In short
Before the transfer, encumbrances, annotations, a mortgage, and the declarations are read. A signature at the counter is not a clean register by itself. Consent for the family home is in the article on the spouse's consent.
The TAKBIS printout and the block and parcel are the first slip. An oral statement of "clean" does not take the place of the register.
An action for cancellation and registration is in a separate article.
An appointment at the Ankara land registry directorate is looked at in the order of the papers.
Related articles: cancellation of title.
In the purchase of an immovable, excitement may overshadow the checklist. A land-registry transfer, however, is not only "going to the land registry and putting a signature". If the encumbrance, the authority, the zoning, the actual use, and the payment plan are not made clear before the transfer, financial and legal surprises may arise after the transaction.
This article summarises, for preventive information, the headings often checked before a land-registry transfer. Whether the transaction is done in Ankara or in another province, the basic discipline is the same: a current record, a clear contract, a traceable payment. The account is a general frame; the result may change according to the concrete immovable and the parties.
What does a check before the land registry mean?
A check before the land registry is the process of reviewing, before registration, the legal situation of the immovable, the seller's authority, and the economic risks of the transaction. The purpose is to see the records behind the perception of a "cheap opportunity".
The concept of an encumbrance covers records such as a mortgage, an attachment, an interim measure, an annotation, a usufruct, and a right of habitation. Transactions done without these being seen may not give the result of "clean ownership" the buyer expected. The seller's authority to represent, co-ownership by inheritance, the state of condominium ownership or a condominium easement, and the fit of the actual use with the character on the title are equally important.
The check is not limited to the record at the land registry directorate. The text of the contract, the payment calendar, the condition of delivery, and the management or dues information if there is any, should be read together.
Whom does it concern?
- Natural persons who buy and sell a dwelling or a workplace
- Parties who draw up a promise of sale, or who think of an annotation
- Co-owners who transact on an immovable with an inheritance share
- Those who carry on a purchase and sale by power of attorney
- Buyers who look at immovables that appear under a mortgage or an attachment
- Those who have to decide quickly for investment or for residence
Parties who hurry especially at the earnest-money stage may take on risks that are hard to turn back from later. Reversing the order of the check with an early payment is a practical error often seen.
What are the headings of the check?
Encumbrances and annotations
A mortgage, an attachment, an interim measure, compensation for unlawful occupation, or other annotations affect whether the transaction can be done and its economic result. When a record appears as "present", moving on before the condition and the cost of lifting are clear is risky. Relying only on an estate advertisement, before a current land-registry record is taken, is not enough.
Authority and representation
If the seller is not the owner, a power of attorney, a tutor, a curator, or a company's authority to represent should be examined. The scope, the period, and the elements of form of the document of authority are critical. Trying to do a wide transaction with documents of narrow authority may later give birth to a debate on invalidity.
Zoning, the building, and the actual state
A permit, an occupancy permit, a suspicion of an unlawful building, and the zoning status affect the purpose of use directly. The character on the title and the actual state on the ground may not fit. This mismatch spoils the expectation of value and of use.
Dues, management, and delivery
In condominium ownership, a debt of dues, the fixtures, and delivery of the keys are a source of practical dispute. A management writing and a delivery record reduce a later debate of "I did not take delivery like this".
Payment and security
When, how, and on which condition the price will be paid, and the rules of return and of security, should be written in the contract. Payments in cash from hand to hand may stay weak from the side of proof and of security.
How does the process move?
- Gathering preliminary information: The advertisement, the existing draft contract, the address of the immovable, and the identities of the parties are collected.
- Examination of the title and the encumbrances: The current record and the annotations are read; risky records are noted.
- Zoning, management, and the actual check: According to the purpose, the zoning, the dues, and the state on the ground are reviewed.
- The build of the contract: The price, the payment calendar, delivery, defects, and the conditions of release or of lifting an attachment are written.
- Verification of authority: Powers of attorney or documents of representation are checked before the day of the transaction.
- Transfer and delivery at the land registry: Registration and actual delivery are planned as compatibly as possible; the documents are kept.
This order does not have to be exactly the same in every file; an approach of "pay first, look later", however, enlarges the risk.
Conditions, periods, and critical thresholds
The period between a promise of sale and the land-registry transfer is connected with the decision on the annotation and with the payment calendar. If an annotation of the promise is thought of, the form and the procedure of registration should be followed separately. Because release of a mortgage depends on the bank or creditor process, an assumption of "it will be sorted the same day" may not always be realistic.
If the return of the earnest money or the advance payment, withdrawal, and situations of defect are left uncertain in the contract, the burden of proof becomes heavy in a dispute. Undertakings that contain a period (the date of delivery, the land-registry day, the date of closing the debt) should be tied to a calendar; the results of delay should be written in a measured way.
On immovables whose inheritance devolution is not complete, a hurried transaction, without the participation of all the co-owners or representation in proper form, carries a risk of validity and of registration. In files of this kind, the dimension of inheritance law may also come onto the agenda.
