With its spectacular history, culture, nature, and climate, Turkey has always been a desirable destination for many an expat to while away the years. These characteristics for leading a healthy and happy life are now more important than ever in this era of safely navigating through a global pandemic. However, it can be daunting to make the big move to another country and especially if you don’t know the language or where you are going to live. Luckily, I am here to give you some guidelines to get started on, if like me, what may be your lifelong dream.

How to find a home

The website sahibinden.com, which translates into English as “from the owner,” serves as an excellent resource to not only learn about what’s available and what the going rate of homes are in a particular area, but it also can remotely connect you with real estate agents specializing in certain zones. You can search for rentals as well as properties for sale by either typing in the province and district where you are looking, or you can utilize the nifty map function in which you can zoom in and out to get a helpful general glance at availability and prices to help you decide.

While the name of the website infers that the properties are listed by owners, keep in mind that in many cases it is actually real estate agents that are posting, but you can still use that to your advantage. First and foremost research the agents thoroughly to ensure they are reputable and certified as there have been cases of nonlicensed agents attempting to sell homes to foreigners. Once you can verify their legitimacy and have checked up on the agent through peer reviews, their website and office address, then make contact to describe your price point and requirements as they may have more listings on hand than they actually post. Keep in mind that the real estate agent’s commission rate, which is generally paid out by both the buyer and seller, generally ranges from 2 to 4% percent, but is negotiable and should be discussed with the agent during deliberations. Newspapers, such as Sabah’s Sarı Sayfalar, which means “Yellow Pages” also contain advertisements for properties up for sale.