Just five years after buying their first holiday home in Turkey, British surgeon Phil McLoughlin and his Malaysian wife Shanti have begun looking there for the perfect spot to build a house for their retirement.
Article written by The Overseas Guides Company
The couple, who live with their two teenage sons in St Andrews, are searching for a plot in one of the pretty villages in the unspoilt Uzumlu Valley, near Fethiye. Their plan is to build a house that they can move to once Phil, a facial surgeon at Dundee Hospital, retires and their children have flown the nest.
Buying property in Turkey is nothing new to the McLoughlins. In 2008, they bought an apartment on a small complex in the resort of Yalikavak on the Bodrum Peninsula. They paid around £65,000 for it.
“It was ideally located for family holidays, however with the boys getting bigger, we decided to sell and find somewhere larger,” said Phil. “For our second purchase, we decided to look around Fethiye, funnily enough an area that our agent Spot Blue had recommended when we were looking for our first property. Of course, we fell in love with it.”
In April this year the McLoughlins bought a four-bedroom detached villa in the village of Ciftlik, near Fethiye, through Spot Blue. But they decided soon after that while the property is large and in a desirable area, it’s not their dream retirement home or in their favourite location, so they’ve put it on the market.
“We’ve spent around £5,000 on the villa in the few months we’ve owned it, mainly decorating, and doing bits to the roof and pool,” said Phil. “So with an asking price of £105,000, it’s great value. Ciftlik is a lovely village, up and coming and close to the beach, but we’ve realised we want somewhere a bit more tucked away. We love the green scenery of the Uzumlu Valley, where you can live a tranquil village life but still be 15 minutes from the beach and Fethiye. We’re excited about creating our future home from scratch, somewhere with everything exactly how we want it.”
Phil and Shanti’s ideal new house will have three bedrooms and be designed for enjoying the year-round warm climate, with lots of outdoor space. “We want a plot of between 500 and 800 square metres, with covered patios, an outside fireplace and, of course, a pool. Thinking ahead too, we want one of the bedrooms downstairs for when we’re not so mobile.”
The McLoughlins have budgeted £30,000-£40,000 for their plot, and will put the proceeds from the sale of their villa in Ciftlik towards the build costs of their property. Spot Blue’s representative in Fethiye has put them in touch with local architects and property management companies for when they are ready to start the project.
Julian Walker, Director at Spot Blue commented: “Plots of around 500 square metres, zoned for building, can be as little as £12,500 in some areas of the Uzumlu Valley, but you need to spend more if you want a home with access to good facilities and infrastructure. Typically, 10 per cent of an urban plot can be built on, over two storeys, but this is usually less for agricultural land.
“The McLoughlins are a real pleasure to work with. Seeing them ‘discover’ and fall in love with Turkey, and then progress from their apartment to today wanting to build their own home is very satisfying and we’re really enjoying helping them to realise their plans, in safe and efficient manner.”
A simple way to save money when buying property in Turkey is to use a currency exchange specialist when transferring your pounds into Turkish lira or euros. For more information on this, download Smart Currency Exchange’s free report or visit the Currency Zone.
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