Errors often made
- Looking only at the advertisement price and the photograph
- Giving earnest money without reading the encumbrance
- Relying on an oral promise that "the mortgage will be lifted"
- Not checking the scope of the power of attorney
- Leaving the order of delivery and of the land registry uncertain
- Moving on with a single co-owner in co-ownership by inheritance
- Ignoring the list of dues and of fixtures
- Making a high-amount payment from hand to hand, without a document
Risk of loss of a right: an early and unsecured payment may create difficulty both of proof and of collection in a dispute.
The related legal frame
The provisions of the Turkish Civil Code on rights in rem and on the land registry, and the contract rules of the law of obligations, are applied together. Debates on reliance on the land register and on good faith are often seen in practice; good faith, however, does not provide the same protection in every concrete event. Allegations of simulation, of unauthorised representation, and of a hidden encumbrance depend on the document.
The real-property law page is for the general frame; on immovables where there is a lease relation, the article on grounds for evicting a tenant is complementary.
The promise of sale, the annotation, and the build of security
A promise of sale regulates the parties' debt to make a transfer at the land registry later. The promise does not by itself confer ownership; if the payment calendar, a contractual penalty, a defect, and situations of withdrawal are written, however, the uncertainty decreases. An annotation of the promise on the land register makes the buyer more visible against third persons. Moving on without an annotation enlarges the risk especially on long-term payments.
If the decision on the annotation and the procedure of registration are skipped, an error of "we thought we had put an annotation" may arise. The possibility that the seller does another transaction in the same period also makes the discipline of the check necessary. The land-registry day, the condition of release, and the date of delivery should not be left blank in the promise contract.
The legal character of the earnest money and of the interim payments should be written clearly. If it is uncertain whether it is a "down payment that is not turned back from", or an advance payment to be set off, the debate on return grows in a dispute. A traceable payment through a bank channel makes proof easier.
Condominium ownership, management, and actual delivery
On independent units under condominium ownership, a debt of dues, the list of fixtures, and delivery of the keys are a source of practical tension. Taking a writing of the debt situation from the management reduces a later defence of "I did not know". Additional rights such as use of the common area, a car park, and a store should be confirmed with the title and the management plan.
A record of actual delivery is useful for the meters, the state of damage, and incomplete works. An approach of "we took the title, the rest does not matter" can turn out costly, especially on immovables that were renovated or that have a tenant. On sales with a tenant, eviction and the lease relation should be read separately; at this point the article on grounds for eviction is complementary.
If there is a mismatch of permit and occupancy permit in the zoning and building records, the purpose of use and the expectation of value should be reviewed. An unlawful section, or a difference of area, may give birth to a dispute both of financing and with a neighbour or the management. Enquiries of the municipality or the relevant institution should be kept current.
A power of attorney, a company sale, and co-ownership by inheritance
On sales by power of attorney, the currency, the scope, and the elements of form of the text of the authority are checked. Documents thought to be a "general power of attorney" may sometimes stay insufficient for a land-registry sale. On immovables owned by a company, the signature circular, the director's authority, and if necessary an organ decision, are asked for.
Moving on with a single co-owner on an immovable with an inheritance share is a frequent error. A hurried earnest money, before the certificate of inheritance, the share ratios, and the devolution transactions if there are any, are completed, may lead to payments that are hard to return. If there is a disagreement among the co-owners, the division of the inheritance should be spoken of first, instead of the sale.
On records under a mortgage or an attachment, a word of "the seller will sort it" is not a security by itself. The condition of release or of lifting, the set-off from the price, and the periods should be written into the contract. Otherwise the buyer may not obtain the clean record they expected.
A short summary of the check
The minimum set of checks before the land registry is the current encumbrance, the authority or the power of attorney, the zoning and the actual state, the dues or management writing, the order of payment, delivery and transfer, and the build of a promise of sale or an annotation if there is one. If this set is skipped, a transaction that looks cheap can turn into an expensive dispute. Extra caution is required on records with an inheritance share or under a mortgage. An oral security does not take the place of a security that is written and registered.
It is useful to take the land-registry record again on the last day of the check; a new annotation may have been entered in the time that passed. Payment receipts and the land-registry transaction number should be kept in the same file. Receipts of tax and of fees after the transaction are archived too. This simple discipline makes proof easier in disputes that arise years later.
If the buyer will use financing, the bank's valuation and mortgage conditions should be added to the calendar too. If the bank processes of the seller and the buyer do not overlap, the land-registry day may be missed. This slip requires the contractual penalty and the delay provisions to be written openly. On an immovable with a tenant, an undertaking to vacate or the lease relation should be read separately; otherwise a surprise of delivery may arise.
How the land-registry record is read
The mortgage, the attachment, and the annotation on the land-registry record are read side by side with the text of the contract. A transfer period that is not written in the file is not added. A promise of sale is not counted in place of a record that was registered. The Çankaya office does not change the competent authority.
The transaction at the land registry directorate is read from the procedure of the place where the immovable is registered.
Conclusion
A check before a land-registry transfer helps to reduce a dispute before it starts. A current record, a clear contract, and a traceable payment plan are the basic protections. This article is for general information. The assessment may change according to the concrete immovable, the state of the encumbrance, and the wills of the parties; it does not contain a promise of a definite result.