Job Discussion Forums

Volodiya · Posted: Thu Oct 21, 2004 2:31 am Post subject: Priced out of the market?

From time to time on this site there is talk of buying an apartment in Istanbul, but I haven't seen anyone speak of actually owning an apartment in Istanbul.

It's pretty well established that there are no legal impediments, so what's happened? Are we just priced out of the market, or are there some of you who actually own their castle on the Bosphorus (or at least near it)?

calsimsek · Joined: 15 Jul 2004 Posts: 775 Location: Ist Turkey

Sorry to prove you wrong but I brought my flat just three months ago. At the moment I'm working two jobs to pay for new fittings I'm having installed. Prices are high, but if you earn Dollars and are legal here you can get good housing loans from Eurobank (0.67% per month). I have lived here for years and have only recently decided to buy. The reality is that with falling rates, the zeros going of the T.L and the EU in december, now is the time to buy.

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

ı was planning to buy, but the money that I saved in the Gulf is now in an offshore account where my grubby little hands can't touch it. I started looking at house prices when I went out to the Gulf( and followed them on a regular basis-that is how bored I was) and sadly in the space of two and half years prices have doubled. I believe that starting in January banks are going to introduce 10 year mortgages. I'm pretty sure when this happens there will be more people looking so prices will go increase more.

Volodiya · Posted: Fri Oct 22, 2004 2:05 am Post subject: Priced out of the market?

Congratulations on your apartment purchase, Calsimsek! On our salaries this takes some real strategizing, and it's got to be considered a very important step towards solidifying the retirement situation. Until you buy that first property, you stay behind the eight ball of ever increasing prices, just getting further from your goal. As DMB has pointed out, the direction is ever upward...., and this seems to be true almost anywhere you live.

Your getting a mortgage loan just reinforces the idea that there are few things a foreign resident cannot do under Turkish law.

Mortgage lending seems to have more to do with prices than almost any other factor, so when terms are eased, more people enter the market and are able to offer more- hence, DMB's comment about the effects of introducing 10 year repayment periods. This effect was really seen in the U.S. in recent years, when mortgage rates hit their lowest point in forty years: smaller mortgage payments meant people could afford to pay a lot more, and they did.

One thing some people might consider, as a way to break into the market, would be to pool their investment money and buy that first property. It could be two people who would be sharing the flat, or the flat could be purchased by two or more people with an eye to renting it. Why not buy a flat near someone else's school (to avoid complaints about your using your position for personal, financial gain), and rent it to a teacher. They would probably make good tennents and tend to pay rent reliably. There are all kinds of things you could think of that could go wrong, but if you know your partner(s) to be serious, frugal people, a lawyer can help you cover most of the potential situations that can come up. (It's no riskier financially than marriage, in my opinion- from one with experience.)

dmb · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 8397

Turkey also has the Kopertiv system. Basically you and the other people who will be living in the same building put down a deposit. The land is bought and the first floor is built. X months later you pay the next installment and the second floor is built,etc,etc. A friend's friend did this. It took about 18 months to complete. The biggest problem is that the only land available is miles out of the city. Out coral's way Wink

richard ame · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 319 Location: Republic of Turkey

Hi

Its still possible to buy property over here ,but , Istanbul is very expensive ,there are a number of alternatives, the Aegean area is still very affordable ,if you know where to look. Getting into a ko op is not a bad idea but I know people who joined them 10 years ago and are still waiting to finish .
Best way is to look at the older style property and renovate ,buying in prices are low and the repairing can be spread over a 2-5 year time if you want .I got two places that way so far ,looking for the third in 2005 . PM me if you want any info on where to look outside the Bul .