Before You Buy
If you’ve set your sights on a property from the wide range of Kalkan Properties, it’s critical to ensure the legality and understand your rights in an unfamiliar country. Your Real Estate and Property Services Agent is there to provide impartial and expert guidance every step of the way.
Before finalizing your purchase, your agent will elucidate all the fees and taxes associated with buying a property in Turkey, helping you adjust your financial plan. As a general estimate, expect these costs to amount to roughly 2% of the stated buying price. Once you’ve put down a deposit, your agent can suggest a legal advisor to ensure all documentation is correctly handled and contractual obligations are presented in an understandable manner. If you prefer, their lawyer can also conduct a comprehensive search for added protection.
Managing Your Funds
Upon deciding to purchase your chosen property, sorting out your financial plan is next. To finalize the sale, you’ll need to make an initial deposit of 5% of the total property price and craft a sales contract. International money transfers can take between 2 to 5 days depending on your selected method. If you’re in urgent need, Western Union (partnered with the bank in Kalkan) offers the quickest international money transfer. If you plan on using cash from a credit card cash advance, inform your credit card company beforehand about the large impending transaction in Turkey to avoid any potential issues.
Before making your deposit, you can be assisted in developing a sales contract using an approved translator and/or an English-speaking lawyer. The average lawyer fee is £300 for a sales contract, but this can increase based on additional requirements, such as power of attorney.
You can also be helped in opening a local bank account in either Kalkan or Ka? to facilitate money transfer for your deposit.
Finalizing the Purchase
In Turkey, the property registry entry isn’t completed by a public notary but rather by a Property Registry Department official (in Ka? for Kalkan properties).
If the title deed transferring process is expected to take long, you can secure a property sale through a legally-binding agreement at a public notary. This also gives you the ability to place a hold on the property sale.
Should you want a notary to authorize the sale, you’d need to pay a 0.3% fee from the property price. Both the seller and buyer, and an authorized translator, must be present during the title deed transfer. If the property is jointly owned, both parties must be present. While this requires a presence in Turkey, you can also assign someone through power of attorney to act on your behalf, reducing your time and travel expenses. The power of attorney also allows them to complete tasks such as passport submissions, money transfers, sales tax payments, and the exchange of the Title Deed or ‘Tapu’. Upon completion, ownership is only obtained when construction (if applicable) is finished and full payment is complete.
