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Buying in Turkey
Hi folks,
Two of you have asked about interesting properties for sale in Turkey.
Unfortunately I cant find much. There obviously are interesting
properties around but I suspect they are all in places none of you
would be keen to move to.
One of the big problems with Turkey is that it's borders are rather
problematical.
If you look at the map above you will note that although one of
Turkey's borders, it's smallest, abuts the EU (or at least it does at
the moment, maybe next year half that border will be with Greece). The
rest, however, are dodgy areas.
The western half of the country abuts the Mediterranean, Greece, and
the Black Sea, with a small border with Bulgaria. However, have a look
at the borders to the eastern part of the country. Georgia (nasty
trouble spot), Armenia (nasty trouble spot), Iran (potential third
world war country), Iraq (already in civil war), Syria (already in
civil war). I mean, guys, hold on, is this really a place you seriously
want to invest in?
This is not for me, however, you're asking the questions, so here we go.
First, I cant find many unusual properties in Turkey, which is odd
because there are some very interesting cave homes in Cappadocia. They
are well inland, to the eastern side of Turkey, so may not be of
interest to those who dont speak Turkish. We are looking at an area
well away from tourist spots, in a rural mountainous zone, not that far
from the border with Iran, with a Kurdish hot-spot not far to the
south. Are you still interested?
There is this property which looks interesting. I dont know the area,
as it is quite some time since I was travelling around the country, and
I much preferred the life in Istambul. I still think that is the place
to buy as it is a mature and stable market, and there is plenty of
work, and you dont have to rely on the tourist market which is fickle
and unduly expensive.
A smallholding property located in the outskirts of Fethiye, surrounded
by a traditional stone wall, totalling 3000 M sq,
comprising two houses plus swimming pool, a traditional olive oil
production workshop and a large barn, set in a 30 yr old citrus
grove, and with the benefit of its own spring water. The main house: A
restored traditional stone house, 225 M sq. over two floors, comprising
five rooms, and two bathrooms. This house also has a basement (200 M
sq) which is currently used as a wine cellar. The second house: 60 M
sq, comprising 2 bedrooms, a bathroom, and a kitchen/living area.
Traditional olive oil production workshop: comprising 150 M sq
workspace, 100 M sq cellar, and 25 M sq office which also includes a
fully fitted bathroom. The property is for sale at £192.000.
Here's the link for those of you who are interested:
http://www.falconestates.net/property_for_sale_turkey_detail.aspx?unk=157
Then there are these properties, but the price tag is half a million
euros and up:
The view is great but the price is unreasonable. After all, this is an
apartment in the middle of nowhere.
Do remember that the average wage is low in Turkey. The average wage in
the UK is apparently $2,500 a month. The equivalent figure in Turkey is
$634. In other words the locals would pay a quarter of the price you'd
expect to pay in the UK. Then remember that most tourist places are not
near places where there is highly paid local work, so you would always
be selling to foreigners. That means you are buying into a restricted
market; that's not a good idea. It will be a very bad idea if the
Middle East gets any worse. (What am I saying? It's not a matter of if
it gets worse, but rather, when it gets worse.)
That's why I like Istambul. It has a more stable history, and is far
more westernised than anywhere else in the country, and is about as far
away from the troubled frontiers as it's possible to get in this
country. There is also a healthy re-sale market here.
An average 2/3 bed apartment in a local area will sell for about
$25,000-30,000 at most. My rule for the tourist ghetto is that if you
are being asked more than a 50% uplift in price for a better position
then it's too expensive. That means I would not want to pay more than
£30,000 for an average 2/3 bed apartment in Turkey that is away
from a
big urban area.
There is then the question of why you would want to buy. You all know
my views on buying holiday homes. If you want to retire and have the
place as your permanent home that's fine, but if you are buying a
holiday home you need to be rich and able to waste money. Renting is
far more sensible and a fraction of the real cost.
Look at it this way, you can rent an apartment for £40 a week on
a long
term deal. At that price who on earth would want to buy? Say you even
want to spend four months of the year there, that would only cost you
£800. The taxes and maintenance and service charges on a property
would
come out at close to that on top of the cash tied up. I'm sorry but the
days of buying holiday villas are over. It makes no commercial sense
any more.
Even paying £500 a week in rent for a month in prime time would
only
set you back £2,000. If you invested £30,000 at 10%, which
is easy
these days -- and if you dont think it is easy then you should be
subscribing to The Big Pension which I produce every month telling you
where to invest your money to get safe returns of 14%+, then you will
get £3,000 a year. So you could have your month holiday plus
plenty
spending money and still get to keep your nest egg. And no tax or
maintenance worries on the property.
Here's the link for The Big pension:
http://www.property.org.uk/unique/big-pension.html
If you are seriously thinking of being able to rent out your property
to other tourists have a look at the rental sites and check a few
properties here and there and see how many blank weeks they are
showing. It might give you a fright.
And now ask yourself what the average Turk is paying for his holiday
when his pay packet is less than $1,000 a month. He certainly isn't
booking online with a website geared to wealthy foreigners.
There are better and safer deals elsewhere. Next week I'll feature
Sicily.
That reminds me. Here I am looking at a nice vineyard in Sicily, but
there is one for sale in Suffolk. Is anybody interested? If so, get
back to me and I'll put you in touch.
And if you really are serious about getting 14% plus safely on your
investments then you really should be looking at The Big Pension. This
month I am highlighting deals that start at 11% and go up to 20%. They
are all as safe as anyone can reasonably expect. One is pretty well
guaranteed to produce 13% for the next three years at least. Here's the
link…..
http://www.property.org.uk/unique/big-pension.html
john