Mortgages for foreign Buyers-Erste

[zvekov]

I know this subject has been discussed a lot, but a bank in croatia claims to have rolled out a serious product for foreigners. Does anyone have knowledge if this is really true- like examples of people that have obtained? By foreigners, i mean foreign and non-resident. the product seems limitd to eur250k, but if true could have a real impact on the market.

[upthevilla]

PANTS................

The criteria is so strict that nobody gets accepted.
The paper work is a mine field and as yet, i have yet to encounter a client who has done it or any agency who have helped their client get it,
Just a load of old cods wallop form the banks and a bit of advertising by them.
If you fancy a day out then make an appintment to see them and let us know how you get on.

[Carol]

Just to help you spot the fatal flaw more quickly, these are some of the ones used so far..

- you have to already own the house, including having a vlasnicki list (which can take a year or more to produce)

- you have to have an income in Croatia from which the bank can take the mortgage payments

- The property would sell for 200k easily, but the bank's valuers put it at 125k (so you have to put in a 75k deposit - you've got that sitting around at home, don't you??)

Obviously one day a bank will finally produce a real mortgage product and who knows, maybe Erste has done it now, but these are the three standard tricks/ small print that have blighted previous products.

[francis]

I would have all , that carol has said, and you still want get it,
another answer was, how are you going to rent it, its a private house,
YEA!!!!

[zvekov]

very confusing... i can understand the publicity aspect of it. but was equally just curious as to whether it was hogwash or a product they really offer.. The aspect of rental francis, is an entirely different matter imho, as there may be people that just want a holiday home for personal use and can afford to have one based on there being mortgage facilities

[poiter]

do people in croatia ever actually go to bank managers for anything,.?
mortgage: from the latin mort/ dead... engaged with death. How appropriate.

[Madgolfer]

We have not looked into this recently, but based on previous client experiences i have agree with the posts above, they are almost impossible to actually get.

Apart from the ease of the application, most clients also found it cheaper to raise funding in their home country

This one may be the real deal......let see.

[mambo]

With so many rules and regulations punishing foreigners for owning a house...........who wants to own a house in Croatia and live in another country ?

I guess you only would want to have a house if you actually live and work in Croatia, I cannot think of any other reason.

[poiter]

A close relative of mine moved back to australia with his wife...he applied for numerous jobs...went to some interviews and got a job within a couple of weeks. He then found a better paying job and is doing that now...every job he applied for offered free training...all he had to do was have a desire to work, make money and be good with his hands. He is now earning about 1300 dollars a week with a good possiblity of being promoted to a higher paying position.Hes also being contacted by employers who are offering him jobs. He has already been to the bank in australia...says the service is absolutely incredible and so friendly...he was reminded of his nightmare experience in croatia when he had to call a croatian bank in Split and ask about a pin number that they were supposed to give him. He is already planning to buy a home and a nice car which he will be paying at a rate of 50 dollars a week...and i mean...niiice car. He may even open his own firm one day soon...as its done over the phone and absolutely hassle free process.
I have worked for people here, i have had my own firma...i have never had an atm card in croatia and the only car i had in croatia was bought with money i had earned in australia. Forget about on the job trainig in croatia...you are expected to know it all...be treated/abused like a slave and get paid a quarter of what youd get paid in australia. Accountants , lawyers etc... its a totaly different relationship.
I absolutely cannot fathome the concept of these young married couples in croatzia who both work..and at least oneentire pay goes directly to payment for an apartment.
Thene theres the hassle with beaurocracy...and the need for connections to do anything.

Mambo i see youre getting pd off with this place as well.

[mambo]

This place has pd me off from the first moment.
Never have I been in a country where people put so much energy in opposing basically everything. If they would use only 25 % of that negative energy in a positive way Croatia would be light years ahead.
I have lived in many countries in my life and I can understand that circumstances can be difficult, but when I see that e.g. Ghana is further ahead than Croatia...................then there is something seriously wrong.


I know I should not say it, but during my time in Croatia I began to understand how countries and people must have felt during the second world war when they were ruled by the Germans.

[ray51]

With such experiences and feelings , as you guys , poiter and mambo , express : what keeps you in HR still ?

