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Post by krkisland on Jul 19, 2007 0:59:20 GMT 1
Hi there . After 7 days of searching . First in Istria we spent a day looking at Porec and surrounding area before realising prices had rocketed in the area. Then we took a trip on to KRK island and we found a 2 bedroom apartment with sea views all round. Nice sandy beach a short walk away too. The 20 hours of driving from Slovenia had eventually paid off (although you cant beat driving in croatia with the breathtaking views and scenery and legendary croatian drivers overtaking on blind corners).
We decided on KRK as its not far from Rijeka (awesome town), 2 hours from Porec, KRK airport a few minutes away, Pula airport only 2 hrs. Was definitely a bonus having a partner who speaks the native language. The agent in KRK spoke very little english. But after viewing 20 + properties we found the one :-) The road from the mainland is a bonus as no waiting around for ferries.
I have a question. Apparently the Croatia water company wont send bills outside of Croatia does anyone know how to set up bills so we get them in the UK? Also I believe we have to be in the country and pick up the bills when they are first set up for electric, gas etc before the zagreb bank can set up direct debits. How did you setup bills when you first bought?
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Post by zorro on Jul 19, 2007 7:09:37 GMT 1
I bet you haven't really got gas! But you have to go to the electric company, water company in person and then they will send the first bill to your pad. That is no tall order in itself, good luck. Its not like in Uk, Germany where you just call a Call centre and set it up in seconds. OH NO NO NO. Lucky if you find Croatian employees not having their breakfast at 11.00 am.
They just turn their back on you and off they go. Then you leave and later you see them sitting at a Cafe having a coffee and a cig.
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Post by Frederick on Jul 19, 2007 7:36:53 GMT 1
Hi,
we opened a bank account with the PBZ. We filled out a form for direct debit for electricity and water. The bank kept a copy and gave us a copy which we gave to the electricity company. They have already direct debited us.
cheers.
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Post by zorro on Jul 19, 2007 7:39:35 GMT 1
wow! something functioned!
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Post by krkisland on Jul 19, 2007 11:04:02 GMT 1
Interesting. We have a bank account with PBZ.
They told us they could set up direct debits for all bills apart from Water. Even then we still have to be around to pick up the first batch of bills in order to visit the bank to set up the direct debits.
Looks like Ill be flying back to Croatia once "I think" the first bills will have arrived.. As you say the Croatians dont rush about anything. It took 5 days for my money to arrive to the local croatian bank branch although it arrived in Zagreb the same day. It took a lot of moaning and for the local branch to eventually track down someone in the head office before the money arrived.. Makes it a more exciting and nail biting experience..
I believe some agencies offer forwarding of bills to the UK Ill need to research further.
Once I get over the hurdle of the utility bills what other bills do I have to pay and where do I go to register? What about the equivalent of council tax? Want to make sure I havent missed anything
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Post by darcy on Jul 19, 2007 11:13:09 GMT 1
- Water + Sewage (I pay it once a year)
- Garbage collection (I pay it once a year)
- Electricity (I pay it once a year, do a meter reading and calculate, they will accept your reading)
- Rates/or tax as you want ot call it (council - opcina) (I pay it once a year)
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Post by krkisland on Jul 19, 2007 12:23:44 GMT 1
Thanks
Where do I go to setup all these bills
I think I can set up electricity at the bank
Where do I go to setup water, garbage collection and rates tax payments?
Thanks for info in advance..
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Post by Frederick on Jul 19, 2007 13:18:32 GMT 1
I think it has all to do with the staff. If they are nice, then anything is possible, otherwise .....
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Post by krkisland on Jul 19, 2007 14:16:22 GMT 1
Its useful being married to a Croat. A Croat temper normally gets things done rapidly :-)
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Post by capio on Jul 19, 2007 14:51:48 GMT 1
Its useful being married to a Croat. A Croat temper normally gets things done rapidly :-) See the downside of this is...the croat she is dealing with will have a temper too and soon they are just screaming at each other. |
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Post by krkisland on Jul 19, 2007 17:29:01 GMT 1
It beats watching TV :-)
So you think I can do everything through the bank?
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Post by zorro on Jul 19, 2007 18:42:32 GMT 1
Its useful being married to a Croat. A Croat temper normally gets things done rapidly :-) geez how long have you been married? A week! |
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Post by krkisland on Jul 19, 2007 20:16:54 GMT 1
7 years now...
So any other ideas apart from approaching the bank again for advice. I think I might just put some pressure on the agent.
It makes it difficult as I need to explain to my partner in english what I need done and then she will translate into croatian to the agent. The agent apparently speaks english but only said about 10 words when I was there in english!
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Post by krkisland on Jul 26, 2007 9:01:39 GMT 1
So does anyone know the process to setup the initial bills after you have purchased a Croatian apartment? My wifes going back in August so I need to tell her what to do.
- Water + Sewage
- Garbage collection
- Electricity
- Rates/or tax
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Post by darcy on Jul 27, 2007 13:00:43 GMT 1
It all depends where you have your property. Start from the Opcina and if your wife speaks Croatian that should be enough. (Water, sewage and garbage collection are often council’s owned enterprises, I do not know why they do not issue one bill instead.)
Do not bother setting up the bank account and all that direct debit stuff, if you go once a year there you can pay it all. I usually ask them to pay one year in advance and it works OK.
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