Innocent Abroad

Some people love it. Others can't wait to get out but are stuck with properties they can't offload because there are very few foreign buyers and Turks either won't pay the high prices or won't buy on sites where most owners are foreigners. Rent for at least a year and learn as much as you can about the area and the buying process before dipping into the property market. There are so many scams and pitfalls.......military permission, properties in areas restricted to Turkish buyers, unnotarised contracts not written in the Turkish language, unfinished sites, different types and stages of title deeds (Tapu), builders' debts preventing the transfer of title deeds, storage areas or air raid shelters being fitted out and sold to unsuspecing foreigners as ground floor apartments......the list is endless. Foreigners cannot own a car unless they have resident's status and cars owned by foreigners have special number plates. If you import your own car you cannot keep it in Turkey for longer than 6 months and there are restrictions on how soon/often you can bring it back to Turkey. There are also restrictions on your leaving the country without the car. Turkish people are ok. With over 60 million of them, it would be wrong to generalise or pigeon-hole them. You will find that they range from very modern and westernised to extremely conservative Islamists. You may find that they have a buyer beware attitude to buying and selling...........they will sympathise with you if you are conned but their sympathy will be tinged with scepticism that you were so easily taken in. They can be extremely hospitable but it's every man for himself where money is concerned. More than a few foreigners have been conned by Turks they regarded as close family friends. Beware, too, of expats who supplemnent their income by commission from EAs. Forget about working there. They don't issue work permits to foreigners if there are Turks qualified to do the job. You might be able to get work teaching English as a foreign language but a TEFL qualification alone is insufficient to qualify for a work permit......you must have a University degree. Turks won't think twice about reporting a foreigner they suspect of working illegally and If you are caught working without a permit you will be deported after possibly spending a few nights in police custody.

Internet speeds can be good depending on the location but foreigners in Turkey cannot get a land line in their own name unless they have residency status. Residency is expensive. DASK is compulsory earthquake insurance and you would be lucky if it covered the cost of clearing the site after an earthquake. Top-up insurance is essential.

Very many foreigners who have been scammed out of their life savings by dishonest developers would laugh or cry at the suggestion that the turkish government is harsh on the developers. To date the turkish government has turned a blind eye to their plight. Don't buy offplan in Turkey.