All twenty points below are questions that must be answered before you sign and on documents. None is optional, and none can be answered verbally during a viewing.
We work through this list for every property in our portfolio. If you are buying through another agency, ask them for the same.
A. Title and ownership (1–6)
1. Are there encumbrances on the title? Mortgage, attachment, annotation, usufruct, family-residence annotation. Checked at the Land Registry or through e-Devlet. An attachment blocks the sale outright.
2. Full ownership or construction servitude? Construction servitude means the building is not complete or has no occupancy permit. It complicates borrowing and later resale.
3. Is the seller the actual owner? Does the name on the title match the person in front of you? If acting by proxy, is the power of attorney notarised and does it include authority to sell?
4. Is the title shared? On a shared title the other co-owners hold pre-emption rights and you cannot act alone.
5. Is there a risky-structure annotation? If so, where does the process stand and has an owners' decision been taken?
6. What does the block-and-parcel record say? Zoning status, floor area ratio, storey limit. It is the only way to verify a claim of being "in the renewal area".
B. The building (7–12)
7. Is there an occupancy permit (iskan)? Without it a mortgage may be refused, utilities cause problems, and full ownership cannot be established. If the answer is "it is being obtained" — when, and whose responsibility?
8. What is the building permit date? It determines which seismic code applied. Most of Küçükçekmece's stock dates from 1980–2000, and this answer cannot be read off a neighbourhood average.
9. Is there a construction supervision report? Buildings from after 2001 have one from a licensed supervision firm.
10. Does the building match the approved design? Balconies enclosed, rooms subdivided, a roof storey added. Works outside the permit create problems if not covered by an amnesty.
11. Are water, electricity and gas connected and active? Reconnecting closed accounts costs time and money.
12. What is the heating system, and does it work? Boiler age, gas installation, or — on a central system — the heat-cost allocator arrangement.
C. Building management (13–16)
13. What is the service charge, and how has it risen over three years? Today's figure alone is not enough; the trend shows the future cost.
14. Are there service-charge arrears? Get a no-arrears letter from the building management. Unpaid charges can pass to you with the property.
15. What does the management agreement say? Parking use, pets, commercial use, allocation of communal areas. In mixed blocks with shops at street level, cost allocation works differently.
16. Is a major communal expense coming? Lift renewal, roof, façade, plumbing. Read the owners' meeting minutes — an expense already approved but not yet paid becomes your liability.
D. Surroundings and position (17–18)
17. What are the aspect, floor and light like? In Küçükçekmece's dense neighbourhoods (Yeşilova ~56,900 people/km², Sultanmurat ~53,000) buildings sit close together and light is a serious problem on lower floors. View the flat in daylight — an evening viewing hides this.
18. How far is the transport, really? Verify "close to the metrobüs" on a map. In Küçükçekmece the M9's three stations are in only two neighbourhoods (Atatürk and Mehmet Akif); no neighbourhood in the Sefaköy quarter has a metro station.
E. Finance (19–20)
19. Have you worked out the total cost? Sale price + deed fee (4%; split by law but usually paid by the buyer) + revolving-fund charge + appraisal + mortgage registration + DASK + agency fee + any refurbishment.
20. Is there an appraisal condition in the contract? If you are borrowing, get this into the preliminary agreement: "if the appraised value falls below X, the buyer may withdraw and the deposit is returned." That single clause is the most valuable thing a buyer can do before signing.
Printable summary
TITLE [ ] encumbrances [ ] ownership type [ ] seller verified
[ ] shared title [ ] risky-structure annotation [ ] parcel record
BUILDING [ ] occupancy permit [ ] permit date [ ] supervision report
[ ] matches design [ ] utilities [ ] heating
MANAGEMENT [ ] service charge [ ] arrears
[ ] management agreement [ ] upcoming communal expense
SURROUNDS [ ] aspect/floor/light (seen in daylight) [ ] transport verified
FINANCE [ ] total cost [ ] appraisal condition
If the answer to any of these twenty is "I think so" or "the seller said so", that point has not been answered yet.