Real estate fraud, its most visible forms, and how to deal with it in Turkey

What is real estate fraud?

It is an illogical offer by a real estate fraudster to those wishing to buy a property in Turkey, by exploiting their lack of experience in the real estate market, by the custom of selling and buying, by the minimum and upper price limits, and by offering exaggerated prices that do not correspond to the real value of the property offered.

Real estate fraud has recently become active thanks to social media sites, which the real estate fraud has made as a trap for those making searches for a property for sale in Turkey. These fraudsters offer real estate offers that may sometimes match the specifications of the property you wish for, and at a price within the limits of your financial limits. One of the biggest deceptions in this field is that it involves the victim in remote negotiations that saves him the trouble of searching and distances, given the buyer's ignorance of the rest of the legal matters and procedures in which the process of buying a property is not valid without checking it one by one, and thus the real estate fraud process takes place.

What are the most prominent methods of real estate fraud in Turkey?

Impersonation of the property owner (landlord)

One of the most dangerous and common methods of real estate fraud is their use of official documents to make you think that they are valid and legal, so that someone impersonates the real owner or exclusive agent of the property, thereby falsifying the documents, using the absence of the real owner or official agent to sell the property, or engaging in travel.

It is therefore important to recall the importance of real estate companies and their use in real estate purchases and investments, in view of the competence of such companies to disclose informal documents through careful monitoring of legal procedures for purchases in accordance with the rules of the Turkish real estate market. It is approved and followed by the official services responsible for conducting all transfer contracts so that the integrity of all relevant transactions is fully confirmed, and the purchase of property is carried out legally and safely.

Exaggerated prices

Offering exaggerated prices for apartments, real estate, and land, is one of the main signs of real estate fraud, as it is completely different from the offers and discounts sometimes offered by real estate companies in Turkey to encourage purchases.

Therefore, some real estate brokers resort to exaggerated prices that are not commensurate with the real value of the offered property, in terms of space, location, view, features, and final finishings. A person wishing to buy a property in Turkey must stop and conduct research, comparison, and verification of more than one real estate company on the prices offered for a particular property. In order to avoid being caught up in real estate fraud since the buyer was unable to understand the market and the nature of the prices traded in the area of the property offering similar properties.

Here we can give an example to make the picture clearer for those wishing to buy a property In Turkey and avoid fraud and scams.

For example, if you see an offer for an apartment of 200 m2 at a price of $12,000, in a vital area of ​​Istanbul and within a modern housing project, and this is a type of real estate fraud, since the value of construction and finishing for an apartment of 200 m2 is at least $60,000, in addition to taxes, land, and other matters.

Unauthorized real estate marketing

The development of the real estate market has opened the door wide to the idea of ​​real estate marketing, due to the people's eagerness to this market through electronic means, which gives it technical advantages that help in purchasing and its development, as there are now websites that specialize only in real estate marketing. Allowing everyone to see the available real estate offers and market them through these websites.

Here, it must be noted that there are persons and companies authorized to practice the profession of real estate brokerage, which protect the buyer and reduce the time of searching and speed up the purchase procedures, especially with distances, which ultimately protects the buyer from the phenomenon of electronic real estate fraud, especially that there are permits for websites that work in real estate marketing, obligating them to combat fake offers that lead to real estate fraud.

At Imtilak Real Estate, we pay great attention to real estate marketing in Turkey, to achieve the current and future needs and desires of real estate ownership. Until the customer can get the property he is looking for in Turkey at the best prices, and with an appropriate profit margin for the company, thanks to an integrated team keen to work permanently while being honest with the customer, and has a high sense of responsibility, and the ability to pay attention to all the details that receive the customer's acceptance.

Advertising of real estate suitable for Turkish citizenship at less than the legal price

We would like to resolve an issue for you that has always been manipulated by spreading false and misleading information of real estate fraud, which is that Turkish laws say that Turkish citizenship can be granted by owning a property in Turkey with a minimum value of $250,000, or buying several properties including a total of the same amount, provided that these properties are not sold for a period of three years.

Therefore, Imtilak Real Estate calls upon those wishing to buy a property in Turkey, not to pay attention to any of the offers and advertisements that promote the granting of Turkish citizenship at less than the legal price referred to above.

Exaggeration of the return on investment

The exaggeration to provide illogical temptations for future profits and real estate investment returns is one of the methods of real estate fraud, so the returns of real estate investment in Turkey vary depending on the vitality and importance of the region and the type of investment, in addition to paying attention from the beginning to finding properties with preferential prices and selecting the best offers, bearing in mind that the buyer gets a property at competitive prices for similar properties. As well as the investor is keen to rent his property or operate it with higher returns than similar properties.

According to many statistics related to measuring real estate investment profit rates, in Turkey, the indicators indicate that profits range between 10% and 25% of the property value annually, and may rise to 8% in important cities such as Istanbul.

Sales of properties that do not exist "on the scheme only"

The purchase of a property on the scheme is undoubtedly one of the factors that enable the buyer to get the best possible price of the property from the construction company. However, this type of purchase on the particular scheme is advised in this way by a reliable real estate company, which ensures the agreement with the legal standards binding on the Turkish Government to complete the construction, thereby protecting the buyer before and after the purchase of the property, in order to avoid any fraud.

For this reason, the purchase of property under construction is never advised except by Turkish Government construction companies, reliable and licensed entities, and their known entity, for several possible problems that construction may face after completion, for example, the possibility of a decision to demolish it by the municipality in the event that the contractor violates the construction plan submitted to the municipality.

In this context, it is necessary to list some advice, first and foremost, to be careful not to pay for the property in full before the construction and the receipt of the property, but rather to pay for it by way of partial payments as the construction stages develop. Likewise, it is better to document what was agreed upon in the contract with the seller at the “Noter”.

In addition to a field visit to the place of construction by the owner or the real estate consultant in charge of the procurement procedures, as well as matching the specifications of the purchase after the completion of the project from construction and the start of the stage of signing the final contract, and the expected delivery date. Otherwise, breaching one of the terms of the contract is one of the real estate fraud methods, in which the owner has the right to ask the real estate developer to improve any incomplete or defective deficiency in the terms of purchase.

Tips to avoid getting caught up in real estate fraud

• Assigning an architect to follow up on the conformity of the property specifications that were agreed upon during the purchase process on the plan.
• Insisting on a claim to modify the defects discovered in the property immediately prior to receipt, which is the right of the buyer to violate the terms of the contract of agreement in terms of the assets of the property.

We at Imtilak Real Estate, through its projects extending over the Turkish land, secure the best real estate options within the most important urban projects, while providing all services and the best quality, and providing free real estate tours for those wishing to purchase their properties in Turkey.

How can real estate fraud be dealt with?

Resorting to a competent lawyer, who looks into the case and follows up on the matter after presenting all the documents with the buyer to the lawyer, showing the methods of purchase and contracts, and whether there are financial payments and how to pay them, or the full amount has been paid, so that the process of dealing with real estate fraud is carried out within Turkish law.