Is it possible to sell a house with a mortgage?
Yes, selling a house with a mortgage is possible. You can transfer a property that carries a mortgage at the tapu (title deed) office, provided the mortgage is removed from the land registry as the sale goes through. The obstacle, in other words, is not the mortgage itself but failing to have it erased. You can pay off the loan from your own savings and sell with a clean deed, or you can go for a cross-bank arrangement where the buyer's loan closes your debt on the same day. I've set out the wrinkles of both routes below, down to the order of steps at the deed office.
The scenario you'll see most often in practice is this: the seller's loan sits on the house, and the buyer will take out a fresh loan from their own bank. When two banks have to be brought together on the same day, the process looks intimidating at first glance. In truth, once you know the sequence, it's a routine operation for the banks' processing teams. With a buyer whose file is ready, the whole thing usually fits inside a few weeks. The seller's job is to request the right document at the right time and to get everyone aligned on the appointment date.
What is an ipotek fekki (mortgage release)?
An ipotek fekki — in deed-office jargon, terkin (cancellation) — is the complete erasure of the mortgage entry from the land registry. Paying off your loan does not, by itself, lift the mortgage. A mortgage is a proprietary right securing the bank's claim and it sits on its own line in the registry; once the debt is cleared, the bank sends a release request letter addressed to the Tapu ve Kadastro Genel Müdürlüğü (General Directorate of Land Registry and Cadastre, TKGM), and only that letter deletes the entry. Turn up at your appointment before the letter reaches the deed office and the transaction stalls. Your day is wasted.
If you're not sure which entries sit on your title deed, look at the deed inquiry service on e-Devlet (Turkey's e-government portal); the mortgage line, its amount and the date it was registered all show up there. Even a loan you cleared years ago but never had released will surface at your next sale. Chasing that letter after payoff is a small but critical job for the seller.
How do you get a loan payoff letter?
You request the payoff letter from the branch of the bank that granted your loan, or from its loan processing unit. In practice you'll be asking for two things: the current payoff amount and a release letter addressed to the deed office. The payoff amount answers one question — what does the debt come to if I pay on this date? Interest accrues every day, so the figure moves with the date, and that's why banks attach a validity date to it.
When requesting the letter, ask three questions: when is the final validity date, through which channel does the letter go to the deed office, and is there a separate charge for the release? Write the answers down. If the appointment slips, you'll know from the outset which step has to be redone. One more detail: some banks won't issue the release letter until the debt is fully settled, while others issue a conditional letter that cancels the entry the moment they see the money. Find out how your own bank handles it at the start of the job.
It also pays to know this figure before you list your property on SahibindenSat. Deduct the payoff from the sale price and you'll know exactly what lands in your pocket — no surprises at the negotiating table. Refresh the figure once a buyer shows real intent; a number a few weeks old can catch you out with the interest that has crept in meanwhile.
How much is the early payoff penalty, and what other costs arise?
On early payoff the bank may charge an early repayment compensation, capped by the Tüketici Kredileri Sözleşmeleri Yönetmeliği (Regulation on Consumer Loan Agreements). Under the provisions that took effect in 2021, the cap on fixed-rate loans is 1% of the principal repaid early where more than a year of the term remains, and 0.5% where a year or less remains. On variable-rate loans the caps are lower still: 2.5 per thousand (0.25%) if more than a year remains, 1.25 per thousand (0.125%) if less. The regulation also bans any charge under another heading at early payoff, beyond the compensation itself; if you spot a line item such as a file closing charge, you're entitled to question it. The exact amount is stated in your bank's payoff letter, and if in doubt you can consult the consumer loans guide of the GİB (Turkish Revenue Administration).
The seller's side also faces the tapu harcı (title deed fee). Under the Harçlar Kanunu (Fees Law), the sale fee is 20 per thousand (2%) of the declared value, shared equally between buyer and seller. Agreements that push the whole amount onto the buyer are common, but the default rule is half and half. Rates and exemptions can move with annual adjustments, and there have even been temporary fee reductions on the table for certain first-home sales. Confirm the current position in the GİB guide; you can also see the amount due on your own property through the deed fee inquiry screen on e-Devlet.
The estate agency commission, meanwhile, is not a statutorily fixed item — it depends entirely on the contract, and in the market it generally runs around 2% plus KDV (VAT). Expecting the seller to absorb the buyer's appraisal and DASK (Turkey's compulsory earthquake insurance) costs, though, is not the custom.
