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House Sales Turkey (http://www.housesalesturkey.com/), the premier online resource for Turkish properties, helps guide you through the steps of the purchase process for property in Turkey. While foreigners are allowed to purchase property in the country, with more and more overseas purchases taking place each year, there are certain restrictions that are worth noting, as well as variations from British real estate processes.

Turkey works on a reciprocal agreement basis when it comes to foreign ownership of Turkish properties. Citizens from countries which allow Turkish citizens to own property in their country are allowed to purchase property in Turkey; this extends to most countries within the EU, including Britain. There are some restrictions, however, including restrictions on foreigners buying properties in municipal areas with less than 2,000 inhabitants. Foreigners are not allowed to buy property in Turkey in military zones and if they buy property with more than 30 hectares of land they have to acquire a special permit.

Once a foreign national has established that they can buy a house in Turkey with no restrictions (something their lawyer should help to establish as well as their real estate agent), the purchase process can begin. Buyers should allow between 4.6% and 5.5% of the purchase price for purchase fees and taxes. A deposit of between 10% and 25% of the purchase price is paid by the buyer on the signing of the purchase contract. Permission of sale then needs to be obtained by sending the translated passport details of the buyer and the deeds of the property to the relevant authorities, a process which normally takes between six and eight weeks. This enables the Land Registry Office to transfer the title deed to the buyer. When a foreigner wants to buy Turkish property, they must