In the law of legal inheritance and civil law, it is known that real estate and all property are bequeathed to the legal heirs in certain proportions determined by the Sharia and approved by law, but when it comes to foreign ownership of real estate, there are some details of the subject related to the long-term vision of the country in question, which in this case is the Turkish state, and we will try to get acquainted with everything related to the inheritance of real estate in Turkey in this article.

Everything related to the inheritance of real estate in Turkey

The Turkish government has granted the right to the owners of real estate in Turkish lands to bequeath it to the legal heirs, regardless of whether the owner of the property is a Turkish citizen or a naturalized Turkish citizen, without distinction between them in this right.

Real estate in Turkey is bequeathed to the legal heirs in two ways: either according to the principles of Islamic law, according to which each heir must have a share in the property of the deceased according to the proportions established by law, or the property is inherited according to civil law, which requires that the husband or wife bequeath half of the value of the property to the other party, and the other half is bequeathed to the children and distributed equally between them, even if they are men and women.

The owner of the property has the right to choose the order of inheritance of the property he owns in Turkey according to his religious background, provided that this is stated in a will duly certified by a notary so that everything is clear and so that the heirs do not fall into confusion and family disputes about the way of distributing the legal inheritance.

The will must be duly made in the hands of the interested person who is the owner of the property in Turkey, who must be over fifteen years old, and it must contain the date of the event in detail with the day, hour and date, and must have all the mental capacity to be aware of the information recorded in the will, and it is necessary to witness this will with the information in which there are two witnesses and it must be signed by the interested person and the certification of the will is duly certified by a notary.

For foreigners who own real estate in Turkey, this law applies to the inheritance of real estate in Turkey for real estate assets located on Turkish lands, as they are subject to the will probated in the country in which they are located, and real estate assets from the cash flow are inherited in accordance with the inheritance rules of the naturalized Turk’s home country.

After the death of the owner of the real estate in Turkey, it is inherited by law in accordance with the above-mentioned rules after the preparation of the necessary official documents, which are the inventory of the inheritance, which must also be translated into Turkish and certified, and the tax number must be obtained from the land registry office, in addition to personal photographs and a translated passport – everything that could prove the identity of the deceased owner of the property and the legal heirs.

If the deceased property owner and the heirs are Turkish citizens and not naturalized, the heirs must file an inheritance tax return within a maximum of four months from the date of death, and this tax is paid for a period not exceeding three years, in accordance with the Turkish Law on Transfer of Property and the Law of Inheritance, until the ownership of the property in Turkey passes to the heirs.

If the property owner in Turkey and the heirs are naturalized Turkish citizens, they are not required to file this tax return in accordance with the same Turkish law.

How much is the inheritance tax? The inheritance tax rate ranges from 1-10% of the value of the property depending on its technical characteristics. It gradually increases whenever the value of the property in Turkey is high.

Procedures for Owning a Property in Turkey

1. You should work with a real estate company that is known for its experience in the Turkish real estate market, as they provide you with a variety of services from the moment you arrive in Turkey to the purchase of the property and register it in your name. This saves time and protects you from falling into the trap of real estate scams.

2. Determine the purpose of owning a property in Turkey: for housing, or for obtaining a residence permit as a step towards Turkish citizenship, or for investing in it by renting it out or reselling it? This will help you choose the right properties that will achieve your desired goal.

3. Get to know the real estate market on the spot, instead of just getting to know it online, to ensure in person that all the technical specifications of the properties have been agreed upon in order to preserve the rights of the parties of the seller and the buyer.

4. You should have an idea about the property prices in Turkey and this step comes after you have chosen the apartment and most expats will use a real estate agent if they are not familiar with the area and at this stage your lawyer will check the property documents and go through the necessary documents and evidence.

5. Ensure the integrity of the legal status of the apartment as many properties are mortgaged or have certain issues.

6. Prepare the economic feasibility of investing and buying a property in Turkey by calculating the monthly or annual expenses and returns as there are additional expenses for the property in exchange for the project services.

7 – Obtaining a tax number from the real estate registry and this number is assigned to every person who does not have Turkish citizenship to facilitate all government procedures for him and without it he cannot buy a property in Turkey or apply for Turkish citizenship.

8 – Opening a bank account in a foreign bank, which is an important step for transferring the value of the property in Turkey, as it requires that the purchase process be carried out exclusively by bank transfer, which is necessary later when obtaining a residence permit in the real estate sector and is considered one of the necessary documents to obtain citizenship.

9 – Signing the sales contract between the buyer and the real estate intermediary company. This contract is drawn up in both Turkish and the native language of the buyer, and then a deposit of 5 to 10 percent of the value of the property is paid to the real estate company in exchange for seizing the property until the title deed, i.e. Tapu, is issued.

10. Waiting for the registration procedures of the apartment, which takes about two months, as the documents are sent to the relevant security services to obtain a security permit, which is a copy of the construction permit of the project, two personal photographs of the buyer, a translated and certified copy of the buyer’s passport. and a copy of the identity card of the seller.