Turkey has witnessed a rising trend in real estate investment in recent years. One of the main reasons for this surge is the increased demand for real estate due to developments in recent years. The rising demand in the real estate market has attracted many individuals and companies without authority and expertise to this sector. For these reasons, it is necessary to be cautious when buying and selling real estate and to be familiar with the laws of the Republic of Turkey. This article will examine the important points to consider when buying and selling real estate.
There are some differences between real estate that has been completed and ready for delivery and real estate that is still in the construction phase. In this article, we will specifically evaluate the issues to be considered in the purchase and sale of real estate that are ready and can be transferred at the land registry office. Ready-to-use real estate generally refers to properties that have no deficiencies for use and can be transferred at the land registry office without any problem. There is no obstacle to the transfer of ownership of these properties to the buyers and this situation can be registered with the land registry office.
Before deciding to purchase such real estate, it is important to clarify some issues to prevent the buyer from incurring losses. Especially, it is necessary to evaluate whether the real estate is ready for delivery after the transfer. If there is already a tenant in the purchased property, the situation of the tenant for the future should be clarified. There are certain regulations regarding residential leases in the laws of the Republic of Turkey. Especially when purchasing real estate with an existing tenant, the situation of the tenant under the lease agreement between the former owner and the tenant must be clarified. Therefore, it is necessary to request the relevant lease agreement from the seller. The lease agreement should be carefully examined, and the current conditions of the lease agreement should be clarified by asking the seller. Because the lease agreement signed with the tenant in the purchased property may be dated. In this case, it should be considered that the current conditions of the lease agreement may not be reflected. Especially in our country where inflation occasionally rises, it is observed that some rental fees may remain very low, and this situation leads to some legal problems between tenants and landlords.
After determining whether the real estate is ready for delivery, it is necessary to examine the land registry records of the real estate. There may be some annotations on the property that restrict ownership, such as debt, mortgage, attachment, and/or rights in favor of third parties. Since these annotations and records may be restrictive, it is very important to examine this situation until payment is made. To examine the land registry records of real estate that has not yet passed to the buyer, it is necessary to go to the land registry office with the seller or to apply for permission from the seller to examine the relevant records via the land registry system called WEBTAPU.
It should be noted that there are some differences between Turkish citizens buying real estate in Turkey and foreigners who are not Turkish citizens buying real estate in Turkey. In real estate transactions of foreigners, it is necessary for officially authorized experts to prepare an appraisal report to determine the value of the real estate. The relevant appraisal report can be prepared upon the seller’s application through the website WEBTAPU. Therefore, it is beneficial to request an appraisal examination from the seller before the purchase.
Upon the application made by the seller for the transfer of the real estate, a tracking number is given to the seller by the system in order to see the outcome of the relevant transaction. With this tracking number, it is possible to go to the land registry office where the application was made and make inquiries. After this application, the relevant land registry office processes the application and sends the transfer fees to be paid by the seller to the seller’s phone as a short message within a few days based on the declared sales price. There is a title deed fee equivalent to 4% of the declared sales price as a title deed fee, and according to the law, these fees must be paid equally by the buyer and the seller. However, in practice, sellers generally want to transfer these fees to the buyer. The parties can decide who will pay the fees.
Finally, it is important for the legal security of the buyer to pay the sales price of the relevant real estate on the day of transfer of the real estate. Especially, it is very important not to make payments in cash and to send them to an account opened in the name of the seller through a bank.
Following these procedures involves many technical details from a legal perspective, and to avoid any loss of rights, it is necessary to seek legal support from a lawyer. You can read our other articles for details on the purchase of real estate in the construction phase.
