Step 1 – Location
Turkey has many excellent locations from the cosmopolitan and historic streets of Istanbul, to the country’s spectacular coastline on both the Aegean and Mediterranean seas. Turkish Riveria Homes specialize in coastal resorts and offer a full range of properties in Antalya, Side, Belek, Kemer, Fethiye, Üzümlü Göcek and Kalkan plus many more.
Our Turkey property portfolio includes new build apartments, villas and townhouses from contemporary styles to feature rich environments with on-site swimming pools and fitness centres.
Turkish Riveria Homes also offer carefully selected off-plan property developments in Turkey – with stage payments through to completion – and land sales for bespoke property projects.
Step 2 – Buying your Property in Turkey
- Negotiating price: Turkish Riveria Homes will assist you to obtain the price you want, through our excellent range of local connections with private sellers and developers.
- Reserving your home: Once the price has been agreed you can then reserve your home for a non-refundable deposit starting from £1000 / €2000 – usually 1% to 2% of the property’s value. This reservation deposit ensures that the property is immediately withdrawn from the market and confirms the negotiated price with the deposit then deducted from the sales price upon completion.
- Legal Process: At Turkish Riveria Homes we can assist you in appointing an established local solicitor highly experienced in purchasing property in Turkey. The solicitor is responsible for the contracts, processing your TAPU (title deed) and the ISKAN (habitation license). Many of our clients usually grant a power of attorney to the solicitor to complete the purchase on their behalf.
- Completion of purchase: This usually takes 4 to 5 days once the contracts have been signed and your solicitor has completed all necessary processes including TAPU and municipality check , property expertise valuation report – to ensure the property is freehold and true value and there are no outstanding debt on the property and then can be registered in your name.
Turkey Property Purchase Costs
- Purchase tax (stamp duty): This is 4% of the property’s valuation report , meaning you only pay a purchase tax of 4% on the valuation report of your property. This is a one off payment made at the stage of deed transfer, Stamp duty will be applicable 3% for residential property purchase until 31 st december 2019.
- Buyer’s fee: This is 3% of the property’s value paid to Turkish Riveria Homes and is a standard agency fee for real estate companies in Turkey. Turkish Riveria Homes will never charge you over 3% and any company that asks you for more than 3% is likely not reputable.
- Legal fees: On average a Turkey real estate solicitor will charge around £1000 / €1200 for their services, though charges might be higher for a more complex purchase such as a bespoke design and build.
- Miscellaneous fees: We generally advise clients to budget an addition £400/€500, for connecting the gas and electricity, and any other approvals and paper work that might be required on the property.Summary At Turkish Riveria Homes, we advise clients to budget between 5% to 6% of the purchase price to cover the cost of purchasing their property in Turkey.When compared to other markets Turkey really does offer exceptional value for money – for instance you would pay 10% to 21% in additional fees if purchasing property in Italy, Spain or France.
Your Income Tax Status in Turkey
If you are classified as being resident in Turkey then you are liable to pay income tax in Turkey. However, if your status is deemed to be non-resident in Turkey then you are only liable to pay income tax on any rental income derived from your Turkey property.
On-going Costs for Owning a Property in Turkey
- Annual Property Tax: This is normally between 0.6% to 1% of the assessed value of your property. For example, if you purchased a property in Turkey for €100,000 – with an assessed value of €60,000 – then you would pay around €600 per annum.
- Utilities: This is, of course, dependent on usage, but around €30/40 per month.
- Income from Real Estate Tax is divided into 2 categories: rental income on your Turkey property is taxed at between 15% to 30% with maintenance, wear and tear plus a personal allowance all deductible from the taxable amount. And there is a capital gains tax on the profit generated when you sell your property in Turkey. This is calculated on the difference between your purchase price and sell price. Capital gains tax bands range from 23% to 35%.
Turkish Residency Permit
The majority of Turkish tourist visas are issued upon arrival (cost around €15) and allow you to stay up to 90 days. Though since 2013 foreign nationals who purchase a property in Turkey are automatically granted a 1 year residency permit.
Applying for a Turkish Residency Permit
You simply to need to complete an online form at the Directorate General of Online Management (DGMM) after which you will be directed to make an appointment at your local DGMM office to complete the process.
Documents checklist for Turkish Residency Application
- 6 passport sized photos / 2 colour copies of your TAPU / Your Turkish tax number / a bank statement showing you have sufficient funds to reside in Turkey / Identity documents for your spouse and children such as passport copies and birth certificates / your residency book if re-applying / an official residency folder available from most good stationaries.
It should be noted that whereas in the past if you were out of the country for more than 120 days, you would forfeit your residency. This law is no obsolete and there is no restriction on how long you can spend outside of Turkey.
