Transparency even from your mobile device

In earlier blog posts we have often talked about how important transparency is when it comes to the daily operation of your owners union.

An owners union often holds a significant amount of money, and it is in everyone's interest to make sure that these are spend in the best way and that the documentation for each expense is available.

Sitting several thousands kilometers away from where all the action is taking place can make it hard to understand and follow exactly what is happening. How are the money spend, has everyone paid the yearly fees and so on.

Last year 2Base set a new level of transparency of owners union and allowed all owners to log directly into the accounting books of their owners union. 

No more waiting for excel files or monthly emails.

Instead every owner can now get real-time view access to (and only view, of course. Not editing or deleting) all postings such as expenses and status on payments of the monthly and yearly fees.

Power cuts and how to know they are coming

In an earlier blog post we have been discussing the major break down of the electric grid in Turkey earlier this year. 

Today the topic again will be electricity and to some extend also power cuts. 

Because it actually seems like the authorities and providers of electricity and infrastructure is actually doing something about it.

In the Alanya area the grid is currently undergoing some serious maintenance. 

And how do we know that? Well, simply because currently there are a lot of power cuts....

But these power cuts seem to be related to repair and upgrade work rather than breakdowns, which is of course very positive at least in the long run.

The best time of year

Spring is the best time of year in Alanya. 

Nothing to discuss or argue about here.

In Alanya spring time is perfect and it luckily last for many month.

So what is going on during spring 2015 in Alanya?

Political parties are preparing for the upcoming election
Later this year the local elections are coming up and the political parties have started to promote themselves and their candidates.
In Turkey a political career can be a quick way to fame and easy money so the competition is hard.
This is of course very unfortunate and one could wish that Turkish politics would focus more on doing the right thing for your country or region than personal gains. 

Alanyaspor is hitting it
Last year local football team Alanyaspor surprisingly made it into the 1. division, the second highest division in Turkey.
This year the good performance continues and currently the team are holding on of the play off positions for the Turkish Superleague.
Visit the teams web site where you can also find information on upcoming matches.
Web site: http://alanyaspor.org.tr/

New concepts are coming to Alanya
Last couple of years a lot of new concepts has come to Alanya. This is great news and there are a lof of new restaurants and shops to try out.
A few examples are...

Power cuts in Turkey and what to consider

The subject for this blog post came up all by itself when our office this morning went from lively and productive to "hey, who cut the electricity?".

As i am writing this blog post a major part of Turkey is without any electricity due to reasons that are currently unknown. 
Flights are grounded, offices closing down and everyone is waiting for the power grid to come back on.

Most people here in Turkey speculate why this has happened and social media are full of speculations and the twitter hash tag #buradaelektrikyok (there is no electricity here) is currently Turkeys most used.

Luckily Internet and mobile phone networks are not affected, but charging devices might be...

We here at 2Base wants to take another approach and instead talk about what this means for property owners in Turkey. 

Spring is the best time of year in Alanya

For this blog post we had a little chat with Yildirim Kabasakal who is responsible for all service related questions and tasks at 2Base. 

We wanted to know about his best tips for restaurants, advise for property owners and a lot more.

If you have ever visited our office or send us an email, you will most likely already know who he is.

Lets hear what he has to say...

Winter, spring. summer or autumn: Which is your favorite time of year?
Definitely spring. Spring is the sign that summer is coming soon. I like this period because it is more quite and not so hot than summer. 
During spring the air and sea is very clean and it is a great time to swim and play beachvolley which i enjoy a lot.

Where would you go for a Sunday brunch?
On the castle almost on the very top there is a place named Muhtarin yeri. There breakfast is the best and very traditional with fresh bread, eggs, omelette, vegetables, different kinds of cheese and of course fresh tea. Sundays are very busy but the place is great and i can recommend it. From the restaurant there is view all the way to Gazipasa.

You have been living more than 20 years in Alanya. Can you offer any insiders tip on best things to do?

