Feb 5, 2023

Buying a Property in Turkey as a Foreigner – a Full Guide

It is very obvious these days that investors, businessmen, wealthy people, students, even retired people tend to head to Turkey as a destination. This is due to many factors that made it a golden opportunity in all aspects, due to the high development that the country is going through these days, in terms of education, tourism, health, industry, economy, transportation, energy, Turkey real estate and many others.

Why buy property in Turkey?

Turkey has become a major player on the global stage. It is located between the East and the West, and practices the best of both worlds. It has a highly attractive Turkey real estate market that can offer significant ROI.

The following are some benefits of buying Turkey real estate:

The cycle of return on investment (ROI) is short-term in Turkey real estate. This is shown obviously by the statistics of the previous years.
There is an increasing and continuous demand on the real estate market, whether to buy or to rent, especially in the main cities such as: Istanbul, Ankara, Antalya, İzmir and Bodrum, due to the facilities that the Turkish government make in terms of work, study, investment or tourism, so people come to Turkey from everywhere. Even inside Turkey, Turkish people leave their villages moving to the main cities like Istanbul to study or work.
The purchasing power of Turkey real estate market, depends on the Turkish people, who consist of 93%, not on foreigners, who consist about 7%.
The low percentage of taxes imposed on real estate in Turkey, compared to European countries.
By buying Turkey real estate, with a value of $400,000 you can obtain Turkish citizenship within 90 days, with your wife and kids who are under 18 years old.

Related articles:

What distinguishes Turkey real estate from other real estate?

Real estate in Turkey competes with many Arab and foreign countries, with cheaper prices. There are so many real estate projects that attract investors from outside Turkey. Moreover, apartments in Turkey are built by the most important engineers and specialists who are keen to mix between architecture and green spaces and with the best building materials.
Real estate experts, engineers and international specialists testify to the quality of real estate construction in Turkey, in terms of seismic safety standards and many more.
Turkish law and government support the real estate market by granting the Turkish citizenship for buying Turkey real estate of $400,000 or more, and granting real estate residence by purchasing a property of no less than $200,000, in addition to lower taxes imposed on real estate compared to other countries.
The political stability, which in turn leads to the success of real estate investment.
There are many Turkey real estate investment options, such as buying a property in an under-construction project, in a vital area, then selling the property after the completion of the project with a higher price, including, not limiting, buying an apartment and rent it, and thus guarantee a fixed return for a period of time. Among the real estate investment options, also, buying an old property and making improvements to it, and then sell it with a higher price.

Things you should know before buying Turkey real estate:

Foreigners are prohibited from owning or buying real estate in Turkey that belongs to military and high security areas, which contain important historical monuments.
Turkish law allows foreigners to purchase land registered with the government as suitable for housing in order to construct a residential project on it, taking into account submitting the project to the specialized authorities, clarifying the nature of the property and the purpose of its construction within a maximum of two years.
The real estate purchase contract is invalid if it was done in an illegal way that violates Turkish laws and regulations.
The Turkish courts are the only authorized firms to resolve the disputes of the property sale process between the owner and the buyer.
You should bring a certified translator, during the purchasing process, in case you are not good at the Turkish language.
Electricity, water and gas meter must be registered in the name of the buyer after obtaining the title deed.

Documents required for the ownership process:

The title deed of the property in Turkey, which includes (the detailed address of the property).
Passport and a translated copy.
A report on the average real estate values in the region. This report is issued by the municipality.
Real estate appraisal report in Turkey.
Earthquake insurance policy for real estate in Turkey.
A personal photo of the seller, in addition to two photos of the buyer.
A sealed bank receipt of exchanging the value of the property from the foreign currency to the Turkish lira in an official Turkish bank.

Turkish laws of real estate ownership in Turkey:

According to the government amendment to Article 35 of Real Estate Law No. 2644 issued on March 18, 2012, the principle of reciprocity with regard to foreign ownership of real estate in Turkey has been abolished, according to which foreigners have the right to own any type of real estate within the borders of the Republic of Turkey.
A foreigner who owned a piece of land in order to construct a building must return to the municipality and the Directorate of Agriculture in the country in order to legally settle the real estate transaction.
The form of the contract: According to the laws and regulations in Turkey, the transfer of ownership of real estate should be through an official document called “Tabu” that is duly signed and registered in the Real Estate Registry Directorates.

Ownership transfer expenses:

The value of the property in the title deed must not be less than the value specified in the real estate values average report of the region.
Title deed fees, estimated at 4% of the value of the property registered.
Döner Sermaye which is working capital tax estimated from 700 to 2000 TL.
Value Added Tax (KDV) which is 3 segments 1%, 8%, or 18%.

Steps of buying Turkey real estate:

Before you make a decision about Turkey real estate, there are many steps that you must take into account to get your goal. Therefore, please read the following below:

First: be specific

You should be specific about the reason you are buying a property for, the city you want to buy in, and the type of property you want to buy. Once you define all of these from the beginning, all the next steps will be easier for you.

Second: the budget

You need to know that your budget is the one that will control your choices after doing the first step. In this case you should move very carefully, because even a small budget could bring you a good property and a good return with time if you were smart enough to deal with that. You can follow us on LinkedIn to know more about investing with a small budget.

Third: Hiring a real estate company

It is very important to head to a well-known real estate company in Turkey, that will study on your behalf all the dimensions of the market, based on its experience. It all also protects you from falling as a victim of real estate fraud.

We are ready to answer all your inquiries, so do not hesitate to contact us via WhatsApp, please click here.