How to transfer a property title deed in Turkey
1_Performing the necessary formalities before the transfer of the property title deed
2_Affairs that should be conducted at the date of transfer
1_Performing the necessary formalities before the transfer of the property title deed
- Meeting of buyer and seller
- Drafting a purchase agreement for the target property
- An introduction to the duties and responsibilities of a real estate agent in transferring the title deed
- Documents required for the date of title deed transfer
- Management of the financial plan for the date of title deed transfer
- Information about the date of title deed transfer
1_ Meeting of buyer and seller
As noted in previous sections for choosing the target property in Turkey, and how to inquire about the property, now it is time to seriously enter the phase of buying the target property as we will discuss below. Here we mention the common legal and customary methods to purchase a property in a step-wise and complete manner.
Upon the election of the desired apartment or property, the real estate agency will invite you as the buyer and the seller to hold a meeting to decide on the final price, how to transfer the title deed, and payment method. During this meeting, you will meet with the seller of the property, where you will jointly discuss and agree on issues such as the date of the title deed transfer, the final price of the object of sales, the payment methods and how to transfer the sale price to the account held by the seller. Any such agreements will be stipulated in the bill of sales or sozleşme.
2_Drafting a purchase agreement for the target property
As we mentioned in the previous section, after the meeting between the buyer and the seller and the agreements that are made regarding the transfer of the title deed, along with any other mutual agreements, the agreement provisions will be legally drafted in written in form of a bill of sales at the office of real state agency.
In this agreement (aka sozleşme in Turkish), important issues will be stipulated which will be discussed below.
At the beginning of this contract, the particulars of the buyer and the seller will be mentioned along with the national ID. No. (aka Kemlik in Turkish), or passport number for foreign nationals and their residence address. Further, the address of the property under sales will also be stipulated in the preface of the contract as the property to be sold. In the next step, the real estate agency will draft the contract by entering the property code, identifier and name, and the agreed details will be mentioned clause by clause. One of the most important points in the contract, which is usually included in the first paragraph, is the agreed amount for the purchase of the property. This should be included both in numerical and written forms. The next important thing that should be mentioned is the advance payment, which is called KAPORA in Turkish. This will be included in the contract as paid by the buyer to the seller at the time of conclusion.
In addition, it will be definitely stipulated the commission paid to the real estate agency. In this case, both sides may be charged from 2% plus 18% tax based on the government’s legal tariff in 2021, which is included in the bill of sales. It will be paid to the real estate agency on the last day after the transfer of the title deed.
Among other things that will be mentioned in the contract, if any of the parties involved in the transaction withdraw from the transaction, they will be required to pay a 4% commission along with taxes to the real estate . This will be officially prosecuted by the law. Therefore, if you are not sure about making a deal or if you need more time to choose your target property, avoid signing the contract and do not enter into a serious deal because it will have consequences for you.
Another important thing that can be mentioned in the contract, and is very important for foreign investors, is to set the date for the transfer of the title deed. This should undoubtedly be stipulated in the contract. Upon the agreement, you are obliged to attend the Tapu office to transfer the title deed at the specified date and transfer the money to the seller’s account. Naturally, if you do not attend on the specified date, you will be required to indemnify any loss/damage suffered by the parties. Considering the circumstances governing the money transfer from foreign country to Turkey, be very careful about the time and date of the transfer of the title deed so as not to suffer.
Some important points regarding the property bill of sales
1- When drawing up the contract and before signing it, check the contract completely. If you do not have sufficient command of Turkish language, get the help of a certified translator and avoid signing it until you are informed of all the provisions of the contract.
2- According to the existing tariffs and market customs, do not pay more than ten to fifteen percent of the advance payment, and for the advance payment, in addition to including in the contract, request a receipt from the real estate agency.
3- Pay close attention to the transfer date of the title deed and check it before signing and if you need more time to transfer, ask the seller.
3_An introduction to the duties and responsibilities of a real estate agent in transferring the title deed
Definitely, if the agent that you have chosen to purchase your target property using their services has been trained in professional principles, they will smoothly provide for transfer of the title deed without any complications.
In this section, we intend to fully discuss the duties and responsibilities of the real estate agency in transfer of a title deed aimed at increasing your knowledge and caution in this regard.
After your desired real estate agency has held the related meeting with both buyer and seller parties at its registered office, and prepared and drafted the bill of sales based on the mutual agreements, the real estate agency should perform the duties as stipulated by the law in a duly and good manner.
