Buying a house in Turkey : Taxes, Fees, Insurance and Utilities

Doug Duffin,  Sunday, 3 July 2011

 

Extra taxes and fees payable on top of the purchase price

Extra costs.
  1. A 3% of the property value tax. This is a once off payment and it is due for payment once the TAPU is received.
  2. The solicitor's fee (should you require one). Prices start from about £200.00 pounds and will vary depending on which solicitor you choose to use.
  3. An approximate £100 Notaries Charge for giving us the Power of Attorney to handle the documents relating to the property in your absence.
  4. A 3% agency fee that covers all agents commision and charges. This is usually payable at the time that the contract is made, together with the initial deposit payment on the property but may be able to be negotiated in certain circumstances.
  5. It is compulsory to have earthquake insurance and we recommend you take out Full insurance home and contents cover as soon as the house is registered in your name.(the cost of this varies depending on the value of the property, it's contents for the number of months it will be occupied.) Approximately £150
  6. The connection of Water and Electricity into your name so the bills will come directly to your house. Does not apply to some properties.

This is an idea of costs for the purchase of a property of £50,000

Property price £50,000
Tax @ 3% £1,500
Solicitor£500
Notary's fee £100
Agency Fee @ 3% £1,500
Full insurance
(incl. earthquake cover)
£150
Utility
Connections
£180
TOTAL £53,930


Once you have received your TAPU there are some other charges, which need to be paid. We estimate annual costs per property to be as follows:

Electricity £120
Water / Sewage £50
Gas £25
Rubbish removal£10
Site maintenance £200
DigiTurk Satelite TV £150
Council tax £15
TOTAL £570


It is not necessary to pay anyone to pay bills. Electric can be paid by automatic standing order once you have a bank account.
Water bills are intermittent and likewise your council tax can be paid when you visit annually.

Please note: The costs are correct at time of writing but are always subject to change. Variations will always occur due to location of purchase and other factors beyond the control of Dreamsofturkey.co.uk. This is intended as a guide only.

Taxes An annual property tax is collected by the municipalities (i.e. local governments) at the rate of 0.3% for land and 0.1% for a house in the Fethiye area. All properties are subject to revaluation every year for tax purposes in line with inflation. The buyer must complete an affidavit and submit it to the municipality for these tax purposes, and we are happy to guide our customers through this process for the first time.
In addition to the property tax, all owners are liable for a refuse tax which is also payable at the municipality office.

Insurance It is compulsory to have Government Earthquake insurance. As an example, for a 100sqm house compulsory earthquake insurance (‘Dask’) currently costs 62 million TL (approx 25pounds). However the payout on it is also very low.
Additional buildings insurance, including extra cover for earthquakes as well as cover for fire and flood can be purchased from a broker. At present, Commercial Union buildings insurance for a value of £75,000 costs around 565 million TL (225 pounds) a year, though exact prices vary according to factors such as whether the property is lived in all-year-round.

Utilities When you purchase a new property, the developer will usually register the electricity and water in your name. With resales, the property owner will usually need to apply to transfer the registrations with both the electric and water companies. The exception to this is large sites where the site may be registered as the user and individual properties billed by the site.
Registration is not difficult, but can be time consuming! It involves visits to the electricity board, the municipality building and the water board, with a number of documents prepared in a file. We are happy to help you for a small fee to cover expenses.
To register with the electricity company you will need to come to us with a photocopy of your passport, your deed and your electricity registration number (written on the meter) – or, in the case of a new registration, your nearest neighbour’s registration number (read it from their metre!). To register as a water user, bring the same documents (obviously reading the number on the WATER metre – written on a metal plaque attached to the pipe) and we will take you first to the municipality building where you will pay any outstanding taxes and take a paper to say the property has no debts, then to the water board. Following this, metres are read on a regular basis – usually every two months and can be paid at the relevant utility office, in the municipality building (water only) in certain banks or by direct debit.