Article Last Updated: 17 May, 2024 under Property Purchase
You have spent your holidays there, you love the weather, people are nice and the food is great… so you decide you would like to have a holiday home in Croatia, either for yourself or as an investment for further development. It can be a dream come true but there are many pitfalls on that journey. So, you have to take steps to protect yourself and your money and to make the entire process as fast and as smooth as it gets.
1. Some important points to bear in mind:
- Did you know that only natural and legal persons from EU member states are entitled to ownership rights of real estate in the Republic of Croatia under the same conditions as Croatian citizens? But if you are coming outside the EU you can register a company in Croatia and buy a real estate under a corporate name unless it is the agricultural land or the real estate in a protected area.
- Are you sure the person who is selling the property is authorized to sell it and can transfer ownership to you, and that there are no third-party rights to the property that could diminish or limit your ownership rights?
- You have seen an excerpt from the land register for the property you are buying, but are you sure that the square footage listed there corresponds to the real situation on the ground? It is common in Croatia that the square footage of the real estate listed in the land registry is not the same as the square footage of the real estate listed in the cadastre. Therefore, it is important to determine the actual square footage so that you do not pay more and get less square footage than you expected.
- What if the seller sells you the property, but you do not immediately register as the owner in the land registry, and, in the meantime, they sell the same property to a third party? If this third person submits an application for registration of ownership in the land register beforehand, they will register as the owner of the real estate and you will not be able to do anything but to pursue the seller for a refund.
Needless to say, an independent legal expert will be able to help you avoid such problems and help you when buying Property in Croatia, securing your new home in the sun.
