Does anyone have experience with buying property in Turkey?

[Dalit]

I will soon be flying to Turkey with some friends to view an apartment in Turkey. One friend actually buys houses/apartments and renovates them to rent and has years of experience. The apartment is located in the beautiful city of Izmir (Torbali). The apartment is located in a 8 story building and is approx. 150 m2. It has a pre-built kitchen, 2 sleeping rooms, 2 bathrooms and a living room. Underneath the apartment there are shops. The apartment is still being built and will be delivered in August of this year. The apartment costs 55000 euros, but the actual price after August will be around 80 to 90000 euros. Does anyone have any experience with buying property in Turkey? I have heard a lot of dodgy stories. What should I take into account before buying property in Turkey? Are there any reliable people on the ground that speak English and can help with the purchase?

 

[touela]

My brother in law has an apartment in Alanya for the past ten years. He paid 50.000 euros and has been super happy about it. He and his family visit Turkey twice a year.
he bought the apartment in an area where a lot of danish ppl already lived. They helped him in the process And the Turks didn’t do anything wrong in the presence of danish ppl. I my self are considering buying an apartment in Alanya. My brother in law knows a lot of local Turks now whom would gladly help us with any issue during the procurement process.
all that said, do try to get help of a local and thrust worthy person otherwise you could get as much f*cked by the locals as u could get in Pakistan.

 

[jamal18]

A friend of mine bought a property 'being built' in Morocco. After many years, it is still 'being built'.

He has accepted that the money is lost and has moved on.

Sorry to be negative, but my 2 paisa.

 

[Dalit]

A friend of mine bought a property 'being built' in Morocco. After many years, it is still 'being built'.

He has accepted that the money is lost and has moved on.

Sorry to be negative, but my 2 paisa.

Sometimes it is too good to be true and it often is. That is why I am asking for 2nd opinion.

My brother in law has an apartment in Alanya for the past ten years. He paid 50.000 euros and has been super happy about it. He and his family visit Turkey twice a year.
he bought the apartment in an area where a lot of danish ppl already lived. They helped him in the process And the Turks didn’t do anything wrong in the presence of danish ppl. I my self are considering buying an apartment in Alanya. My brother in law knows a lot of local Turks now whom would gladly help us with any issue during the procurement process.
all that said, do try to get help of a local and thrust worthy person otherwise you could get as much f*cked by the locals as u could get in Pakistan.

Exactly. I am going with a good friend and his Turkish neighbour to Turkey on 12th of this month. The Turkish neighbor is also from Izmir and knows the contractor in Turkey. This area has attracted me a lot. It is near the coast and the air quality is superb. Doctors from all over the world advice their patients to visit this area with various illnesses to recover. Additionally the area is beautiful and strategic. You can visit other great cities from this region in Turkey.

I hear a lot of mixed stories. Erdogan is obviously interested in attracting as much foreign investment. In the past there used to be many scams. Even Turks got scammed. From what I have understood is that a potential foreign buyer must hire a lawyer nowadays and get paperwork sorted through a local lawyer. This way fraud can be reduced and in event of problems the case can be brought to court.

I have similar plans. The house is initially meant for holiday visits with family. I am just a little cautious about getting scammed.

 

[Trango Towers]

I will soon be flying to Turkey with some friends to view an apartment in Turkey. One friend actually buys houses/appartments and renovates them to rent them and he has years of experience. The appartment is located in the beautiful city of Izmir (Torbali). The appartment is located in a 8 story building and is approx. 150 m2. It has a pre-built kitchen, 2 sleeping rooms, 2 bathrooms and a living room. Underneath the appartment there are shops. The appartment is still being built and will be delivered in August of this year. The appartment costs 55000 euros, but the actual price after August will be around 80 to 90000 euros. Does anyone have any experience with buying property in Turkey? I have heard a lot of dodgy stories. What should I take into account before buying property in Turkey? Are there any reliable people on the ground that speak English and can help with the purchase?

Brother I have not purchased property in Turkey however I have good experience in the property sector as a whole in Pakistan UK and UAE.
My advice is that unless you understand the laws of the land don't buy.
The profit of approx 30 thousand euros may look good but that's a promise only. When we purchased in the UAE we were told residency comes with the property. After we purchased apparently we misunderstood. However, it wasn't important as residency wasn't important for us. Then having rented the property for years there were issues with maintenance costs. The managing agents charged whatever they wanted to and didn't care as you had no choice but to agree. When we decided to sell there were all sorts of issues taking the money out of UAE. Example you cannot open an account in UAE unless you are resident. Well we have lots of money tk take out and no way of doing it.

