New rules – Buying a Property in Turkey
The Turkish Government has recently introduced a new regulation for foreigner property buyers and these changes are vital. These new rules – buying a property in Turkey are now affecting all prospective property buyers and sellers. According to the latest state circular, all foreign nationals who purchase property in Turkey must exchange their money with the Bank of Turkey, and they must obtain the Foreign Exchange Purchase Certificate and it must be submitted to the local Deed Registry Office along with your other documents.
Prior to the purchase, the sale price (declared value) needs to be deposited in your account with the Bank of Turkey and transferred into Turkish lira by the Bank of Turkey. You will then receive a Foreign Exchange Purchase Certificate which you can then present to the local Deed Registration Office. This certificate confirms the name, surname, passport number or foreign identity number of the person on whose behalf the foreign currency was exchanged, the US Dollar equivalent of the foreign currency purchased (TL equivalent is always included) and a statement stating that this transaction was carried out within the scope of Circular on Capital Movements.
Foreign Exchange Purchase Certificate
Foreign Exchange Purchase Certificate
The circular is a very detailed government paper and discusses the Turkish Citizenship related requirements however, we have summarised it for those who wish to buy a property both with and without obtaining citizenship in Turkey.
Basically, if you are not residing in Turkey and your funds are coming from another country to Turkey for buying a property then you must follow these new rules.
If you are a seller and about to accept an offer from a foreign citizen then you are also affected by these changes. You will no longer be able to dictate receiving your money in another currency.
Step by step buying the property in Turkey
- Choose the property you wish to purchase first and find out the sellers’ situation.
- Choose a lawyer or a licensed real estate agent and initiate your legal search first.
- Get your Turkish Tax Number and open a bank account in Turkish Liras as well as one of the three currencies recognised by the state; English Sterling (GBP), American Dollars (USD) or EURO.
- If all is well with your chosen property, then ask your representative to organise a purchase & sales commitment agreement.
- Pay your deposit, remember that your deposit is fully refundable if there is any faults with the paperwork. This deposit amount is generally 10% of the total purchase value but can vary as per mutual agreement.
- A Home Report must also be obtained prior to your purchase. Please remember that the home report document is provided by a qualified property surveyor who is already registered with the local Deed Registration Office.
- It is time to transfer your funds. Do a Swift Transfer from your home bank to the bank account in Turkey. Please do not forget stating the reason for this transfer as it is extremely important and protects your funds. This is a new process and the banks are familiarising themselves with the fine tuning. Article 13 of the Circular of Actions has given this role to the banks in Turkey and staff training wil be ongoing for their clerks.
- Your bank will exchange this money with the Bank of Turkey however, only buyers, sellers or legal representatives can sign the exchange document. If you are giving power of attorney to a person in Turkey, you must make sure that they s/he has the rights in this document to carry out this role on your behalf.
- As a result of this you will be issued a Foreign Exchange Purchase Certificate and this document is required along with your other documents for initiating the purchase process with the Deeds Office.
- Your tax number/s, the Foreign Exchange Purchase Certificate, Home report, translated copies of your passport/s, the original POA (only required if someone is acting on behalf of you), Your mother and Father’s first names and a property buying form will have to be completed and handed in.
Although it may seem daunting, new procedures can often be so, it is actually straight forward and similar to property buying processes in many European countries. We are more than happy to assist you with your enquiries and with this purchase process if you contact us.
We await your enquiry and our team member are ready to assist you.
Paul Swinford
on said
How do you guarantee that the foreign seller who receives the Turkish Lira for their property gets the right amount in their own currency after the sale? For example if I want 150,000 GB Pounds for my property the extremely volatile Turkish Lira means I will have no idea how much GBP I will get when converting the Lira. Your advice would be appreciated. Thank you.
C Rice
on said
What is the source of your information?
gurol
on said
It is from the Environment and Cities Ministry Office & the Deed Registration Office. Regards
Sibel
on said
Merhaba
Hangi tarihten itibaren geçerli olacak ? Teşekkürler
sara
on said
Merhabalar efendim,
Geçen haftadan itibaren geçerli
Sohail Kizilbash
on said
The biggest problem I see in buying property in Turkey is that you have to pay the money BEFORE the tapu is transferred to your name. The seller can back out. The money should be paid by a bank draft in front of the Tapu officer.
Another smaller problem is that the buyer has to pay the Expert’s fee, the translator’s fee, the property tax of 4% and the circulation tax and after that the seller can just refuse to sell. (It has happened to me twice). The seller has not incurred any expense so he goes scot free. If the buyer was knowledgeable enough to get the sales agreement notarized with a penalty clause, he has some legal redress otherwise the agreements are not worth the paper they are written on. Even if the agreement was notarized, who wants to spend two years in a court battle just to get the penalty, and the sellers know it.
gurol
on said
Dear Sohail, There are many solutions that can be proposed for such obstacles. For example, we offer them a secure system at our office or at the bank and the money stays in the safe and the sellers and buyers change the keys of the safe or if they are in the same bank the money is frozen in the seller’s account until the money is frozen. deed transfer (but not all banks offer this service)
Regarding your two experiences, you do not pay any fees until you come to the land registry office. Yes you pay the tax (2% each for sellers and buyers, unless otherwise agreed) but if one of the parties exits the deal the buyers can get the money back from the tax office, you don’t pay any money to the translator until he does his job, yes you the Sellers will lose the appraisal fee if they don’t pay first and add this amount to the final amount. This is what we recommend to our customers. Also, please note that all deposit payments are fully refundable unless you are purchasing an off-plan property or asking the sellers; to make some changes in their home. I would be happy to answer all your questions if you send me an e-mail here;
[email protected]
Regards
Alan 101
on said
There was a reply to Paul Swinford’s question but it has been removed. I too have concerns around the risk of significant loss when the lira is exchanged to/from a foreign currency. Are there any guarantees in place to reassure foreign buyers and sellers that the agreed transaction value will be paid/received? Without guarantees this process will undermine the confidence foreigners have in the Turkish property market.
gurol
on said
Hi Alan,
We have just noticed that our website is turning into a social media platform which we do not wish that to hapen. I had already replied back to Paul via email and I will also answer back to you via email. Thanks. Gurol
Carol Davies
on said
I am buying a small property on Bozburun peninsula from an Wnglish friend. I have the money in Turkish lira in my Hsbc & teb accounts ( from the sale of land in Turkey in 2020) I have been told by the tapu office in Marmaris that I will need to convert this back to pounds then back to Turkish lira, surely this is wrong ??
gurol
on said
Good Afternoon Carol
The declared amount in the Tapu office needs to be paid in lira. I have put the link on here for you so that you can read the information.
https://www.keyholdersinternational.com/new-rules-buying-a-property-in-turkey/