Searching for a property to buy or to rent is often done by visiting estate agents shops or their internet websites. Foreign buyers are often unaware that 95 % + of all properties in Turkiye are found on property portals – not agents websites. Many agents claim their websites are portals, but this isn't so. The quantity and quality of properties that are available on the property portals in Turkiye are 10 x to 100 x more than can be discovered by searching the internet using search engines like google. This has been the situation for nearly ten years now, but many foreigners are not aware. This is why local Turks use portals, not agents.

An added benefit of having the property search performed by a professional at MyTapu Associates is that the Due Diligence checks are built into the process. This means that the properties are checked to ensure they have the necessary permits. Other legal aspects may also be checked. A complete description of these checks are provided on our Due Diligence webpage.

Pre-qualifying properties in advance, during the property searching process, ensures a buyer isn’t wasting time viewing properties or negotiating, only to discover later the properties deficiencies, or are not legally acceptable - this is the experience of most international buyers, and in the past many were swindled into believing a property had permits, when it didn’t. What is the alternative ? Relying on agents' websites and the misleading advice they provide will lead a buyer down a path resulting in jeopardized position in the transaction, usually requiring payment of a 'security deposit' before any proper checks are confirmed by documentary evidence, and may make up different excuses why the Tapu ownership certificate is not forthcoming. . Agents may promise and guarantee to return the security deposit but usually will not do so until the buyer has a lawyer and paid a few thousand Euro equivalent in court fees. The agent is usually confident the buyer will not find a trustworthy local lawyer and won't pay the court fees ! 

Pre-qualification also applies to checking the sales price to ensure it is at a real market valuation of the property, and not over-inflated by an agent’s hidden price mark-up. thus eliminating a buyer's negotiating leverage on price.  What is the alternative ? These agents are well practiced experts in the art of deception and very convincing with psychological persuasion tactics and their assurances on prices, and a buyer's fear of losing a 'security deposit', means losing the leverage of negotiating a better price, 

Having a professional complete the search by checking these and many other related risks, at the earliest stage, .avoids such properties which are at best wasting a knowledgeable buyer's time.  The way the checks are performed is important- it is no good just asking, because usually an agent will tell a buyer anything to make the sale.

A buyer may use the portals to search and MyTapu associates will provide assistance for non-Turkish speaking buyers, but the faster and better results are obtained when using an experienced professional that has done hundreds of property searches for many years. One of the main reasons for this is that using the portals to find properties requires specific detailed knowledge of specific neighbourhood locations, of how each of the different portals search functions work, of the different classification categories used by each of the portals, and several other factors. For example, when searching for a property in a coastal town if only the towns name is entered, that name usually also refers to a specific neighborhood, and so the search results will be limited to a small fraction of the properties, and only inthat specific neighborhood. Properties in the other neighborhoods with different names in that same town which may be adjacent or nearby, will not show up in the results even though they are considered to be in the same town. This is one example of why local knowledge is so important.

During a typical search performed for MyTapu’s Property Search & Selection Services, anywhere from 200 to 2,000 properties may be reviewed, from which 50-75 are inspected closely, and 20-35 short-listed for negotiations and enquiries. Navigating this is actually very challenging for inexperienced users. A user may find a few results, but nowhere near the number and quality of results found by an experienced and knowledgeable professional. In addition, there are several portals, and knowing which one is best for a buyer’s specific property requirements, is what the professionals know. Send an email to info@mytapu.com to learn more about this service…