1) We have more than 200 sunny days a year!!!
2) Miles of sandy beaches
3) Turkey has one of the world's best local kitchens
4) Newly built homes with marble counter tops and large balconies from only 30,000 EURO
5) Good and cheap flights to Alanya ...
And I could go on and on ...
Let me give you five good reasons not to buy property in Turkey:
1) The waiter says "yes, yes" when you ask if you can get extra cheese on your pizza, but instead
you ends up with a pizza with no cheese on.
2) The carpenter delivers the wrong cupboard twice in a row.
3) Your electrical bills is sometimes send each week, other times monthly.
4) The company that are setting up your TV connection are 3 hours late without telling you.
5) It takes incomprehensible long time to register something as simple as a water meter
So let take a look at the problem. For how hard can it be hard for us practical and logical
thinking Europeans to understand, why things do not work easily and conveniently like we’re used
to? To understand we must first look at some fundamental differences.
In most European countries the public institutions work from with well-considered and logical procedures often implemented together with efficient computer systems. Furthermore there is a mentality where the emphasis is on problem solving and each employee taking responsibility of their own.
In Turkey it is a bit different. Here things are often completely opposite. The procedures are
not well considered, the computer systems are either non-existent or not functional, and you will
not find much personal responsibility. The employees try instead to avoid anything that requires a
standing point and taking responsibility, since they could later also be liable for any wrong decisions.
Undeniably this makes some processes slow and complex.
For instance when we are applying for electricity meters for the apartments, there is a limit to
how many applications we can hand in at once. Immediately you would think it would be easiest
to grant all applications for a project such as 100 homes at the same time. But no, this is not
accepted. Instead the utility company wants them in the loops of 5 or 10, instead of all at once.
This helps you to understand that things take time here.
Patience is a virtue especially in Turkey. And for a foreigner it is important to understand that the
premises we are working under in Turkey are different from, what we're used to in Europe.
If you don’t comprehend how the system works, you will very quickly run into a lot of frustration,
because things do not happen in stages as we are accustomed to.
My best advice is to learn to understand the differences, accept them and work around them. Be
persistent until things are in place, but do expect that things don’t happen immediately.
Understanding and accepting differences do not mean that you also must accept the "Turkish"
flaws, broken promises etc. But understanding will make it easier for you to act appropriate in
relation to achieving the best results.
And remember that it is more important to get things sorted out and move on in the text, than to
devote all your energy in to claiming your right. It rarely solves things. And is it no good to be right,
if you cannot win ...
It sounds easy - but unfortunately it isn’t...
(Picture: The electricity company’s paper chaos and on the left our Service manager Candemir
waiting for his turn)
This blog-post is written by 2Base Estate Agency & My2Base Holiday Homes
Visit us online:
Holiday Homes for sale: www.2base.com
Letting & Services: www.my2base.com
Online Shop: www.my2baseshop.com
