One of the questions regarding this matter is from a reader who has a property in Didim and the e-mail reads as follows; “Good Morning, We have bought property in an apartment complex in Altinkum, Didim and are trying to get to enjoy our holidays there while getting all the complexities sorted out. We have had a very bad management company who let us down badly, and as so many other people have said, it was the developers who looked after the property maintenance and did not do it properly. We now have a small private company looking after the maintenance and we are talking about public liability now. We, the committee, were wondering if property management companies in Turkey are required to have public liability insurance or is it up to the owners of the apartments to arrange it. Would love your advice and thank you in advance.”It is good to hear that somebody at last has established an independent property management company which is only carrying out property management and nothing else. My first advice would be that you should find a management company which only deals with property management, otherwise the company gets too involved in other things. My experience in this field has shown me that property management is not as easy as it looks and requires skill, respect to the customers as much as the other services, and careful management. I believe that property management is very important and it cannot be a part of the after-sales service like furnishing a house. Property management should be considered as a long-term and well-organized service package.
The reason I am so interested in this question is that I have also had some disputes with property management services and their promises. Maybe I will write about my own story one day. When the guys dared to try it on with me I thought what must it be like for foreign owners who are not aware of legislation, don’t speak the language and have no idea about the customs and bargaining in such matters or how to manage these people?
More than 50 percent of the questions I have been receiving are about real-estate matters and more than 60 percent of these questions are related to a problem about maintenance management, key holding and winter watch matters. This means that (almost) one out of two real estate problems are about property management or maintenance problems. The increasing number of complaints confirms the lack of service or the poor quality of the services provided. In most cases, such as in this letter, the problem is about the after sales services promised but not fulfilled. Property owners are frustrated with the attitude of the developers breaking the promises they made before the purchase of the property. The sellers are usually very nice before selling the property but right after the purchase price has been paid, the attitude of the vendor/developer immediately changes. Many construction companies and developers promise to manage the property after completion but most of them either fail to provide the services or make adjustments to the price originally promised. In some cases the management services turn into the kind of relationship where the property owner is threatened and robbed. All those brilliant ideas and full coverage promises just fade away after the transfer of the title and full payment of the purchase price.
My answer to your question regarding public liability insurance, briefly, is “no.” There is no legislation which makes it compulsory for property management companies, you have to arrange it yourself. I will write a second article on Wednesday about this matter and give you more on this topic.
NOTE: Berk Çektir is a licensed attorney at law and available to answer questions on the legal aspects of living in Turkey. Send enquiries to b.cektir@todayszaman.com The names of the readers are disclosed only upon written approval of the sender.DISCLAIMER: The information provided here is intended to give basic legal information. You should get legal assistance from a licensed attorney at law while conducting legal transactions and not just rely on the information in this corner.
