Problem is Bryn that here the waiters are talking to the customers before they get to a reputable agent. The next thing you know they are parting with a deposit.
I have heard that agents have gone to pick customers up from the hotel only for different agents to arrive. The original agents have been told that the clients have gone out. the waiters must have phoned their particular agents and stole the customer.
Is there an association where you are? there is in marmaris and the logo is displayed in all the offices. I admit that it doesn't guarantee trouble free purchasing but at least it's a start.

We have have membership of the Antalya "Ticari Odasi" and of course our Tax registrations etc. The proof of which I always carry so that my clients know who I am and thus know they have the right person. I would suggest to all potential buyers out there to Know which agents they are meeting and check for ID if you dont meet them in the Office- Further I agree that waiters etc are continually trying these tricks on and would suggest to buyers not to let all and sundry know your business. after all if you were sat there talking about going to the bank you wouldnt let the waiter take you off to some unofficial bank would you? any all of you buyers out there be careful.

Ah come on...how many waiters in the UK do you buy a propertty from...if you know any potential buyers who will do that at home please send them my way beacuse I want to retire in 6 months a billioaire.

I know there are people who pay £10,000 admin fee to release £500,000,000 from Nigeria...do you feel sorrow, embarressed or disappointed that you are not there to releave them of money they don't have the respect or need to hold on to.

I know we can't advertise here, but please, if you are out there I have a famous bridge for sale in London !!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

Pat :-(@

Nice post Pat i would be laughing a lot more if it wasn't so true here. as Bryn will testify, people do the daftest things when in a holiday atmosphere. I would like to say that I was careful and didn't get caught.... but I can't
there was a case in marmaris where a couple was hassled so much about property that they cut short their holiday to escape.
I live here, and being in an ethnic minority I don't want to see people ripped off. the Turks think we are mental and i am sorry to say that sometimes I agree with them.
better forewarned etc

Pat you gave us a laugh here but sadly its true that a lot of people do no research before they come and some do sadly leave there senses behind when it comes to buying property.

i can tell you about the biggest rip off of all...its legendary here in Alanya and it happened to me when i first came ..boy was i naive.
That's 10 years ago when i had the lolly to put it in a nutshell i bought a house under hassle 6 months later decided to sell it (thats a long story too) the agent and 'friend' who said they would buy my house actually swopped it for a Mercedes Benz limousine i signed a paper thinking it was an agreement to buy and sell then toddled off to the Notary Tapu in hand. i couldn't speak Turkish in those days but the notary had an official translator and they nor i were aware that there was a scam going on. so i signed over the tapu and the price agreed was on the papers etc. All above board in the office what they didn't know nor i was that the paper i had signed in the Estate agents office was an agreement to exchange my house for the limo which was not put in my name but in the 'friends' name and also had a 6000 pound debt written in to it ie the car was worth more than the house and that i would pay this money in 6 weeks or the car would be repossessed. when i finally realized what had happened i went to the court to the police and to a lawyer....BUT i had signed and that is the big thing in Turkey.
i was stupid lost a lot but i found out later that the people that robbed me were mafia and i was not the first one he had also conned Turks in Alanya. he is now in prison but i never gort my house nor money back.
things have improved a bit since those days but scams do still happen.
at that time the few emlakcis that were operating in Alanya were combined with car sales. Now every second shop is an emlak but the Belediye is trying to control them.
Nevertheless it didn't put me off settling here ..apart from still wanting to rip the eyes out of the con men i'm very content.

Well done Shirley.... it's not easy to tell the whole world about situations like this. Hopefully a few more people will contribute.
the whole idea of this was to make sure people knew about the pitfalls and could avoid them.
If you think it is easy to come over here and earn money then think again. The most successful people are those that don't need to work. make sure you have back up finances.... eg pension. or income from UK. If you rely on money made in Turkey..... then you could be in for a shock.
It is a lovely place, and yes the people are nice but it is a different scenario when you compete with them in the work place.

Hi
Interesting post this one.

We are purchasing a house in Gumsan II, Gumusluk. We came to Turkey last Oct for holiday/looking for villa's. Everyone wants to sell you a house when they know you are in the market place!!!!
We saw some really awful stuff, believe me!!!
And we had done a lot of homework before we came!!!

