Turkey property buying process: how to buy a house step by step

If you want to buy a house in Turkey as a foreigner, the Turkey property buying process comes down to seven steps: clarify your goal and budget, view properties, check the documents, reserve, set up a tax number and bank account, get a valuation report and DASK (compulsory earthquake insurance), and attend the appointment at the land registry office. You become the owner with the entry in the Tapu (title deed), and with complete documents that is done in one day. For completed properties the whole route often takes only a few weeks.

Picture the last step. In the morning you are sitting in the land registry office in Alanya, the sworn interpreter beside you, the seller opposite. The official reads out the text, both sign, done. In the afternoon you stand on your balcony in Oba with the key in your hand, the sea below, the Taurus mountains behind you, and the coffee from the baker on the corner is still warm. In between lie a few weeks, which we now go through together.

Step 1 in the Turkey property buying process: what you are looking for

It starts with a conversation, not a brochure. Do you want a holiday home for the winter months, a place to retire, an apartment as an investment or a home for moving to Turkey? Which region appeals to you, how much do you want to spend, do you need a sea view or would you rather have peace and a garden? After that we know whether Alanya, Side, Antalya city or the Aegean suits you, and you do not get shown properties that miss the mark.

The question of residence also comes up in this conversation. If you later want a residence permit through the property, we check before the search which districts are currently open for that. That saves you a disappointment after the purchase.

Step 2: Viewing properties, on site or by video

We search in our network and look at every property ourselves before you see it. You get photos, a video and an honest opinion. If the apartment looks good in the pictures and smells of damp in real life, we tell you.

If you can come, you fly to Antalya for three to four days. We pick you up and drive you round the properties in one trip, from Konyaaltı to Mahmutlar, depending on what is on your list. If you cannot come, you decide from video. Both work, and we have done both many times.

Step 3: Checking the Tapu, Iskan (occupancy permit) and charges

Before you sign anything, we get the Tapu extract, the building permit and the Iskan, the certificate that the building is fit to live in. We check whether the seller really is the owner, whether mortgages, attachments or pre-emption rights are registered and whether the building is approved the way it stands. In residential complexes we look at the Aidat (monthly service charge) for the pool, gardener and caretaker, and whether the seller is behind with it.

We sort this out for you. Only when the documents are clean do we move on. You can read more in the guide to Tapu and Iskan.

Step 4: Reservation and preliminary contract

Once you have decided, the property is taken off the market for you with a reservation fee. A preliminary purchase contract follows in Turkish and English, with the purchase price, payment plan, handover date and what is included in the price, for example the kitchen, air conditioning units or furniture. With a developer, the completion date is also stated here.

The deposit secures the property for you, but it does not yet make you the owner. That is why our preliminary contract is always translated, and before you sign you know what happens if one side pulls out.

Step 5: Tax number and Turkish bank account

For the purchase you need a Turkish tax number and a Turkish bank account. The tax number comes from the tax office on presentation of your passport, and you open the account the same day at a bank nearby. We come with you, translate and make sure you have both in your pocket by lunchtime.

The purchase price will go through this account later. You transfer the money from your home country to your Turkish account, and from there it goes to the seller on the day of transfer. That way the payment route is documented, in case you ever need to prove it later.

Step 6: Valuation report and DASK

Before the transfer, the land registry office requires a valuation report from a licensed surveyor. It costs from about 5,000 lira and is ready after a few days. Then there is DASK, the legally required earthquake insurance. Without DASK there is no entry and later no electricity connection. We arrange both with you, and the policy is issued in half an hour.

In parallel, for buyers from abroad the land registry office requests a check on whether the plot lies in a military or security zone. In the coastal towns where we work, this is routine and takes a few days.

Step 7: The appointment at the land registry office

Now comes the day that counts. At the land registry office, buyer, seller and a sworn interpreter sit together, the official checks the documents and reads out the transfer text. The Tapu fee of 4 per cent of the declared purchase price is paid at the bank beforehand, and the purchase price goes to the seller by bank transfer or bank cheque. After the signature you receive the Tapu in your name. From that moment the property is yours.

If you cannot come yourself, the appointment can go ahead by power of attorney. You have it certified by a notary or at the Turkish consulate, and one of us signs for you. The Tapu still comes out in your name.

After the handover: electricity, water, internet

With the Tapu in hand, we transfer electricity and water into your name, connect the internet and show you where to pay the Aidat. With a developer, we inspect the apartment with you and record what still needs putting right. After that our number stays with you. If next winter the air conditioning breaks down or you need a tradesperson, you call.

Advice and support cost you nothing, and we do not push. If a property is no good, we tell you before the preliminary contract and not after.