To further help you understand the specifics of the real estate buying procedure in Croatia we have prepared this FAQ section for you.
It is equally aimed for all types of potential buyers as it solves some of the most common questions found while buying Croatia property. Whether you are interested to buy a holiday house in Croatia for your summer vacations, retire in Croatia or simply invest in a Croatian real estate for profit gaining, you will find these frequently asked questions useful.
LuxuryCroatia.net will gladly recommend solicitors experienced in real estate legal matters with whom our buyers have successfully completed their buying procedures.
Each route has its advantages and disadvantages and there are differences in costs, the time it takes to register the property in your name and your future plans for the property.
Main advantages of buying as a private individual
Advantages of buying through a company
There are other advantages which you should discuss with your solicitor before making any decisions, or with the accountant (bookkeeper company) which we will gladly recommend.
For more useful information about the buying procedures, visit our How To Buy blog section, especially the interesting and specific articles from the Previous Customers’ Case Studies. If you’d like to find out more about our services, visit the Luxury Croatia Services section, and, to learn more about Croatia in general, read through our About Croatia blog category or contact us by mail or phone for any info.
Crystal Clear Water – Just One of the Reasons
Croatia has much to offer for the property buyer, including an enormous variety of landscapes, a wide choice of unique cities, towns and villages, a great climate, wonderful beaches and crystal clear sea.
Its popularity really took off in 2001, and it promptly became one of the countries that were part of the ‘emerging market’ phenomenon. It opened up to foreign investors, who quickly took advantage of the inexpensive properties that were to be found throughout the country.
Anyone who wants ease of access from the rest of Europe, the clear waters of the Adriatic and an ever-improving infrastructure has got to visit Croatia. Croatia also officially became the 28th member state of the European Union in July, 2013. This is a result of the impressive progress made by the country as an independent state, and definitely helps to promote Croatia tourism-wise.
In addition, as of February 2009, the property market in Croatia became more open to European Union citizens who are now able to buy on the same terms as local Croats (except agricultural land and land in national parks). This burning of red tape in the buying process is not only speeding up the property buying procedure, it also encourage more buyers to purchase in Croatia with confidence.
To read more about the beauties of Croatia, please visit our About Croatia Blog Section.
Property buying in Croatia for non-EU citizens is governed by the principle of reciprocity meaning the right of an individual to buy property there is on the condition that Croatian nationals are permitted to buy property in the origin country of the purchaser. For EU citizens rule is that they buy in Croatia same way as Croatians, except agricultural land. If foreigner want to buy agricultural land, company has to be formed which will buy agricultural land.
As in all property transactions, the buyer should always use the services of an independent lawyer who acts solely for them. We are glad to recommend experienced and reliable solicitor. It is also essential that the lawyer should speak both Croatian and English fluently.
It is important for the lawyer to check that the property’s title is clean. Because Croatian families traditionally handed properties down from father to son for several generations, in some cases the paperwork is either incorrect or non-existent. Our agency checks all property documents to be sure that status and title are clean and without risk for buyer to purchase it.
Getting a survey done is somewhat unusual in Croatia, but it can be arranged through the agency or civil engineer or architect whom our agency can recommend. This service, with a proper translation, should cost somewhere around €500 should you require it.
There are two main routes for the purchase of property in Croatia – as a private individual or through a company structure that you set up yourself. There are advantages and disadvantages to both methods, and the best solution will be different for each specific case. We are experienced and professional real estate agency and will advise you of the best solution for each individual circumstance.
All steps in the buying process are described in details in our FAQ.
VAT (PDV in Croatia) is currently 25% and payable only on the value of a newly constructed building or a resale for which the VAT was already paid, if disposed of by a business VAT payer. It is also charged on the services provided by both real estate agents and legal advisers.
Real Estate Mortgages
The finance industry in Croatia was subject to a quite a large amount of change. Unfortunately Croatian banks have not recognized foreigner buyers as perspective clients, so only few banks will consider foreigner for approving bank loan to purchase property and with very difficult conditions to be fulfilled by the foreign buyer. It is our recommendation for a foreign buyers to look for suitable bank loan in the native country. Number of our German buyers were approved loans from the German banks to purchase property in Croatia.
Azure Waters of the Croatian Adriatic
Dear clients and guests!
We feel that it is our obligation to warn you about illegal agents still operating on Croatian real estate (both sale and rental) market, as well as some unprofessional agencies that will try to put pressure on you to buy property without checking and securing the property situation.
In our effort to help you filter through these false advertisers and agencies, we have prepared some additional information for you. Also, feel free to contact us with any future questions or reports of illegal activities.
Also, to find out more about the services Luxury Croatia Real Estate brand offers, check out our real estate services blog category.
We strongly recommend that you hire an experienced lawyer/solicitor who will check the agent/agency. In Luxury Croatia, we (with the help of our lawyer) personally check every property, title deeds and make sure that all the information and documentation received from our real estate owners and prepared for our potential buyers is clean and registered in land registry court.
LUXURY CROATIA and it’s travel/rental serviecs brand: ADRIATIC TRAVELLER offer the finest selection of luxury villas for sale and rent: sea front houses, apartments, islands, secluded beach front stone houses, plots of land with gorgeous panoramic sea views, old ruins at low prices on the best locations, large plots in residential zones for building, hotels and resorts for sale, apartment houses for sale and etc.
We are focused on sales of residential properties in the coastal regions of Croatia, Dalmatian islands of Hvar, Brac, Korcula, Vis, Solta, Mljet, Drvenik, Peljesac peninsula, Silba, Dugi otok, Ugljan, Kornati archipelago and others on Zadar area, Sibenik area, Split, Makarska, Dubrovnik, Istria, Umag, Pula… We also manage properties, take care of everything from construction, furnishing, gardening, to renting, cleaning, meeting guests, bookings… we have complete pre-sales and post-sales service for our clients.
We have a team of experts in construction and building: architects, engineers, project managers, interior designer, landscape architects, construction companies, who are able to make your dream property come true.
Our goal is to deliver quality and long lasting relation with our clients.
Welcome and bring your smile with you!
Your LuxuryCroatia.net Team