After registering the bill of sales in which the transfer date of the title deed has been agreed upon, the real estate agency should request an appointment from the Tapu Office. Note that Tapu Office works under the supervision of the regional governor. This is to transfer the title deed and complete other matters until the date of RANDEVU.
After receiving an appointment from the governor to transfer the deed, the real estate agency is required to receive a certificate confirming the authenticity of the property or the EXPER report for foreigners, without which the deed will not be transferred for foreigners. This is one of the documents that should be submitted at Tapu Office.
For this report, it should be noted that the cost of this certificate, usually around 1,500 to 2,500 liras, must be paid by the buyer.
After preparing the EXPER report, which takes about three to five days, the real estate agency should collect the personal documents of the parties, including passports, translations of national Id. cards, translations of notarized birth certificates, and personal documents of the buyer, and deliver them for the purpose of title deed transfer.
4_Documents required for the date of title deed transfer
In order to transfer the title deed at the specified date, it is required to provide necessary documents; otherwise, the procedure will face interruption at the Tapu Office and it will be postponed to another time with a new appointment.
In this section, we will discuss documents that you must have with you when you attend Tapu Office.
1_ Personal photo of seller and buyer
2_ Housing insurance policy against earthquakes (DASK)
3_ Municipal certificate of completion
4_Certificate of the real value of the property from the municipality
5_In case of lack of proficiency in Turkish, a certified translator to the judiciary
6_ Inquiry report about settlement of tax debts
7_Applicant’s tax code
8_ Original passport and notarized translation of passport and national Id. card
What is the property expert report (aka Ekspertiz Raporu) in Turkey?
According to the legal decree of the government, for foreign buyers who intend to purchase property in Turkey, a general report of the purchased property is required, which is called expert report, or “Ekspertiz Raporu”). In this report, which includes the general information of the target property, important information such as the condition of the property, accommodation and all other information related to the purchase of the property is included.
In this report, which is issued by the private sector approved by the government, all the details of the property are recorded and the regional price of the property along with the exact area is recorded and presented to the government.
In Turkey, due to paying high taxes, many buyers do not report the real value of the property to the government; for example, if a property is worth 400,000 liras, they register its expert report for 300,000 liras.
This is due to the tax evasion of the property owners to pay a lower amount as tax.
The expert report is important and vital for those who are looking to obtain a passport and citizenship by purchasing a property in Turkey, because the government considers the price included in this certificate to obtain a passport, which should be higher than $250,000.
But if you are not looking to obtain Turkish citizenship and passport and the property you are buying is worth less than $250,000, the property report is not particularly important because the value of the property is not a criterion for obtaining a Turkish residence card.
5_Management of the financial plan for the date of title deed transfer
One of the most important factors that you should pay special attention to before transfer of the title deed is to duly managing your financial resources to pay the required amount to the landlord at the specified date. As we mentioned in the previous sections, the transfer of money from foreign country to Turkey usually has its own difficulties, and in the case of a detailed schedule, it might also face problems that must be paid special attention to in advance.
Based on our objective observations over many years, it seems that many people have not been able to transfer the desired amount to Turkey on a timely manner and as a result, transfer and register the title deed at date of RANDEVU. This has led to payment of damage and cancellation of the transaction by the seller; therefore, scheduling the transfer of money to Turkey in advance for the purpose of the transfer of the title deed is inevitable.
6_Information about the date of title deed transfer
Considering the fact that the majority of our audience consists of foreign investors who are willing to purchase a property in Istanbul, the points we put forward based on the experiences we have already gained are very important and worth noting as to reduce any probable loss in purchase of a property in Turkey.
It is important to carefully consider the date of transfer of the title deed because if you are not present on the appointed day, it will invalidate the contract and your transaction with the buyer will be automatically canceled. In this case, you will be required to pay losses to the parties of the contract. In many cases, foreign investors mistakenly assume the date of attendance with the registration date and cause them to lose time.
2_Affairs that should be conducted at the date of transfer
1_ Payment of the title deed transfer fee
2_Presence at the desired Tapu office
3_ Transfer of transaction price
4_ Conclusion and Signatures
5_Delivery of the object of transaction to the buyer
1_ Payment of the title deed transfer fee
In this section, we will specifically discuss the expenses incurred for buying a property and any fees that should be paid to the government and the Tapu Office, and in the next parts, we will mention the total expenses that a property purchase will entail for you.
Regarding the cost of transferring the deed in Turkey, it should be noted that since the beginning of 2020, in transactions related to buying and selling, 4% of the total cost related to the deed shall be calculated and included in the contract of sales as fee.
