10 IMPORTANT THINGS A PROPERTY BUYER IN TURKEY SHOULD KNOW (#3)

#3. ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE TITLE DEED (TAPU)

According to the Turkish legislation, the TITLE DEED (called TAPU in Turkish) issued by the Land and Cadaster Office and entered into the LAND REGISTRY AND CADASTRE INFORMATION SYSTEM is the ONLY official document guaranteeing your Property Rights after the transfer of rights in the TAPU Office. Only after the TAPU with your name in it is obtained you are recognized as the full owner of the Turkish real estate.

In Turkey, the only official state body performing and controlling the processing of paperwork for purchased real estate is the Office of Land Registry and Cadaster. It is the state guarantor of the legality and transparency of a transaction.

One or more individuals or legal entities may be real estate owners. In this case, their respective shares are to be shown in this section. The respective shares are illustrated in terms of the proportion of the property (land).

There are RED and BLUE TAPUs.

A red TAPU is for a commonhold (aka condominium in the US). You get a red TAPU if you buy an apartment in an apartment complex or a house in a project.

A blue TAPU is not a commonhold and can have different legal meanings: • Farmland • Building land • Building land with a house on the plot

What kind of DATA are specified in the TAPU? (please see the picture below) 1. Province 2. City 3. District 4. Settlement 5. Street 6. Locality 7. Number of development lot 8. Real estate type * 9. Total area of the development 10. Boundaries 11. Type of ownership 12. Cadastral value 13. Purpose of the real estate** 14. The share in real estate in a land lot with several owners 15. Block 16. Floor 17. Apartment number 18. Former owner and the reason for the transfer of the title*** 19. Real estate owner 20. Date of the transfer of the title (registration of the Tapu) 21. Number in the cadastral register 22. The signature of the Head of the Tapu Office or a person authorized to sign on his or her behalf. * When registering an apartment, as a rule, ARSA (meaning a land plot) is indicated here, i.e. they register the share in the plot of land allocated to the apartment specified below. If the apartment is purchased a few years after the commissioning of the house, then MESKEN (flat) may be written there. It is also possible that DUKKAN will be written there, when it comes to commercial real estate. ** KAT MULKIYETI means that the real property is fully transferred into the housing stock. KAT IRTIFAKI means that on the basis of a building permit, the TAPU for the building site was divided into a per-apartment TAPU. DEVRE MULK means that the owner buys only the right to use the real property for a short period in a year (a kind of a timeshare). *** A reason for the transfer of title may be as follows: sale (including using a mortgage), inheritance, gift and others. The TAPU (Title Deed) has to be sealed with a stamp in the central part at the bottom of the document. In most cases a picture of the owner is suffixed and sealed to the top-right corner of the TAPU but now it is not obligatory.

USEFUL TAPU-RELATED VOCAB: The Meanings of the Terms Appearing on a TAPU are as Follows: ili City Ilçesi Town Mahallesi District Köyü Village Sokagi Street Mevkii Area Pafta No Sheet number Ada No Plot/block number Parsel No Parcel number Niteligi Feature (whether it is a building land, vacant land, or cultivated land) Yüzölçümü Area / size of the land (summation of the figures shown for the three pameters below should add up to the total size of the main land) KAT MÜLKIYETI Ownership of the independent unit which is ready to use (flat, house, office etc built on the main land) KAT IRTIFAKI Ownership of the independent unit which is not ready for use yet (either because of an on-going development/construction work or due to the fact that usage permit from the municipality has not been gathered yet) DEVRE MÜLK Fractional / timeshare ownership (owned for a certain period of a year) Bagimsiz Bölüm Information about the independent unit (the property subject to the use such as a flat, house, etc) on the main land Satis Bedeli Purchase price of the property Arsa Payi Land share (what proportion of the land belongs to the independent unit) Blok No Block number Kat No Floor number Bagimsiz Blm No Independent unit Number Edinme Sebebi The reason why the property is being acquired (From who to whom the property has been sold and any other relevant explanation) Sahibi Name(s) of the current owner(s)

FAQ: 1. How do I get a replacement title deed (TAPU) in Turkey? If you misplace or loose your TAPU, it is not a problem, and you can easily obtain a replacement. For that you need to visit the local land registry office (TAPU Sicil Müdürlüğü) and request a new copy of your TAPU. You will need to pay just a small legal fee. You would need to have with you your original passport for identification as well as a utility bill for the property.

2. How to add a name / spouse to a Title Deed (TAPU) in Turkey? To add a person or a spouse to the TAPU you will need to 'sell a share' of the property to the person. For that you will need to visit your local land registry office (Tapu Sicil Müdürlükleri) and inform them that you want to sell a percentage of your property and add a new name to the tapu. You will need to pay a sales transfer fee of 4 % - plus some additional administrative taxes. You will need your passport ID & Turkish Tax Number (Vergi Numarası).

IMPORTANT TIPS – HOW TO CHECK YOUR TAPU

As a rule, a good real estate agency would do it for you, but you may always remind them, to be on the safe side.

BEFORE the purchase and the full payment, we advise you to use the TAPU of the previous owner and check the following: - if all the information is written correctly (there were cases when there were mistakes in the numbers, names, etc.) If it is the case, it is better to make sure the seller will correct everything prior to the completion of the deal, and it won’t be your problem in the future. - Using the TAPU, check the property for any incumbrances, tax arrears, sales bans, etc.

AFTER the new TAPU is issued – the accuracy of all information should be checked IMMEDIATELY. It is easy to correct it and it would be free, if you are still in the TAPU office. Correcting any mistakes later would cost you much more time, efforts and money. We had cases when the names where misspelled, the status of relationships was stated in a wrong way (e.g., son, daughter), the size of shares was reflected incorrectly.

WE WISH YOU TO BECOME A HAPPY TAPU OWNER IN TURKEY!

Tredvisor is a licensed (Level 5 Professional Certification) Oba-based real estate company with a network of foreign partners. We have a lot of good offers (both new ones - directly from the best developers - or in the secondary market). It would be our pleasure to help you find the property which fits your requirements - your happiness is our goal. Please follow our business page https://www.facebook.com/tredvisor/ or visit our office to benefit from the other important things a property buyer should know, as well as a step-by-step property buying guide and a check list

.