Guides & Insights
Everything a foreign buyer needs to understand before committing: how the purchase works, what you legally receive as the Tapu (title deed), what it costs, and what it returns. Written by the team that handles it daily.
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Comprehensive references covering each stage end to end. Read them in order for the full picture.
What you actually receive and when: the two documents that decide whether you own a property or a promise, and the clause that decides what happens if the promise is late.
Continue reading →How a return on an Istanbul apartment is actually built, and why the yield figure you were quoted is almost always the wrong one.
Continue reading →What you pay to buy, to own, and to sell: how each cost is calculated, who pays it, and the ones that cost the most by being misunderstood.
Continue reading →Every step of purchasing property in Turkey as a foreign buyer, from the first viewing to the title deed, and what we settle for you at each one.
Continue reading →The property route to a Turkish passport, step by step: where the USD 400,000 threshold is measured, who one investment covers, and what we settle before you commit.
Continue reading →Browse the library
Titles are alphabetical within each category. Use the filters above to keep a category in the URL.
Off-plan buying is a contract and delivery-risk decision before it is a price decision. The programme records TUIK June 2026 construction costs up 28.66% year on year. That does not predict failure, but it makes payment schedule, delivery evidence and developer cash-flow discipline harder to ignore.
Continue reading →A foreign individual should separate the ordinary purchase file from any citizenship file. The purchase file proves the Residence, identity, tax number, payment route, DAB, DASK, fee payment and Tapu transfer. A citizenship file adds official value evidence, bank receipts, the certificate path and the three-year no-sale commitment.
Continue reading →The most requested feature in Istanbul, and the one most often sold as something it is not. How to tell a view you own from a view you are borrowing.
Continue reading →A remote purchase can work, but the Vekaletname must be narrow and accepted by the official route. Invest in Türkiye lists consulate-issued powers, foreign competent-authority powers with apostille where applicable, and consular certification where apostille is not available, followed by notarised Turkish translation.
Continue reading →The cheapest headline price is not always the cheapest total cost. Cash can win a discount, developer instalments can preserve liquidity, and a mortgage can add bank discipline but exposes the buyer to current credit rates and approval limits.
Continue reading →DAB is the foreign-currency purchase certificate in the Turkish bank route before Tapu. TKGM states that foreign natural persons buying real estate must sell the foreign currency through a bank to the Central Bank before the title transaction, and the DAB is submitted to the land registry.
Continue reading →New build, resale and branded Residence are different evidence files. New build asks for developer, delivery and KDV checks. Resale asks for title, debt, DASK and seller authority. Branded Residence adds operator, service contract and Aidat questions.
Continue reading →What you actually receive and when: the two documents that decide whether you own a property or a promise, and the clause that decides what happens if the promise is late.
Continue reading →The purchase price is the commercial bargain. The licensed appraisal or TTB value is official evidence used where the transaction or citizenship file requires it. For citizenship, iCanBuy language must use the official value route, not the seller's advert.
Continue reading →Every step of purchasing property in Turkey as a foreign buyer, from the first viewing to the title deed, and what we settle for you at each one.
Continue reading →Start with the legal charges, then add conditional items. Tapu Harci is legally 2% for the buyer and 2% for the seller on the declared value, not below the municipal tax value. KDV, DASK, notary, translation, appraisal, utilities and TKGM revolving-fund charges depend on the Residence and document path.
Continue reading →The property route is announced at USD 400,000 with a three-year title restriction. The main financial alternatives are announced at USD 500,000 or equivalent with a three-year holding condition, depending on the route and authority. The better route depends on control, liquidity, residence use, currency exposure and evidence tolerance.
Continue reading →The purchase price is the commercial bargain. The licensed appraisal or TTB value is official evidence used where the transaction or citizenship file requires it. For citizenship, iCanBuy language must use the official value route, not the seller's advert.
Continue reading →The announced property route is a property acquisition worth at least USD 400,000 with a title-deed restriction against sale for at least 3 years. That sentence is not enough to approve a Residence. The accepted value is settled by licensed appraisal or TTB evidence, payment evidence and the authority file.
Continue reading →The property route to a Turkish passport, step by step: where the USD 400,000 threshold is measured, who one investment covers, and what we settle before you commit.
