It was love at first sight when insurance broker Chris Brown, and his wife Susan, a teacher, visited Gumusluk on the Bodrum peninsular. They loved it so much that they decided to buy a two-bedroom duplex on a gated development off-plan there and then. In fact, the purchase was something of a blind date. The couple had taken an inspection flight with another company but they didn’t like their properties, so Chris contacted another company, run by a friend of a friend.
“We had a good look round first but we fell in love with Harmony Gardens,” says a delighted Chris. “It is in a secluded position only a kilometre from the beach, well served by the local bus and surrounded by mandarin trees.”
The Browns viewed a couple of apartments first, but liked the extra space a duplex gave and it had a garden too. Because Chris knew the developer, he signed a contract straight away, without getting it checked over by a solicitor. “If it had been a developer I didn’t know I would have got the contracts checked by a solicitor in the UK but because I knew them, I was happy to sign whilst I was over there,” he says. “The whole process was straight forward.”He had done his homework first, however. He checked out the developer’s previous sites and spoke to people who had bought from them before. A deposit of £10,000 was paid upfront with the remaining £45,000 due in instalments - £7,000 at the end of this year and the balance on completion in 2008. Service fees will be around £30 a month.“The developers were flexible with the terms and even changed the payment plan to when I thought I would have funds available,” says Chris. “There was no high pressure sales pitch and we had plenty of time to think about it. Everyone spoke perfect English and the contracts were in English which made us feel comfortable.”
The couple intend to spend a couple of weeks there each year and may rent it out through the developer’s rental scheme, or resell it in the future. They chose Turkey for its low prices, stable economy and availability of charter flights.“The yields are there but you have to be careful about over-supply of property in certain areas,” warns Chris. “You can pick up a two-bedroom place for £17,000 but there are a lot of cowboy developers out there.”
As a general rule of thumb, buyers purchasing property in Turkey – or anywhere else abroad for that matter – are best advised to employ a lawyer to assist them with the process. No funds should ever be paid before a contract has been signed, and no contract should ever be signed without a lawyer first approving it.
Brought to you by the Buying in Turkey Guide
** Webmaster's comment. Buyers should ALWAYS take independent professional advice.
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