e-book2013

NEWSLETTER 2013

360

Pursuant to the last paragraph of Article 35 of the Land Registry

Law, immovable properties, which are acquired in violation of the

stipulations of Article 35 of the Land Registry Law, which are identified

by the relevant Ministries and administrations as “being used in violation

of purpose of purchase”, and for which no application to the relevant

Ministry is made within the time prescribed or none of the committed

projects are materialized on time shall be liquidated and paid to its owner

if is not liquidated by the owner within the term given by the Ministry of

Finance, which shall not exceed one year.

In addition to the foregoing, a guideline entitled “Buying Property

in Turkey: Guide for Foreigners” has been published on the website of

the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

. Pursuant to the relevant guideline, the

documents that are required by the relevant Land Registry Directorates for

immovable property acquisition by foreign real persons are the following:

Identification document or passport;

– Residence permits issued by the relevant police departments for

those the acquisition of real property is conditioned such permit;

and

– In case the transaction is being made through power of attorney

authority issued in a foreign country, the original of the power of

attorney or a duly authorized copy of it together with its translation.

Conclusion

As explained above, the acquisition of immovable property in Turkey

is possible for foreign real persons, but is subject to certain limitations.

In addition to these limitations, in order to avoid issues arising from the

lack of knowledge of the legislation and practice in Turkey, foreigners

should take into consideration the above-mentioned matters before any

acquisition. The most important of these matters is compliance with the

official form requirement and registration. Moreover, it is advisable for

foreign real persons to check the land registries before the acquisition in

order to see if there are any pre-existing mortgages or any obstacles to the

sale of the immovable property.