Valuation and pricing strategy
A price range from comparable sales, the district and the building; title record, debt and mortgage status checked.
I The decision
You have decided to sell. The property is here; you are not.
Who values it, where does the listing go, who answers the buyers' calls. Booking a flight for every viewing is one way; having a team standing in Istanbul in your place is another.
II Distance
You do not need to come to Turkey to sign.
The power of attorney is drawn up at the Turkish consulate in your country; where there is no consulate, a local notary plus apostille and sworn translation. The authority is limited to the sale itself, and your representative attends the title deed appointment.
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Selling
III Transfer
The title deed changes hands.
Land-registry and revolving-fund charges are calculated and sent to you in advance; the transfer takes place at the land registry on the appointment day. A promise to sell is drawn up before a notary, with the text prepared together with CKAY, our partner law firm. If the buyer holds no Turkish citizenship, a valuation report and a foreign-exchange purchase document are required; the obligation is the buyer's and we coordinate the process.
IV The proceeds
The money reaches your account.
The sale price is paid into your account in Turkey; we follow the bank's documentation process for converting it and sending it to your account abroad. Registry, notary and survey fees are passed through at cost, with no commission added.
V Process
Then the news starts coming.
Six steps from valuation to title deed. At the end of each one it is clear what we send you.
Photography and listing copy
Professional photography and a floor plan; listing copy written in Turkish and English.
Live on the portals
On Sahibinden, Hepsiemlak, Emlakjet and international portals; presented directly to investor and overseas buyer enquiries that come in.
An offer has come in
Sent to you in writing. Negotiation runs within the limit you set.
Contract ready
The sale undertaking is drawn up; condominium title, DASK and the municipal value letter completed.
Transfer completed
Signed; the proceeds are in your account.
One more message: the file is closed.
Who it is for
Three situations, one process.
- You live abroad
- The power of attorney is issued at the Turkish consulate in your country; viewings, negotiation and the land-registry appointment do not require you to travel.
- We already manage your property
- It can be sold while the tenant is in place. Monthly owner statements and documented rental income go to investment buyers as a ready file; the move from management to sale stays within one contract.
- You are in Istanbul but would rather not run the process
- Buyer calls, viewing appointments, document follow-up and the land-registry appointment sit with us; every offer reaches you in writing and the decision is yours.
Without coming to Turkey
The sale runs on a power of attorney and the right paperwork.
A seller abroad has four questions: who signs, how the money arrives, what the tax is, and what changes if the buyer is foreign. All four have settled answers.
- Power of attorney
- Issued at the Turkish consulate in your country, with the authority to sell stated expressly and with your photograph; where there is no consulate, a local notary plus apostille and sworn translation. Stating the authority in terms is essential: without express authority the attorney cannot transfer immovable property or bring proceedings (TBK Art. 504). The power of attorney is limited to the sale.
- The title-deed transaction
- Your representative (attorney-in-fact) attends the land-registry appointment; the transfer is completed at the registry on the appointment day. Fees and the land-registry service charge (döner sermaye) are calculated and reported to you in advance.
- Proceeds and transfer
- The price is paid in Turkish lira into your account in Turkey; conversion and transfer to your account abroad follow the bank’s document process. The exchange rate, the bank’s charges and the amount that arrives are the bank’s, not ours, and we do not guarantee them.
- Tax
- A sale made more than five full years after acquisition gives rise to no capital gains tax; before five years, a gain above the annual exemption must be declared. For a seller living abroad (a non-resident taxpayer) the route differs: a non-resident who need not file an annual return declares the gain by a separate return within fifteen days of acquiring it (Income Tax Law Art. 101(1)). Land-registry fees are paid separately by buyer and seller. Details in the guide; this is not legal advice.
- The buyer’s citizenship
- If the buyer is an individual who holds no Turkish citizenship, two documents are added: a licensed valuation report and a foreign-exchange purchase document showing the price was sold to a bank in foreign currency, which the bank sends straight to the land registry. If the buyer does not speak Turkish, a sworn interpreter attends. These obligations fall on the buyer; we coordinate the process and discuss the effect on the timetable in the call.
Guide: selling property in Istanbul (documents, fees, tax, power of attorney)
Tenanted property
It can be sold while the tenant is in place.
A lease does not end with the sale; it passes to the new owner on the same terms (Turkish Code of Obligations, TBK Art. 310). For an investment buyer that means income from day one. For the flats we manage, monthly statements, collection history and the tenant file are ready, so the buyer is offered a documented investment. Viewings take place at a time agreed with the tenant, with notice (TBK Art. 319).
- The lease and the deposit pass to the new owner; the tenant’s rights do not change.
- If the buyer wants to move in, eviction grounds and periods are limited by law; we say so clearly from the start.
- For a management client, the sale is a continuation of the existing contract: no new point of contact, no new file.
Guide: selling a tenanted property and the new owner’s rights
Scope and fee
What is included, what is not, and the fee.
