The procedure for the purchase of a property here in Turkey is quite a simple one. In fact, where two Turkish nationals are concerned the transaction can be carried out in one or two days. What extends this procedure in the case of a foreign purchaser is the permission that must he obtained from the relevant Army Command Headquarters. At this point I should explain that some estate agents recommend that their clients use a solicitor to carry out the transaction for the actual purchase of the property, while others handle the transaction themselves. Some clients make a point of asking for a solicitor, in which case the estate agent will probably have a solicitor with whom he/she is in the habit of working.

Once the client has decided on a property, either the estate agent or the client's solicitor should carry out investigations at the Land Registry and the Municipality to ascertain that there are no encumbrances of any sort in place on the property and no reasons why the client should not go ahead with the purchase. Once these investigations have been successfully completed a contract between the purchaser and the vendor, which will include the payment plan, is prepared by the estate agent or the client's solicitor. On signing this contract it is usual for the purchaser to pay a deposit of approximately 10% of the purchase price of the property. Either the estate agent or the client's solicitor will then submit the necessary application, together with a photocopy of the client's passport, to the Land Registry for the client to purchase the chosen property. The Land Registry then forwards the application to the Aegean Army Command Headquarters (in the case of the location of the property being in the Aegean region) where it is processed. To date, I have not heard of anyone having been refused this permission and understand that this could only be the case if the client was found to have been involved in terrorist activities etc. or if the property in question was located within a military zone. The waiting period for the permission to come through varies a great deal and there seems to be no reason why one person's permission takes longer than someone else's. Three months seems to be the average waiting time at the moment, but because no definite date can be given it is usual for the client to give either the estate agent or his/her solicitor a Power of Attorney to purchase the property on his/her behalf. This is where I become involved. Powers of Attorney are prepared at the Public Notary where any foreign national having a document prepared must, by law, have an authorised translator to verbally translate the document for them before it is signed. By appointing his/her estate agent or solicitor to purchase for him/her, the client avoids having to return to Turkey at short notice on receipt of his/her permission to carry out the final transaction at the Land Registry.

Depending on the individual property being purchased, the purchaser either pays the remaining sum for the property in installments (particularly if the property in question is a new build) or in one lump sum on receipt of the title deed. However, some vendors do not wish to wait the length of time it takes for the purchaser's permission to come through, and request that their money be paid in advance. This means that in some cases the purchaser may be asked to pay the total sum for the property before receiving the title deed, in which case, measures to safeguard the client must be put in place. Different agents have different ways of handling this problem. Some agents and solicitors temporarily take possession of the property from the vendor until such time as the client's permission comes through, when they then transfer the property to the client In some cases a promissory note can be obtained from the vendor for the full purchase price of the property which is only returned to the vendor when he/she has signed over the property at the Land Registry on receipt of the client's permission. This particular measure, however, would only be carried out if the vendor in question happened to be a well-known established person here in Kusadasi from whom one could be sure of being able to obtain the necessary sum of money should the need to use the promissory note arise. There is also a document that can be drawn up at the Public Notary which is in the form of a pledge of sale. This is a legally binding contract whereby the vendor officially declares that he/she has sold his/her property to a certain person, that he/she has received total or partial payment therefore, and that he/she will sign over the property at the land Registry on receipt of the purchaser's permission. It is, however, very important that the purchase price quoted on this document should be the actual purchase price of the property (some people choose to quote a lesser amount in order to reduce the Notary fees for preparing the document), since the price quoted on the document is the sum the client would stand to be refunded in the event of the vendor failing to fulfil his/her obligations at the Land Registry. It is also very important that the Land Registry is notified of the existence of such a contract to ensure that the vendor cannot sell the same property to someone else.

On receipt of the client's permission, the final transaction is then carried out either by the client's appointed representative or by the client in person if no Power of Attorney has been given. In the event of the client coming in person to take receipt of his/her title deed, once again an authorised translator must be present at the Land Registry to ensure that the foreign client knows which property he/she is purchasing.

The situation where cooperative properties are concerned is somewhat different. When one buys into a cooperative it is referred to as purchasing a share in the cooperative, each share corresponding to one property. The transaction to purchase a cooperative share may be carried out at either the Public Notary or the Cooperative Headquarters by way of a Deed of Transfer which is signed by the Transferor and the Transferee. In addition to this Deed of Transfer, however, it is essential that both the Transferor and the Transferee submit written notification to the Cooperative Administration concerning the transfer of the cooperative share in order for the cooperative share to be officially registered in the name of the new owner in the cooperative register. Ongoing monthly fees are payable on cooperative properties and the sum payable is determined at the annual meeting of the members of the cooperative taking into account the work that has to be done on the cooperative. For example, where roads, swimming pools, landscaping etc, have still to be completed, the monthly fee may be quite high. Once all the work on the cooperative has been completed a monthly maintenance fee becomes payable which is considerably less, and it is usually at this point that the cooperative members receive the title deeds to their individual properties.

On receipt of one's title deed through the direct purchase of an individual property or through the purchase of a cooperative property one is liable to fill in a property tax return form at the Municipality whereby property tax becomes payable once a year. Property tax in Turkey is calculated according to the size and location of the property and is a very minor sum.

Purchase tax is calculated on the figure quoted as the purchase/sale price of the property.