Glossary
İpotek (Mortgage Lien)
A legal lien registered against a property in the Tapu registry as security for a loan or other obligation. Colloquially confused with 'mortgage' as a financial product (konut kredisi), but technically İpotek is the official registry record that the property is pledged — not the loan itself.
Where it fits in a deal
If a property is bought on credit or on an installment plan secured by a lien, the bank or seller registers İpotek against the Tapu. The property cannot be sold, gifted, or transferred without the lienholder's formal consent. Once the debt is fully repaid, the lien is officially removed — a process called fek.
Context for foreign buyers
Formally, getting a loan requires a passport, a residence permit or tax number, proof of income, and an independent property valuation. In practice, though, this market has narrowed sharply for non-resident foreigners — high TRY loan rates, a consequence of the Central Bank's tight monetary policy, make borrowing far less attractive than paying cash or taking an interest-free installment plan directly from a developer.
For nationals of some countries (Syria, for instance), purchasing property as an individual — and therefore a personal mortgage — has been legally closed off entirely since the 1960s; access is only possible by establishing a Turkish legal entity.
Related terms
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