Croatia is a highly safe place to stay. Settling in this nation is quite easy, provided you do not put so much thought into the involved bureaucracy. Nonetheless, purchasing a house in Croatia may also turn into a complex procedure unless you know much about it.
The Croatian properties are classified within apartments, family houses, agricultural, forest, construction lands and business properties. Regardless of what you choose to purchase, read up on the few guiding rules and best practices. When throwing your hat in the Croatian property market, it is important to keep your eyes open.
Right of property
In Croatian real estate is a dirty business. Educating and getting a competent property attorney to look after and defend your interests is vital. You may have signed a contract to purchase a piece of land, but that will not automatically make you the owner of that property.
The second is to make an online request through e-Građani or for your attorney or It can be found here. But the service is provided only to the citizens of Croatia and the citizens of several European countries. You should present your demand within 60 days after the purchase of the property. The five times amount will be charged as an administration fee otherwise.
Aktivna plomba status
After identifying a property you want to purchase, research the property to determine whether it is going to be a clean title or not. Full of liabilities, the title is quite common in Croatia. Any liability, dispute, debt or charge upon a property is entered into the land registry whenever it develops. There is one form of liability, and it is aktivna plomba status. The land registry is a designation that it has received a request for a property that has not yet been resolved.
Either granted to an official, or that the procedure thereof has not yet been opened. An aktivna plomba is deleted from the land registry record when there is a resolution, an assignment or an open procedure. This is to say that aktivna plomba implies that a procedure of an individual request regarding a property is being carried out.
In most Croatian counties, there is a lack of a proper land registry. They instead have a book of contracts, in which they store all the ownership titles and the contracts later in a unique file. In this instance, the land registry opening procedure that was launched with respect to that county comes up in the ownership certificate in the section aktivna plomba.
When the property is a building whereby there are numerous co-owners and one of them passes away, then the aktivna plomba about the inheritance process accorded by the land registry will be registered on the whole building. In the present case, it is to be closely examined to conclude that the aktivna plomba refers only to one of the flats but not to the whole building.
Introduce yourself to a verified property attorney
Pre-contract is helpful (and must be compulsory). The making of a pre-contract before purchasing a property is a normal phenomenon in Croatia, although it is not a compulsory procedure. This is an intelligent move, since it introduces security into the entire process and to you as a purchaser (or seller). A pre-contract stipulates the conditions of purchase and sale of property as well as the intention to make a purchase (or sell). It contains the data about properties and descriptions of all the properties and the obligations of both parties buyer and the seller. The amount paid by the buyer and the pre-contract is called a kapar, and it is a deposit. This deposit is attached to the terms of the contract. The deposit is applicable in case of withdrawal of the contract or in case of breach of contract.
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