Some readers’ questions have been waiting for my response for a quite long time now. The topics are usually related to property law matters, and each story has its own unique elements. Quoting these letters should make life easier for somebody buying or selling property in Turkey, with the realization that many cases are very similar to each other.
The first reader apparently did not read my article on Today’s Zaman but from a mail group which (hopefully) links to Today’s Zaman.+ “I found your address on [a website]. Maybe you can help me. I’ve own a villa [for] four years in a complex with 10 villas.
On my tapu, I have Villa B. As I want to sell it now, I had found a buyer. When making all paperwork, I discovered on the building plan of the complex that the letter of my tapu doesn’t match letter on the building plan.
The plan says I have Villa H, not B. Neither the constructor nor I checked this before signing the contract. In consequence, I can’t sell my house. What is the solution? Should I change the letter on the tapu or on the building plan?
Who is responsible? The constructor, me or both? Do I need the acceptance of the other owner whose letter was also inverted? How much will this cost? How long will it take? Thanks in advance for your help! Regards…”
You letter does not give some of the details we would need to examine a case in depth but I still can see the picture. Dear Reader, It is the tapu (land registry records) which overrules all the other records. Therefore, the information at the tapu office should be changed. Your lawyer should try to change it with an administrative application but this may not work. The change will be made with a court case.
You should ask the court to make the necessary change and rectify the mistake in the land registry records. This will obviously take some time. Depending on the speed of your lawyer in preparing the documents and submitting the correct documents to the court on time, the case should not take more than six to eight months. It may even take less time depending on the workload of the courthouse where your property is located.
The costs are classified in two groups: the legal fees for the lawyer and the court fees such as duties and taxes. The legal fees are based on your arrangement with your lawyer but should not be lower than the tariff released every six months by the bar association.
The court fees and costs will depend on the needs of the case. If the court sees the necessity for a site visit, then the court fees will be higher. In any case, the court fees for such a case (this is only an estimation) should not exceed a couple hundred euros.
If you have already found a buyer and if you don’t want to miss the sale or if you are under time constraints I would recommend that you take a practical approach. The best solution would be to convince the buyer to buy the villa as Villa H, knowing that it is actually registered as Villa B, and rectify this matter after the sales process. This may take your price slightly down but should still enable you to avoid the loss of time and money.
Berk Cektir http://www.berkcektir.av.tr The information provided here is intended to give basic legal information. You should get legal assistance from a licensed attorney at law while conducting legal transactions and not just rely on the information in this corner. http://www.todayszaman.com/
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