Foreign nationals also face restrictions on acquiring properties within municipal areas with less than 2000 registered inhabitants (article 87 of Village Act). Foreigners are also not allowed to purchase properties in the confines of military zones (Military Prohibited and Security Areas Act).
On 07 January 2006, a new law was enacted which put a limit to the amount of land that a foreigner can purchase. Foreigners are allowed to acquire a maximum of 30 hectares (74 acres) of real estate. Any piece of land exceeding 30 hectares requires a permit from the Turkish authorities.
A 10 to 25 deposit is needed during the initial stage of property acquisition, i.e., upon signing of the purchase contract. Permission for sale needs to be acquired by sending the deeds of property and passport translations of the buyer to the local Army Headquarters for approval. The permission for sale usually takes six to eight weeks to secure. Once the permission of sale is secured, the transfer of title of deed (“TAPU”) is done at the local Land Registry Office.
Having a solicitor to do the conveyancing is not a legal requirement, but it is highly recommended. Notarisation of all property sales to foreign nationals by a government-authorised interpreter is, however, a legal requirement. Moreover, both contracting parties (seller and buyer) are required to be present at the entry of title.
The whole process of registering property in Turkey takes nine days to finish. The Turkish government, in turn, takes three to nine months to process the application and release the title deeds for transfer.
FOOTNOTES TO TRANSACTION COSTS TABLE
The round trip transaction costs include all costs of buying and then re-selling a property – lawyers’ fees, notaries’ fees, registration fees, taxes, agents’ fees, etc.
Registration and notary fee:
Registration and notary fees are expected to add around 1 to the roundtrip transaction cost; including registration fees, solicitors fee, government-authorised interpreters fee, notary fees and various permits.
Stamp Duty:
Stamp duty of 0.75 is charged on the disposal of Turkish real estate provided that a sale and purchase agreement has been executed. Both parties to a transaction are jointly liable for the relevant stamp duty. However, in cases where one party is Turkish-resident and the other party is not, the Turkish resident usually declares and pays the stamp duty.
Title deed charge:
Title deed charge is paid to the Land Registry, 3 of property value, split between buyer and seller.
Agent's commission:
Real estate agent's commission is typically 6 of purchase price, split between buyer and seller. Other real estate agencies do not include VAT in their commission. Important Site links:
http://www.globalpropertyguide.com