Arrived home in UK, still looking on the Internet etc etc.
We then found by accident a guy who was renting his place out, and he is reasonably local to us here in UK. So I phoned him and got some more details. To cut a long story short, he put me in touch with a rather nice lady in Bodrum, and so I went over in Feb. She is very helpful and is just starting out, I think. But we have decided to go ahead, and one of the reasons is because I can always contact the guy here in Bristol.
Anyway, she has regularly sent us pictures of the renovations to the house, keeps in contact with the builder etc etc, and so, hopefully, we get the keys in four days time.
We are just hoping that the thing looks like the pictures !!!!! But to be on the safe side, the balance of the money we will not pay until we are happy witht the place, and she is happy with that arrangement.
We will keep you posted on our return.

One more thing before I close. I am interested to learn that you two are both agents, because if things work out OK, I will retire with a smallish pension, and we hope to go to Turkey. Whats the chances of learning the estate business??? Dont want to make lots of money, just enough to live in the sun.

Best wishes
Geoff and Olya

Dont know how true it is but have read on the calis forum that it is now no longer possible for a foreigner to be employed in the estate agent business in turkey.

calis-beach.co.uk/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC.ID=5099

Geoff and Olya

It sounds to me like you did the research, well done as not only will it help you but also makes it easier for your agent to find something you want- this I would and do say to all my clients research please and tell me what you want!! If you do start an agency then you will also find the clients that do their research are much easier to help. As for starting an agency its not too hard to learn and to register as an agency- you will have to do a course of about 80 hours in length- this is just coming in now and we all have to do it, when there are spaces available. The bit about not allowing foriegners to work as estate agents may be correct if you work for someone else but If you own the company and its properly registered then its not the case, and in any case if the company can demonstrate a need to employ a foriegner then the work permit shouldnt rejected.

if you get a work permit then there is no problem working for someone, as for real estate its a sharks nest and there are so many doing it. hence the need for this post

Hi
Thanks for the reply ref Emlaks
It is just a thought at the moment. But it is an idea that I am working on for the next couple of years.

Thanks
Geoff and Olya

Geoff and Olya,
For the course/exam that Bryn mentioned you will need to be able to speak, read and write in Turkish.
If you can get a work permit then there is no problem in working for an "Emlak" which would probably be the best way to learn the ropes.
Make sure that if you do follow this route, that the work permit comes before working.Some people will say that it doesnt matter but if you are planning to make Turkey your home then it is important to follow the rules.All it takes is one jealous Turk and all your dreams go up in smoke.

Hi
Thanks.
We will bear that in mind then!!!

Thanks
Olya

Hi we are seriously thinking about buying an apartment in Turkey.
Does anyone know of decent companies who we can deal with?
We are staying in Marmaris from the 25/07/05 until the 08/08/05.
Having looked at various web sites we will probably be looking to buy in Altinkum.
We are probably going to visit Altinkum whilst on holiday so any info on property companies (estate agents etc) and Altinkum itself would be helpfull.
Ray & Tina

Post deleted.

If you wish to advertise your company on HT, please contact an Administrator.

Bawbee

Ray and Tina
I do not cover the area you are looking at so I wouldn't even try to persuade you to buy one in my area unless you were interested but I will offer the following. RESEARCH the more you do the easier it will be for you to find what you are looking for, let any agents you go to know what you are looking for and if they start taking you to properties out of your criteria or price range point it out to them early and if they still do it walk away from them. Make sure you have plenty of time to go to different agents and again if they try to tie you down so that you cant get to another agent walk away. Always check that the agent isnt tied to one particular developer because if they are you will only get to see that developers property, not what might be available. Dont be taken in by waiters etc who tell you they have a friend who has a villa -they are on big commissions and inflating the prices. Ask lots of questions, make sure you get a good contract and that there are clauses to protect you in it. Talk about using a lawyer and a Surveyor (there is a British one in Fethiye) and if they baulk at these things again walk away. Always remember you are the customer and that you owe the agent no obligations and then if you have researched then you will probably be successful. Good luck with it.

if you get a residency and buy a home then you show your committment and the work permit comes easier....NOT easy! If you get a work permit for a particular company then you can only work for them. If you form your own company and then get work permit you can "freelance" for who you like. This is better but more costly.

Hi
Thanks.
Looks like we need to some more homework on this subject.
But the beauty about this site is, you can get answers to most questions

Regards
Geoff and Olya