Real Estate Scam or Fraud in Turkey, Its Types, and Ways to Avoid it
According to what many experts in the real estate field in Turkey said, Turkish properties is considered one of the safest investments all around the world, Turkey is considered fertile and suitable land with a superior economy, advanced infrastructure, and a special geographic location with many other things, but despite all the many positive aspects, investment in Turkey has some negative aspects, most notably the possibility of exposure to fraud or real estate fraud.
What is Real Estate Fraud in Turkey?
Real estate fraud is a term used for fraud and scam done by individuals or some dummy companies for people interested in purchasing a property in Turkey or invest in one of the large projects, in other words, it is the practice of misinformation and deception by some people or companies in the Turkish real estate market and Turkish investments.
Ways and Types of Real Estate Fraud Spread in Turkey:
- Exaggerating the property price:
By offering very high prices for properties or lands and this is one of the most important red flags that indicates a real estate fraud because these prices are completely different from the offers provided by real estate companies in Turkey that motivate real estate ownership and real estate investment, therefore, those willing to purchase a property in Turkey should research and compare prices to ensure the value of the property in order to avoid falling in the trap of the real estate fraud, like finding an apartment that is 250 square meters and its price is 20k USD in a very luxurious location in Istanbul and inside a high quality compound, this is considered one of the most famous type of real estate fraud, as the value of such a property with this size is higher than that unreasonable price, apart from legal issues and tax charges.
- Impersonating the Property Owner:
Considered one of the most dangerous types of real estate fraud, by following paths in forgery of documents and official papers, as a person would impersonate the property owner or the authorized person that have the right to sell the property, as the forger falsifies the documents, taking advantage of the absence of the real owner of the apartment or the official agent for the sale of the property, and we note the importance of mentioning the existence of reliable and licensed real estate companies that can be resorted to in real estate purchase or investment operations.
- Illegal Real Estate Marketing:
Due to the eagerness of people to view the real estate market in Turkey through social media, because of the technical advantages that helps in the purchase process, as these websites that is specialized in real estate marketing gives the ability to see real estate offers available in the market and promote it through these websites, there are some uncertified individuals and companies provides unreasonable sales offers which eventually leads the person to the incident of electronic real estate fraud. It is necessary to check the official websites of companies authorized to practice the real estate brokerage profession that protect the customer and provide him with logical sales offers that help him in the legal purchase procedures.
- Advertise Real Estate Suitable for Turkish Citizenship in Amounts Less Than the Legal Prices:
Foreign citizens interested in investing in Turkey are granted the right to apply for the Turkish citizenship according to the law number 5961, one of the essential conditions to obtain the citizenship is to purchase a property in a value not less than 400k Euro and not to be sold for three years, so when a property is listed for a price less than the minimum value of the Turkish citizenship, then be sure that there is something not right and you’re being scammed.
- Exaggerating the Investment Return of the Real estate:
One of the ways in real estate fraud is to exaggerate the future investment return of the property, investment return differs for each property according to the location, its importance and how close it is to the services and so on, and according to many factors, expected profits from a property or real estate investment annually might reach 10% or in some locations 20% only.
- Selling Non-Existent Properties:
Purchasing a property that is under construction is one of the most important factors that allows the investor to get the best possible price for the property from the construction company, therefore, we advise you to purchase through a trusted real estate company that is certified by the Turkish government to avoid real estate fraud, as many people sell properties under construction that does not exist and are not related to any construction company.
Most Important Tips to Avoid Falling Victim to Real Estate Fraud:
- Ensuring that the real estate agent is officially certified to practice the profession legally.
- Insisting on inspecting the property and examining it in all its details.
- Not signing any contract between you and the seller before inspecting the property and ensuring that all the documents are legal.
- Checking the identity of the person you are dealing with.
- Not sharing your personal information with anyone, like ID or bank information.
- Finally, ensuring that you work with certified real estate companies by the Turkish government when purchasing a property in Turkey.
Keywords:
Investing in Turkey
Real estate Investment
Turkish citizenship
Real estate agent
