purchasing process in Turkey.

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After the sale and purchase conditions are agreed upon you and/or your Agent are advised to ask for a copy of the TAPU (Title Deeds) and double check whether:

1-The TAPU really belongs to the property
2-It is a residential property in a zone covered by an Implementary Development Plan or a Local Development Plan
3-The property really belongs to the person who introduced himself to you as the "owner"
4-No annotation prohibiting the sale/purchase of the property appears on the TAPU
5-The property complies with all regulations
6-All licenses and official permits for the property had been properly obtained
7-The current owner does not owe taxes anything to the Tax Office
8-The current owner owes no over-due debts to the utility companies

Contracts are not compulsory according to current regulations and mutual declaration of both the buyer and seller to the TAPU (Title Deeds) Registry Office is enough to carry out the transfer of ownership, a contract will allow you to protect yourself. If you are using a real estate agent and/or solicitor ensure the contract refers to them and that they also sign the contract. Your contract should include the following:

1-A detailed description of the property (address, TAPU details, technical conditions etc)
2-The actual price to be paid to the seller for the property
3-The seller's bank account details for payment
4-The agent and/or solicitors bank account details for payment
5-The payment terms and conditions to the seller including deposit, interim and final payments
6-A Statement requiring the seller and the buyer to pay their own tax liabilities
7-The fees and commissions to be paid to the solicitor or agent
8-Under what conditions and how the money paid by the buyer will be refunded by the seller
9-Whether parties can give up the sale/purchase, if so, under what conditions this can happen
10-The rights and responsibilities of the persons whose signatures appear on the contract
11-ID numbers of Turkish nationals (TC Kimlik No) who are to sign the contract, the Barr registry number of the solicitor being used and the trade registry number of the real estate company

Before signing the contract have it translated into English. Relying on only an oral-translation may lead to unwanted situations in the future. Sign the contract in the presence of a notary public and then have them notarized. This will ensure that:

1-The people signed the contract and their signatures are genuine
2-The contract is in line with Turkish laws and officially acceptable anywhere in Turkey
3-The terms within the contract are binding for all parties

The next step for both buyer and owner or their legally authorized agents is to apply to the TAPU Office for transferring of ownership. During the application the buyer or their agent are to provide the local TAPU Office with the following documents:

Buyer
1-Title Deed or a document indicating the property's exact location (plot or parcel number etc.)
2-2 recent passport photos of the buyer
3-Passport and/or ID Card of the buyer

Agent
1-An acceptable Power of Attorney
2-2 recent passport photos of the agent
3-Passport and/or ID Card of the agent

Upon your application the local TAPU office will do a search on behalf of whether the property is in a forbidden zone or not. After military clearance has been finished you are given an official ownership document called the Title Deeds (TAPU). Without having a TAPU you are never considered to legally own the property even if you signed a legally acceptable purchase contract with seller.

This is to provide basic information about the purchasing process in Turkey. The information in this post is of a general nature and does not constitute legal advice,