Long Term Apartment Rental

[crojoe]

Zagzag... a lot has to do with the contract. As many rentals to foreigners seem to be cash in hand, then there’s not a lot one can do. Also it depends on if a tenant is a wimp towards their landlord or not?

When I was here for two years just after the war I rented the house I am currently in. When I decided to move back to UK, our landlord tried to make us pay for wear and tear of the property. I did not go for it, as we paid a fair rent and on time for two years. When I returned to Croatia again, I though might as well see if he has his place for rent. Low and behold he could only get some Bosnians in to rent it. HA! Anyway, I offered him a ridicules low rent for Zagreb and he went for it right away and plumb kicked out the poor Bosnians. But, in my contract it is stated he must give 2 months notice, and inform us before coming around the house. Actually, he doesn’t really inspect the place as we keep it in good shape. But, at the end of the day it's about what’s in the contract and if your willing to stand up for your rights as a tenant. When IFOR & KFOR and all those international NGO and organisations flooded into Zagreb, it set the height of the bar for what landlords thought they could ask in terms of rent. I know when I went around house hunting 4 years back, as soon as they saw my UK plated car the price doubled. They just tend to think that all foreigners that come to Croatia are rich. One house I looked at the landlord wanted 3000 euros a month for it. To this day (4 years later) that house is still empty. I think it's a crime that diplomats and foreign companies just pay whatever the asking price is for rent here in Zagreb. Talking to a number of them and finding out how much they pay just makes me wonder why the hell their country doesn’t just build or buy the houses. Shows a real lack of respect and a total waste of tax payer’s money.

[aliceuberalles]

There are two 1-bedroom apartments available in the building where I live. Very nice location (on Zagrebacka across from the palace). Very nice (and normal) landlord. The interior is clean and modern. Let me know if anyone is interested.

[mambo]

Crojoe,

I fully agree with you and I am also amazed that most countries simply don't pay attention to what they are paying.

Through my years in government service I know how the procedures work and in a way I can understand that they cannot treat each country differently, but indeed they are throwing away a lot of money.

When I was stationed abroad there was a maximum I could spend on rent. This was based on my salary, but also on my rank/status/position.
The maximum I would have to pay was 17 % of my gross income, everything on top was paid for by the government up to the maximum for my category.

This was all for staying for a longer period of time (e.g. 3 year tour), but..........for a shorter assignment, let's say 6 months UN mission it would be completely different.
All personnel would get a daily allowance of which 49 % was allocated for living expenses and the rest for food (breakfast, lunch, diner) plus some small cost (e.g. a beverage). The daily allowance was fixed for each country, so it was very easy to calculate how much you could spend on housing and thus you also knew you had a lot of money if you would stay for 1 or more months.

If you would stay for a longer period it was of course much more comfortable if you would have an apartment instead of living in a hotel. A hotel room is nice, but becomes pretty boring after a couple of months.
The government will not buy those apartments, because they never know how long they will be in the mission and on top of that they don't want to bother with all the legal issues regarding buying property.
So, we rent.
And this is where it starts.
There are always some idiots who will tell the house owner they can spend e.g. 60 euro per day on housing. Instead of dealing for a normal price they basically go different. They offer all the money, but ask telephone, a car, heating, food etc in return. Sometimes they even ask part of the cut.
The first time the land lord will accept the deal and offer all the goodies, but as soon as this guy leaves all the goodies are gone and the apartment is all of a sudden 1800 euro per month.
Since the new guy has no clue where to go and he doesn't have to pay it himself.......he accepts.
After a few years of renting out his place like this the land lord actually believes that his place is worth this 1800 euro per month and he will refuse to go down with the price.

I have seen this scheme work in every place I have lived and especially in cities where there are a lot of expats (housing paid for by company or government) it is the standard procedure. And good luck to the normal citizens who cannot afford these prices.

And the foreign service works exactly the same, because there is one rule for all government services. Most of the times however there is a separate rule for the top officials in the embassy and the residence of the ambassador is basically completely free....no rules.
If the ambassador says that a certain residence is not fit for an ambassador then that is it.

And also here, things like human greed rule the world.

[francis]

Can A d.o.o company rent out long term for its directors, my booker say no?

[crojoe]

fransis... in theory if you like "slept" at your "office", then you could maybe claim rental as a company expense. I know you can include phone bills (if you put on the registration your company address), but the accommodation part would be tricky. You would not be able to call it that. I know some people here bought their property through opening a company, so in essence they can claim all the building costs and so forth, but renting it to yourself as the director would be wild. It would become profit and you'd wind up paying more with 22% tax included in your rental fee, plus taxes on the profit made by your company via renting you the place in the first place.

[Estelle]

Aliceuberalles, have sent a PM

[Madgolfer]

"Can A d.o.o company rent out long term for its directors, my booker say no? "

If it's a residencial property owned by the directors, they can rent it to themselves, or say a 45sqM part of it, to live in. Its simple enough, you just need to draw up a basic lease contract.

[Estelle]

Alice Alice, where the ~~~~is Alice?

[Valleycat]

May 30, 2009 2:20:42 GMT 1 Estelle said:

Alice Alice, where the ~~~~is Alice?

Alice doesn’t live here anymore!

[gmh]

Why did Alice leave ? and why didn't she say she was going ?
Perhaps she was an enigma ??? ;D

[crojoe]

Maybe Alice is in Wonderland?

[aliceuberalles]

Hey, I'm popular! And missed!

Not in Wonderland, but close--I paid a visit to Graz, Austria for shopping and ended up buying a whole lot of ingredients for cooking Thai food. I have been in a Thai instant noodles (or pot noodles as you Brits call them) coma since. Heaven.

[crojoe]

Well Alice, the mad Hatter has let you be, but don't forget the coconut milk and green Thai leaves, and curry paste for a good Thai curry. My wife likes to make it and I like to eat it! Better make this short, kitchen is calling. cu!

[Cam W]

This can be done. I know of a BRAND NEW apt in beautiful Gorica area of Dubrovnik for under 500 euro per month. I also know many people paying anywhere from 3000 - 4000 kuna both in and outside the old town. They usually require a 6 month or year lease though. I have a friend with a 3 story, 2 bedroom apart in a nice quiet area of Dbk's old town and they are paying 3000 + utilities...

[Estelle]

Thanks Alice, i bet you were on the second floor all along!