Beware or you might be caught by surprise

Over the last decade the Turkish banking system has developed into a powerful and very modern business area with a long list of active players.

Some of the banks are still under Turkish ownership while others have been swept into European banking groups.

Ten years ago loans were very difficult to obtain and interest rates were sky high. On the other hand the banks offered their services without too high transaction fees.

Today this has changed completely. Loans are given faster than McDonalds serves a burger and fees have sky rocketed.

Where this is good news for those who wish to finance their dream apartment by a local mortgage is also calls for attention to those who just wish to have a bank accounts for minor transactions, since this can end being very costly.

Considering selling? Then the time might be right...

The decision to sell your holiday home abroad is not easy. Just like the decision to invest in a holiday home, the decision to sell should only be taken after a careful consideration.

The reasons behind wanting to sell can be many, and it is never easy to sell a holiday home that for most have been a source to many joyful moments and happy memories.

At lot of people wrongly think that the beginning of a new year often is a quite period for estate agents. This is not correct and the first many sales of this year are already signed and completed.
The truth is that the first month of a new year can actually be a very good time to sell...

Should you be thinking about selling your holiday home in Alanya then do not hesitate to contact us. We will be more than happy to guide you through the process and help you in finding not only a new owner for your holiday apartment but also to do it in way that secures you the best outcome.

Looking back and forward

New year is the absolute best time for looking back at the year that passed and more importantly to take a look into the crystal bowl trying to predict the year to come.

Where evaluating the year that passed is an easier task, predicting the future can be pretty hard and eventually it comes down to advanced guessing.

Nevertheless, this is what we intend to do.

Lets first take a look at the year that passed. How was it?

If the question would be addresses to our colleges in customer service they would tell you the this.

Working with the newly privatized electricity company has been quite a challenge.

Paying electric bills has become much more difficult due to ineffective working procedures at the electricity company. In the same time electric meters are shut down as soon as bills are not paid.

Luckily we have found a smart solution to this problem and we expect a lot less issues in this area for the new year

Is Christmas celebrated in Turkey?

This blog-post was originally published back in 2010. But since not much have changed we wanted to bring it back to life.

Worth adding is that a Sunday-Christmas marked is now arranged every December at the harbor area in Alanya. Definitely worth a visit...

Finally we can not guarantee that price of the Christmas tree is still only 3 YTL.

Happy Reading and a Merry Christmas

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Most people are probably aware of that fact that the majority of the Turkish population are Muslims and that their religion is Islam.
Likewise most people know, that Muslims do not have the same holidays, celebrations and traditions as we have.

Hardly surprising facts.

Still we often get the question:

Do you celebrate Christmas in Alanya?

Transparency to the extreme

Being a home owner in Turkey also means being part of an owners association.
In larger complexes the amount of money being paid each year to the owners association is quite significant.

It is therefor absolutely necessary that the accounting books of the complex are done properly and professionally.

We here give you a list of which reports you as an apartment owner should have access to:

Profit and Loss statementShowing all income and expenses during a particular period - often the current accounting year of the complex - the profit and loss will tell you if the complex is spending more money than it receives. Also you will be able to see how the money is spend account by account.

Balance sheet
Is a summary of the current financial situation at a specific time. It will show you the balance on each cash and bank account and also how much money is being owed to the owners union and how much the owners union owes to others.

These are the two main financial reports that will tell you how your owners union is doing.

An old lady is back in town

As some of you might know, one of the very first projects that our company got engaged in was the creation of Sunsearch - Alanya on the internet.

Back in 2003 this was one of the very first information portals for foreigners searching for online information about Alanya. The page was maintained in 8 different languages, and contained a mix of business profiles and relevant articles related to Alanya and Turkey.

A lot has happened since 2003 and lately Sunsearch has been living a quite life on the outskirts of the vast world wide web without drawing much attention.

So we thought it was about time to drag the old lady out of the garage and bring her up to speed. And so we did.