- Valuation and pricing strategy
- Professional photography, listing text, portal publication and direct presentation to enquiring buyers
- Buyer meetings, viewings and negotiation; every offer delivered in writing
- Contract, title-deed and document process with our partner firm, CKAY Law Firm; sale by power of attorney for sellers abroad
- Land-registry fee, revolving-fund charge, notary and valuation-report fees: passed through at cost, no markup
- Pre-sale renovation and painting: our Renovate with us line coordinates it on request; the cost is yours
- Capital gains tax and its return: prepared by our team; the tax is yours
Service fee
We tell you our fee in the call; it depends on your property and is set out in the written service agreement.
The legal frame — this is the statutory ceiling, not our rate: under Art. 20 of the Regulation on Real Estate Trade, the agency fee on a sale may not exceed four per cent of the sale price, excluding VAT; even where separate authorisation agreements are signed with buyer and seller, only one fee may be charged and the ceiling still applies. Unless the agreement provides otherwise, the fee is shared equally between the parties (Art. 20(5)). We share our own rate in the call.
But what if…
Five things you may be wondering about.
I am not in Turkey and cannot travel.
You do not need to. With a consular power of attorney, the listing, viewings, negotiation and the title transfer are carried out on your behalf; you receive a written update at every step.
I have a tenant; should I wait for them to leave?
No need. The lease passes to the new owner on the same terms; for an investment buyer, a tenanted flat means income from day one.
There is a mortgage or a debt on the title.
The title record is pulled on day one; if there is a mortgage, lien or annotation, CKAY Law Firm reports in writing how it can be cleared and at what cost. A transfer may not go through until these are resolved, so this step comes first.
I do not know what it is worth.
In the call we discuss a range based on comparable sales and the building; the written pricing strategy is prepared after the agreement is signed. We give no figures on the site, because two flats on the same street are priced differently.
Does the process change if the buyer is foreign?
The test is citizenship: if the buyer is an individual who holds no Turkish citizenship, two documents are added — a licensed valuation report and a foreign-exchange purchase document showing the price was sold to a bank in foreign currency; if the buyer does not speak Turkish, a sworn interpreter attends at the registry. These obligations fall on the buyer; we coordinate the process and in the call we also discuss what they mean for the timeline.
Frequently asked questions
What you will want to know about selling.
How long does a sale take?
It depends on the price, the district and the flat’s condition; a correctly priced flat and an over-priced one can be months apart. We make no promise on timing; in the call we agree together on a realistic expectation for your property.
Do I need to be present at viewings?
No. We hold the key or agree a time with the tenant; we run the viewings and send you a short note after each one.
Who pays the fee, and when?
Our fee is set in the written agreement and collected when the title transfer completes; no sale, no fee. The statutory ceiling is this: an agency fee on a sale may not exceed four per cent of the sale price excluding VAT, only one fee may be charged even where separate agreements are signed, and unless otherwise agreed it is shared equally between the parties (Regulation on Real Estate Trade, Art. 20). That is the ceiling, not our rate.
Do I pay tax on the sale?
If five full years have passed since you acquired the property, no capital gains tax arises. Before five years, if the difference between the indexed purchase price and the sale price exceeds the annual exemption, it must be declared; indexation is available only where the producer price index has risen by 10 per cent or more (Income Tax Law, repeated Art. 81). If you are resident in Turkey the declaration goes in the annual return in March of the following year; a seller living abroad (a non-resident taxpayer) declares the gain by a separate return within fifteen days of acquiring it (Art. 101(1)). Land-registry fees are paid separately by buyer and seller. This is not legal advice; details in the guide.
Which account does the money go to, in which currency?
On the day of the transfer the price is paid in Turkish lira into your account in Turkey. If you are abroad, we prepare the documents the bank asks for (title deed, sale agreement) so it can be converted and sent to your account in USD, EUR or GBP.
How do I grant the power of attorney?
You book an appointment at the Turkish consulate in your country; a power of attorney with the authority to sell and your photograph is issued there and is valid without any further formality. Where there is no consulate, a local notary, apostille and sworn translation reach the same result. We draft the text and send it to you.
If the buyer wants to move in, can the tenant be evicted?
If the new owner needs the flat for themselves or for close family named in the law, they may give written notice within one month of acquisition and bring an eviction action six months later (TBK Art. 351). Otherwise the lease continues for its term. We tell the buyer this clearly at the outset, so there are no surprises.
Can I keep it tenanted and list it for sale at the same time?
Yes. A tenanted property can be listed for sale; some owners keep it tenanted while they wait for the right buyer. Both run under one contract, and the tenant is told about viewings in advance.
If you already manage the flat, do I need a separate agreement to sell?
A written service agreement is needed for the sale; if you are a management client, it is added to your existing file. Your point of contact, your file and your statements stay the same, and rental management continues as it is until the sale completes.
Sell with us
Tell us about your property and let’s talk about the sale.
In the call we discuss the title situation, the property’s location and your goal; we then send you the process, the documents and the fee in writing. The call carries no obligation.
Or send an email:
hello@stayistanbul.com.tr