Buying property Cash in bag ?

@kellystone2002

I did around 100k GBP in cash.

It's common, you'll see people with bags of cash at the land registry (equivalent) when you go to finalise the deal.

Can't say it's comfortable for me but I had a couple of locals who I knew and trusted so it was OK.

Just make sure you only hand it off at the registry office once you got your ownership doc. I even transferred the rest at the office moments before the property was officially transferred.

I think the most important thing to check is that you will be owning what you've been told you're buying. There's ways to check that online.

@Muji86 Thank you for your reply. Great advice. I am so surprised it goes on.

Thanks for the reply and I hope you get a property soon 🙏 Cheers

People do it to pay;

1) less title deed fees (buyer 2%, seller 2%).

2) seller may be paying income tax for the difference between buying and selling prices (if resell within 4 years).

Of course both are tax evasion. If you are caught, you will be fined. Theoritically, it is a crime and there will be penalties and consequences. In practice, although you will not go into jail, you may even be sentenced bcs of misguiding official authorities, it will take place in yr records forever.

Also, the buyer will pay income tax too if resell within 4 years, so it means more income tax where there is less deed fee.

As of being experts in Property Purchasing for foreigners in Turkey, our lawyer recommend:

Payment Method with Blocked Check

The blocked check method is the safest method to transfer money after real estate buying and selling. In this method, money exchange takes place via bank check. Both the buyer and the seller are protected against possible problems with this method. In the blocked check method, the buyer requests a blocked check for the purchase of the real estate by communicating with the bank. After the transactions are completed at the notary, the buyer delivers the check to the seller. The seller also goes to the bank with a check and transfers the money to his account. Thus, no one needs to carry a large amount of cash on them.

Why you should not transfer payment by bank?

A bank transfer may sound safe but hence you transfer the fees but the seller changes their mind and wants to cancel the sale, the legal case of getting a refund would take more than a year in case if they aren't willing to pay back. Or, if they are willing to pay back you might not have compensation for the exchange rate or other cost loss. Also large amount of money should be approved by the bank prior to the transfer, which also takes time and the seller might complain about the delay, which may cause lots of stress.

DO NOT PAY any deposits without a Preliminary Sales Contract which indicates the clauses in case of cancellation in sales, increasing the price, or other possibilities.

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@Borraro That makes total sense and confirms my initial thoughts. Thank you 👍