Turkish government is keen to guarantee the rights of foreign investors who buy real estate on Turkish lands, and to amend existing laws to suit the requirements and changes in the means and goals of investment. The Turkish government also attached great importance to encouraging foreign investment in Turkey, and it is working to overcome difficulties and lift restrictions nd achieve equality between the foreign investor and the Turkish investor. The Turkish government also provides opportunities for investors such as exemption from value-added tax, reductions on customs duties and exemption from customs tax, and other mechanisms of encouraging foreign investment adopted by Turkey.
Research shows that real estate sales in Turkey are constantly increasing year after year, which means that people visiting Turkey have decided to settle in Turkey for various reasons, and investors found in it a fertile environment suitable for increasing their capital and generating continuous profits, and with the increase in interest in real estate investment in Turkey, and available distinctive and diversified real estate projects that meet all needs and live up to the highest expectations, the interest of investors has increased to head towards Turkey with the aim of investment or stability, and it has increasing interest in investment opportunities simultaneously with facilities, incentives and amendments to some laws and opening the door for many nationalities to directly own real estate in Turkey, and the real estate appraisal law in Turkey came to keep the rights of foreign investors when buying a property in Turkey. What is real estate appraisal? And what is its purpose? What are the details and criteria for real estate appraisal? What are the latest updates to this law?
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Amendments to the Real Estate Appraisal Law in Turkey 2021
- The Turkish government has issued new decisions and amendments to real estate appraisal laws in Turkey, where real estate appraisal requests will be made through the electronic title-deed system https://webtapu.tkgm.gov.tr/ or by the ALO-181 call center, after real estate appraisal processes were before carried out by going directly to one of the approved real estate appraisal companies by the Turkish government, and a list of real estate appraisal companies approved by the Turkish government was issued in 2019, and no real estate appraisal issued by any party that is not on this list has been accepted since that time.
- After the property owner pays the real estate appraisal report services fees, the evaluation ask is transferred by the system to the competent evaluation institution by the business distribution algorithm on the same day.
- The real estate owner can track the transaction stages of the real estate appraisal request from beginning to end through the tapu network.
- After the evaluation report is prepared and approved by the competent institution, the evaluation report is signed by electronic signature, and then it is sent to the Land Registry Information System (TAKBİS) through the system.
- The property owner can view and follow-up the report through the Tapu network, and if there is a slight typo at this stage, corrections can be requested through the Tapu network.
- After submitting the appraisal report to the Tabu Information System and Land Survey (TAKBİS), a correction request can be submitted up to three times by the property owner.
- The property owner cannot ask corrections to the value specified in the appraisal report, but can ask a new appraisal report.
Real estate evaluation laws in Turkey 2022
A new system has been in place since September 20, 2021 in order to prevent fraudulent sales in housing sales to foreigners in Turkey. According to this system, automated appraisers were appointed to evaluate real estate, and as a result, representatives of the real estate sector claimed that this situation had a negative impact on sales and demanded a change.
As a result of negotiations with the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change of Turkey, the decision to change was taken.
The Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change, based on the demands of the real estate sector, has taken a decision to manually introduce the right to choose a company as well as an automatic waiver in choosing the appraisal company in selling real estate to foreigners.
According to the information provided by representatives of the real estate sector, the Ministry of Environment, Urbanization and Climate Change has issued instructions to the General Directorate of Land Registry in this regard and demanded the implementation of the necessary change.
So the process of selling real estate to foreigners will proceed via https://webtapu.tkgm.gov.tr/ and the appraisal company will be assigned by the system algorithm. According to the new changes, a "Choose an evaluation company" button will be added to the system in the coming days and the applicant will be asked to receive the evaluation service.
What is the real estate appraisal law in Turkey?
The compulsory valuation decision for real estate was issued by the Ministry of Housing of Turkey and came into force in early 2019 . The law issued on 15/02/2019 under No. 1/2019 stipulates that real estate evaluation should be obtained by the competent authorities at the commencement of the rules for acquiring the property or the title-deed of the property purchased . Obtaining real estate evaluation was mandatory for those who are seeking to get Turkish citizenship by purchasing a property in Turkey , but the amendment to the law obliged anyone who sells a property of any kind to foreigners in Turkey to undergo the evaluation . A list of real estate evaluation companies who are approved by the Turkish government has been issued , and any real estate evaluation issued by any other company that is not on this list will not be accepted .
Previously , a foreigner who seek to buy a property in Turkey to get Turkish citizenship had to get a real estate valuation , which proves that the property is valued at $ 250.000 or its equal in Turkish Lira , but the Property Valuation Law has been updated to include all purchases of real estate in Turkey that is carried out by foreigners , to make sure they get real estate prices without any manipulation . The property evaluation report in Turkey is valid for three months from the date of the issuance of the report . There is a new update on this law to include all transactions of sales and purchases of real estate in Turkey , regardless of the parties involved , that is , if a Turkish citizen wants to buy a property , want to buy this property , whatever its price and whatever its type , must be subjected to real estate valuation . The move would increase the credibility of the Turkish real estate market .
In addition to the circulation of the Real Estate Valuation Act to all the buying and selling of real estate in Turkey , regardless of the nationality of the parties , a new amendment was recently required to put the price of the property in the treatment of the Tabu or Title Deed , in order to keep the rights of parties involved in the sale and buy of real estate in Turkey .
It is worth mentioning that there is no need to resort to the real estate valuation companies that are not licensed by the Turkish government , where reports issued by unauthorized bodies of the government are not accepted .
