18/04/2025
Good Evening Everyone 👋
Firstly, we'd like to introduce you all to the newest addition to the Tekin family: our sweet little Sofia, born in the UK last month 🩷
As many of you may know, we've been back in the UK for several months now, running Dalyan Select remotely and trying to decide what to do for the best for our family. We loved our lifestyle in Türkiye and are very proud of the life and business we built for ourselves over there but, ultimately, we have realised that we want to remain in the UK for the foreseeable future.
When we first bought into the Dalyan Select business it was after being sold a '5 year plan' where we would learn the ropes and slowly build and expand over time, starting with the rentals and maintenance side then eventually taking over the sales side too.
It didn't quite work out that way of course. Many of you will know we, unfortunately, put our trust into the worst kind of people and were ripped off for tens of thousands of pounds by a couple we thought of as extended family who our daughter adored and who had been witnesses at our wedding! Within months of handing over all our savings to them for half the business, we were left with nothing....no office, no website, no staff.....only the Dalyan Select name (which we had to fight tooth and nail to keep).
Our names were dragged through the mud as they did everything they could to sabotage our business, destroy our reputation and turn clients and 'friends' against us to try and somehow justify their actions. The new Dalyan Select almost ended before it had even had a chance to begin. We'd lost what, to us, was a hell of a lot of money and we very nearly lost our marriage and family too due to the stress of it all.
I'm still not quite sure how we made it through that time but, thankfully, we did! As the saying goes 'what doesn't kill you makes you stronger' and we put literally everything we had left into making it work. We rebranded, Mesut quietly worked all that winter to get his level 5 Estate Agents qualification, we found a new office which we fully renovated, we invested in a new website, put together a great team and, together, we created something pretty amazing!
Our year on year growth over the last 3 years was more than we ever could have imagined and we had so many exciting plans for the future of Dalyan Select but then....BAM.... life threw us a massive curveball and we found out we were expecting another baby.
This at a time of increasing inflation, high costs, new laws, ever changing rules and regulations, (rarely for the better), considerations about Alara's education and us generally becoming a bit disillusioned with life in Türkiye.
Living in the sun is great of course and we tried to find a way to make it all work but, wiith neither of our families nearby and no support system in place, we had to question if we could give Dalyan Select the time and effort it needed whilst still prioritising our family. Having a, frankly, awful, pregnancy and being in the UK, away from Dalyan, has given us a different perspective and we know 100% that this is the right decision for us.
We did consider selling Dalyan Select and came very close a couple of times but the fit wasn't quite right and we, ultimately, have decided to walk away at the top of our game with our heads held high. We're so proud of what we achieved. Mesut has finalised his last few sales this winter and is currently tying up some loose ends and then Dalyan Select will be no more!
We'd like to say a massive thank you to every single one of you that has believed in us and supported our journey. Thank you to those that put their trust in us when buying or selling property in Dalyan, renting out their homes, booking holiday accommodation or improving and maintaining their properties. We feel fortunate to have met and known you all and wish you all the very best.
And so, our new chapter begins.......
