Turkey and real estate: how to become successful in a foreign country

There is an opinion that a foreign woman in a Muslim country has no career prospects. At best, she will marry successfully, wear closed clothes and stay at home with her children. Lyudmila Grebenshchikova broke this pattern: having moved to Turkey, she found her place in the "men's" construction business. Now Mila, together with her partners, leads the Mayalanya Group in the field of construction and real estate.

Visit my sister

Mila was born in Ukraine in the city of Cherkassy. In the late nineties, an 18-year-old girl went to Turkey to her sister, who had lived there for a long time. Lyudmila was going to help her with her newborn daughter for some time …

“By the way, I didn't plan to stay, it was just such a long journey. And then everything changed dramatically, I got used to Turkey. She conquered me with her beauty, kindness of people, brightness of nature. I found a job, somehow everything started spinning, friends and business appeared. And my "journey" dragged on, "she recalls.

For about 7 years, Mila Grebenshchikova worked in sales in the jewelry and leather haberdashery industries. And in 2005 she began her career in real estate. During this time, she became a sales manager for two of the largest construction companies in Alanya. It was then that Grebenshchikova realized that her future fate would be connected with this industry.

Experience in real estate

An interesting fact is that at first Lyudmila worked in the real estate industry and gained tremendous experience, and only then received a higher education. In 2014, she graduated from the Faculty of Property Management of Anadolu University, then entered the Faculty of Law. In 2019, she received a Level 5 Real Estate Consultant Certificate.

In 2019, Turkey hosted the most prestigious and well-known international property award, the International Property Awards. Mila Grebenshchikova received the award as the founder and partner of a large international real estate agency.

Since 2021, Mila has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Mayalanya Group. Board Member - Mayalanya Real Estate Investment Construction Industry and Trade Corporation

In addition, over the years of her life in Turkey, Mila thoroughly managed to study the mentality and culture of the country and perfectly master the Turkish language.

In my place in my time

Lyudmila, possessing a delicate flair, understood what was missing on the Mediterranean coast of Turkey.

“Almost half of the 432 large shopping centers in Turkey, where rental areas are more than 5 thousand square meters, are located in Istanbul and Ankara. In Alanya, the population of which exceeds 300 thousand people, only two large centers operate,”she explained.

Having studied the mentality and peculiarities of the market, Grebenshchikova decided to bet on commercial real estate.

“There is much less commercial real estate, especially for sale, than residential real estate - in Turkey, as elsewhere. But the specificity of the Turkish commercial real estate market is also that it is domestic. The main buyers here are the Turks themselves, - says Lyudmila. - It is more convenient for them to work with commercial objects, because it is a less troublesome process. Firstly, it is more convenient to rent out premises for at least two or three years than to constantly communicate with tenants. Secondly, the tenant always makes repair work in commercial premises. In the case of residential real estate, this is often not the case. Thirdly, the reliability of companies is still higher than that of individuals. Residents can "disappear", leave unpaid bills, break something …"

But the main reason for the investment prospects of Turkish real estate is the constant development of the districts. Alanya is growing rapidly, and this gives additional opportunities. The development of the region attracts new companies and new brands that already exist, for example, in Istanbul or Ankara. Lyudmila is able to see these perspectives.

“The same Mahmutlar two years ago and now are completely different areas. Previously, there was only one large grocery retailer Migros, now there are two of them, and I am sure that more will appear soon, which means they will need premises,”says Grebenshchekova.

Features of the Turkish mentality for business

Naturally, each country has its own subtleties of doing business. And Mila Grebenschekova studied all the features very carefully. Over the years, she has gained an unforgettable experience in building, building a business from scratch and building a brand.

One of the problems in Alanya is that commercial properties are very difficult to find for sale.

“A special role is played by the mentality of the sellers, who hardly let the property go. Recently, a deal fell through - just because there were three owners in the property's tapu (title to real estate in Turkey) and one of them refused to sell at the last moment. The named reason (seriously!) Her father dreamed about, and advised her not to sell,”she recalls.

Another complication is that many owners are only willing to sell to Turks. This is not done for any nationalistic reasons. The client simply does not want to advertise the very fact of the sale, and is looking for a buyer among “his own”.

“It is not so difficult to build a business in Turkey, you will not get checks on minor issues. In order for the tax authorities to become interested in you, you need at least a complaint. Taxes are humane, for law firms even with foreign investments - 25%. And all expenses can be written off, - says Lyudmila. - But there is one thing, but. Professionalism under the warm sun is very difficult to take root. Corporate ethics, accountability - oh, how they suffer. Hot oriental emotions, which sometimes can outweigh common sense, also hinder.

Lyudmila considers it a great success to meet a business partner, for whom honor and inviolability of the word are more important than any pieces of paper. Reputation in business is equivalent to bank guarantees, she said. Grebenshchikova managed to find such a reliable partner - it was Mehmet Shahin, president of the Alanya Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Together they took the helm of the Mayalanya group of companies.

Neva Outlet and the lack of modern shopping malls

At the moment, Lyudmila is engaged in the development and promotion of the Neva Outlet brand. This is a project of the Mayalanya Group company, which has been operating in the Turkish market in the construction sector since 2005. Under the Neva Outlet brand, the group operates shopping centers in Manavgat and in the center of Alanya, as well as three shopping centers in its suburbs - Soho Bazaar, Neva Bazaar, Luka Bazaar. The fourth, Luna Bazaar, will be leased in June 2021.

“Having lived in Turkey for 24 years, gained tremendous experience in other companies, and in my previous company, I develop and implement a new approach in Turkey,” says Mila. - Our main principle: transparent work for investors. In the new company I am involved in the construction, sales and management of retail outlets. This is the most sought after activity on the Mediterranean coast at the moment. There is an acute shortage of modern shopping malls. Under a large developing textile brand, our company builds shopping malls, manages them, and provides guaranteed income in foreign currency to property owners. Since all of our shopping centers sell commercial premises with a separate title deed, we are the second largest company in Turkey to operate as dealerships for the most famous textile brands. And in fact, at this stage of development, we are meeting the need for modern shopping centers on the Mediterranean coast.”

Under the competent leadership, Neva Outlet is rapidly developing: in 2018 there were 36 brands in the line, now there are already 40 of them. The company plans to open outlets in Novosibirsk and Almaty.

Mila's contribution to the company is invaluable experience in the field of real estate sales and confident knowledge in marketing. Lyudmila Grebenshchikova considers hard work, responsibility and honesty to be the key to success in her work. She focuses on team work, thanks to which transactions are carried out taking into account all the interests of the client.

Professionalism does not have gender and nationality, a woman in a foreign country can reach the heights to which the flight of her imagination is capable. And Mila Grebenshchikova proves this with her example.