Preparing Real Estate Appraisal Reports for Property Purchases by Foreigners

Requirement of appraisal reports for property purchases by foreigners:
In all sales transactions where a foreign national is both the buyer and the seller, a Real Estate Appraisal Report must be prepared and submitted to the Directorate of Land Registry during the preliminary application stage.
Our Company is authorized to prepare the Real Estate Appraisal Report you need when applying to the Directorate of Land Registry.
What is an appraisal report?

You can find the answers to the following questions in the Appraisal Report we will prepare:

1) What is the real market value of the property you want to buy?
2) Does the building that contains the apartment you will buy have a building permit*?
(*) A Building Permit is a document indicating that the relevant municipality gave permission for the construction of a certain building.
3) Is the architectural project approved**?
(**) This is a project that depicts how and where the building should be constructed, and it is approved by the relevant municipality.
4) Has the construction servitude or condominium been established?
5) What are the net and gross areas of the apartments?
6) What is the zoning status of the parcel where the building is located?
7) Are the title deeds in order?

We will provide you with the deed records as an attachment to the appraisal report.
You can access the details of the property’s legal information in the deed records.

For example:

• The name of the person to whom the property is registered,
• Availability of any restrictions that would prevent or hamper the sale of the property,
• Attachment for unpaid debt,
• The conformity of the property’s actual floor area and location with the floor area and location in the title deeds.

Some information on property acquisition for foreign nationals in Turkey:

1. Legal basis:

Foreign nationals are able to acquire any kind of property (residential, commercial, land, field) in Turkey, provided that they comply with the legal restrictions.
Foreign nationals are required to submit projects to be developed on their undeveloped property (plot, field) to the relevant ministry for approval (municipality, Provincial Directorate of Agriculture) within two years.

2. Form of the contract:

As per the Turkish legislation, the immovable property can be transferred by signing a formal deed and registering it at the relevant Directorate of Land Registry.

Application to the Directorate of Land Registry:

The owner of the immovable property or his/her authorized representative must make a preliminary application to the relevant Directorate of Land Registry.
(Preliminary applications are usually made by obtaining a serial number at the Directorate of Land Registry before lunch hour.)
If any document or information required for the preliminary application is missing, and it can be completed, the preliminary application file is kept in the records.

Documents required when applying to the Directorate of Land Registry:
a)The title deed of the property or information on the village/neighborhood, block, parcel, building, and independent section where the property is located,
b)ID card or passport (with translated copies where necessary),
c) The “Real Estate Current Value Certificate”of the property from the relevant municipality,
d)The compulsory earthquake insurance for buildings (households, offices, and so on),
e)1 passport photo of the seller, and 2 passport photos of the buyer (size 6x4 cm, taken in the past 6 months).
f) Sworn translator if any of the parties does not know Turkish,
g)If the transaction is performed through a power of attorney that is issued abroad, the original or certified copy of the power of attorney and its translated copy.
h)Appraisal Report prepared in compliance with the appraisal standards
Financial aspects of the transaction:
a) A title deed fee based on the sale value (which should not be less than the “Real Estate Current Value” provided by the relevant municipality) is paid by both the buyer and the seller. (The title deed fee set forth in the Act of Fees No. 492 is 2 percent of the sale value.)
b) Payment of the regional working capital fee (maximum 128 x 2.5 Turkish lira for 2019).
5) Other issues to be considered by foreign nationals who would like to buy a property in Turkey:

- Whether the property has any restrictions such as a lien, foreclosure, and so forth, or whether there are any conditions preventing the sale of the property should be checked at the relevant Directorate of Land Registry.
- Foreigners are advised to avoid working with individuals or firms who are unreliable and lack expertise.
- Foreign nationals are not required to have a residence permit in order to buy a property in Turkey. 9.5.2019