What is a Sales Contract, a Title Deed and a Tapu?
You will come across both the Sales Contract and the Title Deeds when buying your property in Turkey – in fact they are the most important documents in the whole process. The sales contract is the legal document that agrees the sale between the buyer and the seller. The contract should state that you the buyer agrees to buy the property at the price you have agreed to pay, and the date by which you agree to pay it. The contract will also state that the seller agrees to sell you the property at the agreed price. (Please remember that deposits are usually non-refundable in the event of a cancellation of sale by the purchaser) The sales contract will also include any extras that you have negotiated with the seller. The Title Deed is the legal document of ownership of the property. The Turkish name for this document is “Tapu Senedi”, hence the Tapu you may have heard about. Once the property is sold, the title deeds are transferred from the seller to the buyer and that concludes the sale.
