How to buy real estate in Turkey

Turkey attracts foreigners not only a developed tourism industry, but also opportunities to purchase real estate. Buying housing in Turkey is available for residents of many countries, any nationality or religion. The only important condition is the solvency of the future investor. A pleasant bonus will be the fact that the owners of real estate in the Republic of Turkey in the amount of $400 thousand can get citizenship of this country.

But if you do not have this amount, do not despair. To buy housing in the primary market, it is enough to make a down payment of 30% for the registration of interest-free installment payment until the completion of construction work. The choice of real estate abroad - an extremely important and responsible moment, which will require significant financial investment, study of local legislation and other important nuances. In this article we will consider what is the difference between buying real estate in Turkey for foreigners, the rights and obligations of owners, as well as the stages of the real estate acquisition procedure.

Buying housing in Turkey for foreigners
According to changes in the legislation, which were introduced in 2012, citizens of 129 countries can buy real estate in Turkey. The only restriction is that they can not purchase residential properties on the Black Sea or land plots with an area of more than 30 hectares.
To attract foreign investment, the state government shows maximum loyalty to foreign buyers. For investing in the real estate market, foreign citizens can receive a residence permit or even citizenship of the Republic of Turkey. Initially, the investment threshold for applicants for a Turkish passport was $250 thousand. Due to the large-scale influx of migrants, the figure was raised to $400 thousand. But because of this, the number of those wishing to obtain Turkish citizenship has not decreased.

Buying real estate in Turkey: the algorithm of the procedure
Let's take a closer look at the sequence of the procedure of buying residential property in Turkey for foreign investors.
Stage 1: Preliminary sale and purchase agreement
To secure the right of the first applicant to own real estate and to confirm the seriousness of intentions, it is necessary to make a deposit and conclude a preliminary agreement on the purchase of residential property.
Step 2: Preparation of documents
To re-register the title to real estate, it is necessary to prepare a full package of necessary documents:

• Notarized copy of the foreign passport;
• TIN;
• Certificate of income;
• Statement of account in a Turkish bank;
• Marriage and children's birth certificates (if available);
• Power of attorney for a representative in case of remote conclusion of the transaction.

Step 3: Preparation of currency
In order to complete the sale and purchase transaction and pay for the real estate, it is necessary to convert the foreign currency into Turkish Liras. In addition, a bank statement from a bank branch will be required at the conclusion of the contract to show the availability of the local currency.
Step 4: Paying for the real estate
In order to buy a house in Turkey, a foreign investor needs to make a full payment. The money can be deposited into the seller's bank account or transferred through a legal entity. Make sure that the contract contains all the information about the residential property: price, payment terms, area and other terms of the sale agreement.
Important: when entering into a contract with foreign investors, a translator must be present at the transaction as a legal entity. He will be fully responsible for the accuracy, reliability and quality of the translation.
Step 5: formalization of ownership
Then the investor needs to re-register the ownership of the housing. To do this, the package of necessary documents should be submitted to the real estate registration office. This procedure takes from 3 days to several weeks.
Step 6: Registration of TAPU and connection of a subscriber number for utilities.
TAPU (Certificate of Title to Real Estate) is an official document confirming the transfer of ownership of real estate in Turkey. The Land Cadastral Office is responsible for issuing this document. Buy a home in Turkey without obtaining this document is impossible. To obtain the certificate, you need to register the property and issue a subscription number for the connection of utilities.
The TAPU contains all the detailed information about the owner, location, area of the land plot, cadastral value, registration number and other important information. In addition, photos of all homeowners must be pasted into this certificate. The number of possible owners for one property is limited to 10 persons.
TAPU comes in 2 colors depending on the type of property purchased. The red certificate is issued for residential and commercial real estate, while the blue one is issued for land plots.

Rights and obligations of foreign investors in Turkey
Investing in real estate in Turkey means gaining access to such privileges as the right to apply for residence permit or even obtain Turkish citizenship (the value of real estate in Turkey must be at least $400 thousand).
But, in addition to rights, investors must fulfill a number of obligations:

• Payment of annual real estate tax;
• Payment of all debts for the use of utilities;
• Payment of annual housing tax (the price of real estate in Turkey, exceeding $700 thousand);
• Compliance with the law;
• Independent control over the execution of laws and payment of taxes in their country.

Summarizing the results, we can conclude that buying a house in Turkey is a great tool for investing funds of foreign citizens. The only exception - residential properties on the Black Sea or land plots of more than 30 hectares. Provided that the purchase of real estate in the amount of $400 thousand, foreigners can apply for Turkish citizenship. TAPU is an official document to confirm the transfer of ownership of real estate in Turkey.