This general cost related to the registration and transfer of the official document of the property in newly built projects will be collected from the parties of the transaction equally, i.e. 2%, by the General Department of Land Registration and Cadastre, which performs the transfer.
In buying second-hand houses, all costs are paid by the buyer according to Turkish customs.
Among other things, on the day of transfer, two amounts of working capital (DONER SERMAYE BEDELI) and sale to non-Turkish (YABANCI YASAK) will be received by the government from the applicant, which should be carefully considered.
2_Presence at the desired Tapu office
As an appointment from the governor and the Tapu office of the desired region is obtained by the real estate agency, the parties to the transaction should attend the governorate of the region along with the documents that we mentioned in the previous part. After paying the Tapu fee, they should attend the relevant governorate and Tapu office aimed at conducting any affairs related to signing and transfer of the title deed.
A point that you should pay attention to in advance, the address of the Tapu offices in different regions is listed on the official websites of the municipalities and governorates of each region, and you could easily find the address to timely attend at the appointed time.
Considering the volume of applicants that may refer to the Tapu offices in each region, the staff of the relevant office will accept you based on the prior appointment only. It is suggested that you arrive at the desired governor’s place a little earlier than the scheduled time.
Note that the date of title deed transfer is very important, and the presence of the parties involved in the transaction is required at the Tapu office. If any of the parties or their lawyers are not present for any reason, the title deed will not be registered and transferred.
3_ Transfer of the transaction price
One of the most important matters that is always discussed on the date of Tapu or title deed transfer is how to transfer the price of the transaction to the other party, which is considered very sensitive and important for foreigners. Let’s draw the other side for you
Usually, in amounts less than one million liras or five hundred thousand liras, foreigners pay the desired amount in cash and in person to the landlord when they are at the Tapu office, and at the same time, signatures are also affixed.
In many areas of Istanbul, private sector companies carry out the matters related to the registration and transfer of the title deed, which have a room for the purpose of money counter aimed at counting and transfer between the parties. Then the parties refer to the desired governor to provide the signature on the relevant documents.
But for higher amounts, especially in the case of figures above 250,000 dollars and obtaining Turkish citizenship, you should transfer your amounts by bank transfer and submit your deposit slips to the relevant departments for obtaining a passport.
In many residential projects that foreigners purchase from, the money is usually transferred to the official account of the seller and the land owner of the complex, which is nothing to worry about, because you already have an agreement or a bill of sales for the property from the complex.
In many cases, the sellers of houses in high-end residences are reputable Turkish banks that have construction holdings to which you have to deposit money, and in these cases, there will be no need to worry.
In general, according to the banking law in Turkey, every transfer from any bank account that is made, its origin and destination must be clearly stated, therefore, in the discussion of transferring house money for purchase to your seller’s account, the contract number and house information You indicate the one you intend to purchase, which will be in your possession as an official document.
4_ Conclusion and Signatures
After completing the formalities discussed in the previous cases, the parties prepare to conclude, sign, and transfer the title deed at the Tapu Office of the desired governorate where the property is located.
It should be noted that if you do not have a sufficient and complete command of the Turkish language, or you are only speaking in a colloquial way and you do not have a good knowledge of Turkish words or phrases, You must have a translator who is proficient in Istanbul Turkish language certified by the Turkish judiciary to translate the document. In many cases, this is in the client’s best interest, so it is suggested that you use an impartial official translator to translate your document when it is transferred and before signing. Use it and register the document and sign it in the governorate with ease.
After the invitation of both the buyer and the seller by the official of the deed document registration office or Tapu Office, the parties refer the place to sign the title deed. The foreign party may refer there with his translator. It registers the signatures of the buyer and seller parties, and the title registration is finished at this moment and the transfer takes place.
According to the online deed registration system in Turkey, the transferred deed with the name of the new buyer and his photo will be registered in a short period of thirty minutes and will be submitted to him or his legal representative or lawyer, and since then, the property is considered as purchased. It is registered in the system with his name and details.
5_Delivery of the object of transaction to the buyer
After finishing the administrative affairs at the Tapu Office and registering the new buyer’s deed with his photo and details, the process at the Tapu Office are completed and the parties should hand over the sold apartment to the new buyer.
At this stage, the new buyer will visit the property with a real estate agency, and if the advertisement banner for the sale of the target property has already been installed, it will be collected and the property will be delivered to the new buyer.
After the delivery process, the new buyer should go to the municipality of his desired area and receive a statement along with his property deed and declare that from this moment on, he is the new owner of this unit in that area.
In order to refer to the municipality and receive the statement letter, it is not necessary to be present on the day of delivery of the property, and this work can be conducted during the following days as well.
