There is a warning causing anxiety among Akbuk property buyers that I have been hearing frequently - that the Turkish government intends to crack down on property tax evasion and are out to get you! This is becoming an increasing issue as property prices rise, particularly in areas with a lot of foreign buyers. But the burden of suspicion here is NOT falling on foreign property buyers - despite what you may have read in other places including the Turkish Embassy in London's own website! The government's concern is that construction companies are effectively laundering their incomes by requesting payment in a combination of cash and bank transfers, persuading property buyers to under-declare the purchase value of the property on their title deeds, and then only declaring the minimum amount to the taxman.
Now if you've bought a property in Turkey before this may all sound rather familiar. Did you put down a deposit for your property and pay the rest in installments by bank transfer? Did you declare the council's assessed value for the property on your title deeds because your solicitor recommended it for tax reasons???
Well don't be scared. So did most people. And it's all perfectly legal. Even the Turkish Embassy admits it in a fairly dramatic u-turn on their informative (!) website: "
Each of buyer and seller is to pay real estate sale-and-acquisition levy of 1.5%, based on the declared value of the asset (This value cannot be less than the threshold determined by authorities). It is collected in prior to the transfer of ownership at TAPU office." Which means that you CAN declare the council's assessed value of the property on your title deeds and pay tax accordingly. And as for paying in a cash/installments combination, nothing could be more sensible. Just make sure that you agree the payments in your sales contract arranged by your solicitor to make sure everything is above board. The real target of this worry-provoking campaign isn't you, it's the builder whose property you are buying. And how he declares his tax is his responsibility, not yours.
So what's the moral of the story? Leave a paper trail. NEVER buy a property without involving a solicitor and having a detailed intent-of-sale contract drawn up. Oh, and unless you are VERY confident about the buying process, don't bypass the estate agent just to save your 3%. We don't just exist to point you at properties you can find by yourself, we also understand the ins and outs of the property buying process in Turkey - which is more than I can say for the Turkish Embassy in London! (Sorry guys, but you're not good at this. Really. Pull yourselves together.)
To get the real lowdown on buying property in Akbuk safely and legally, contact
Dizayn Homes at
info@dizaynhomes.com - we are happy to anwer any questions you have, no matter what your intention re buying property is. Or take a look at the
Turkey Central forum, where more information is constantly being added about the local property-buying process in the Akbuk (Didim) area.
Some informative statistics from my favourite source again. Completed real estate sales to foreigners went up by an amazing 59% in 2006 on the year before, to a total $2.9 billion! Which is a lot of apartments, whatever way you look at it (I'm half english & half american so 1 billion to me is either 9 zeros or 12... how confusing....).
