01
Complex apartments
The standard coastal product: a gated site with a pool, gardens, parking, often a gym, sauna and generator, all paid for by the monthly aidat.
Property in Turkey · Apartments
Apartments for sale in Turkey
Most of what sells here is a flat inside a managed complex. What that means day to day, and what it costs to run, is knowable in advance.
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About this
Buying an apartment in Turkey: complexes, layouts and running costs
What an apartment in Turkey usually is
Most apartments for sale in Turkey sit inside a site, the Turkish word for a gated residential complex. One block or several share a plot with a swimming pool, landscaped gardens, parking and a gate, and frequently a gym, a sauna and a back-up generator as well. You own the flat outright and hold a share of the common parts, and a management elected by the owners runs the place. That model is why two apartments with identical floor plans in the same town can be entirely different propositions: one arrives with a staffed complex around it, the other with a stairwell.
Reading the layout: 1+1, 2+1, 3+1
Turkish listings count rooms as bedrooms plus the living room. A 2+1 is a two-bedroom flat with a separate lounge, a 1+1 is a one-bedroom, and a 3+1 has three bedrooms and a lounge. Above the standard flats sit duplexes, which occupy two floors with an internal stair and usually a roof terrace, and garden-floor apartments, which give up the view for private outdoor space. Flats for sale in Turkey are normally advertised in gross square metres, a figure that includes a share of the common area, so the net living space is a separate question worth asking.
Aidat: the number that is not in the photograph
Aidat is the monthly charge that keeps a complex running. It covers pool maintenance and chemicals, the gardens, lift servicing, the generator, cleaning, common-area lighting and the wages of any security or site staff. It is set by the owners' management and it follows what the complex has rather than the size of your flat, so a plain block with no facilities costs a fraction of a residence with a pool, a gym and a manned gate. It runs for all twelve months whether or not you are in the country. Ask for the current figure and last year's before you buy an apartment in Turkey.
New build in a complex, or resale in an older block
A new apartment arrives with current insulation and wiring and often a payment plan from the developer, but you are judging the building from a brochure and the service charge from an estimate. A resale flat shows you the roof, the plumbing, the neighbours and a real record of what the aidat has cost. The checks are the same either way: a clean tapu in the seller's name, an iskan confirming the finished building may legally be lived in, compulsory DASK earthquake cover, any aidat arrears attached to the flat rather than the departing owner, and the construction date read against the building code tightened in 2000 and revised in 2018.
01
Start here
The flat is half the decision. The complex is the other half.
Two apartments with the same floor plan can mean quite different lives and quite different annual bills, depending on what stands around them: a pool, a gate and a generator, or a stairwell and a front door. Start there, not with the photographs.
Where to look
Three kinds of apartment
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City apartments
Istanbul, Izmir, Antalya and Bursa. Flats in ordinary blocks with a lift and little else, bought by people who live in them all year.
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Duplexes and garden floors
Two floors with an internal stair and a roof terrace, or a ground-floor flat with private outdoor space. Often better value per square metre.
Before a reservation
A render sells a mood. A tapu tells you what you own.
We gather the facts behind a property first, then say plainly what holds up, what needs answering and what is simply unknown at this stage.
Title and rights
What the tapu says, which form of ownership it is, and whether the registry shows anything undisclosed.
The building
Construction date against the building code, whether the iskan is in place, and the state of the block.
The real cost
Service charge, utilities, property tax and insurance, written out as a yearly figure.
Getting out
Who the next buyer would be, and how long a sale in this district usually takes.
ApartmentsApartmentsGet an apartment shortlist
Your shortlist
A shortlist with the running costs written in
Complexes look alike in a listing and differ enormously in what they cost to keep. We put the yearly number beside the asking price so you are comparing the same thing.
- The current aidat for each complex, and what last year's actually was
- Layout in plain terms, with net square metres rather than gross
- Construction date, iskan status and any service charge arrears on the flat
How we work
We would rather send four properties that fit than forty that do not.
The first conversation is about how the property will be used, not about what is available this week. Everything after that follows from the answer.
The brief
How many months a year you will be there, who else uses it, and what you will not compromise on.
The shortlist
A small number of properties in districts that match, with the trade-off in each spelled out.
The checks
Registry, permits, service charge history and the questions to put to the seller in writing.
The purchase
Tax number, bank account, valuation report and the Land Registry appointment, in order.
Checks before you buy
Eight things a property should survive
Title, permits, contract, building age, service charge, season, management and resale. We are not your lawyer; we make sure you arrive at one with the right questions.
The process
Four steps, and no rush at the start
- 01
Tell us the plan
Pick a messenger and leave a number. You may have a town in mind, or none at all.
- 02
A short conversation
Months of use, budget range, timing, and the things that would rule a property out.
- 03
The shortlist
A handful of options that fit, with what to compare and what to check on each.
- 04
The next step
Viewings, questions to the seller, and the paperwork in the right order.
Questions worth asking out loud
A property worth buying can take an awkward question.
Why this district?
Demand, season length, what is open in winter and what is being built nearby.
What does a year cost?
Service charge, utilities, tax and insurance, before anyone talks about yield.
What if plans change?
Use, letting and resale are worth discussing before a deposit, not after.
Who is the next buyer?
A property local buyers also want is a property you can sell.
Read next
FAQ
Before the first conversation
What does 2+1 mean in a Turkish listing?
Turkish agents count bedrooms plus the living room. A 2+1 is two bedrooms and a separate lounge, so it is what a British agent would call a two-bedroom flat. A 1+1 is one bedroom and a lounge, and a 3+1 is three bedrooms and a lounge. A studio is written 0+1 or listed as a studio. Floor areas are usually quoted gross, including a share of the common parts, so it is worth asking for the net figure as well.
What happens to unpaid aidat when I buy a flat?
This is the one that catches people out. Under Turkish condominium law the service charge debt attaches to the apartment itself, not only to the person who ran it up, so a new owner can be pursued for arrears left by the seller. Before completion, ask the building management for a written statement that the flat is clear, and treat any hesitation about producing it as information rather than an inconvenience.
Can a foreigner buy an apartment in Turkey?
Yes. Citizens of most countries can own residential property in Turkey in their own name. The limits are geographic rather than personal: purchases are restricted inside designated military and security zones, and there is a cap on the share of land in any one district that foreign nationals may hold. Both are checked before a reservation, not after.
Do I have to be in Turkey to complete the purchase?
It helps, but it is not required. The transfer is registered at the Land Registry, and a buyer who cannot attend may act through a notarised power of attorney. A sworn translator is present at the registry when the buyer does not speak Turkish. Viewing trips are still worth making before you commit to a district.
Apartments
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