More Foreigners Buying in Turkey

Some informative statistics from my favourite source again. Completed real estate sales to foreigners went up by an amazing 59% in 2006 on the year before, to a total $2.9 billion! Which is a lot of apartments, whatever way you look at it (I'm half english & half american so 1 billion to me is either 9 zeros or 12... how confusing....).

88% of foreign-owned property is located in 10 cities, the top 5 being Antalya with 14,610 properties; Istanbul with a surprisingly low 10,695; Mugla (the location of Bodrum) with 8,251; Aydin (home of me, Didim, Akbuk and Altinkum) with 5,839, and Izmir with 4,572 foreign-owned properties.
Source: Today's Zaman

To see what's inducing people to invest so much money in Aydin, take a look at our fantastic properties for sale in Akbuk - you will see for yourself why investment here is such a popular choice!

Posted by DIZAYN HOMES at 12:20

Altinkum Property Tax Evasion

There is a warning causing anxiety among Altinkum property buyers that I have been hearing frequently - that the Turkish government intends to crack down on property tax evasion and are out to get you! This is becoming an increasing issue as property prices rise, particularly in areas with a lot of foreign buyers. But the burden of suspicion here is NOT falling on foreign property buyers - despite what you may have read in other places including the Turkish Embassy in London's own website! The government's concern is that construction companies are effectively laundering their incomes by requesting payment in a combination of cash and bank transfers, persuading property buyers to under-declare the purchase value of the property on their title deeds, and then only declaring the minimum amount to the taxman.

Now if you've bought a property in Turkey before this may all sound rather familiar. Did you put down a deposit for your property and pay the rest in installments by bank transfer? Did you declare the council's assessed value for the property on your title deeds because your solicitor recommended it for tax reasons???

Well don't be scared. So did most people. And it's all perfectly legal. Even the Turkish Embassy admits it in a fairly dramatic u-turn on their informative (!) website: "Each of buyer and seller is to pay real estate sale-and-acquisition levy of 1.5%, based on the declared value of the asset (This value cannot be less than the threshold determined by authorities). It is collected in prior to the transfer of ownership at TAPU office." Which means that you CAN declare the council's assessed value of the property on your title deeds and pay tax accordingly. And as for paying in a cash/installments combination, nothing could be more sensible. Just make sure that you agree the payments in your sales contract arranged by your solicitor to make sure everything is above board. The real target of this worry-provoking campaign isn't you, it's the builder whose property you are buying. And how he declares his tax is his responsibility, not yours.

So what's the moral of the story? Leave a paper trail. NEVER buy a property without involving a solicitor and having a detailed intent-of-sale contract drawn up. Oh, and unless you are VERY confident about the buying process, don't bypass the estate agent just to save your 3%. We don't just exist to point you at properties you can find by yourself, we also understand the ins and outs of the property buying process in Turkey - which is more than I can say for the Turkish Embassy in London! (Sorry guys, but you're not good at this. Really. Pull yourselves together.)

To get the real lowdown on buying property in Akbuk safely and legally, contact Dizayn Homes at info@dizaynhomes.com - we are happy to anwer any questions you have, no matter what your intention re buying property is. Or take a look at the Turkey Central forum, where more information is constantly being added about the local property-buying process in the Altinkum area.

Single-Day Altinkum Property Sales

According to Today's Zaman (my favourite source for news about Turkey), the security check process that until now has delayed property purchases in Altinkum by foreigners for as much as 12 months is soon to be speeded up. The Turkish Land Registry now has greater access to the information, kept by the Turkish Defense Ministry, about what property is militarily sensitive and thus can't be bought by foreigners.

Don't expect too much from this news just yet though - all it means in practical terms is that the Land Registry can carry out the checks themselves instead of passing the documentation to the Defense Ministry. But if this can be taken one step further and the information made available to the Land Registry at a local level, potentially foreign property buyers will be able to purchase Altinkum property in one day, just like Turkish buyers!
Source: Today's Zaman

New Cinema for Altinkum in Didim!

ALTINKUM'S NEW CINEMA: A canny local investor has spotted a huge gap in Altinkum's facilities and decided to do something about it.

Mehmut Gokdemir, the neighbourhood leader of one of Altinkum's most populous districts, has already started work on the 3-screen, 400-seat capacity movie theatre. He is in negotiations with film companies to provide the latest quality movies, both for international and Turkish audiences.

The location of the new theatre is well thought-out, accessible to visitors from the Altinkum AND Akbuk areas: on the main Didim-Akbuk road running from Yenihisar centre and the Belediye (council offices) to Akbuk and then on to Bodrum. The cinema will be close to the Opet petrol station and the structure is already visible.

Didim's cinema is the latest piece of good news for Akbuk following the announcement of the location of two 18-hole golf courses and accompanying facilities in the area.

To see investment real estate close to the new cinema site view our Properties in Didim /Yenihisar and our Properties in Akbuk from Dizayn Homes.

Source: Voices Newspaper

HSBC Comes to Altinkum - and brings Mortgages for Altinkum Property Buyers

As if prices of property in Altinkum weren't reasonable enough, now there is an extra reason for taking the plunge. Until this year it was impossible to get a mortgage for a property in Turkey, no matter whether the property buyer was Turkish or otherwise.

But now HSBC, among other banks, is offering a straightforward mortgage system for foreigners and Turkish property buyers alike.

HSBC's service is designed for completed, not off-plan, properties and allows buyers to borrow up to 75% of the property value over a 30 year term (for YTL transactions) or 50% over a 10 year term (for USD / EUR transactions). It even guarantees no penalties for early repayment, a subject originally of much concern.

Check out the details on HSBC Turkey's great English-language website. I'm so impressed I think I'm about to change banks myself!

And as for personal service - well HSBC opened up a new branch on Ataturk Bulvari, Altinkum's main road, just about a month ago!

Welcome to All About Altinkum

All About Altinkum is the new blog newsletter from Dizayn Homes. This newsletter is specifically aimed at people with an interest in property in Altinkum, Turkey and will bring you the lowdown on what's happening, what's hot and what's not in Altinkum.

This is one of many blogs we produce, each for a specific audience; if Akbuk is your main interest then try ALL ABOUT AKBUK instead. If you want general information about buying property in Turkey then, you guessed it, ALL ABOUT BUYING PROPERTY IN TURKEY is the newsletter for you. And if you're interested in the Didim area in general and don't want to look just at one location, try DIDIM DIZAYNS.

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