Since august 2003 the conditions for buying real estate has been altered; foreigners can directly buy objects outside the borders of the municipalities.

In the past it was only possible to buy property within the borders of a municipality, unless the foreigner had or started a business in Turkey.

The condition that a foreigner has to apply for a title of deed at the local Land Registry office before he can buy the real estate and can have a title of deed has not been changed.

Foreigners need to fill in a request at the local Land Registry office. Only after a positive result to the request, it will be possible to have the title of deed of the real estate (the so called \"TAPU\").

Our experience is that in practice foreigners are misleading by real estate sellers/ estate agencies, through this request for a title of deed.

The seller/ estate agency makes believe the foreigner that he/she is having indirectly the legal title of deed of the real estate by requesting for a title of deed at the Land Registry office.

The request is just a part/ a condition to have a legal title of deed of the real estate, but it is definitely not the title of deed (the TAPU) himself!! In the meanwhile the owner of the real estate or the real estate agency as the representative of the owner can (or even does) sell the property to some one else, although the requesting foreigner, thinking that he is the legally owner of the property, has already paid a sum of money to the real estate agency.

This used method in practice is to lure foreigners into a trap. The real estate agencies use also provisional agreements herewith, to pretend that everything is legally. Unfortunately a provisional agreement to purchase a real estate is not legally binding and therefore not enforceable.