Continue reading →The annual property-tax decision starts with the municipal tax value, not the sale advert. The working 2026 note records Law 7566 as changing the valuation mechanism from 2025-12-19, so any published calculator must use a dated official basis rather than remembered rates.
Continue reading →A non-resident owner should treat rent as a Turkish tax file, not as a yield footnote. GIB issued a 2026 guide for 2025 rental income. The article should keep thresholds and filing dates tied to that guide rather than repeating old remembered figures.
Continue reading →A branded Residence is not just a nicer name on an apartment. The buyer needs the brand agreement, operator role, service promise, Aidat, rental rules and title structure. Without those documents, the brand is marketing context only.
Continue reading →The cheapest headline price is not always the cheapest total cost. Cash can win a discount, developer instalments can preserve liquidity, and a mortgage can add bank discipline but exposes the buyer to current credit rates and approval limits.
Continue reading →For a yield decision, new-tenant rent matters more than a hopeful advert. TCMB started publishing the New Tenant Rent Index on 2026-02-17. Its January 2026 annual increase was 34.2%, while the CPI actual-rent series was 56.6%, which shows why old tenant data can lag a fresh lease.
Continue reading →Net yield is not rent divided by price. A defensible model starts with purchase price in USD, a dated TRY rent expectation, Aidat, tax, management, furnishing, vacancy and FX sensitivity. TCMB's YKKE gives market context; it does not replace Residence-level evidence.
Continue reading →New build, resale and branded Residence are different evidence files. New build asks for developer, delivery and KDV checks. Resale asks for title, debt, DASK and seller authority. Branded Residence adds operator, service contract and Aidat questions.
Continue reading →The property route is announced at USD 400,000 with a three-year title restriction. The main financial alternatives are announced at USD 500,000 or equivalent with a three-year holding condition, depending on the route and authority. The better route depends on control, liquidity, residence use, currency exposure and evidence tolerance.
Continue reading →How a return on an Istanbul apartment is actually built, and why the yield figure you were quoted is almost always the wrong one.
Continue reading →A short-let plan starts with legality, not yield. The 2026 Ministry notice says tourism-purpose rentals of 100 days or less require a permit, and adverts must include the permit number. The notice records 2026 administrative penalties from 180,617 TL to 1,806,177 TL depending on the breach.
Continue reading →What you pay to buy, to own, and to sell: how each cost is calculated, who pays it, and the ones that cost the most by being misunderstood.
Continue reading →The 2026 market reading is mixed, not a single boom story. The programme evidence records foreign sales up 1.9% year on year in July 2026, but down 7.3% across January to July. TCMB's housing price index gives the price side, while TUIK sales show transaction pressure.
Continue reading →A foreign buyer often buys in USD and earns rent in TRY. That mismatch is the currency risk. Do not forecast exchange rates. Show sensitivity: purchase price, rent, Aidat, tax, management, vacancy and instalments under several TRY/USD cases.
Continue reading →There is no single best district. A family, income buyer, waterfront buyer and citizenship buyer need different evidence. Use district as a shortlist filter, then prove the Residence with title, price, rent, Aidat and delivery status.
Continue reading →The most requested feature in Istanbul, and the one most often sold as something it is not. How to tell a view you own from a view you are borrowing.
Continue reading →A sea view is evidence, not mood. The buyer needs the exact Residence floor, orientation, window line, parcel position, zoning context and any future build risk between the Residence and the water. A borrowed view can still be worth buying, but it should not be priced as protected.
Continue reading →How a return on an Istanbul apartment is actually built, and why the yield figure you were quoted is almost always the wrong one.
Continue reading →There is no single best district. A family, income buyer, waterfront buyer and citizenship buyer need different evidence. Use district as a shortlist filter, then prove the Residence with title, price, rent, Aidat and delivery status.
Continue reading →The annual property-tax decision starts with the municipal tax value, not the sale advert. The working 2026 note records Law 7566 as changing the valuation mechanism from 2025-12-19, so any published calculator must use a dated official basis rather than remembered rates.
Continue reading →A non-resident owner should treat rent as a Turkish tax file, not as a yield footnote. GIB issued a 2026 guide for 2025 rental income. The article should keep thresholds and filing dates tied to that guide rather than repeating old remembered figures.
Continue reading →Off-plan buying is a contract and delivery-risk decision before it is a price decision. The programme records TUIK June 2026 construction costs up 28.66% year on year. That does not predict failure, but it makes payment schedule, delivery evidence and developer cash-flow discipline harder to ignore.
