Buying a property in Croatia

Top tips for buyers of real estate in Croatia

The number of people that are looking for property in Croatia for sale has increased. The expenses may vary depending on the citizenship of a buyer, region where the real estate is, its micro location and the choice you are going to make when choosing the real estate agency.

Same is the case when selling a property. In Croatia, when selling a property you must have a clean property title and documents. For many years, the real estate in Croatia is handled in the family and divided among descendants. Due to this today, in Croatia real estate, there are lots of legal owners who live on different parts of the world.

Here are some tips for buying a property in Croatia

After Croatia became part of European Union, all citizens from European Union can purchase real estate in Croatia same as Croatian citizens. On the other side, citizens from other countries, outside the EU, have to get prior consent from Ministry of Justice. The statement of consent is issued to those citizens whose country has a ‘Reciprocity Agreement’ with Croatia.

1. Buy property as an individual only
All citizens of EU can buy real estate in Croatia in the same way as Croats, except for non EU Citizens who need Ministry of Justice approval. The time period to get consent is 6 months approximately but during the waiting you can get possession of the property and calmly use it.

2. Buy property as legal entity
Another option is to establish your own company in Croatia, which is an easy process and many conditions are not applied. There can be only one founder and the whole process will take you few weeks. To open an Ltd company, you need to deposit 2.700,00 Eur minimum of a share capital that can be withdrawn back after establishment. Moreover, there are some expenses of approx.1.000,00 Eur that refer to handling the opening documentation that can be done by a lawyer or a public notary. What is important for the founder is to be present at the moment of opening, just for a few hours.

3. Preliminary phase
First step in the process of buying a property is to sign a Pre-contract which is made by your agency’s attorney and make down payment, which is usually 10% of selling price. If you buy it as person, the documents need to be submitted to get approval of the ministry.

4. Final Contract
As determined in Pre-contract by specific date you have to sign Final contract and do total payment to the seller. Therefore, you become the owner of that property and entire possession is yours.

Here is some information needed to buy Croatia houses for sale:
– The Croatian unique PIN number (OIB), obtained in one day by tax office
– The property should have the following documents: building permit, location information and usage permit. All these are official documents that show your building is built legally and can be used for living.
– Energy certificate is obligatory when buying/selling a property
– Passport or ID card to clarify your identity