Found Cheaper! Mistakes of Those who Buy Property in Turkey

Each investor is looking for the most favorable conditions to buy real estate profitable. But the conditions of purchase and the price of real estate are two separate criteria. According to one, there may be a benefit with a “plus” sign, while according to another — already with a “minus” sign.

How not to Get Lost in Search Choosing a Property in Turkey

To determine a property option, clients often turn to an agency or sales office and then take a break to look for additional information. And often they find options in the same location, or even in the same residential complex, but cheaper than the developer or agent had previously offered them. They are found mainly on the popular Turkish real estate website Sahibinden. What could be the catch?

Bait

It turns out that “this apartment was sold just yesterday”, but there are still other options. But the price is actually higher. Buyers often can stumble upon non-existent properties with a low price, which serve to attract the attention of potential buyers.

It is worth considering that the developer always presents potential customers with exactly the same price list that is available in the databases of all real estate agencies. And it does not provide any discounts for the fact that the client “came on his own” to the developer’s office. This is not only a rule of business etiquette that no one violates, but also the usual sales policy in the company. If an employee of the developer shows the price list, consults at the developer’s office, takes the client to a viewing, selects a lot with you and accompanies the transaction, this is exactly the same real estate job as real estate agents doing.

If a realtor shows the lower cost to the detriment of his commission in order to attract attention with an interesting, but not significantly lower price, this is an unscrupulous specialist whose level of qualification should raise doubts. First, he does not value his reputation, long-term prospects for work.

How to get a discount from the developer? The only way is to pay 100% of the cost immediately. Not all companies practice such discounts, but you can save from 2 to 10%.

The Price is Lower, But Profits are Zero

In most cases, when the price on the ad site is lower, this is already a secondary object, and not an offer from the developer. The previous investor bought at the start of sales and has already earned his profit by selling the object even “below the market”. And in this case, you should immediately ask the seller of the object the main question: “What cadastral value will be shown in TAPU?”, and everything will become clear. As a rule, this is about 30-50% of what you pay in fact. It can be either a construction or a new build house.

What's the catch? If we consider such an object as an investment, for further resale, the profit will tend to zero. When selling an apartment earlier than after 5 years of ownership, you will be forced to pay income tax, which is calculated on a progressive scale, and this is a decent amount. Profit is the difference between the amount for which the apartment was officially bought (in TAPU) and the official sale price.

Often such a secondary property is bought from investors by those who do not need to resell it in the future. But basically it is beneficial for those who do not plan to obtain a residence permit or citizenship, and they do not need a high cadastral value of an apartment.

To obtain a residence permit in Turkey under TAPU, the cadastral value of an apartment must be from 75,000 US dollars. And for obtaining citizenship — a minimum of 400,000 US dollars, and the property must be owned by the seller of a Turkish citizen, and citizenship should not have been previously obtained for it. For this reason, finding a second-hand citizenship in a resort from a Turkish citizen seller is not as easy as it seems. Also with a high cadastral, not actual value. It is easier to buy real estate from a developer, that is, a primary property, but look for options with a high cadastral value.

It is also important to consider that real estate in Turkey is subject to compulsory earthquake insurance, private insurance is also possible. And all compensation payments will be tied only to the official cadastral value.