Driving from Europe to Turkey

Recent years it has become increasingly popular for holiday home owners with a little extra time on their hands to get in their cars and drive the long way from Europa and to Turkey.

This is a great chance of enjoying some unforgetable moments since the drive from Europa to Turkey offers many different route choices.

In general there are 3 major choices to make when selecting the route.
- Drive via Eastern Europa (Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, Bulgaria)
- Drive via Mediterranean coast (Austria, Slovenia, Greece)
- Arrive by boat via Italy

No route is really better than the other but many seems to prefer to avoid travelling via Bulgaria due to several incidents related to theft.

Entering into Turkey it can be a good idea to avoid the heavy traffic in Istanbul and instead head south to the historic very interesting area of Canakkale.

Have you noticed the latest changes?

Have you noticed the latest updates to our web sites? 
Well, you definately should because both www.2base.com as well as www.my2base.com has received a major overhaul and a new design has been implemented.

The web sites now offers an even better experience with a new modern design. Our picture viewer has been improved and viewing pictures of a particular property is smoother and faster than before.

Also we have implemented a new and really cool "get sales presentation" feature, that allows you to order any sales presentation directly from our web site.
After submitting your e-mail address you will immediately receive an email from which two print friendly variants of the sales presentation can be downloaded to your computer.

The most tempting offers for today

There is a large variety of appartments and villas for sale in Alanya. Since it is not easy to pick the best ones among them, we want to introduce you some of the most temptating offers.

The first ones offer space for also bigger families and they would also be a good alternative if e.g. several families would like to share the ownership. The third one is an appartment with 2 bedrooms quite in the city center.

Help to spread the word

Your appartment does not sell itself - this we have also previously written a post about that was called "Just getting your property listed will not get it sold".

Something definitely not to be underestimated is "social marketing". Here you as a seller are able to do a lot yourself ...

The traditional:
- Tell friends, family, co-workers and colleagues from the football club, that you have put your property for sale. Ask them to share this on to their friends and family.

We make your life easier

Have you ever had trouble paying your monthly owners union fees (“aidat” in Turkish) for your holiday home in Turkey? 

If the answer to the above question is "YES" then 2Base might be able to help you out.

The solution is simple: Join our inspection service program.

By doing that you can forget everything about troublesome IBAN numbers, wrong SWIFT codes and troubles caused by international banking systems differences – we will pay your bills including the monthly owners union without you having do anything else than asking us.. 

Your holiday home in Alanya Center

Midsummer is here and who of us isn’t dreaming about holiday close to sea? About sitting with glass of wine in a sunset on a wide balcony? Swimming in a pool next to your home or about being close to day-night city life? 

We’ve got apartment to our portfolio which might be suitable for many of those, who look for a holiday home like this. 

In Asta Residence II we have charming light apartment with 2 bedrooms for a very attractive price. The residence has really good facilities – swimming pool, children's pool, tennis court, children’s playground and relaxing tidy garden just in front of residence.

How to get more bookings

High season is soon here and demand for holiday apartment is getting bigger and bigger. If you are already letting your holiday home, we have collected some tips that will hopefully bring you even more bookings.

Make your own web site for your apartment
- Use web site builders such as http://www.independentowners.com/ or https://www.zoho.com/sites/free-website-builder.html.

Advertise on portals such as

- Wimdu (http://www.wimdu.com/offers/new )

- Holiday Lettings (https://www.holidaylettings.co.uk/advertise-holiday-home.aspx )

- FlipKey by TripAdvisor (https://secure.flipkey.com/freelisting/)

- Pure Holiday Homes (http://www.pureholidayhomes.com/register/add-property), etc.

 When receiving bookings via these portals do not forget to update the availability of your holiday home on www.my2base.com

Life has moved outdoors

Spring arrived and in Alanya life is moving outdoor to spacious balconies and terraces. This means that time has come to start the BBQ and start cooking outdoor. But the outdoor kitchen can and should offer more than traditional barbecued food! 