Point I am trying to make is don't falk for what your friend says. Do your own research. If you are happy fine. My personal experience is unless you are there don't buy in a place where you don't know the language, the law and don't understand business. Buy where u know what's what

 

[Dalit]

Brother I have not purchased property in Turkey however I have good experience in the property sector as a whole in Pakistan UK and UAE.
My advice is that unless you understand the laws of the land don't buy.
The profit of approx 30 thousand euros may look good but that's a promise only. When we purchased in the UAE we were told residency comes with the property. After we purchased apparently we misunderstood. However, it wasn't important as residency wasn't important for us. Then having rented the property for years there were issues with maintenance costs. The managing agents charged whatever they wanted to and didn't care as you had no choice but to agree. When we decided to sell there were all sorts of issues taking the money out of UAE. Example you cannot open an account in UAE unless you are resident. Well we have lots of money tk take out and no way of doing it.

Point I am trying to make is don't falk for what your friend says. Do your own research. If you are happy fine. My personal experience is unless you are there don't buy in a place where you don't know the language, the law and don't understand business. Buy where u know what's what

Very sensible advice. Thanks.

There is always so much more than just buying a house. Unfortunately, I don't speak the language so that is another major hurdle. You are correct. What happens if you want to sell the house and move the money? This is something I must know with certainty.

The friend is an established person. His situation is different to mine. He is in his 50s and has earned handsome amount of money. He now lives life for fun and having a house here and there is just leisure activity. He has many houses in The Netherlands and he bought a house in Spain recently. Now he wants a house in Turkey because his wife is from Kazakhstan i.e. Turkish connection.

 

[Dalit]

A friend of mine bought a property 'being built' in Morocco. After many years, it is still 'being built'.

He has accepted that the money is lost and has moved on.

Sorry to be negative, but my 2 paisa.

I know a Pakistani brother over here in The Netherlands who has been in Morocco for over a year. He bought a house there and is happy from what I understand. He is now exploring the housing market to expand business opportunities, but he seems to have found reliable locals.

 

[ARMalik]

Trango Towers pretty such nailed it in his post. The problems I have faced is that it is very easy to get money into countries like Pakistan, with Turkey no different , etc. but very hard to get your money out. If you have not lived in the country and do not have solid contacts in the country, you are putting yourself in a lot of risks including being scammed.

REMEMBER, do not depend on relatives or friends to look after your investments and property.

 

[Dalit]

Trango Towers pretty such nailed it in his post. The problems I have faced is that it is very easy to get money into countries like Pakistan, with Turkey no different , etc. but very hard to get your money out. If you have not lived in the country and do not have solid contacts in the country, you are putting yourself in a lot of risks including being scammed.

What really worries me is seeing the apartment with my own eyes, hearing the stories, placing the signature and still being scammed. I have understood that this has happened often.

 

[ARMalik]

What really worries me is seeing the apartment with my own eyes, hearing the stories, placing the signature and still being scammed. I have understood that this has happened often.

Very true. Here in Australia, it is very simple. I simply hire a government licensed Property Lawer/surveyor. There go through the data of the property and advise on who owns it, type of property example, free standing, strata land, etc. They pick up historical issues with the property, existing loans with the banks, etc.

Hence I strongly recommend that if you can find a registered property Lawer/surveyor in that area of Turkey, then use their services. Don't involve anyone else, just google it, and talk the Lawer/surveyor yourself, ask what they can do for you. Spending a few hundred dollars on this is nothing compared to the amount you can potentially loose if you do not do your due diligence.

 

[Dalit]

Very true. Here in Australia, it is very simple. I simply hire a government licensed Property Lawer/surveyor. There go through the data of the property and advise on who owns it, type of property example, free standing, strata land, etc. They pick up historical issues with the property, existing loans with the banks, etc.

Hence I strongly recommend that if you can find a registered property Lawer/surveyor in that area of Turkey, then use their services. Don't involve anyone else, just google it, and talk the Lawer/surveyor yourself, ask what they can do for you. Spending a few hundred dollars on this is nothing compared to the amount you can potentially loose if you do not do your due diligence.

Agreed. This has been on my mind for the past few weeks. I want to involve some form of authority. English is another issue in Turkey. Generally the Turks don't speak English well. Having someone at official capacity who can speak English helps greatly.

 

[Trango Towers]

I know a Pakistani brother over here in The Netherlands who has been in Morocco for over a year. He bought a house there and is happy from what I understand. He is now exploring the housing market to expand business opportunities, but he seems to have found reliable locals.

But when it comes to taking money out of Morocco Tunisia etc its almost impossible for locals let alone a foreigner.

 

[Dalit]

But when it comes to taking money out of Morocco Tunisia etc its almost impossible for locals let alone a foreigner.

Is this due to government protectionism policies?

 

[Trango Towers]

Is this due to government protectionism policies?

Yes . 100%. I have Tunisian and Moroccan friends who have money in their countries but cannot being it out to make their lives easier

 

[Dalit]

Yes . 100%. I have Tunisian and Moroccan friends who have money in their countries but cannot being it out to make their lives easier

A good thing for Morocco and Algeria. They are taking steps against capital flight. Obviously these are not countries where a foreigner is going to invest easily. I hope Turkey is a different case.