Change in Law when buying a Property In Turkey

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Hanorah
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Change in Law when buying a Property In Turkey

Post by Hanorah »

What do you think about the recent change in the law affecting purchasing property in Turkey. It caught everyone by surprise and it seems as in some areas only a leashold can now be purchased. This should not affect people buying in commercial areas and does not affect those that have purchased already but what do you think?

Turkey’s Constitutional Court has overturned a law that made it easier for foreigners to buy property in the country.

The Title Deeds Law that was passed in 2003 had seen a big upturn in interest from foreign buyers attracted by Turkey’s Mediterannean and Black Sea coastlines and low property prices. Foreigners spent US$1.34 billion on property in Turkey last year alone and news that talks are set to start regarding Turkey’s entry into the European Union looked set to boost the Turkish property market further.

However, the Constitutional Court has said that some aspects of the law were unconstitutional, with the full reasons for their decision to be published during the next month.

A three month transitional period is then envisaged which should give the Turkish government the necessary time to draft a new law that will meet with the Constitutional Court’s approval and allow the much needed foreign investment in property to continue.

Existing foreign owners of property in Turkey will not be affected by this change in law and ongoing property transactions can also be completed.
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paolo
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Post by paolo »

Is this aimed purely at discouraging foreigners from buying property? There is something to be said for limiting the number of holiday properties. I know villages in France that are 70% empty in the winter, and in which no local can afford to buy.
Paolo
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alexia s.
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Post by alexia s. »

This situation is a reminder of the down-side in buying property in any country which doesn't have the same "rule of law" that we are used to in western states. I often meet people who dream of buying a house in Morocco ( income tax can be legally avoided) or India (cheap servants) or any number of other exotic destinations. These countries all have several things in common including a health service you wouldn't want to depend on to save your life and the constant risk of a change in regime that could confiscate property.
Buyers beware!
Turkey, though, should be on its best behaviour vis-a-vis foreigners, as it wants desperately to join the EU. I'd take up any problem with my MEP.
Best,
Alexia.
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Hanorah
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Post by Hanorah »

Hi there is going to be no problem buying property in the commercial areas. What appears to have happened is that mainly arabic countries were buying up huge plots of rural land.

There used to be a law forbidding purchase of properties that were not in a Town so village properties or rural areas could not be purchased by foreigners. This law was overturned a few years ago making it easier with less checks etc for purchasing property and some people were taking advantage of it. Personally the villages have such a unique culture and identity miles apart from the coastal areas I think it may be a wise decision.

The change will only repeal the law making it easier and it is thought that if people wish to purchase in areas not considered Towns then they will only be able to lease the land. Turkey's land is very fertile and it is one of the few countries in the world capable of feeding its own population plus with plenty more to export.

This is appears is what they are trying to protect against not foreigners buying in coastal resorts.

Re health care I can only speak for myself the health care I have experienced in Turkey would put many hospitals in England to shame. My son during a trip got very ill and we took him to the local childrens hospital and the care he received was second to none. He actually had a cold before he went which turned into a bad chest infection so it was not something he picked up there. This was a state hospital and not private and did not cost a penny or require insurance.

My father in law recently had a triple heart bypass and a valve replacement and was up and around in 3 weeks and has made a remarkable recovery. This was carried out in a free state hospital again. He also receives excellent care for his diabetes. Intrestingly they use the old matron system and cleaniness is high on the list and superbugs are not as prevalent as in the UK. When I worked there a rep and our tourists got sick all commented on the care received and cleaniness of the wards. However I must admit I thought the health care would be appalling too before I spent time and had these personal experiences so can definetly understand why people would think it would be awful.
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Alan Knighting
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Post by Alan Knighting »

When it comes to state health services, the World Health Report 2000 issued by the W.H.O. makes interesting reading.

The top ten are:-
  • 1. France
    2. Italy
    3. San Marino
    4. Andorra
    5. Malta
    6. Singapore
    7. Spain
    8. Oman
    9. Austria
    10. Japan
Morocco is 29th, Turkey is 70th and India is 112th.

To put things into perspective, the UK is 18th and the USA is 37th.

Not quite what commonly held attitudes would lead one to believe, is it?
crabbit
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Post by crabbit »

The Turkish parliamentary justice commission on Tuesday adopted the draft bill to pave the way for the sale of land in Turkey to foreigners.

Despite opposition from the military, the bill was accepted with one change which nullified the articles allowing sale of military and security zones to foreigners.

Nationalist circles and the military strongly oppose the selling of property to foreigners, citing security concerns.

In March, the Turkish Constitutional Court cancelled a previous bill that authorized property sales to foreigners under some circumstances.

The bill permits foreigners to buy up to 25,000 square meters of real estate and the figure may be increased to 300,000 square meters by cabinet approval.

Crabbit
A-two
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Post by A-two »

Alan Knighting wrote:The top ten are:-
To put things in perspective, top ten in what aspect of healthcare exactly? Number of hospitals per capita? Waiting time for a hip replacement? Speed of response by emergency services? Success rates in treating heart disease? Cancer? Diabetes? AIDS? Long-term health care? Burns? I don't care what the WHO says, it defies belief that one country is the best at everything and another country is the worst at everything. It's just stuff put out by paper pushers trying to justify their overpaid jobs. Local knowledge is the thing that really counts and if Hanorah says it's excellent in her location, that's good enough for me.
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Alan Knighting
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Post by Alan Knighting »

Joanna,

The World Health Organisation considered a very wide range of criteria when coming to their findings. They produced a league table for each of the separate items under consideration, and an overall league table. It is the latter to which I refer. The report is published on the Internet for all to see. If you want to know more I suggest you “log-on� and read it.

I agree, local knowledge and personal experiences are the ways of judging whether or not services, any services, are coming up to individual expectations. However, when it comes to making comparisons between services provided in different countries, reports such as that prepared and published by the WHO make an invaluable contribution. Pre-conceived ideas and perceptions make no contribution whatever.

“I don't care what the WHO says�. You should care but without reading the report you don’t know what the WHO says. “It defies belief that one country is the best at everything and another country is the worst at everything.� Once you have read the report you will realise that is not what the WHO is saying. To dismiss a report of this nature and complexity, without even reading it, as “It's just stuff put out by paper pushers trying to justify their overpaid jobs� suggests to me the possibility that you don’t like its conclusions because they are not what you want them to be.

I made reference to the WHO report because it is there and because it makes very interesting reading. I haven’t personally received health care in every country included in the WHO report so I'm not in a position to judge or argue about the accuracy or otherwise of the conclusions.

Alan
crabbit
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Post by crabbit »

Alan
Please correct me if i`m wrong, but i thought this thread was about the Change in Law when buying a Property In Turkey, not about which country has the best healthcare system.

Crabbit
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Alan Knighting
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Post by Alan Knighting »

Crabbit,

You're right but like all threads it has wandered off track.

Someone took it down the health route and I answered, that's all.

Alan
crabbit
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Post by crabbit »

The new Law was voted on and accepted by parliament in the early hours of this morning.
They would have done it 2 days ago but couldnt finish the budget meeting on time. (what a suprise :roll: )

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crabbit
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Post by crabbit »

ps,
To come into force, the president has 21 days to examine the law. In this duration he can approve or send it back to the parlimeant. As far as I remember, since the president approved the previous law about the property purchase, he is not expected to send it back.
There is a 2.5 hectares land buying limit for individuals

Crabbit
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