Try to take a look at these new options from Danish based company Morsø.

For example, an outdoor oven, which spreads warmth on the patio and enables you to prepare crisp, crunchy pizzas and perfect bread in just a few minutes?

The outdoor grill, with a unique feature which ensures that the meat is grilled in its own juices – unlike stainless steel grates, where the meat is not grilled but roasted?

What about the fire captivates, where dancing, warm flames are a natural meeting place, offering calm, concentration and comfort?

New attractive appartments for sale

At the spring time there is usually a good selection of re-sale appartments for sale. Also this year we have got some really nice appartments to our portfolio; among these ones there might be suitable for many of those, who look a for holiday home.

In Olive City we have this charming appartment with 2 bedrooms. The residence has really good facilities. In the appartment there is floor heating in all premises, which makes it possible to stay in pleasant conditions also in winter time.

Payment in Alanya City buses

So far in Alanya City buses it has been possible to pay either in cash (2 TL) or with a card (1,50 TL). This week it has been informed that after 1.6.2014 payments can only be done by card. The price of a card is 5 TL and it can be loaded with a sum the customer wishes. One trip costs 1,50 TL and several passengers can use one card; it is not for personal use only. The card can be purchased and loaded in places marked with kentkart-sign. The list of places is only seen in Alanya municipality's pages.

Questions, leading to successful purchase

2Base always aims for our customers` full satisfaction, and to ensure that they invest in the holiday home that is the best match for them. But what are the most important to consider when looking for the holiday home of your dreams? 

One of the most important is: Ask yourself and give an honest answer to some important questions before entering into a deal for buying property in Turkey:

Can I afford this? To invest in a holiday home for the last money or for money which you are just planning to get – not a good idea. If you are waiting for a deal which will let you earn money – first finish the deal and then get money. The deal can be terminated, postponed and you will get into an uncomfortable situation, connected with loss of money.

If you buying property with mortgage, count if it is not burdensomely for you. Consider annual costs for purchased property in Turkey such as annual owner association fee, property taxes, insurance, inspection service, etc. 

Luckily holiday home owners are pleased that taxes and fees for property in Turkey are low comparing to other European countries. 

What is the most important to me and my family?

Only you is the one who can tell what you really need. While viewing property units

Antik Kent - Near Alanya with the marvellous view

Antik Kent is one of Alanya's best known and most sought after complexes .

Why ? Because Antik Kent has the absolute best location on the cliff north of Alanya.

The view is not just good , it is formiddabel . In short ...

At the same time complex is not further away than that there is still proximity and easy access to Alanya center.

From Danish vendor we were offered two residential apartments for sale.
The apartments have a private location in the same villa surrounded by a large garden. Both apartments have an incredible number of square meters, they are well laid out and with a usable and functional decoration .

Similarly, it is not far to the pool or parking.

These villa apartments are offered for respectively 119,000 and 149,000 Euro .
For the total purchase of both occasions , the price will get down at incredible 210,000 Euro .

Interesting facts about Turkey

We hereby present you with a list of things that you most likely did not know about Turkey:

Number 1
Istanbul is the only city that is present in both Asia and Europe. The two sides of the city are connected by 2 bridges with a third under construction.

Number 2Noah’s Ark stranded on Mount Ararat (Agri Dagi) which is located in Eastern Turkey cose to the Iranian border. The mountain is the highest peak in Turkey and is 5166m high.
The site can be visited and by using a great deal of imagination the actual remains of the Ark are visible. 

Appartment for sale in popular Elite 4 Cikcilli

In the popular and well-run complex Elite 4 Cikcilli there is now the opportunity to become the owner of an apartment with two bedrooms. 

The complex is to be found in the quiet part of Cikcilli with walking distance to both Alanyum shopping center and the center of Cikcilli. 
Similarly, it is also close to both restaurants and public transport.