[Blue Eyes]

What is a Co-Operative

When buying a house or apartment in Kusadasi the most important thing to know is, is it a Co-Op or a finished site. The second most important thing to know is how do you find out. Let me say that its my opinion that the Co-Op system works very well for Turkish people and has been around for a long time. I have a house in a Co-Op and it will change to a site in July.

So, what's a Co-Op

A Co-Operative, is a system were by a number of people get together and pool their resoures to build. The setting up of a Co-Op is controlled by the local council where the C0-Op is first starter, for example, a house in Kusadasi might have been started by people who formed a Co-Op in Bursa or Istanbul. The main reason it takes so long to finish a Co-Op is that it depends on the amount of money that the members have to invest from year to year. My Co-Op was started in 1995 and has taken 10 years to finish. I bought my house in 2004 and like most people, did not know anything about Co-Ops or the rules they are controlled by.

So, What are the rules

The Co-Op must have a yearly meeting with its members and the council managers, to discuss all progress and to decide on the budget. In order to have a say at the meeting you must attend and agree or disagree with the reports that are presented at the meeting. All the menbers agree on the amount of money they are able to pay towards the Co-Op for the coming year. This money is not a maintainance fee, its to finish ground work or paths ect. One of the most important things to know is that if one of the members cannot pay the agreed monthly amount, they are charged compound interest on the unpaid amount. Example, 100 euro per month for 12 months is 1,200 euro. If this amount is not paid then the amount owing will be more than double. When you buy in a Co-Op you become a shareholder and take on any dept owing by the persons house you are buying and have to contribute to the cost of finishing the project.

Is it a finished Site or a Co-Op, how do you find out?

Get an independant Solicitor to handle this for you, in my view its the only way! When buying in Kuadasi you do not need a Solicitor. A Solicitor will cost about 700 - 1000 euro and its the best money you will spend. Get the Solicitor to find out all the information for you about the Co-Op and then you can make your decision. Do not be rushed into buying, if you are, take this as a warning sign.

Kusadasi Property

Having looked at Spain, France and Portugal, I decided to buy in Kusadasi, the main reason is the people and the culture. For me its my Home from Home and I dont like to hear that some people might be getting a raw deal and thats the reason I am posting this Notice.

[johnsonspad]

Thanks Blue Eyes.

Good report

[Blue Eyes]

Many thanks, hope everything is going well for you

[Umit]

very nice article, thanks for your post

[Blue Eyes]

Given that some people are very happy with their Co-Op experience and some people are very disappointed, I wonder if it would be of help to list the good and bad Co-Ops. My view on this is that not all Co-Ops are bad and if some members would like to tell us how their Co-Op is working out it could held to boost confidence. If your interested I can start it off.

[mark1708]

Hi Blue eyes do you know if the list of good and bad co-op's has been done looked but cant find it

[Aegean2]

See this thread which adds to Blue Eyes' post at the bottom.

[Tony Halpin]

Hi
I just wanted to make one comment on the above post by Blue Eyes. It is possible to purchase a house in a co-op that is not finished and not have to pay any more towards the finishing of the site. This requires agreement when purchasing the property that no further payments are required by you towards completing the site. A solicitor should be able to enshrine this in the contract if all parties agree.
If I'm wrong I happy to be corrected but thats my understanding.

[Blue Eyes]

Hi Tony,

Been there done that. This was my experience. Agreed to buy a house in a Co-Op from the owner. Both parties went to a Solicitor and made an agreement on the price and that any outstanding bills would be cleared with the Co-Op manager. I then went to the Co-Op manager and told his that I was buying the house from the former owner and to make sure that he paid in full any outstanding bills. Job done you might say.

If you thing buying in a Co-Op can be difficult, wait till you try to enforce Turkish law. The former owner did not pay the outstanding bills to the Co-OP manager. So I set the lagal train in motion. Another learning curve and more money. Luckily for me the former owner was a high ranking officer in the Army and to go to Court for non payment of utility bills would have been a big black mark on career.

What amazed me most was the non interest by the Co-Op manager. So dont expect any help unless you have the money to pay for it.

If anyone is having Co-Op problems let me know, if I can offer any advice let me know.

[selcukev]

blue eyes would love to pm you on this.

But i not allowed to use pm service as yet