Managing it yourself versus professional management
Letting a home is not a few hours a year; it is a task list spread across every month. The decision is who does the list. The table shows what happens under each option for each item; which is “better” depends on the owner’s time, distance and number of units.
| Task | If you manage it | Under professional management |
|---|---|---|
| Finding a tenant | Listing, calls, viewings, negotiation; you check ID and income yourself | Screening is standard (ID, income, references, credit, enforcement); lease and inventory templates are ready |
| Collection | Checking the account every month; calling the tenant yourself when late | Request on a fixed day, a written procedure when late; notice and enforcement from one team |
| Repairs | Finding a contractor, getting a price, checking the work; hard from abroad | Vetted contractor network; approval by amount threshold; photographed report |
| Tax, DASK, dues | You write the dates in your own calendar; a fine if missed | On a due-date calendar; the return with an accountant |
| Annual increase | You find the CPI rate and negotiate with the tenant | Calculation and negotiation in advance; approval stays with you |
| Cost | No management fee; time and error cost are yours | A set percentage of rent; deductible as an expense in the return (actual expense method) |
| Control | Full control; full responsibility | Visibility through an approval mechanism and a monthly statement; decisions still yours |
Three questions to ask: Are you in Turkey? Do you have more than one unit? Is there someone who will pick up the phone at 11 p.m. for a leak? If the answer to all three is no, most of the work can be handed over.
Long-term versus furnished mid-term
Long-term letting is renting an empty or lightly furnished home for a year or more under the Code of Obligations’ residential rules. Furnished mid-term is renting a fully furnished home, usually for three months to a year, mostly to foreign employees, academics or people on temporary assignment. Lets shorter than a month count as tourism letting and need a permit under Law No. 7464; they are outside this guide.
| Criterion | Long-term (unfurnished) | Furnished mid-term |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly rent | Lower | Higher; furniture and services included in the price |
| Vacancy | One turnover a year; short gaps | Two or three turnovers a year; empty days and cleaning at each |
| Upfront investment | None or little | Furniture, appliances, textiles, internet; depreciation |
| Wear and maintenance | Utilities on the tenant; major repairs on the owner | Wear and replacement of contents on the owner; frequent inventories |
| Legal framework | Residential lease rules; eviction rules apply in full | Same rules; tenant protections apply even with a short term |
| Tenant profile | Families, long-term employees, students | Foreign employees, temporary assignees, families displaced by renovation |
| Management load | Low | High: frequent move-ins and move-outs, inventories, cleaning, bills |
The return on mid-term should be calculated after empty days and management load are deducted. Demand is steadier in districts with frequent tenant turnover (Beyoğlu, parts of Şişli).
The annual cost of leaving it empty
An empty home is not “free”; it produces costs while earning nothing. To work out the annual cost, add up the items below; figures are not given here because they depend on the property.
- Lost rent: monthly rent × months empty. This is the largest item.
- Dues: paid in full even for an empty unit (Law No. 634, Art. 20).
- Property tax: paid by the owner with or without a tenant (Law No. 1319, Art. 3).
- DASK and home insurance: annual premiums continue; some policies add conditions for unoccupied homes.
- Fixed subscription charges: electricity, water, gas and internet keep charging standing fees unless closed; reopening costs money.
- Neglect: leaks and odours in unused plumbing, damp and mould, frozen pipes in winter; noticed later and repaired at a higher cost in an empty home.
- Security and checks: the time or fee of someone looking in periodically.
- Opportunity cost: what the rent would have earned if invested elsewhere.
The usual reason for leaving a home empty is “fear of a bad tenant”. That fear is a manageable risk through tenant screening, an eviction undertaking and a guarantor; the tools are explained in the tenancy law guide.
Sources
To see which of these tasks you would hand over and which you would keep, across the three packages: Compare the packages
Related guides
This is not legal advice. The guides are for general information; legislation and amounts change. Consult a lawyer or a certified accountant for your own situation.