Guide to Buying Property in Croatia as a Foreigner

ARE THE FOREIGN CITIZENS ENTITLED TO PURCHASE REAL ESTATE IN CROATIA?

From February 01, 2009, citizens of all EU Member States, as natural persons, can purchase property as well as Croatian citizens. The properties that cannot be purchased by natural persons are agricultural land plots and forests. Citizens of other countries, outside the EU, can buy properties with the approval of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The approval can be obtained by the citizens of those countries with which Croatia has signed a reciprocity agreement.

The procedure is as follows:

When a foreign citizen decides to purchase real estate, they conclude a sales contract with the seller, which at that time need not be certified by a notary public, and, along with prescribed documentation, it is submitted to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Zagreb. Once approval is given, then they can perform the registration of title on their behalf and pay the property transfer tax.

Foreign citizens who found, or already have a founded company in Croatia, can purchase properties as company ownership without any restrictions. The citizens of all countries can establish a company in Croatia.

HOW TO FOUND A COMPANY IN CROATIA?

In addition to buying the property as a natural person, foreign citizens can establish a company in Croatia, and gain ownership of the property as a Croatian company. In this case, it is not necessary to wait for approval from the Ministry of Justice, because the buyer with foreign citizenship as the founder and owner of a Croatian company has equal rights as Croatian legal entities.

A certain percentage of foreign citizens decide on this step, therefore to our foreign clients, we offer the service of founding a company in Croatia. The founding of the company lasts from 1 to 2 weeks. If you are physically present in Croatia, we can accompany and assist you through every step. If you are not here, that is not a problem, we will send the Powers of Attorney for you to certify them in your country, and we perform all for you. The costs of founding the company in total amount to approx. 4,000 euros, including taxes, public notary fees, government office fees, initial capital in the amount of 20,000 Kuna, and other bank expenses.

If you too want to found a company in Croatia, we offer a fast and efficient service of founding a company on your behalf.

Previously, it was necessary to do the following:

1. To choose the company name
– When choosing the name you have to bear in mind that the name has to be a Croatian, Latin, or Greek word
– The name of the company can also be your first name, middle name, or last name
– The name must be unique in the region, and approved by the notary public, therefore, we suggest that you prepare at least three options
2. To verify a copy of your passport
3. To verify the Powers of Attorney with the notary public apostille

WHAT IS THE AMOUNT OF THE PROPERTY TRANSFER TAX IN CROATIA

The Republic of Croatia has a uniform tax rate of 5% for all types of property and all types of transactions. The amount of the tax is determined based on the price from the Sales Contract and the estimate of the authorized tax office, on which territory the property is located. According to the law, the property transfer tax is paid by the buyer.

In the case of selling the newly built property, if the seller is a Croatian company, the tax is approx. 1.5%

WHAT IS THE AMOUNT OF BROKERAGE COMMISSION?

Real Estate Broker’s Commission: 2% to 4% of the purchase price. (paid by the buyer)
Notary fees, legal fees, translators, founding of the company: approx. 1%-3% (paid by the buyer)

If someone offers you a lower price for this service, you must be careful because it probably has a hidden agreement with the owner or agent of the owner.

WHO CAN BE YOUR BROKER?

When buying a property in Croatia, you should be particularly careful that all the activities regarding the real estate purchase are done by certified and professional persons and companies. Otherwise, you can cause great damage to yourself, and no one will protect you in case of problems incurred.

Before you decide to purchase a property in Croatia, you have to check the agency you are going to work with.

1. It is particularly important that the brokers you are in contact with have all the necessary licenses to perform the mediation work. You can check the legality of the agency and its agents on the website of the Croatian Chamber of Commerce.

Unfortunately, the website is only in the Croatian language.

2. Check the prices of the real estate, there are different prices on different websites, and many agencies and agents are making a difference in price, without you knowing that.

3. Check the office of the real estate agency, many agencies advertised on the internet don’t have an office at all and are working illegally.

4. All the invoices have to be issued and given to you, do not accept the cash payment without the invoice. In the event of any subsequent problems with the property, you do not have any evidence and have no one to protect your interests.

We guarantee our clients the lowest real estate prices. If any property turns out to be more expensive in our agency than in any other agency, we will perform our services with no cost whatsoever.

We will show you that our assertions are true for the real estate advertised on our website, as well as those that are not advertised, using the actual examples.

If you find any property on the Croatian coast on some other website, send us the information, and we will check all the details regarding the property and the agency, free of charge. We will check whether the agency is legal, and if the price is without additions.