MAREK DEVELOPMENT

Services for clients

Our client services:

  • We will help you arrange or reserve accommodation for the duration of your tour of the apartment/location.
  • We will arrange legal representation for you in accordance with legislation of the given country, . We will arrange representation at the notary when purchasing property.
  • We will also help you open an account, register with local administrations (tax registration), review the legal status of the property, and arrange its transfer at the cadastre.
  • In order to purchase a property, you need a so-called OIB – tax identification number.
  • We will arrange the submission of the request at the local authority for the assignment of an OIB tax identification number in Croatia.
  • We will arrange language interpretation during property tours and always arrange translations of contractual documentation necessary for purchasing a property.
  • We will arrange renovations to your purchased property. We collaborate with construction companies in the area.
  • We will help arrange property management—according to the type of property you choose.
  • Our foreign partner will secure a property management company that will conclude a contract with you on the management of your property, unless they manage properties themselves. You can reserve the property for your holiday, and when it is unoccupied, offer it up for short-term rentals, which are significantly more profitable than long-term rentals. You can thus get a return on your investment within a few years.
  • We offer consultation for obtaining a mortgage. Currently, it is easy for a Czech natural person to obtain a loan for purchasing a property in Croatia.
  • Some banks in the Czech Republic are able to offer mortgages for purchasing property in foreign countries (only within the EU, and Croatia is in the EU), but with one difference. Czech banks cannot take the property purchased in a foreign country as collateral, but require another property located in the Czech Republic as collateral.
  • Marek – Development j.d.o.o. will, of course, help you in dealing with your bank and providing the necessary documentation, and will help you obtain a mortgage.
  • Registration for all municipal utilities.

 

PROCESS FOR PURCHASING A PROPERTY IN CROATIA

  • If you choose a property, a reservation contract or contract on a future purchase contract will be concluded. The arranged sum—reservation fee—shall be collected upon its signing. This can be paid in cash or via bank transfer.
  • An attorney will subsequently check the requisites, such as the cadastre, origin of the property, construction permit, etc., and a purchase contract will be drawn up.
  • The remainder of the purchase price is usually paid in Czech Crowns in consideration of the price in EUR/Kuna according to the HNB exchange rate the day of payment of the purchase price.

 

Occasionally the seller requests payment in EUR. This is permissible according to Croatian law. Everything is arranged in the purchase contract and prior to the signing of the purchase contract, which you will obtain both in Czech and in Croatian.

  • When all of the requisites are fulfilled, the purchase contract is signed at a notary, and the notary then registers this in the Cadastre of Real Estate.
  • The public notary will also submit a copy of the purchase contract to the Tax Office. The Tax Office will determine the exact amount of the property tax (3%) and will send you their decision, after which you are obligated to pay the specified amount within 15 days.

If you do not do so, the amount owed will increase per day. The amount is to be paid via bank or post office transfer.

 

OIB (personal identification number)

  • In order to purchase a property, the buyer—a natural or legal person—must have an OIB (personal identification number), which is necessary for communicating with authorities, at the time of purchase of the property, primarily with the financial authority and the department of the respective regional court and cadastre. The OIB is issued immediately (you can also send the forms available online in advance via post and pick up your OIB at the window of the respective financial authority), usually directly before the signing of the purchase contract. Without an OIB, you cannot be registered as the new owner, and thus the OIB must be part of the purchase contract.
  • The purchase contract (kupoprodajni ugovor), declaration of payment of the purchase price (tabularna izjava)
  • The conclusion of the purchase contract follows the formal approval of the purchase by buyer’s attorney, who will verify the necessary documentation for the property. The signing of the purchase contract either verifies that the purchase price has already been paid, or this purchase contract specifies the deadline by which the remainder of the purchase price is to be paid. In the first case, the tabularna izjava (declaration of payment of the purchase price) is included in the contract, in the second case, this declaration is signed and notarised after the actual payment of the purchase price.
  • By paying the purchase price, the buyer becomes the full owner in accordance with the provisions of the purchase contract.

 

Registration, financial authority

  • Upon its conclusion, the purchase contract—or the payment of the purchase price, as the case may be—is submitted for registration to the land registry department of the respective općin court (this department is similar to the Czech cadastre). Registration takes anywhere from several weeks to several months (often even more than six months), it depends on the speed and modern equipment of the specific department. After registration, a special form is submitted (or, at more modern općins, automatically through intra-office processes) for the formal declaration on a transfer of ownership to the respective cadastre (similar to the Czech Land Survey Office).
  • A tax return for a property transfer tax must be submitted within 30 days at the latest from the signing of the purchase contract or the declaration of payment of the purchase price, as the case may be.
  • The tax assessment and registration do not have causal effect and therefore payment of the tax is not dependent upon the completion of the registration. Subsequently, within 90 days from filing, the tax will be assessed by the authority (sometimes—but not always—an inspection committee will come out for an inspection, usually for older properties, and will then establish the tax base). Upon agreement, the tax for land or apartments can be settled immediately at the office, particularly for foreign buyers. The tax assessment is sent to the buyer to their address of permanent residence or registered office.
  • The Tax Office will determine the exact amount of the property tax (3%) as of 1 January 2019 and will send you their decision, after which you are obligated to pay the specified amount within 15 days.
  • If you do not do so, the amount owed will increase per day. The amount is to be paid via bank or post office transfer.

 

The buyer does not need to be present at the contract signing—he/she can give full authority to another individual who will represent him/her during signing.

Furthermore, the buyer will open a bank account at a Croatian bank (it can be either in Euros or Kunas).

Within 30 days from the signing of the purchase contract, the attorney will register the buyer for the property transfer tax.

Transfer at the cadastre takes several months, however the buyer becomes the owner the moment the contract is signed and after the full purchase price has been paid.

 

PROPERTY PURCHASE FEES

  • The fee for legal and notary services is 1% + VAT of the purchase price of the property.

TAX

  • The property acquisition price is 3% of the purchase price of the property as of 1 January 2019 – (formerly 5%), which is paid to the Tax Administration in Croatia.
  • We guide you through the entire property purchase and sale process, and mind all of the important details for you.
  • We offer you with a broad spectrum of services and provide comprehensive legal services, from reviewing documentation related to the specific property.
  • We will arrange legal services from reservation through the registration of the right of ownership and the submission of tax returns to the tax office.
  • We can arrange the entire process for you with a power of attorney. You only need to choose the property and pay a deposit.
  • We collaborate with attorneys, notaries, surveyors, designers, and real estate agencies in Croatia.