Russians who have never traveled outside the Turkish resorts and had not communicate with ordinary people, will certainly be interested to know: Turkey is a secular, but still Islamic country. Here are fond of Russian dollars and euros, but the Russians are treated differently: in the 1990s, they had not managed to prove themself from the best side. Dmitry is Muslim from Russia, he moved in the largest Turkey's city with his family and he says that Istanbul is the best city in the world.
Dmitry first came to Turkey in far 2008, so he had quite a lot of time to think about and compare all the "pros" and "contra". Speaking more precisely, he had 6 years. Six months ago, this Russian came to Turkey with a strong intention to buy property in Istanbul.
Advice from an experienced buyer: bargaining in Turkey is in any case highly recommended. Seller keeps realtor’s commission of 3.5% that it is inviolable, but the realtor himself may bargain with the sellers and it doesn’t matter whether he is a developer or a private person, especially when the customer has cash in his pocket. But Dmitry asks to refrain from buying property in Turkey without a realtor.
"Seller will not rip his realtor off. I bought from a man who owns 50 apartments in the same house, being purchased on the cheap at the construction stage. The seller gives the keys and copied documents to the realtor. If you try to come directly to the seller, he is likely to report this fact to his realtor".
Istanbul
Small apartment, being purchased via the Turkish realtor, could cost to Dmitri 135,000 Turkish pound or €48,000. It’s small, but "home is gorgeous and location is great". The seller moved by 5,000 of Turkish pounds and another 1.5% was conceded by the realtor. But it was the agency who has found even more interesting offer for Dmitry with the best value for money and space.
Generally it’s not easy to find small apartments in Turkey. New complexes with a small area size are built for the Europeans, while the housing of the Turks is 100 sq. m. and more. Dmitry now has the same. His apartment area is 115 square meters, with three bedrooms, a huge hall and two bathrooms. The location is nice – Beylikdüzü in the European side of Istanbul.
Property purchasing in Turkey passed painlessly for Dmitry. Tapu (State Registration Certificate) is issued by the responsible authority. If the house has even one Tapu issued to the foreigner, then the transaction could be made in one day. Otherwise you'll have to send the request to the military and it is not about the buyer, but about the object. The military allow selling this particular object to overseas client.
"You give the money away right in front of the office and, moreover, you’ll need a licensed interpreter, even if you know the Turkish. He takes 500 pounds for his signature. I worried a lot to be "ripped-off", but after an hour they came from the office, called my name and gave me the documents. Checking of all your data in the Tapu is strongly recommended - according to the rules of English or Turkish".
Dmitry annually pays a tax of 160 Turkish pounds (€57). An aydat, which for Dmitry’s cite is about 200 pounds (€70), is paid monthly in addition. The aydat consists of the parking space in the underground garage, the sauna, the gym and cleaning of territory and porch. Cite is an apartment complex or several buildings with a single management company, fenced yard, parkland and security. Here you need to add water, gas and electricity prices that are slightly higher than Russian ones. Electricity in Turkey is cheaper at night, and the most expensive in the evening.
Water and light, excluding aydat, cost 150-200 pounds (€50-70) and in winter period another 200 pounds (€70) are wasted for heating. Thus, the monthly costs in summer are no more than €150 and about €200in the winter.
Text: Alexander Fetyukov, ee24.com
Photos: from the personal Dmitry’s archive