Acquisition of real estate by foreigners in Turkey has begun in 2004

Acquisition of real estate by foreigners in Turkey has begun in 2004, coinciding with the issuance of the reciprocity law known as Law No. 2644, which allows foreigners from all over the world to own a property in Turkey except for the countries that does not allow Turks to own property in their country. However, there was an amendment to this law in May 2012, so that the new Law No. 6302 stipulates the abolition of the law of reciprocity concerning foreign ownership in Turkey, which increased the demand for real estate in Turkey.

It is worth saying that the greatest impact of the increase in foreign ownership of real estate in Turkey is due to the country's tremendous economic growth in recent years, in addition to the issuance of the new Turkish citizenship law. One of its clauses stipulating the possibility of obtaining Turkish citizenship through real estate investment.

Therefore, in this article we will go through the journey of the owning a property in Turkey by foreign investor in stages.

Steps for foreigners owning real estate in Turkey

To simplify the process we will divide it into three basic stages:

Pre-purchase
Purchase
Post-purchase.

In each of these stages, there are several steps that we will describe in detail:

The first stage “Pre-purchase”:

This stage begins as soon as you think about owning the right property for you among a wide and large range of real estate in a country characterized by its large area, environmental and economic diversity, which makes this task more difficult than it seems.

In order to choose the right property, follow these steps:

Choosing a reliable real estate office that advises you to choose the most suitable property at the best possible price, in addition to taking all the necessary legal procedures to own the property, thus protecting you from falling into legal problems.
Determine your budget as many decisions depend on it.
Choosing the location of the property is very important. In this section, you will have to make sure that you have chosen the most suitable property, in terms of the city, the view, and its location in relation to public facilities and other matters.
Choosing the specifications of the property in terms of space and interior design.
Ensure that the property has no legal problems, by checking in the real estate registry office.

Notes:

Foreigner cannot own real estate with an area of more than 30 hectares and a certificate of 300 acres, except for companies.
Even if you do not exceed the total area allowed, you are not allowed to own more than 10% of the total area of a particular town or neighborhood.
In cases of land purchase, the government allows purchase only if a project is executed within a period not exceeding two years, and in case the specified period is exceeded, the ownership contract will be terminated.

The second stage “Purchase”:

Once you have completed the first stage, the journey of legal producers begins. In this stage, it is necessary to emphasize once again the need to assign a real estate company that has the expertise to complete the purchase process professionally avoiding any potential problems and in a short time.

Although this stage can be completed in one day in many cases, there are many steps to follow:

Obtain a foreigner tax number from the tax department in the city.
Submit an application.
Open a bank account in a local bank to transfer the property amount from the country of residency to Turkish banks.
Prepare the documents required for the property ownership transfer, including:

- A document proving the seller's ownership of the property (title deed) or Tabu

The buyer's passport translated into Turkish and certified (Notered).

- Real estate evaluation report.

- Earthquakes insurance.

- Personal photo of the seller and another of the buyer, not exceed 6 months.

- Original copy of the procuration, in case one of the parties is absent from the ownership transfer session, it must be translated into Turkish.

- If the buyer is a company, copies of all the company's identification documents are required, in addition to the project’s building permit from the municipality.

Submit a request to transfer the ownership of the property at the Land Department and the Land Registry.
Pay the price of the property in full; to obtain the title deed (Tabu).
Pay the property ownership tax of 4% of the property price if the property is resale or a completed project. And in case the project is under construction, the tax will be paid equally between the seller and the buyer.
The presence of both parties with a sworn translator to register the property and sign the transfer contract.
Receive the title deed of the property in person or through an authorized agent.

Notes:

Any papers or documents requested must be certified or notered to consider it official.
In case of installments, or purchasing real estate under construction, the contract signed between the two parties is called a commitment contract, and the property ownership contract (Tabu) is not obtained until the completion of all the financial installments or the completion of the property construction.

The third stage “Post-purchase”:

After receiving the property ownership (Tabu), there are some simple tasks to do:

Registry of water and electricity meter under your name.
Issuing the real estate annual insurance against earthquakes and natural disasters (mandatory insurance).
Pay all bills and taxes owed by you, to prevent any legal accountability.

Here is a list of the most important expenses to own a property in Turkey:

The property amount.
The property ownership tax, of which 2% of the property price is to be paid for once.
The registration fee for the ownership transfer is $200.
The fee of the sworn translator is $100.
Translation and passport noter is $25.
Title deed is $90.
The broker's commission is upon the agreement between the two parties.
Registering a new water and electricity meter costs $350, yet in case of owner name change it costs $100.
Paying the annual property ownership tax, the value of which ranges between (0.1 - 0.6)% of the property price, and the difference is in relation to the type of property.
Insurance against earthquakes and natural disasters, to be paid annually, and not to exceed 0.1% of the property price
Monthly bills for water, electricity and residential services.

Advantages of foreign ownership of real estate in Turkey:

Owning a property in Turkey is distinctive, whether because it is an economic or tourist or so, yet the best advantages lies in:

For real estate worth less than 250 thousand US dollars, the owner can obtain a residence permit in Turkey that is renewed annually.
As for real estate worth more than 250 thousand US dollars, the owner obtains immediate residency in preparation for obtaining Turkish citizenship. It can be issued within couple of weeks from buying the property and obtaining the title deed.

Note: The buyer obtains residency or citizenship with his wife and children under the age of 18.

Acquisition of real estate by foreigners in Turkey has begun in 2004

Table Of Content

Steps for foreigners owning real estate in Turkey

The first stage “Pre-purchase”:

The second stage “Purchase”:

The third stage “Post-purchase”:

Here is a list of the most important expenses to own a property in Turkey:

Advantages of foreign ownership of real estate in Turkey:

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