According to data from TÜİK (the Turkish Statistical Institute), home sales to foreigners have held steady for years at tens of thousands of units annually, and in 2026 Istanbul remains by far the center of this market. What we see in practice, however, is that most mistakes in the purchase process happen well before the title deed (TAPU) transfer, back at the negotiation and deposit stage.
In this article, we set out the 10 most common mistakes foreign investors make when buying real estate in Turkey, along with a practical way to guard against each one. We explain each term in plain language the first time it comes up.
1. Paying Above Market Price Without an Appraisal Report
An appraisal report is a document in which a licensed expert determines a property’s true market value, and it is mandatory for sales to foreign buyers. Despite this, many buyers finalize price negotiations before the report arrives. Picture this scenario: a buyer from Berlin reserves an apartment in Şişli at the listing price; when the report finally comes in, it shows the value is significantly below the agreed price. The correct order is the reverse: report first, negotiation second.
2. Understating the Price on the Title Deed
The seller or agent may suggest recording a lower price on the title deed to reduce the transfer fee. This creates a risk of tax evasion liability and weakens the buyer’s position in any future dispute. For buyers pursuing citizenship, the consequences are more serious still: if the price stated on the official deed falls below the USD 400,000 threshold, the buyer may be denied the eligibility certificate regardless of the amount actually paid.
3. Paying in Cash or Through Non-Bank Channels
Paying part of the purchase price in cash is, in practice, one of the costliest mistakes buyers make. Any amount not evidenced by a bank receipt turns into a claim that is extremely difficult to prove if a dispute arises. A typical case we have seen: a buyer handed part of the price to an intermediary in cash, and when the sale fell through, proving the refund of that amount turned into a lengthy court case. All payments should be made through the banking system, with a clearly described receipt.
4. Skipping the Occupancy Permit and Condominium Ownership Check
The occupancy permit (İskan) confirms that a building matches its approved project and is fit for habitation, while condominium ownership (kat mülkiyeti) means the individual unit is registered as a separate property on the title deed. An investor who buys without checking both may end up with a building that only carries construction-servitude status or no occupancy permit at all. For example, if occupancy permit approval is delayed on an off-plan apartment bought in Kadıköy, rental and resale plans are delayed right along with it.
5. Signing an Unsecured Contract for an Off-Plan Purchase
When buying into a project that has not yet been built (off-plan), relying on a simple private written agreement is a serious risk. Under Turkish law, a promise-to-sell agreement for real property must be executed before a notary and, where possible, annotated on the land registry (a protective record against third-party claims). A buyer investing from Dubai once found that, because no such annotation existed, the apartment in their project had also been sold to another buyer at the same time. An annotation prevents exactly this scenario.
6. Granting a Power of Attorney With Unlimited Scope
Buyers managing the process from abroad usually complete their transactions through a power of attorney (a document granting someone official authority to act on their behalf). The mistake is having this document drafted with blanket authority covering every transaction. Ask yourself: “Could this representative sell the property on my behalf, or collect the proceeds?” If the answer is yes, the scope is too broad. A power of attorney should be transaction-specific, time-limited, and narrowly defined.
7. Relying on Rental Guarantee Promises
Some projects promise a rental guarantee running for years to make the purchase more appealing. That promise is only as good as the financial strength of the company behind it and the security backing it in the contract. In one buy-to-let-style project in Antalya, when guarantee payments stopped in the second year, buyers were left holding little more than a weak contractual clause. Unless the promise is written into the contract clearly, backed by security, and tied to an enforceable penalty, treat it as if it does not exist when making your investment decision.
8. Failing to Account for Ancillary Costs
Purchase budgets are too often built around the sale price alone, when items such as the title deed transfer fee, revolving fund fee, appraisal fee, translation and notary costs, DASK (mandatory earthquake insurance), building maintenance fees, and property tax all belong in the total. Take an example from Ankara: in a residence-style apartment bought without asking about monthly maintenance fees, that expense ate up a significant share of the expected rental income. Before deciding, calculate the total annual cost of ownership.
Did You Know?
9. Not Planning for Citizenship Eligibility Before the Purchase
Some buyers pursuing citizenship by investment only look into the eligibility conditions after buying the property. Yet obstacles such as the seller also being a foreign national, the property having already been used in a prior citizenship application, or the price falling below the threshold must be identified before the purchase. If a buyer from Riyadh discovers, after buying an apartment from a seller who also happens to be a foreign national, that the purchase cannot be counted toward citizenship eligibility, there is very little room left to reverse course.
10. Skipping Legal Due Diligence Before Paying the Deposit
Whether the title deed record carries a mortgage, attachment, or injunction annotation, the zoning status, and whether the seller is genuinely the registered owner are all matters that can be checked before any deposit is paid. This preliminary review is known as due diligence. A buyer who pays a deposit without it ends up as the party fighting to get their money back if problems surface. For a fuller picture of the process, we also recommend reviewing the key points foreign buyers should watch for when acquiring a title deed; for current title deed legislation, the competent authority is the General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre (TKGM).
What These Mistakes Have in Common
To sum up, here is a short pre-investment checklist:
- Document order: Review the appraisal report and title deed record first, negotiate and pay the deposit second.
- Paper trail for funds: Make every payment through the banking system with a clearly described receipt, and ensure the price on the title deed reflects the real price.
- Structural security: Do not skip the occupancy permit and condominium ownership checks, or the notarization-plus-annotation requirement for off-plan purchases.
- Representation and promises: Keep the power of attorney narrow in scope, and only rely on a rental guarantee if it is backed by real security.
- Goal planning: If citizenship is the objective, verify the eligibility conditions before the purchase.
Every investment carries its own risk profile, shaped by the nature of the property, the seller’s circumstances, and the buyer’s objective. For this reason, the soundest approach is to begin the process with legal review before the deposit stage.
Legal Disclaimer
Comments are closed