Continue with Google
One of the things we're asked about the most is, how much will it cost to buy property in Turkey, over and above the purchase price? We advise our clients to budget 7 to 8 percent of their purchase price to cover expenses and costs. Bear in mind these are one-off costs. Ongoing costs of property ownership, such as Turkish property taxes, maintenance fees, etc are considerably low in Turkey, around one third of Spain and less than a quarter what it would cost in France.
Let's look at an example. If you bought a home in Turkey, the following will be the fees and costs you will pay on top of the price. Assuming that the property is purchased for 200,000 Euros, then your purchase costs will be around 15,000 Euros on top.
Stamp Duty in Turkey
Also known as Turkey property buying tax, this amounts to 4% of the assessed value of the property. The assessed value of the property normally comes in at around 60% of the purchase price. Stamp duty is payable upon the registration of the property title deed in your name. Therefore, if you are buying an off-plan property in Turkey, you won’t need to worry about paying this until the build is finished.
Assessed value is also known as declaration amount of a property. Under-declaration is very common in Turkey, and therefore, tax authorities have a method of testing reasonableness of declarations. On average, 50-60% of actual market value is accepted as reasonable.
Solicitor / Legal fees in Turkey
Generally, a real estate solicitor in Turkey will charge between £1,000 and £1,500 (1,200 Euros - 1,800 Euros) for services used. However this can vary from time to time due to the complexity of the transaction and property purchase. Legal fees are payable upon the signing of your property purchase contract.
We highly recommend you invest the relatively small amount of money it takes to hire a solicitor. This allows you to be completely secure in your purchase: in 99% of cases where a buyer has been scammed, they skipped this vital step.
Agency fee (buyer fee)
A 3% agency fee is paid in Turkey as standard. Be wary of companies who will try to charge a higher fee from you. And be wary of companies who charge you less - on paper, this seems favourable. However, the agencies will recoup this fee from the developer, who will in turn pass it onto you, to be absorbed by your house purchase.
At Property Turkey, we will never charge more than the standard 3% fee for our work and assistance in your property search. Agency fees are payable upon the signing of your property purchase contract as standard.
Other approval and paperwork
Miscellaneous paperwork and other approvals on the cost of buying property in Turkey normally amounts to around 500 Euros.
The fees involved in the cost of buying a property in Turkey are relatively cheap when compared with other European nations such as Spain, Italy, and France where you can expect to pay anything from 10-20% extra in fees. This makes buying a property in Turkey an appealing option for many investors and people looking for holiday homes, retirement homes, or a life in the sun.
NOTE: Since 2017, foreign buyers no longer pay value added tax (VAT) on their first home in Turkey. This is on the condition the purchase is made with foreign currency and the property isn't sold for at least 12 months. VAT exemption when buying property in Turkey.
Once you have purchased your new home, you naturally will want to know how to go about managing and maintaining it as well as associated costs and fees. For reading on how to manage and maintain property in Turkey, refer to relevant reading here.
