FAQ
1) How can we buy a real estate in Turkey?
Please find a good lawyer to deal with conveyancing. The contract you will sign between parties will not protect your interest therefore please do not hand over your money. Make sure the title deed of the property is free of charge. Make sure, you get your official title deed and register your ownership of the property in the Land Registry.
2) What happens to my real estate in Turkey when I die without leaving a will?
You need to be aware of that the Turkish Inheritance Law is different from English Inheritance Law and on real estates in Turkey Turkish Inheritance Law applies regardless of your nation.
According to Turkish Inheritance Law, the spouse gets 1/4 shares of the estate if there is a child of the deceased and the rest of the estate will be left to the child. Or if there are more than one children the estate will be divided between them equally.
If there is a will, it will change the percentage the spouse and children get. To have more information about Turkish inheritance Law please contact us.
3) I paid a lot of money to the Builder and he does not hand over my title deed. What can I do?
There are two ways to deal with this situation. But before the solutions we need to examine the facts?
Is the builder still around?
if the answer is yes, does he have money to pay you back?
if the answer is yes, we can get your money back or try to get the title deed. Otherwise we are going to have a big problem to solve this matter.
If you have that kind of problem, please get legal help strait away. The written contract you sign between the parties is not going to protect your interest. According to Turkish Law you have to sign your official transaction contract in the Land Registry. The other contracts you sign are not valid in the eyes of Law. They can only be evidence about your payment. Therefore please be careful before you buy or sell any real estate in Turkey because the rules are not the same with English Law.
4) What Do you Need to Know When You Are about To Buy a Property in Turkey!
a) You need to know about the Title Deed Details. You need to know about is there any attachments over the property or any mortgage.
b) Turkish Law is different from English Law therefore please do not hand over the Money before you get your title deed in Land Registry.
c) Signing the selling contract before a lawyer will not protect you. In England when you sign the agreement before a lawyer and Exchange your contracts, you would be protected but in Turkey things are not the same. If you sign the contract between the vendor and purchaser or even you sign the contract before a lawyer will not protect you. If you pay all the Money and if the vendor does not transfer the title deed over to you, you will be left empty handed and there is no other way going to court to ask your money back. To get your Money back you will have to wait 2-3 years for legal process to finish if you are lucky. Sounds not good, does not it?
d) You need to have a lawyer who protects your interest. Please be advised on that, Turkish friends or boyfriends can get you in a trouble, and they will vanish when you have that problem. You will be left all alone in a strange country. Therefore please get some advice when you are about to do anything which will affect your future.
e) Turkish Inheritance Law is different from English Inheritance Law, therefore the will you make to leave everything to your spouse or anyone will not protect your wishes. We have solutions for it.
f) We can help you with marriage, divorce, inheritance law issues, buying or selling properties, criminal law issues, working permission, residency, translation or passports or driving license issues, Title Deeds or any other legal matter.
g) We are here to help you, if you let us..
5) What is your situation If you have an accident while you are on holiday in Turkey?
If you have an accident while you are on holiday and if it is due to the negligence of the company you are dealing with, you can make them responsible paying all your medical bills and other monetary loss as well as your damages for pain and suffering.
You need to speak to an English Speaking Lawyer to understand your situation. We are offering all this help. Advocate Sule BEDER is fluent in English and also has experience with Tort Law issues.
Without an English Speaking Lawyer, you will be lost. Translators, if they do not have any degree in law cannot translate the situation in detail therefore please get in touch with an English Speaking Lawyer who will also take responsibility to search the Company you are dealing with and give you better opinion about what can be done in that situation. We can do that, if you let us!
6) What if you involve in a crime in Turkey?
If you commit a crime in Turkey, the Turkish Criminal Law applies and nobody will care if you do not know the law. Therefore, before giving your statement please get a lawyer who will understand your situation and guide you through it. The first statement you give in Police Station is very important; if you do not get the legal help you may have trouble in the court. You have the right to remain silent, ask one of your families to be notified, ask a lawyer etc. If you know your rights you will be in better position.
The Police investigation takes some time then the Public Prosecutor will prepare an Indictment. The Indictment will show what offence you will be charged with and what the evidence is.
You need to be aware of deportation issues too after you have been found guilty of some offences.
We offer legal help starting with Police Station to the end of court case. We are going to structure your case and help you trough it.
7)What is Road Tax? Do we have to pay it? What happens if we do not pay it?
Road Tax is kind of council tax. The Municipality gets this tax from the owners of the properties in the area the new road is build. That is why it is called “Road Tax”. It is one off. You do not have to pay it again.
When you pay it straight away the council gives you some discount. There is an option that you can pay it in installments if you like. If you do not pay it this year, you can leave now and you can pay it when you have some money.
They would not come to your house with Bailiff to ask that money, only if you want to sell your property you need to get a document from Council and they do not give you that document before you pay all the outstanding bills.
Council tax is the same, if you do not have money this year, leave it to next near. There will be small interest on it but nothing more. And nobody will ring your doorbell asking for the council tax. However as I stated above, if you would like to sell the property you will have to pay all outstanding bills to the Council.
8 ) How can we organize a protest meeting in Turkey?
According to the Meeting and Protest Act (Reference Number 2911) Article 3, “anyone can organize a demonstration and protest meeting for the purposes which the law does not count as an offence”. However the second paragraph added to the act on 03/08/2002 and it states that “foreigners can organize a demonstration and protest meeting with Home Office’s permission, also foreigners can carry pictures ,bandanas and any other demonstration means in demonstration on condition that the local governor should be notified written 48 hours before the event.
Expressing your thoughts is not an offence; please remember the freedom of speech; however we should follow the rules. As a foreigner, you can organize a protest meeting or demonstration as long as you follow the rules, and get necessary permissions from the Home Office.
There will be a regulatory board consisting of 7 people. One of them should be a chairman. They need to prepare a written notification for the local governor stating the purpose and place and time of the demonstration. This notification should be given 48 hours before the demonstration with the additional documents such as criminal records of the people who is in the regulatory board.