A foreigner can buy 74 acres of land at most.

- The total area of the land which the foreigner wants to buy, can not exceed the 10% of the relevant county’s area.

- A foreign legal entity such as a foreign corporation, can not buy property in Turkey.

PROCESS OF BUYING REAL ESTATE IN TURKEY AS A FOREIGNER

Except the constraint explained above, the process of buying a real estate in Turkey is pretty much same as for a Turkish buyer. We will explain the process in a step-by-step manner:

1- The buyer and the seller sign the “Agreement of Real Estate Sale” in a notary in Turkey.

2- The seller party makes a preliminary application to the relevant land registry office via internet site.

3- The officers in the land registry office will check the documents installed on the website by the seller party. If the documents are complete, the office will give the parties a rendezvous date.

4- On the rendezvous date, the parties must go to the land registry office building in person. The authorized people by the actual parties can do this process, too. The official document which registers the sale will be signed by the parties.

5- The buyer party will pay the title fee which is %2.

6- After signing the sale document and paying the title fee, the officers will present the buyer foreigner with the title deed.

DOCUMENTS NEEDED FOR BUYING REAL ESTATE IN TURKEY

In the relevant regulation, it is stated that the parties must submit some documents to the land registry office for completing the sale. These documents are;

- Title deed of the property

- ID card of the seller

- Passport of the buyer foreigner

- “Fair market value of the real estate” document from the local municipality

- Expert report regarding the true value of the real estate

- Earthquake insurance document

- Photos of the parties

- Authorized translator

- Power of Attorney document if one of the parties hired a 3rd part for represent them in the land registry office

OUR SERVICES AS ALFA LAW FIRM FOR OUR CLIENTS

With the Power of Attorney document, we will be able to complete every step explained above. Our clients don’t have to come to Turkey, we can buy the property for them. We will be able to sign, submit or prepare every document regarding the property sale for our clients.