Pre-purchase Property Inspection

[Steven]

Hello,

My apologies if this has been answered in a different post.

Can anyone recommend an english speaking property inspector in the Split/Hvar area?

I want to have a better idea of any potential problems with the property I am interested in before I go into the pre-contract discussions on purchase price.

Thanks!

[Steven]

Is this something done normally in the purchase process in Croatia? My poor search skills have not turned up anything in regards to this type of service.

[Steven]

Yes, thanks january, that's what I meant. It would help to have a more professional eye look over the building for any surprises I was not able to spot.

[fidobsa]

When I bought my house it came with a report generated during the legalisation process. This must be quite common in Croatia as a lot of properties were affected by the legalisation laws. Perhaps the surveyors who do legalisation surveys also offer a structural survey service?

[Steven]

Thanks for the suggestion fidobsa. I will have to look into that. Something to ask my agent about.

[upthevilla]

Just find a geodet or Architect.
Ask for a full structural report.
Any good architect will do this , no problem

[Steven]

Thanks upthevilla! A good starting point for me.

[Carol]

I used to get asked this question a lot. There are surveyors, but they tend to survey the boundaries of the property and reconcile it back to the katastar map rather than look for dry rot, rising damp, falling down roofs and infestations, or even just give valuations.


So, if what you want is a valuation, then ask the agent, although comparables may be few and far between. If you want to discover problems, ask a reliable builder (in the same way you'd ask a car mechanic if you wanted to know whether or not to buy a particular second hand car)

I know a good, reliable builder. Very thorough. He speaks good English and writes fluent emails. What you are asking for is not standard, but set a fee you'd be happy with and ask ... he can only say no. PM me if you want his details.

[Ribaric]

We do a pre-purchase investigation for properties throughout HR, it's one of our biggest sellers. 85% of all the properties we are offered are in some kind of significant difficulty regarding legality and/or ownership. We are stringent with our investigations in order to avoid advertising a property which will be too difficult to sell. We've been offering the identical process for buyers (not buying through us) for over a year now and it's proving valuable to the potential buyers and to us. It is solely about legality and ownership, not about structural or engineering matters.

Sorry about the shameless plug .... not really :-)

[Steven]

Thanks for the plug Ribaric. It also looks like the bank is now doing this check as well. Atleast with the person I spoke with at Zagrebačka Banka in Split. I think there is more to sort through when it's a historic designated property. I may contact you later!

[Carol]

Not much more Steven. It just means that there are pre-emptive rights to be offered to the state. Its just a bureaucratic formality as the state would have to be willing to match the price in your pre-contract, which it never is. So, it just adds time whilst you wait for the state's refusal to come back.

[Carol]

I'd use Rib's checking process if I were you.
1. Because the banks aren't as thorough as you'd expect given the time they take to check things. I can think of a property that was loaned against, repossessed, held by the bank for a year whilst they examined every paper again before selling and then it turned out to have a knock-down order in place on its top floor.
2. Because Ribaric is based in Varazdin, he couldn't possibly be influenced into turning a blind eye to a potential problem by a personal relationship with someone who stands to profit from the deal. I know he wouldn't be subject to that anyway, but to know that you'd have to know Ribaric. Being so many hundreds of miles away guarantees it for you.