Buying a house in Turkey as a foreigner

Turkey has a reciprocal agreement for the purchase of land and property with many countries. This means that the people of these nations that allow Turks to buy land in their countries, can in return, buy land in Turkey. Foreigners may purchase in their own name if the property is outside military zones. Based on these agreements foreigners of the following countries are eligible. England, Germany, Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, Holland, Ireland, Spain, Italy, Canada, Luxemburg, Norway, Greece as well as some African and South American states. The full list is here.

No matter where the land or the house may be situated if the buyer is a foreign person, the deed office has to officially ask the prior approval or permission of the highest military command of the area before transferring the title (Approval of the ministry of Defense: Savunma Bakanligi). The duration of the request for permission is estimated on 30-90 days. The reasons for this are to ensure that foreign buyers will not acquire a property within military zones. No land or property within forbidden regions and safety regions can be sold, transferred or rented. (Forbidden regions - Military zones).

More and more foreigners are interested in buying property with Turkey mortgage. In 2006 around 50,000 purchases from foreigners have been taking place. More and more foreigners are looking for financing their new property at a local bank. Foreigners, with different behavior/features, require a different application approach. Therefore Turkish Banks have developed mortgage loans specially for foreigners.

Buying a second house (with a mortgage or with a homeowner loan ) in Turkey is a great decision that will give you a lot of pleasure and joy. Getting to that point is not always easy. Foreigners can face several different procedures and legal obligations.

Benefits of Turkish banking:

- Friendly English speaking staff (and sometimes also French and German).
- Good credit conditions and competitive rates.
- Knowledge of the all the legal obligations, restrictions and procedures applicable for
  foreigners banking in Turkey.
- Beside the mortgage banks assist on money transfers local bill payments, local (house and
  personal) insurances.
- Banks are the true guidance on your way financing your second house(s) in Turkey.

The features of the loan Issue Feature Loan to value Maximum 65% of the appraisal value (not always equal to the sales price) Debt to income Maximum net salary to spend to installment for total loan position 50% Valuation of income Only salary income transferred to a bank account, average profit of the last 2 years, pension income Maximum amount No maximum Minimum amount 30.000 Euros Nationalities All countries that have a reciprocal agreement with Turkey. Maturity 5,10,15 and 20 years Loan in TL Yes Loan in euro Yes Loan in Dollars Yes Loan in British pound Yes Interest types Fixed Early repayment Possible (2% penalty fee) Property valuation Done by Bank or appointed appraisal by bank, pre-valuation paid by Bank Age of application 25 -70 years Maximum age at end of maturity 70 years DASK: nature disaster insurance, House insurance; To arrange via Bank, Life insurance No obligation Off plan mortgage Yes, with full bank guarantee from constructor for the total loan amount Monthly installment payments Automatic payment from a Bank account Validity of the pre offer 4 months Extension of validity of the pre offer (except interest rate) Until 18 months (1% extra commission required)

Requested documentation for your mortgage application

- Official tax statement of the most recent year in the home country (for example P60)
- Copy of the Tapu of the object that will be bought (only for existing objects)( Kat mulkiyet
  tapusu or Kat irtifak tapusu + yapi kullanim izin belgesi)
- Copies of passports made and signed by the branch or notary
- Income statement of employers signed by the employer
- Official document/declaration from notary/cadastre that the person who signed the income
- statement is allowed to sign
- Bank statements declaring the income (not older than 3 months)
- Annual report of the holding company for the last two years together with copy of
  shareholder register
- Documents proving monthly financial obligations (rent, house loan installments, alimentation)
- Overview of private assets proven by official statements
- Overview of private debts proven by official statements
- Signed application form.

Loan Rates (approximate) MATURITY RATES EURO USD GBP 60 0,95% 0,95% 0,95% 72 0,95% 0,95% 0,95% 84 0,95% 0,95% 0,95% 96 0,95% 0,95% 0,95% 108 0,95% 0,95% 0,95% 120 0,95% 0,95% 0,95% 180 0,95% 0,95% 0,95% 240 0,95% 0,95% 0,95% Please remember these rates are approximate and Banks may change the interest rates without giving any notice.   Countries which have full reciprocity with Turkey in terms of real estate acquisition 1. ANDORRA 2. ARGENTINA 3. AUSTRALIA 4. AUSTRIA 5. BAHAMAS 6. BAHRAIN 7. BANGLADESH 8. BARBADOS 9. BELGIUM 10. BELIZE 11. BENIN 12. BOLIVIA 13. BOSNIA-HERZEGOVINA 14. BOSTWANA 15. BRAZIL 16. CAMEROON 17. CANADA 18. CAPE-VERDE 19. CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC 20. CHILE 21. COLOMBIA 22. COSTA RICA 23. COTE D'IVOIRE 24. CROATIA 25. DENMARK 26. ECUADOR 27. EL SALVADOR 28. ENGLAND 29. ESTONIA 30. FINLAND 31. FRANCE 32. GABON 33. GERMANY 34. GHANA 35. GUINEA 36. GRENADA 37. GUATEMALA 38. GUYANA 39. HAITI 40. HONDURAS 41. HUNGARY 42. IRELAND 43. ISRAEL 44. ITALY 45. JAMAICA 46. JAPAN 47. KOREA,SOUTH 48. LATVIA 49. LIECHTENSTEIN 50. LITHUANIA 51. LUXEMBOURG 52. MALAWI 53. MALAYSIA 54. MALI 55. MALTA 56. MAURITANIA 57. MAURITIUS 58. MEXICO 59. MONACO 60. MOZAMBIQUE 61. NETHERLANDS 62. NEW ZEALAND 63. NICARAGUA 64. NIGERIA 65. NORWAY 66. PANAMA 67. PARAGUAY 68. PERU 69. PHILIPPINES 70. POLAND 71. PORTUGAL 72. SAN MARINO 73. SENEGAL 74. SINGAPORE 75. SOMALIA 76. SOUTH AFRICAN REPUBLIC 77. SRI LANKA 78. SPAIN 79. SWAZILAND 80. SWEDEN 81. SWITZERLAND 82. TANZANIA 83. THE REPUBLIC OF DOMINIC 84. TURKISH REPUBLIC OF NORTHERN CYPRUS 85. UNITED STATES OF AMERICA 86. URUGUAY 87. VENEZUELA 88. YUGOSLAVIA(SERBIA-MONTENEGRO)