Being the British partner of a company that builds around 100 homes a year in the Altinkum/Didim area, all of which are sold to the U. K. Market, I would like to give some helpful advice to the unwary.

In recent times I have been both shocked and amazed at the amount of times I hear of British buyers that have lost all or part of their money, or, having bought off-plan, ending up with a property not matching the original description, without the promised facilities, swimming pool too dirty to use, and owners being in a situation where years after buying the property they are returning to find that the same problems that where there at the beginning still exist, and that the builder is now demanding money to rectify these or is no longer contactable. Owning a property where these problems exist make each relaxing break unbearable, also making for a bad investment and an almost impossibility to resell.

When buying a property abroad, I would advise people to be even more cautious than when buying a UK property as you are buying property in a foreign country where you do not fully understand the laws, procedures and possible pitfalls. To this end you are relying heavily on the advice being given to you at the time, usually by the builder or the Estate Agent, neither of whom cannot be considered as independent to the sale; and it is at this point where troubles may later arise due to false information at this point and there on.

The procedure for buying a property in Turkey is very simple and most buyers have a basic understanding of this, and there is no foolproof way of avoiding any underhand dealings. You can however, arm yourself with a list of correct questions to ask, including documentation you want to see before you book your visit to view the property in Turkey; and also by applying some logic or common sense as sometimes what is said is not what people always mean. Detailed below is a list of questions you need to have answered, and documentation you should ask to see, provided by either the builder or estate agent, before paying any reservation or deposit. Any of the documents listed below should be readily available.

  Do not accept the excuse of, "Do not worry, we will get it to you after you have reserved, or the builder will show you them in Turkey," as invariably these never get produced, or you are shown a document in Turkey that you do not fully understand or have the time to validate.

  Title Deeds for the land, showing the owners name, which must be the same as the company that is building your property and is also on the contract. Also the Ada (Turkish property unit, similar to the American "block") number on the deeds must be the same on the contract. If the name on the deeds does not match with the name of the builders company, this usually means that the builder is in partnership with the landowner. If at any point these two have a disagreement and the landowner stops the builder from building on his land you will end up with nothing.

  Inspect the papers giving building permission. Again, these should show the same company name and Ada number as on both the deeds and contract.

  The contract again should show the same names and Ada numbers. As well as showing all the payment dates you must insist on a completion date; without one the builder can delay you for as long is reasonably possible. The contract must give you an address and description of the property stating the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, lounge, balconies or terraces, air conditioning units, as well as types of doors, kitchen units, wall and floor finishes, type of glazing, hot water system. Also when signing the contracts you must receive a signed copy of your apartment or villa plans. If there are on-site facilities, such as bars or restaurants, sport facilities, shops or free bus service, make sure these are included in the contract. If possible, try to learn any yearly maintenance fees, at a fixed rate for as many years as possible, plus a description of what this pays for and who manages them.

  If a company has clients from a previous project ask them for references that you can read, including contact details especially from customers who have had their properties long enough to tell you their experiences of aftercare.

  Make sure that any reservation fees paid before you visit the property are fully refundable should you decide not to proceed with the purchase, and insist that you have the above in writing.

  If you are going on a subsidised inspection trip ask what costs you will be liable for, should you decide not to proceed with the purchase.

  Ask for an itinerary of how your time will be spent on the inspection trip. To inspect the property and surrounding areas should take 4 or 5 hours. After that, your time should be your own until you make your decision. If after the property viewing they are offering to take you dining, sightseeing and shopping, what they really mean is they are not going to leave you alone until you make your decision. Companies that use the hard sell technique are also trying not to give you any free time, in order to stop you looking at other properties, because they are charging you over-inflated prices.

  Ask to inspect the detailed plans for the area surrounding your property or complex; these plans are issued by local authority architects and are officially stamped. Every builder will have these in order to position his buildings in the correct position. Please bear in mind that a sea view may no longer be there when the surrounding land is built on; remember, if you are having property built, then other people can do the same. Do not choose your property using a glossy enhanced site plan in the brochure, which shows nothing of the surrounding area.

  If there are facilities such as a bar or restaurant, market, barber or hairdresser, try to think how much custom these facilities need to survive as a profitable business. We have made various calculations, according to which you would need a minimum of 100 properties to break even. Ask yourself this question: would you open a business like any of those mentioned above and expect it to survive from 100 properties that are only used on average 6-8 weeks a year?

  Always use a solicitor and legal translator and make sure that all the papers are signed by both of these as well as the builder and yourself; also the names and contract details for all of the above people should be on the contract.

   When buying a property in Turkey if you are with a reputable company the whole procedure is relatively straightforward. If you use the advice given to you by us you should greatly reduce the chance of your dream move turning into a property nightmare.

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