Continue reading →A foreign individual should separate the ordinary purchase file from any citizenship file. The purchase file proves the Residence, identity, tax number, payment route, DAB, DASK, fee payment and Tapu transfer. A citizenship file adds official value evidence, bank receipts, the certificate path and the three-year no-sale commitment.
Continue reading →A remote purchase can work, but the Vekaletname must be narrow and accepted by the official route. Invest in Türkiye lists consulate-issued powers, foreign competent-authority powers with apostille where applicable, and consular certification where apostille is not available, followed by notarised Turkish translation.
Continue reading →DAB is the foreign-currency purchase certificate in the Turkish bank route before Tapu. TKGM states that foreign natural persons buying real estate must sell the foreign currency through a bank to the Central Bank before the title transaction, and the DAB is submitted to the land registry.
Continue reading →Buying property does not automatically grant residence permission. Invest in Türkiye says a residence permit is not a pre-condition to buy, while the Migration Administration lists ownership of residential property as a ground for a short-term residence-permit application.
Continue reading →What you actually receive and when: the two documents that decide whether you own a property or a promise, and the clause that decides what happens if the promise is late.
Continue reading →A sea view is evidence, not mood. The buyer needs the exact Residence floor, orientation, window line, parcel position, zoning context and any future build risk between the Residence and the water. A borrowed view can still be worth buying, but it should not be priced as protected.
Continue reading →A short-let plan starts with legality, not yield. The 2026 Ministry notice says tourism-purpose rentals of 100 days or less require a permit, and adverts must include the permit number. The notice records 2026 administrative penalties from 180,617 TL to 1,806,177 TL depending on the breach.
Continue reading →What you pay to buy, to own, and to sell: how each cost is calculated, who pays it, and the ones that cost the most by being misunderstood.
Continue reading →Start with the legal charges, then add conditional items. Tapu Harci is legally 2% for the buyer and 2% for the seller on the declared value, not below the municipal tax value. KDV, DASK, notary, translation, appraisal, utilities and TKGM revolving-fund charges depend on the Residence and document path.
Continue reading →The announced property route is a property acquisition worth at least USD 400,000 with a title-deed restriction against sale for at least 3 years. That sentence is not enough to approve a Residence. The accepted value is settled by licensed appraisal or TTB evidence, payment evidence and the authority file.
Continue reading →The property route to a Turkish passport, step by step: where the USD 400,000 threshold is measured, who one investment covers, and what we settle before you commit.
Continue reading →For a yield decision, new-tenant rent matters more than a hopeful advert. TCMB started publishing the New Tenant Rent Index on 2026-02-17. Its January 2026 annual increase was 34.2%, while the CPI actual-rent series was 56.6%, which shows why old tenant data can lag a fresh lease.
Continue reading →Net yield is not rent divided by price. A defensible model starts with purchase price in USD, a dated TRY rent expectation, Aidat, tax, management, furnishing, vacancy and FX sensitivity. TCMB's YKKE gives market context; it does not replace Residence-level evidence.
Continue reading →The 2026 market reading is mixed, not a single boom story. The programme evidence records foreign sales up 1.9% year on year in July 2026, but down 7.3% across January to July. TCMB's housing price index gives the price side, while TUIK sales show transaction pressure.
Continue reading →A foreign buyer often buys in USD and earns rent in TRY. That mismatch is the currency risk. Do not forecast exchange rates. Show sensitivity: purchase price, rent, Aidat, tax, management, vacancy and instalments under several TRY/USD cases.
Continue reading →A branded Residence is not just a nicer name on an apartment. The buyer needs the brand agreement, operator role, service promise, Aidat, rental rules and title structure. Without those documents, the brand is marketing context only.
Continue reading →Buying property does not automatically grant residence permission. Invest in Türkiye says a residence permit is not a pre-condition to buy, while the Migration Administration lists ownership of residential property as a ground for a short-term residence-permit application.
Continue reading →Also useful
Check citizenship eligibility, model a payment plan and sense-check rental yield.
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Where to buy and why, district by district, across both sides of Istanbul.
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Eligibility, the investment threshold, the full process and what we handle for you.
How it works →
If a guide has not answered your question, our team is happy to help one to one.