Ministery Of Foreign Affairs Approval

[Jules]

Hi
Has anyone who has recently bought a property in Croatia received their MFA approval yet? Just wondering how long this generally takes given the increased interest in buying property in Croatia at present.

Has anyone had their application refused and if so on what grounds?

Thanks

J

[Giles]

I would be interested to know what proportion are going down the private person route (hence needing MFA approval) and what proportion are going down the company route.

1 - 0 to the company route so far

What about everyone else?

[jules]

we are going via the private person route, so 1-1 so far.

Some agents were really pushing for the company set-up others said it was quite complicated and expensive to set up. We eventually decided on the personal route.

[JI]

We are also going down the private person route. Our solicitor has suggested that this is quickest.

[Tom]

Private sales route is better in in my opinion. The rest is too complicated!

[Peter]

I'm not sure why a soilicitor would suggest that buying as a private person could be quickest. If you buy as a private person it will take something like 6 months to get ministerial approval, assuming that all documents are in order, plus, depending on which land registry, another 2 months before you are finally registered.
A company can be set up in a month, even a week in places like Rijeka. Since a Croatian company is then in a position to sign a contract immediately, this is clearly very much faster than waiting for the ministerial approval necessary to signing the full contract for a private person.
Whether it is economically viable is another matter. Setting up a company and maintaining it, in terms of annual returns etc., is unlikely to be worthwhile on less expensive properties, unless building up a portfolio.
On the other hand, vendors are often unwilling to wait for 6 months for the buyer to complete unless the full price is paid, leaving the buyer exposed if the vendor, as is highly likely, reinvests the money. Few legitimate purchases are ever declined, but if one was and the vendor was not in a position to return the money, the buyer is exposed to the loss of the full price rather than just a deposit. Setting up and buying through a company at least secures the title immediately.