How to avoid property scams in Istanbul: a 10-point checklist for foreign buyers

Short answer: Before you pay anything in Istanbul, check three things yourself: that the agency holds a real estate trading authorisation certificate (searchable on the Ministry of Trade’s TTBS system), that the seller owns or is authorised to sell the exact unit, and that every payment goes to a bank account in the seller’s name against a written, translated contract.

Who this applies to: foreign buyers working with an agency or developer in Istanbul · As of: 31 October 2026

The 10-point checklist

#	Check	How to check it	Official tool
1	The agency is licensed	Ask for the authorisation certificate number and search it	TTBS certificate search
2	The person you deal with works for that agency	Ask for a business card, company email and the office address; match them to the certificate. The brand name and the registered business name can differ, so ask which business holds the certificate	TTBS result
3	The seller owns, or is authorised to sell, the exact unit	Ask for the title deed record or, for off-plan, the developer’s documents for that unit	Land Registry, through your lawyer
4	There is no mortgage, lien or restriction	Check the title deed record before you sign	Land Registry, through your lawyer
5	The contract names the exact unit	Block, floor, unit number, price, currency, payment dates, delivery terms, penalties	Your lawyer
6	You understand the contract	Get a full translation into a language you read, before you sign	Sworn translator
7	Payments go to the right account	Bank transfer only, to an account in the name of the seller or developer in the contract	Your bank
8	The price is realistic	In most purchases by foreign buyers, the Land Registry requires a valuation report from a licensed valuation firm; ask for it and compare	Licensed valuation firm
9	A power of attorney is narrow	Limit it to the specific purchase and know how to cancel it. Have it drawn up at a Turkish consulate, or before a notary in your country in full notarial form with your photo and an apostille; a signature-only certification is not accepted	Turkish consulate or notary
10	Claims are in writing	Delivery date, what the price includes and the exact unit number: in writing, in the contract	Your lawyer

How do you check an agency’s licence in Türkiye?

Ask the agency for its authorisation certificate number (yetki belgesi numarası), then search it on the Ministry of Trade’s Taşınmaz Ticareti Bilgi Sistemi (TTBS). The search page asks for the certificate number, the business name and the province, and has a security code. It is in Turkish, so use your browser’s translation if you need to.

According to the Ministry of Trade, merchants and tradespeople who carry out real estate trading must obtain an authorisation certificate in the name of their business. An agency that cannot or will not give you its number is a reason to stop.

Since 1 January 2025, a property can be listed on Turkish online platforms only after the Ministry of Trade’s Electronic Listing Verification System (EİDS) confirms the lister’s identity and authority. Only the owner, the owner’s spouse or close relatives, or a licensed agency the owner has authorised through e-Devlet can list it. An agency’s listing must also show its authorisation certificate number.

Which warning signs should make you stop?

Warning sign	Why it matters
“Guaranteed citizenship” or a fixed passport date	Citizenship is granted by presidential decision; nobody can guarantee it
“Guaranteed rental income” or a fixed return	A return depends on the market; a promise of one needs a contract and a party who can pay it
Pressure to pay today	A real offer survives one day of checks
Payment to a personal account, in cash or in crypto	Hard to prove and hard to recover
No contract, or a contract only in Turkish with no translation	You cannot know what you are agreeing to
A unit number that changes, or “any unit in the project”	Price, delivery and title depend on the exact unit
Refusal to let your own lawyer check the documents	The single strongest reason to walk away

What about citizenship claims?

Ask for the official source of every condition you are told. The current property condition is in Article 20 of the regulation implementing the Turkish Citizenship Law: property worth at least USD 400,000 with a three-year no-sale annotation, certified by the Ministry of Environment, Urbanisation and Climate Change. See Turkish citizenship through property: the USD 400,000 condition. We do not label projects or units as qualifying; see how citizenship by property works.

Do you need your own lawyer?

It is strongly advisable. Choose a lawyer who is independent of the seller and the agency, and who works with foreign buyers. Ask them to check the title deed record, the contract and the payment plan before you pay a deposit.

For the full order of a purchase, see How to buy an apartment in Istanbul as a foreigner.

How can you check ALTEX Realty on TTBS?

ALTEX Realty is a brand of the sole proprietorship of Muhammed Emin Aydemir. Our Real Estate Trading Authorisation Certificate (Taşınmaz Ticareti Yetki Belgesi) No. 8100110 is issued to that business, so a TTBS search shows the business of Muhammed Emin Aydemir, not the name “ALTEX Realty”. The registered business address is Şeyhli Mah. Nurtepe Sok. No:2B D:2, Pendik, Istanbul.