What is a gross square meter?
What is a net square meter?
What is the difference between gross and net square meters?
Does the difference between gross and net square meters put buyers in trouble?
Which kinds of square meters (net or gross) are asserted officially in the title deed?
One of the main issues in buying property for sale in Istanbul and other cities in Turkey is the property size without considering the property location or the target country you purchase.
In this article, the writer tries to define the net square meter and gross square meter and the differences between them; in addition, the writer aims to give buyers useful information and help them make investments confidently.
The following information is the same in all corners of the world, but this article is especially for investors who want to buy property in Turkey. Let’s start with definitions and then go to differences.
What is the gross square meter?
A Gross square meter is an umbrella phrase that consists of the entire property’s space and encloses usable and unusable spaces. A gross square meter, in a simple definition, is how much space a property occupies and is measured from the outer surrounded walls of a property.
Gross square meter doesn’t care about used and unused spaces; the total property’s space is a matter of measurement.
What Is the Net Square Meter?
The purpose of net square meters is to measure used spaces. The places are utilized for furnishing, equipment, and people spend time together or benefit from the special activity.
The net square meter comes from the gross square meter minus unused spaces. The net square meter consists of the area of the property from outer walls except for structural columns, shafts, or outside finished surfaces.
In a brief and easy definition, net square meter compasses rooms, kitchen, bathroom, living room, dining room, balcony, and yard. The following formula leads to calculating net square meter and gross square meter:
wall area + net area = gross area
From up to now, you get an obvious definition of net square meter and gross square meter. But as a buyer, you may ask what is crucial about realizing the differences between gross and net square meters. In addition, sometimes brokers hide the differences between gross and net square meters.
The Application of Understanding Gross and Net Square Meters and Their Differences
In Turkey, the size of properties is mentioned based on gross and net square meters, and there is no uniform procedure for expressing the size of properties. The lack of standards for advertising properties causes tremendous shock among investors when comparing mentioned size in different firm constructions.
Some firms’ contracts are based on the net square meter and others on gross square meter.
Therefore buyers need to know how to compare gross and net square meters. When contractions are arranged on gross square meters, it gives potential buyers critical consideration because they can’t compare size based on the net square meter and make mistakes when comparing prices.
Imagine there are two properties, A and B. These properties are the same in terms of gross square meters, and both have 100 gross square meters, but they could have different net square meters. Then consideration of net square meters helps you to compare accurately.
The differences between gross and net square meters become more crucial when one selected property is advertised based on the gross square meter, and the other option is introduced according to net square meters.
As the gross square meter contains the whole space from the outer walls of the property to the entire closed area, it is nearly more extensive than the net square meter, which includes usable areas of the property.
Therefore the property expressed on the gross square meter seems more spacious than the property advertised based on the net square meter. But in reality, if the mentioned gross square meter on the paper is three-fourths of the usable area, then the property is not as large as it is considered.
Analyze the Contract Truly Before Signing It
As a reliable suggestion, it is crucial to investigate the contract before signing. If, in the contract, the net square meter is not claimed in the title deed, the best way is to ask for a professional evaluation. A professional real estate expert could help you during the valuation process or purchasing.
If you want to buy an off-plan property or the property early to construction, you must ask about the amount of net and gross square meters and the layout. Moreover, buyers or their lawyers should ask to assert the exact amount of net and gross square meters in the contraction.
It is highly suggested that you don’t sign the contract in a rush. Before signing any contract, please accurately evaluate net and gross square meters. Each contract must indicate the exact number of the net and gross square meters; if not, you have the right to ask for the mention of the accurate net and square meters in the contract.
Finally, it is better to hire a professional real estate agent like CityRealtyTurkey to take the issue into meticulous evaluation and consideration of the net. Gross square meters also prove the truth of net and square meters mentioned in the contract.
What Is Legal Action to Make a Right Purchasing
According to Turkish law, the sellers are bound to hand in the property within certain square meters, quality, and location asserted in the contract. Moreover, price was determined based on the measured square meter, unless parties settle on a flat price without regarding the size of the property.
It is better if the accurate size and other property characteristics, such as location and condition, are claimed in the contract. Whenever the contract is unclear, the parties come across a loss surface that causes discrepancy at the sold area level, leading to the cancellation of a sale or decreasing the price.
When parties come to a dispute, the Turkish court is the only reliable source to solve the problem. According to a special real estate lawyer, the court should be sensitive to special factors. It needs to prove the promoters were wrong and did not disclose certain elements to buyers.
Also, the lawyer persuades the court that buyers must be informed about square meters as essential criteria to purchase.
Sale Contract Is Foreigner Investors Saver
Turkey is a country that has exceptional conditions to attract many real estate investors from all over the world. As a foreign investor, you need to be conscious of the contract. Because sellers and buyers do not speak the same language and this may cause some misunderstandings. On the other hand, some real estate agencies are not experienced enough to handle everything in a legal direction.
Therefore please read the contract several times and be sure some essential factors are mentioned. Buying a home or an apartment is usually a lifetime purchase, so hire a translator and lawyer if necessary. Buyers from European countries must ask to change square meters in feet to better consider the size of the property. Also, requesting a clear assertion of gross and net square meters and feet is better.
The last point in Turkey, one of the commonly faced marketing tricks, is unclear differences between gross and net square meters. Sometimes, brokers hide the accurate differences between gross and net square meters. The main problem buyers come through is calculating the property price based on gross square meters.
To be more conscious about the case, imagine there are two select properties with 200 gross square meters, and the price is estimated based on 200 gross square meters, but one of them has 160 net square meters, and the other has 120 net square meters. Buyers pay the same price but don’t get the same space.
Moreover, a net square meter usually is not mentioned in the title deed. If you want to buy a second-hand property, the only way to estimate a net square meter is to ask for a professional evaluation. Whenever you want to buy off-plan property, you should ask to assert the accurate net square and gross square meters in the contract.
Even Though everything is written down on paper, some problems may happen during the dealing process. The real estate business needs knowledge, experience, and equipment awareness of rules and regulations. With a professional real estate agency, your errors will probably decrease. There are lots of buyers who lost big money due to ignoring detailed evaluation before dealing.
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