Informal property sales agreements

An informal property sale agreement is not valid under Turkish law. The only way to become the a property owner in Turkey is to register it at the Land Registry Directorate.
I have received a question about property sale problems. If we summarize the question:
“Dear Orhan, I am writing to you to highlight a legal matter that I have been experiencing in Turkey. I purchased an apartment in Muğla. After waiting for a period of 12 months to receive my Tapu from the builder, I contacted a local solicitor to see if I could pursue this legally. I was informed at the time that the apartment that I had purchased was not legally mine, as the builder and his company had secured credit against the property and had failed to repay this. It was at this time also that I was informed that the bank was about to repossess the property in repayment of the loan.
I have since been awarded my money by the judge in relation to my apartment, but now my solicitor is demanding that I start another case to claim this from the builder and is demanding that I give her 10 percent of anything recovered. I have respectfully requested that she attempt to claim the costs from the other party, but have been stonewalled, as she has refused, advising that the law does not allow for the claiming of legal costs from the accused.
I don’t understand why the courts awarded me my money back. As I requested the apartment, the debt that was originally on the property had been paid off before the court case started, so legally there was no problems with me being awarded the apartment and the ‘tapu’.
I have also asked the solicitor for my court case number, and any documents relating to the apartment court case, so that I may confirm whether builder has presented himself with a list of his assets in court as requested by the judge. My solicitor has not honored this request, and has never been able to provide precise answers to my questions. Any help or advice that you can give in this matter would be greatly appreciated as I do not fully understand my position.”
Dear reader, I am so sorry for your bad experience. Unfortunately, an informal property sale agreement is not valid under Turkish law. The only way to become the owner of a property in Turkey is to have it registered at the Land Registry Directorate. An informal sales agreement itself never confers the ownership of a property onto a buyer. In brief, the ownership of a property can only be registered at the Land Registry Directorate, the only authority where the title of a property can duly be transferred. It is a basic rule that a property should be registered with the Land Registry Directorate in order to conduct any kind of transaction related to it.
Let us come to the answer. After winning the case, your solicitor should begin the collection process. I do not know how to determine the contract terms with solicitor in beginning. If you decided single payment for all case processes, the solicitor cannot demand an extra 10 percent. But I cannot say anything definite about it without seeing your contract. On the other hand, in the general rules of Turkish law, litigation and solicitor’s fees are paid by the losing side.
As I understand, the court decided to refund your money instead of the land registered in your name. After this decision, you cannot demand the “tapu.”
Finally, your solicitor has to give you all the documents and information about the case. Otherwise, you can terminate the agreement and submit a complaint to the local bar association.
Hurriyet Daily News/11.06.2010
I have received a question about property sale problems. If we summarize the question:
“Dear Orhan, I am writing to you to highlight a legal matter that I have been experiencing in Turkey. I purchased an apartment in Muğla. After waiting for a period of 12 months to receive my Tapu from the builder, I contacted a local solicitor to see if I could pursue this legally. I was informed at the time that the apartment that I had purchased was not legally mine, as the builder and his company had secured credit against the property and had failed to repay this. It was at this time also that I was informed that the bank was about to repossess the property in repayment of the loan.
I have since been awarded my money by the judge in relation to my apartment, but now my solicitor is demanding that I start another case to claim this from the builder and is demanding that I give her 10 percent of anything recovered. I have respectfully requested that she attempt to claim the costs from the other party, but have been stonewalled, as she has refused, advising that the law does not allow for the claiming of legal costs from the accused.
I don’t understand why the courts awarded me my money back. As I requested the apartment, the debt that was originally on the property had been paid off before the court case started, so legally there was no problems with me being awarded the apartment and the ‘tapu’.
I have also asked the solicitor for my court case number, and any documents relating to the apartment court case, so that I may confirm whether builder has presented himself with a list of his assets in court as requested by the judge. My solicitor has not honored this request, and has never been able to provide precise answers to my questions. Any help or advice that you can give in this matter would be greatly appreciated as I do not fully understand my position.”
Dear reader, I am so sorry for your bad experience. Unfortunately, an informal property sale agreement is not valid under Turkish law. The only way to become the owner of a property in Turkey is to have it registered at the Land Registry Directorate. An informal sales agreement itself never confers the ownership of a property onto a buyer. In brief, the ownership of a property can only be registered at the Land Registry Directorate, the only authority where the title of a property can duly be transferred. It is a basic rule that a property should be registered with the Land Registry Directorate in order to conduct any kind of transaction related to it.
Let us come to the answer. After winning the case, your solicitor should begin the collection process. I do not know how to determine the contract terms with solicitor in beginning. If you decided single payment for all case processes, the solicitor cannot demand an extra 10 percent. But I cannot say anything definite about it without seeing your contract. On the other hand, in the general rules of Turkish law, litigation and solicitor’s fees are paid by the losing side.
As I understand, the court decided to refund your money instead of the land registered in your name. After this decision, you cannot demand the “tapu.”
Finally, your solicitor has to give you all the documents and information about the case. Otherwise, you can terminate the agreement and submit a complaint to the local bar association.
Hurriyet Daily News/11.06.2010