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BUYING PROCEDURE AND TAXES
 Only recently
have foreigners been allowed to own property in Croatia and the
procedure is still bureaucratic.
The new government are aiming for EEC membership
in 2007/8 and formalities will become easier.
The main problem is proving title to property as
the records are not electronic.
If the buyer is not a Croatian citizen, there are
two possible ways to buy property:
Option 1 Once a sales
agreement has been signed, the buyer applies for permission from the
Croatian government to register his title. Providing the buyer is
resident in a country with a reciprocal agreement with Croatia, ie
most European countries, then the application will be granted, but
may take several months.
During this time, no alterations can be made to the property.
Option 2 A foreign buyer
can form a Croatian Limited Company, which buys the property.
There is no requirement for Croatian shareholders, there can be 1
shareholder and the formalities can be completed in 6 weeks. The
main difference from option 1 is that in the case of a company, the
searches and proof of title are handled by a private lawyer, hence
the quicker result.
A limited company requires a capital of 2,700 €, which can be
recovered once the company is formed, and legal costs are
approximately 1700 €.
New properties, such as apartments in a new
building are considered “clean” and potential buyers can follow
option 1; older properties and land require option 2.
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