How Hard is it to Buy Property in Croatia?

Imagine if a magical coastline, moderately warm climate, authentic cuisine, rich folklore combined with proud natives could all fit in a single country. In a nutshell, the aforementioned describes the essence of Croatia, so the global interest in real estate in this area should not come as a surprise, moreover, as an expected sequence of events. Still, it might not be as easy as one would like to become the owner of a property in this, old but gold, Adriatic, coastal state. To find out how hard it is to buy a property in Croatia and ensure you always have a piece of heaven to go to, read the following lines and make a move as soon as possible because you might be facing some competition.

Cost-Effectiveness

From a financial perspective, getting your hands on a property in Croatia appears to be a good business move, especially if you consider the price-growing trend typical for developing countries like “Land of Thousand Islands” is.

The price tag of a particular property depends on multiple aspects, so pay attention to the location, urbanity, tourism potential, and other similar factors before you rush to form an opinion. Bear in mind that the price of a square meter in the city center is significantly higher than that in the outskirts, and use it to narrow the choice by assessing what would potentiate you receive the most bang for the buck you pay.

Where Do You Come From?

Even though Croatia nurtures friendly relations with its neighbors and appreciates democratic values, the country’s law makes a clear distinction between who can and who cannot purchase a property on the territory.

Thus, let us start with the basics! Namely, residents of EU countries would have no trouble purchasing a property in Croatia since they would enjoy the same rights and have to go through ditto procedures as ones with Croatian citizenship.

On the other hand, in case you do not have an EU passport, the status of your potential purchase would depend on the mutual relationship between the country you come from and Croatia. In a nutshell, if a Croatian citizen can buy a property in the country whose citizenship you have, then you should have no trouble realizing your venture. For Example, British people can buy property in Croatia despite the fact they have left the EU, due to the reciprocity agreement between Great Britain and Croatia.

Unfortunately, if you are not coming from an EU country, you will have to wait for about 6 months before the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Croatia deals with the paperwork you provide and approves the request you submit. We must not forget to mention that you must find a property before moving to technicalities, so feel free to visit albedonekretnine.hr to find more info on the subject.

If you have not found yourself in the rows below, turn that frown upside down since we have some good news for you. Namely, you can buy a property even if you come from a country that is not a signatory to a mutual reciprocity agreement. What you would have to do in order to make it possible to open a company in Croatia and make a purchase as a business entity. Any asset acquired in this fashion will become the property of the company.

The Process

Once you find the property that suits you and contact current owners, you should advance to finalizing the deal. Make sure you hire an experienced legal representative, so they would act on your behalf if some complications arise. Also, if you want to make a purchase through a real estate agency, you should assess your options thoroughly in order to avoid potential complications. Simply learn what you can about them and eliminate the most inefficient ones from the equation. Namely, the job of an agency is to take care of everything in exchange for pre-agreed compensation. On the other hand, you can do it all on your own steam if you follow certain steps, we will soon write about.

Pre-Contract

The pre-contract should contain all the details about you and the seller and the type of exchange you want to make. Inter alia, the agreement should present the agreed price of the asset, the tenth of which you should pay upon signing it.

Applying for Consent

As we have mentioned earlier, this is an obligatory process for the ones coming from outside the EU, regardless of whether the country they come from has agreed with Croatia about reciprocity. Thus, prepare the documentation, submit it, and wait for the approval of Croatia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry.

Registry of Contract

The contract between two parties must be made official and submitted to Land Registry. Additionally, you should also register all the details of the contract in the Land Books of the Municipal Cadastral Department. Consequently, it is your job to take care of the following tax payments and prepare for the celebration!

What you should also know is that purchasing a property directly from the investor excludes paying for the transfer additionally. Otherwise, transferring the title to your name would cost you an additional 3% of the property’s value.

Type of Property

Not all properties are the same, at least if you consult the Croatian Constitution. Namely, you should have no trouble achieving your goals if you intend on investing in real estate, but going for agricultural or forest land could not be as easy as one would hope for. Namely, only Croatian citizens can invest in this type of land until 2024.

Fortunately, you can use the same approach as the ones coming from countries not having the reciprocity deals with the Croatian government, and accomplish your plans via Croatian based company under your name.

Hopefully, the aforementioned pieces of information and guidelines will help you get your hands on a new Croatian property sooner than you have hoped for. The acquiring process is not complicated, so you should do fine regardless of your place of residence. Just remember to hire a legal representative who will guide you through the process and start making plans for the summer in Croatia!