Real estate valuation aims to protect foreigners from any manipulation of the price of real property . The competent authority evaluates the price of the property based on several factors, namely:
- The area of the property and the date of construction: where the total area of the property is considered, in addition to the type of property whether it is commercial or residential, and how old the construction is.
- The views: the property is evaluated in terms of the view, if the property is overlooking the sea, such as, or if the property overlooks a forest, a main street, or so on.
- Social facilities and services provided by the residential complex: such as swimming pools, gyms, parking lots, etc. The quality of the services and its availability within the complex play a big role in raising the value of the property.
- The status of the property: in the sense of its condition in terms of seniority, and if it has cracks, such as, the level of finishes and cladding in the construction, as well as its facilities such as water, electricity and gas meters are also relevant in the evaluation of the property.
- Legal status of the property: it is to search the legal documents related to the property, such as licenses, and to make sure that there are no impediments to the transfer of ownership between the seller and the buyer, such as the presence of a reservation on the Tapu, such as.
- The level of surrounding properties: when evaluating the property, look at the price of the properties surrounding the project , and get a comparison between the price of the property to be owned by the foreigner and the surrounding properties.
The real estate valuation report in Turkey includes the following data:
- All details of title deeds.
- Photos of the property.
- Location of the property and its coordinates.
- Real estate prices similar in style, region and all variables.
- Report on the status of debt related to the property.
- Price matching.
- Approval of the Directorate of Geographical Survey.
What are the advantages of buying a property in Turkey?
- Low tax in Turkey, the decision to cut taxes in Turkey is one of a series of decisions about the real estate sector in Turkey, and was reflected positively in stimulating foreign investors to own property in Turkey, which contributed to the revival of the real estate market in Turkey in general. The most important tax deductions are: Exempting the foreign buyer from the value added tax do on the property.
- Obtaining a residence permit, where foreigners who own properties in Turkey, whose price is less than $250.000, are granted a residence permit that is renewed annually. Real estate residence permit in Turkey is granted to the landlord, his wife, and his children under the age of 18.
- Real estate in Turkey is the cheapest real estate investment in Europe, where real estate prices in Turkey are considerably cheaper than those in Europe, with similar features in infrastructure, and similar in structure of developed European countries.
- Real estate investment in Turkey provides a profitable investment return, based on the economic activity and rapid urban development, and the strength of tourism in Turkey, which is best reflected in the periods and tourist seasons, through the demand for rental homes during those seasons distributed throughout year.
What motivates and encourages investment in Turkey?
The countries of the world are racing to attract investors, to stimulate the local economy of the country, by pumping money into the arteries of the country, and the development of its projects, but Turkey is distinguished from other countries with unique investment incentives. What motivates and encourages investment in Turkey?
- The strategic location of Turkey. Turkey, a modern and developed country, with a history and ancient civilization, which is located in the middle of the world, and it is divided widely on the continents of Asia and Europe and combines the originality of the East and modernity of the West. The Republic of Turkey is divided into 81 provinces, and Ankara is the capital of the country, and Istanbul is the financial capital and cultural and economic heart of the country, and the Republic of Turkey includes major and famous cities such as: Izmir, Antalya, Gaziantep, Diyarbakir, Konya, Bursa and others lots.
- Low tax in Turkey, the decision to cut taxes in Turkey is one of a series of decisions about the real estate sector in Turkey, and was reflected positively in stimulating foreign investors to own property in Turkey, which contributed to the revival of the real estate market in Turkey in general. The most important tax deductions are: Exempting the foreign buyer from the value added tax do on the property.
- Strong and developed infrastructure, as infrastructure projects in Turkey continue at a steady pace. The Turkish Minister of Transport and Infrastructure has announced that his country has completed projects in the transportation sector with a total value exceeding 150 billion Turkish Lira ($26 billion). Among the most anticipated infrastructure projects are the 3-storey Istanbul Tunnel Project and the Istanbul Canal Project.
- The rapid growth of Turkey's emerging and developing economy. Since late 2017, economic growth rates have exceeded official forecasts and indicators of Turkey's statistical and economic institutions. Turkish and foreign economists point out that Turkey's economic growth rate will reach around 12% in 2019, the highest rate in Turkey's economic sector since 2015.
- Skilled and competitive labor, where the Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, that the labor force in Turkey rose from 22 million, in 2002, to 29.5 million, stressing the increase in employment despite the increase of labor in the country.
- Turkey is a member of the G20, the world's 20 largest economic powers. The G20 is a group of 19 countries as well as the European Union, and the meetings of this group focus particularly on economic policy topics.
What are the documents required to get Turkish citizenship when buying a property in Turkey?
- A copy of the Tapu (title-deed of the purchased property), or the promise of sale contract with the notary (Noter).
- Valid evaluation report of the property, the validity of the real estate evaluation reports is three months, and the value does not exceed the value recorded in the title-deed, and has a specific issuance cost, and is extracted within two or three working days by a valuation institution licensed by the Turkish government.
- Original payment receipts from the buyer's account, stamped from the sending bank.
- Original receipts from the seller's account, stamped from the receiving bank.
- Two copies of the proxy of the application for citizenship, granted by the investor to the law firm to give the file of citizenship, and follow-up with the official departments. The proxy is organized through a Notary in Turkey (Notre) at an estimated cost of 600 to 700 Turkish Lira per copy. If the investor's spouse is added to the naturalization file, a similar proxy must be provided for the spouses, and one joint proxy may be organized for the client and his wife. The fees of the legal team vary according to each case in terms of the number of papers and the number of people in the file and others.
- Translation of the passport into Turkish, certified by a notary in Turkey (Noter) for the family: husband, wife, and children under 18 years of age.
- Picture of the last Visa and entry to Turkey.
