1. Firstly, determine whether you will reach your goal with this property.
2. Consider the distance to the centre, your workplace, your children’s school, and transport links.
3. If the criteria indicate that you are eligible to buy the property, do not forget to check the registry record. in particular the suitability of the buildings’ seismic codes. It is useful to investigate whether the projects’ monitoring and licensing has permission.
4. If the real estate is a workplace or house, find out whether it has a tenant. If it has, how long is the contract and is there any debt associated with the property?
5. Do investigations on details, such as the environment and the garden layout, monthly expenses of the building, type of heating, age, installation status, security, sound and heat insulation, the parking situation.

According to the Law for the Encouragement of Foreign Capital ( 6224 /10 ) - All rights granted to domestic capital and enterprise, immunities and facilities that are working in the same field of foreign capital and enterprises will benefit under the same conditions - the foreign companies are given the authority to acquire property and rights in Turkey.

Property sales should be done officially. The process is completed when both the buyer and the seller sign the formal contract in front of the Title Officer. A personal application needs an identity card, 2 photos and if possible a warrant with the land management office. If one side, or more, is a legal entity a Signature Circular and warrant must be available from the trade registry office. When confirmation is received from the rights holders the Land Manager advises the appropriate officer.
After the officer has reviewed the documents the sales value is calculated and reported. When this is accepted as legal the necessary receipts are arranged. Once the fees have been paid the official deeds of the sale are read and signed in front of the Land Manager. For those who are not confident with their reading and writing this information will be read aloud in front of 2 witnesses, fingerprints taken and the witness testimony signed.
Other situations that may require a witness include one or more of the party being blind, dumb or unable to sign, mental instability or contracts until death. A sworn translator must be present when one or more of the party does not understand Turkish.
Employees cannot be used as a witness, all witnesses and translators must be literate and of sound mind. Finally, after the Land Manager has signed the buyer is entitled to take the deed.

The preliminary contract is related to making the actual sale. A notary is authorized to regulate the real estate sales agreement and certify the deeds. Being annotated to the Land Registry is a must. However the buyer cannot complete the agreement alone, the seller must also participate in this process. Otherwise the buyer may request registration in their name through the courts. Personal rights registered to the title deeds take priority over third parties. The rights and obligations of both sides should be clearly stated. The agreement also states the contractual price of the real estate and method of payment. The identification photographs of both parties must be attached to the contract and must be stamped by a notary.
Penalty clauses can be applied if any party wishes to withdraw from the contract. Information can be held for 5 years after which it is no longer valid. Penalty clauses can also be applied if the promise of the sale of immovable property on the annotation to the Land Registry has exceeded 5 years. If the sale is not completed in 5 years any or all beneficiaries of the promise of sale will lose fees already paid as a consequence.
The Land Registry must be notified of the cancellation in order to remove the annotation.

Legal restrictions for foreigners when buying property.

There are certain restrictions when buying property in Turkey. These include:
a) Persons with foreign nationality can buy a maximum of 30 hectares of property within Turkey.
b) Persons with foreign nationality can acquire property or limited in rem right up to 10% of the total area of said town/district.
c) No purchasing or renting of properties to foreigners within military forbidden zones and security zones are allowed.
d) The purchase of property can be blocked in the following cases: (i) if the property is acquired in violation of laws (ii) if the relevant ministries and administrations identify that the properties are used in violation of purpose of purchase (iii) if the foreigner does not apply to the relevant ministry within time in case the property is acquired with a project commitment (iv) if the projects are not materialized within time.
These restrictions do not apply when a foreign person or commercial company are legally established in foreign countries enabling a lien on a property within Turkish borders.

Application and procedure

Buyer should be from a country whose citizens can acquire property or limited in rem right in Turkey and meet the necessary conditions.

Application

The owner of the property or his/her authorized representative should make a preliminary application to the Land Registry Directorate (Preliminary applications are made before noon by taking sequence number). No application will be proceeded without preliminary application.

Necessary Documents

a) Title deed of the property or information on village/district, block, building plot, detachment.
b) Identification document or passport (together with its translation).
c) Property Value Statement Document to be provided from the relevant municipality.
d) Compulsory earthquake insurance policy for the buildings (house, office, etc.)
e) 1 photo of the seller, 2 photos of the buyer (photos to be taken within last 6 months, 6x4 size)
f) (for Non-Turkish speaking buyers) certified translator and 2 witnesses.
g) (If the Power of Attorney is prepared abroad), the original or certified copy of the Power of Attorney and its approved translation.

a) Both seller and buyer have to pay the tittle deed fee, calculated according to the selling price which cannot be less than the "Property Statement Value" to be issued by the relevant municipality. (According to the Charges Law No: 492, the title deed fee percentage for 2013 is % 2.)
b) Circulating capital fee which is determined locally has to be paid. (Maximum 70x2.5 TL for 2013.)
c) Usually a holding deposit will be required, which varies according to the area and the negotiation between the parties.

a) Check if the seller has the right to sell the property.
b) Check the Book of the Land Registry for any limitations on the property, such as lien, any kind of securities or encumbrances established in favour of third parties which prevents the sale of the property.
c) Holding a residence permit is not required for buying a property in Turkey. Likewise, buying a property does not grant a residence permit in Turkey.
d) Avoid working with persons/companies who/which are not expert or reliable.

Trade companies consists of limited partnerships, limited liability and collective co-operatives.
Trade companies have legal representatives who can acquire all the rights in the contract within the scope of written business issues. Those companies without legal representation are unable to that or register in their name. A trade company’s contract must include the phrase “property saving is allowed.” To take any action company officials must prove who their representatives are with an up-to-date certificate from the Trade Registry office.

Documents required for operation:
1. Tax ID
2. Signature circular
3. Authority and registration certificate taken from trade registry office.