Buying a House in Turkey Part 9

Up early full of the joys of house buying! Were meant to be going out on a Boat trip for the day - but really couldn't concentrate on it - so we decided to stay on terra firma and start the contract signing business.

We got to Sunshine's office about 10.30am, and Nesrin called the seller to start the process. Hit the first bump in the road. We were dealing with the daughter who lives in the Netherlands, and her Tapu is in her mothers name, who's in hospital in Germany. In order to move forward, we need the mother to give the daughter, Power of Attorney so she can sign the contract on her mothers behalf.

We need to be able to sign the contract by next Wednesday, before we leave. We'd been hoping to sign the contract today, but the POA issue got in the way. So we'll have to be patient. The Daughter accepted our terms of 1% today, 9% on Wednesday and 90% by October 26th.

Red went off to the post office to exchange some $ for YTL.

We decided we needed a respite - so took the Dolmus to Torba - which took about 15 minutes from Bodrum. We had lunch and a chill on a big cushion on the boat dock. Had a lovely swim in really deep water. Should have seen it as an omen! The dock was in a small bay, and there were a few fishing boats

Paid our 2YTL to get the Dolmus back to Bodrum, and then went off to the solicitor to discuss the contract. Love the Turkish process -- a house buying contract was 2 sides of A4 paper!

Been a busy day - so home for a nap, before going out to Berk Balik for fish dinner. Red has discovered the joys of Boiled Octypus. It turns Red! In Turkey, it's served with olive oil and garlic, and is so soft and tender. The first time I ordered it, I think he thought I was crazy. But now he's a big fan of it. And this restaurant, certainly cooks it well.

Here's the restaurant details:

Berk Balik -- Bar Street, Bodrum

Website: http://www.berkbalik.com/

BODRUM:
Cumhuriyet Caddesi No: 16748400 Bodrum, Muğla,

TürkiyeRezervasyon:+90 (252) 313 68 78 - 313 02 39

Buying a House in Turkey Part 8

Tuesday is Fabric Market day in Bodrum. We had an amble around there -- it was inside, and pretty hot. And got hassled to buy. But they weren't too pushy, and I don't think we ended up buying much.

In the afternoon we went to Gundogan to look at another house. Was meant to see more - but to be honest - we'd made our mind up on one of the house from the first day - with the marble floors. So we went back there one more time, just to make sure.

We met the neighbours on either side. One was an older Turkish guy, who was plastering a wall, and offered to plaster our walls if we bought it. And the other was a retired couple - I think they were lecturers, and their son, who spoke good English. They invited us to tour their house. They's spent a lot of money renovating it. The landscaping looked great, and they'd converted one of the kitchens into another bedroom. The house still looked large, even with furniture. We had Turkish coffee - and I practiced my Turkish for the first time in a non-restaurant environment.... I noticed a cat, and said Kedi. Felt like a 4 year old, just learning to talk, but the house owners thought I was funny. Could imagine living next to these folks. And being able to see the potential of the house, solidified our decision.

Back in Bodrum, we had coffee in a new cafe, and then wandered along the beach to kill some time, waiting for the US to open, so I could arrange the transfer of some dollars to Turkey - to use as the deposit. My bank was great, and I had no problem transferring the money.

We went back to the hotel for a nap -- getting used to Siesta time! Then out at night to a Tapas place called Lapasion - it was down a side street, through a door into a central courtyard. Such a nice place - but we were the only customers... so the service was great! The food was great - but really expensive.

Have really started to notice the drop in tourists. When we first arrived, Bodrum was mobbed - it must have been the last week for school holiday, and all of the restaurants and streets were really busy - but this week, the place looked like Pied Piper had been into town, and taken all the tourists with him. I really like this new Bodrum.

Tomorrow we're putting in a call to the seller to buy the house. We had lots on our mind, and Red is a little anxious. We both really want this house. Can't believe we've been in Turkey less than a week, and we've got a property lined up. Both really excited - and I'm just running the numbers in my head, hoping the mortgage application gets approved.

Buying a House in Turkey Part 7

It's Monday.

Start of a new work week, so off we go to the Tax Office to get our Tax ID numbers. We need these in order to open a bank account. It was a little bit crazy in the tax office, I would have hated to get this organized by myself, but luckily we had our property broker to help us. She got us in and out in no time. Then we went across the road to the HSBC to open a bank account.... well 4 actually - one for each currency -- dollars, pounds, euro and Turkish lira. I felt like some kind of international money launderer! Again we had our brokers help, but the bank lady was really helpful and spoke good English. Good enough to offer us credit cards and a mortgage -- both of which we declined.

But speaking of mortgages, it was time to find an internet cafe to check whether our mortgage application in Holland had been approved. We'd started the process quite a few months ago, and it had taken ages to get the forms filled out. The broker assured us that the best country to get a mortgage in for Turkey, was Holland, and we were in the process of getting pre approved. Hadn't heard from the broker or bank since we'd been in Turkey -- but we weren't going to let that stop the house hunting experience.

In the afternoon we went with our property broker to the solicitor, who explained the contract process, and the power of attorney process. Then off to the Notary (in a very smelly, hot office) to get our passports translated into Turkish for the Military Approval process.

