Hi Ray and Tina
Have a look at Turkish living forum, you will find many decent estate agents
on there.
And what people say about them.
Good luck

hi, ray and tina

there are 400 estate agents now in altinkum (read this in the didim newspaper last week) and there is a course for them to go on which they officially must do. they have had 120 applications so far so if you do go for an estate agent, find an approved one. we bought last may and bought independently of an agent thereby cutting out their fees. there are so many properties to look at. you may as well have a good look round. a lot of them have tel nos on the building. we know five builders who are selling property in altinkum. our friends bought a duplex and two other friends bought two triplexes from these builders. as long as you get a translator and solicitor to set up your purchase you will be fine. it is like in england, they will search the register to see if there is no debt affixed to the land and that the builder owns it outright. you get a guarantee like an english new property would have. as long as you have a list of things to ask, both legal and otherwise, have a go yourselves. sometimes an agent wants a sale badly enough whereby they embroider the truth. as i said before, there are literally hundreds and hundreds of properties to buy in altinkum, and at least have a look round yourself, most are walking distance from the main front. if you see a property you like, go up to the workmen and ask to look round, or peer through windows like we did.

Hi .If you are staying in Marmaris and lookng in Altinkum then you have a long journey......about 4 and half hours.Bodrum region is a good area to look at.No high rise blocks.Can only build to two floors.One of the best regions of Turkey.Lived there for years.Get in touch if you want any advice.on buying and furnishig etc

Being one of the person that goes to this certificate, hopefully this will control the estate agents in Altinkum area. They will not be able to run an real estate agency without this certificate.

When you go to Altinkum, please take your time and browse around. Dont let the estate agencies stick to you. Look around with them (of course without abusing their viewing trips) and dont rush into buying and apartment suddenly. Give yourself a day and think about it.

There are literaly hundereds of properties for sale and it is hard for you to check all of them. So check 3 - 4 agencies and go with the one you find the most trustworthy.

Altinkum is the cheapest place amongst the popular places however prices are increasing.

You can check this link too see what Didim looks like from an airplane view. http://www.sunescaperealestate.com/altinkum_map.htm

If you need more info about didim, please let me know.

Poisan from your post I qoute
"Being one of the person that goes to this certificate, hopefully this will control the estate agents in Altinkum area. They will not be able to run an real estate agency without this certificate. "

As I have said before on these forums yes they train the laws and tax things but the people who go on them will not get instant integrity and honesty and I am already hearing rumours about people buying their certificates - I hope that turns out not to be true

Well, no problems for me buying, as you all say do the research, then the rest is trust. Some good infor here

http://homepage.ntlworld.com/michael.hooper2/

Hi Bryn... sorry mate it is true. People can get certificates and membership to an association and then sell to another agency or person. Like a lot of things here there are ways around the system and it doesn't take long to find them. There is a general disregard for the rules if you are Turkish. Its a pity because the only way to control real estate would be to register them and bind them to a code of conduct. We can only hope that the government can sort this out.

Chelseaboy Sadly I thought this wold be the case and it just demonstrate what we are saying about the lack of integrity and honesty out here. Another example I sold an apartment for 96000 euros including commission to an English couple and their neighbour payed 103 000 euros plus commision via a different agent. Also Have you met any one whos has completed the driving course here and not bought their pass???

that's a tough one mate. judging by the standard of the driving then most licenses come free in Frosties!!!. Is there a government department that deals with foreigners problems. if they are genuinely thinking of opening their markets then there must be people in Ankara that will listen to whats going on here.
Still a little change in the right direction is better than no change.

we bought an apartment in altinkum in may this year and used an estate agent based in england with offices in turkey,we had no pressure but were told to avoid buying in the dip as although property can be cheaper this can be a bad place if the weather is inclement.
our agent refuses to sell property in the dip,so that is a fair warning as to what it could be like.
others may think differently but i hope this helps

We used Aquavista in England who deal with partners in Turkey. They are a very professional company - when they say they will ring you they do etc., which in this day and age sadly does not always happen. I know you have not mentioned Turunc as being an area you are interested in, but to anyone else who may be looking in that area, the company we used were Londonspanishturkish. They gave us an excellent service, particularly since Debbie started working in the office - they used to sometimes be a little slow responding to emails, but I don't think they had any one person based in the office. We now use them as our managing agents, and are very happy with the service they provide us with.

be careful out there a woman contacted me by pm last week about a problem. she had agreed to buy a flat for 76000 pounds sterling fully furnished. the guy had told her his furniture was worth 16000 gps.
she had given him a grand and signed a badly worded contract to transfer a further 10% from the Uk and the balance when the Tapu came.
but she became uneasy when he pressed her not to tell his partner how much she was paying. New flats in that building are selling for70000 to 80 000 euros..so he was set to make 38000 euros ..about 25 grand.
when she returned home he pestered her for the 10% quoting the contract and he said he was coming to the uk to collect. she was terrified.
she gave me details of this man and turns out i knew him ,have been in his house, and he in mine.
yusuf (my better half) told me to keep out of it..knowing i couldn't. So i phoned him and told him she didn't want the flat and that somebody had advised her to go to the savci (public prosecutor)
his reply...ah well have a nice day Shirley.
and yes the estate agents credentials are beginning to look like mickey mouse badges.

We are going to Kusadasi next month and thinking of buying an apartment. I have seen some agents on the net, some based in England and some Turkish. Can anyone recommend a good agent in this area? We may also travel to Bodrum and Altinkum. Also, how do you go about finding a good English speaking lawyer? Any advice much appreciated.

Do alot of research, there are so many forums on the web for different regions, join them all and ask many questions.

It is always best to purchase from all year round agents, not the ones that pop up at the start of the season and then disappear at the end of the season. and there are many of these so beware.

I will PM you with the many forums that are around, and best of luck.

Thanks for your reply Peggy.

hi i'm new to this not sure what to do! would like to find out about buying a property in Altinkum area have funds and will be returning in Oct with plans to purchase, have contacted several English agents but getting nowhere fast, would like to find agent with office in England any recomendations please, also is it possible to get contracts signed within a week.

Hi Chelseabob, its possible to buy the place in 1hr! so be very careful. Have a look at several websites. Just because there is a British based estate agent doesn't mean you get better service. The main thing is take your time, see several options and get a lawyer to work out the details.

Thanks very much Chelseaboy.I'm affraid i will be asking lots of questions over the next few weeks as i am going back to Turkey to find something to buy for my future holidays,so please be patient with me.
Can anybody tell me if i should open a bank account on my return so i can use it straight away, and how do i go about doing so,and which bank would be best to use.

Chealseabob ask all the qeustions you need to and read all the previous post they will enlighten you. To open a bank account you need a Verge dairesi card -thats a tax card and its easy to get then you go along to the bank and open an account in the currency you want.. I personally avoid GARANTEE bank as they are awful in my opinion. Your agent should help you with this. Make sure you get a decent contract that covers all the things that can go wrong. have a really good look at the properties and try a few different agents. Do plenty of research and good luck to you .