How do you bring two banks together on the same day?
If the buyer is funding the purchase with their own loan, the seller's bank and the buyer's bank are brought together at the deed office on the same day; the arrangement is popularly known as a çapraz kredi (cross-loan) or simultaneous payoff. The logic runs like this: the buyer's bank sends the loan not to the seller's account but straight to the seller's bank. That bank uses the money to close the debt and hands the release letter to the deed office; immediately afterwards the sale is executed and a new mortgage is registered in favour of the buyer's bank. Whatever remains between the sale price and the debt stays with the seller.
The typical flow works like this:
- The buyer obtains pre-approval from their bank; the appraisal is completed and the file passes to the bank's legal or processing unit.
- The buyer's bank asks the seller's bank for the payoff amount and a release commitment for the closing day.
- A deed office appointment is booked. Booking through the TKGM's online deed service on e-Devlet is possible, but fix the date together with both banks' processing units. An appointment booked by one side alone derails the process.
- On the day, the buyer's bank sends the amount to the seller's bank, the release reaches the deed office, and the chain of sale, cancellation and new mortgage is completed within the same day.
A concrete example: say someone selling a flat in Kartal (an Istanbul district) has 800,000 lira of debt left at Bank A, and the buyer will borrow from Bank B. Once the buyer's file is ready, B's processing unit obtains from A the payoff amount as of a given date, and the appointment is set for that date. If the appointment is postponed, the amount is refreshed, because two days later interest runs differently. What falls to the seller is to get the two banks talking to each other and to be there on the day.
There is one more route: if the buyer agrees to borrow from the same bank that holds the existing loan, what's called kredi devri (loan transfer) opens up. The buyer takes over the seller's loan; paperwork and costs shrink, and the problem of matching two banks disappears. In return, the bank has to approve the buyer as well, and the loan's terms pass on exactly as they are. Not every bank is open to transfer on every loan — worth asking.
What is the order of steps at the deed office in a mortgaged-house sale?
The order is this: first the sale, then the cancellation of the old mortgage, and last the registration of the new mortgage in favour of the buyer's bank. The three transactions are usually processed back to back in a single appointment. If the release letter has reached the deed office before the appointment, the cancellation can also be done ahead of the sale; some banks deliver the letter by hand on sale day. The new mortgage is registered the same day by the buyer's bank's authorised representative — if the representative isn't there, the transaction stalls yet again. Besides the sale fee, a separate fee arises for the new mortgage; confirm that item's amount with the deed office or through the deed fee inquiry screen on e-Devlet. The mortgage fee is generally borne by the buyer's side, but that too is a detail settled in negotiation.
On appointment day, have these with you: identity documents, your tapu senedi (title deed certificate) if you still have it (even if it's lost, the registry entry is what counts), the payoff receipt or release letter, both banks' representatives, and your appointment code. The buyer's side must also have its DASK policy ready that day.
If you're clearing the loan with your own means before the sale, your job is simpler. The payoff, the release and the sale can happen on different days; once the entry is deleted the deed is clean, and for the buyer it's no different from an ordinary purchase.
One final note: the rates and caps here, from the deed fee to the early repayment compensation, reflect the rules in force when this article was prepared. They can change with annual decisions, so before the transaction do a quick round of confirmation with the GİB's current guide, your bank and the deed office. Small province-level differences in practice can also appear between deed offices.
Frequently asked questions
Can a house with a mortgage be sold?
Yes. The mortgage is not a barrier to the sale; during the transfer at the deed office the mortgage is released, or the buyer's bank arranges a same-day payoff. If the debt exceeds the sale price, the seller must make up the difference.
How long does the loan payoff letter take to prepare?
It varies by bank; in most cases a few business days are enough. Because the amount changes with the date, the letter carries a validity date, and once it expires a new one has to be requested.
How much is the early payoff penalty?
The regulation's caps: on a fixed-rate loan, at most 1% of the principal repaid early if more than a year of the term remains, 0.5% if less. You'll see the exact figure in your bank's payoff amount.
Do you have to go to the bank in person for the mortgage release?
You make the request to your bank; the bank usually forwards the letter to the deed office or hands it to you. Going to the deed office yourself is not always necessary.
Who pays the tapu harcı (title deed fee)?
Under the legislation, buyer and seller share the fee equally. Agreements that leave the whole fee with the buyer are also common; check the GİB guide for the current rate.