What a busy day! Had to go home for a nap, and then at night, we went out for quite a posh Italian meal. Bitten to death by mozzies. We went on the hunt for a bar down the back streets near our hotel, and we came across a funky place with a pool table, and friendly bar folks.

On the way home, we stopped off at the internet cafe again to check on the mortgage... still not update.

Buying a House in Turkey Part 6

Finally a day off from house hunting. We decided to go an discover a little bit more about the area we were considering moving to.... Gumusluk. We went to the Bodrum Otogar and jumped onto the Dolmus. We went speeding along the straights, and racing up the hills. Bibbing at the tourists "Hey do you want a ride?"

Some of the roads were pretty rural. It was a fun way to travel. Donkeys on the side of the road, cactus and olive groves. Arrived at Gumusluk bus station, and it was a short walk to the beach. We hung out at the beach for the day -- a couple of feet away from a restaurant, and they looked after us all day, bringing us food and drink whenever we wanted it. It was only a small beach. The bay is pretty enclosed, with a great view of Rabbit Island. There were a mix of different fishing boats, and trees with gourds in the bay.. As the sun went down, we walked along the bay and took some shots at sunset.

We hopped on a dolmus to Yalikavak, and spent a couple of hours in a local bar, before hopping back to Bodrum... it took about 45 minutes to get back.

Buying a House in Turkey Part 5

We couldn't sleep that night -- too excited about all of the houses we'd seen. The next day we were due to go to Tuzla - so even though we went to bed at 11pm - we got up again at 2am - and searched the internet for Tuzla properties.

Tuzla houses had great views -- but the whole development was still in flux. I really liked this area - and as soon as the local golf course was built, and some local shops started popping up - this could be a great place to live. But the complex looked like it had run out of money, and the grounds were a little bit ropey!

This was a house we drove by on the way to the complex. I believe this is on Tuzla Lake.

After a busy day house hunting - we went to a beach to chill out. House Hunting is hard work... lot's of nervous energy I think!

Buying a House in Turkey Part 4

My main criteria for a house was a view: and this house delivered. Of course, in order to get the view, we had to drive up a steep hill, and then climb a bunch of steps -- but I fell in love. We really liked he style of these houses, and inside, they were split level - Roof Deck, down half a flight, bedroom, down, living room, kitchen, balcony, bathroom, down, front door and dividing door, bedroom, down, living room, kitchen, balcony, bathroom, down, basement bedroom.
Straight away we could see the possibilities. 2 Apartments, and plenty of opportunity for revamping. It definitely needed some love, but the basics were there. It seemed like the house went on forever, and I just loved the marble floors throughout.

Tried not to get too excited... if my heart was in charge, I'd have stopped my search now. But logic won out as this was only our 4th house we'd viewed. Plus there was a house in Yalikavak that I really wanted to see, that I'd built lots of plans around.

We drove up the coast to to Yalikavak - about 7km, and stopped off for lunch in a local restaurant in the middle of town.

Now Bodrum was great, and it is a great place to be situated for a vacation. But Yalikavak. This was the type of town I'd imagined having as my local town. The old town part, had restaurants along the beach side, and local houses and shops on the opposite side of the street. Not massively touristy, more local oriented. The as you drive further into Yalikavak, past a new Marina, you reach the main part of town. Again, lot's of restaurants, and a bunch of side streets, full of restaurants and shops. It looked like a great balance between local and tourist living. Both Red and I fell in love with Yalikavak.

Lunch was appetizing. Evren was great company. He'd been a tour guide in a former life, so his English and local knowledge were great. It was the type of cafe, that you could have spent 3 hours meandering through lunch. No rush, just easing into the Aegean lifestyle. I think my jet lag finally subsided, and I started to feel like I was finally on holiday.

I also had my first taste of Elma çayı - apple tea. Really it's hot apple juice made from dried apples, ground into a powder, and then added to hot water. A refreshing drink for a hot summer day.

After a quick scout about the harbour, we drove off to our next house viewing in Gundogan. Nice enough house, albeit a little on the small side. But only a short walk to the beach, and a mature olive tree in the garden. There wasn't a lot in the local area, and we weren't fully sold on the location.... next stop.... our Yalikavak property, that I'd spent hours pouring over on the web.

It was a hillside complex, and the house we viewed was at the bottom of the hill, with unobstructed views of the ocean. A multi-tiered house. With a separate granny-flat on the ground floor. I loved the view from this house. By far the best we'd see. There wasn't really a local beach... more of a jetty.

The only problem with having a house at the bottom of the hill, is the water drainage from the top of the hill. The kitchen in the granny flat had warped kitchen cabinets from the damp. This was the house I'd been having dreams about - it was an emotional bond with the view. The area wasn't as developed as the other houses we'd seen earlier in the day, and it seemed a little out of the way. Really nothing around except a few complexes. This one did have a nice pool though - but Red didn't want to deal with the damp, so we called it a day and headed back to Bodrum.

That night we walked along Bar Street again and found a fabulous local fish restaurant - Berk Balik. The waiters didn't speak much English, and most of the Clientele was Cigarette Smoking, Raki Drinking Turks. No menu's here -- just pop to the kitchen - choose your mezze, choose your fish and sit and wait. This is one of my favourite restaurants we've visited in all the trips we've had to Turkey.