Preparing a draft contract
 

Basic Steps > Preparing a draft contract

Double checking the property
Preparing a draft contract
Having the draft contract translated
Having the contracts notarised
Payment terms of the contract
Application to the TAPU Office
Documents asked by the TAPU Office
Forbidden zones and size limitation
How are FDI and foreign companies treated by TAPU Offices?
Issuance of a new TAPU by the Office
Declaration of acquisition to the local government

Although these contracts are not compulsory according to current regulations and mutual declaration of both the buyer and seller to the TAPU (Title Deeds) Registry Office is enough to carry out the transfer of ownership, having a robust sales & acquisition contract will allow you to protect yourself from some potential risks which may stem from the seller or agents.

If you are using a real estate agent and/or solicitor, please ensure the contract refers to her/him and she/he also signs the contract.

Please make sure that a contract should, at least, include the following:

  • A detailed description of the property (address, TAPU details, technical conditions etc),
  • The actual price to be paid to the seller for the property (Please note that when the contract includes any “price” clause, then each of both you and the seller are to pay a Stamp Duty of 0.75% of the value stated in it. However, mentioning the actual price will allow you to secure your all rights in case of a future legal dispute),
  • The details on the bank account of the seller (It should be a single account into which all payments to the seller should be made),
  • The details of the bank account of the professional you use, if any (you should use a single account for all payments to be made to this professional),
  • The payment terms and conditions (payments to the seller including deposit, interim and final payments, and payments to an agent/solicitor, if any, ought to be separately identified),
  • A Statement emphasising that the seller and the buyer will pay their own tax liabilities (some sellers may force you to pay all taxes including theirs with regards to the sale of the property),
  • The fees and commissions to be paid to the solicitor or agent (this will secure you in a way that you will not be involved in a tax evasion which may be caused by those professionals. Furthermore, this will prevent those professionals from making unfair money)
  • Under what conditions and how the money paid by the buyer will be refunded by the seller,
  • Force majeure conditions (For example, what if a legal obstacle occurs in the future),
  • How current tenants, if any, will be treated,
  • How over-due debts, if any, of the current owner, which are property-related, will be treated,
  • How existing furniture, if any, will be handled
  • Whether parties can give up the sale/purchase, if so, under what conditions this can happen,
  • How to keep the parties regularly informed about the on-going transactions at the local TAPU office,
  • How a power of attorney, if any, will be cancelled or amended, how other parties will be kept informed about this,
  • Detailed permanent contact information of the signature holders,
  • What if one of the parties breaches the promises written down, who will decide under what conditions that a breach was realised,
  • How future disputes will be sorted out,
  • The rights and responsibilities of the persons whose signatures appear on the contract,
  • ID numbers of Turkish nationals (TC Kimlik No) who are to sign the contract, the Barr registry number of the solicitor being used and the trade registry number of the real estate company.