| Article on buying Bosnia
Property by John Everitt
Sarajevo
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The good news is that a foreign
national does not need to ask for permission to purchase a property in
Bosnia and Herzegovina.
The emerging property market
is similar to other developing countries with high end construction, and
investment opportunities.
Your estate agent operates
in a reasonably transparent and competitive market, given the newness of
the market; most agents only operate in the major town, handling mostly
residential sales along with apartment rentals.
Property valuation is not
regulated in Bosnia and Herzegovina, there is no national body offering
this service, so you’re Agent’s local knowledge of property and prices
will prove invaluable.
At this moment we are unaware
of any mortgage lenders in Bosnia and Herzegovina that will offer foreign
nationals finance to assist with property purchase.
It is easier to complete
a property purchase if you use the company route ,this will cost you around
€1000 in fees and an initial start up capital of €2000 Owning
a company then has a regular obligation of maintaining your accounts to
present to the tax authorities making life that little bit easier
PURCHASE
In every case engage a trustworthy
lawyer, you will pay between 3-5 of the agreed selling price to the seller.
To be valid properties must
have been registered in the property books within the local courts. Properties
are also recorded in the local Cadaster (property map) which provides a
unified property and cadastral system. This property law has only just
been implemented, as property books are frequently out of date and many
property books were destroyed during the civil war.
This is where your agent
comes into his own as it is his job to ensure that your property purchase
has a clean title deed.
Registration procedures allow
for a “subscription” which is a temporary registration of property rights,
pending authentication. Once this has been done, you are then obliged to
pay the seller of the property the balance of the money owed. (Because
of court backlogs it can take up to a year to get the property registered
and get title deed)
You will have to pay 6 property
tax and a 1 property tax payable!
At this moment there is no
Capital Gains Tax in Bosnia and Herzegovina for foreign nationals buying
and selling property.
As a foreign national you
can rent out your property in Bosnia and Herzegovina without any requirement
to obtain a rental licence from the authorities.
Sometime in the future Bosnia
and Herzegovina will become members of the European Community and when
it does the prices of property will be considerably more than they are
at the moment.
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About the Author: John
Everitt is a consultant to Globespan
European property portal. Please visit our estate agents directory
and this Bosnia
property buyer’s guide |