( This I ask as I know a few Croats who returned there in heady days in the 90's , spent a lot of their savings , failed to make much headway and eventually , one by one , left again ... )

[poiter]

yeah ray...i think its the potential this country has...i always think it will get better but it seems to get worse...after moving here..i now fear change. Id have to move to australia with my kids and wife...its not as simple as me going back alone. thene theres other issues too... but i know that as far as just having hope of making a future for my family...and not having to hack this croat mentality and smart butts every where...it would be much better to move to australia. I feel like im stuck bn a rock and hard place. But every day i walk out of the house here...faced with nosey neighbours...you can get into an argument with every 2nd driver in the trafic...the streets are narrow, so many rude people...everyones a would be hero with an attitude, everyone knows it all but they know nothing, everyones so proud of their stupid soccer clubs, the politicians are as dumb as bricks, bloody grafiti all over the place, infrastructure is crap, getting permits and going to accountants and lawyers is just a pain and you get run around. We went to get my son a new passport at the mUP...all i can say is that i do not know how such lazy incompetant rude vengeful idiotic scum work there...how do they find such people? If your friendly they send you to get a passport photo (double price) from their connected photo people , if your rude to them they delay the paperwork.
and what the hell is the idea of having translated documents such as birth certificate ...and the translation not being older than 6 mths...i still dont understand that.
mortgages and buying an apartment? hahhaa. man...i want to buy a block of land and build my self a house with a double gharage...like every one in australia. I want to" flip" some houses and make some money. I want to open a firm...buy a nice car etc... but i cant even get a job in croiatia...thing is after having worked here...i definately dont want a croatian boss..thats for sure. Actually when i move back toi australia i dont want a croatian boss over there either.
croatia...it doesnt function. man i even m,ade a website for accommodation advertizing...and like clockwork...croatias inspectors are doing a clamp down on internet apartment advertizing. what the hell...they dont let you make a few euros either way. they block you with their laws and beaurocracy...and when you try to make money on the black but in a normal harmless manner...they look under every rock. what does that tell investors?? hahha.
as croats say.."Luda kuæa"

[mambo]

Ray,

I will be moving back to Curacao, probably at the end of August. Currently I am no longer in Croatia, will just pass by to pick up some things and enjoy the beach for a bit, go to Zrce for one last party and then that is it.

[crojoe]

Yep, Croatia has a lot of potential, and as I have said before could be managed pretty easily, but just seems a certain bunch of some bodies only make rules to suit themselves and their own invested interests. By their many sessions of rule making, they have created a mega "black" economy, forced peoples hand to work in the "black", made people avoid paying taxes so they can survive.
I know in Australia and UK people don't always like paying taxes either (and some people work in the "black"), but the difference is your held more accountable for your own actions, given more trust and leeway, encouraged to work, given tax benefits, have the option to work from day one (with a work permit) and have a much easier time registering the start of your business.
I guess the one thing in this country that frustrates me the most and has a left a bad taste in my mouth is how often people try and "backstab" you, or "use you” to their own advantage in business. Guess people mistrust each other so much in this country that they feel they can just rip-off your ideas. That code of honest conduct (or at least respecting someone’s hard work, research and ideas) in business is not here. It's quite a dog eat dog world in business amongst Croatian business.
Funny how so much control actually destroys business, while less control seems to make business thrive. Must be some human weakness that we like to be left alone to live and work a normal life?

[Madgolfer]

Wow what a series of negative posts!

I've said it many times before, Croatia is not for everyone.

Poiter;
You really need to stop comparing Croatia so specifically to a well developed country like Australia, it is just not fair. Come back in 20 or 30 years and then maybe. If you have any experiences of other eastern European counties, use them instead.

You say;
"I absolutely cannot fathome the concept of these young married couples in croatzia who both work..and at least oneentire pay goes directly to payment for an apartment."

Sounds very familiar to me. Try buying your first home in the UK for example and see how much change you have in your pocket after you have paid your mortgage.


Mambo your post;

"With so many rules and regulations punishing foreigners for owning a house...........who wants to own a house in Croatia and live in another country ?

I guess you only would want to have a house if you actually live and work in Croatia, I cannot think of any other reason."

Because its a lovely place to get away to for one!
Secondly, and I fully accept that my own experiences of "living" at the coast are very limited, but the people I encounter on a daily basis are among the friendliest I have met anywhere else in any part of Europe.

OK, there are plenty of other places equally as nice in terms of scenery etc and which are just as easily accessible, perhaps even without so much "bureaucratic hassle" and so on, but I for one would not want to be anywhere else.


Obviously given my business, I am positively biased in favour of Croatia, but genuinely so! I hear stories every month from people about other countries, and it sounds like there are many worse places to try and buy property or to live as a foreigner.

Anyone who thinks that starting a new life abroad ANYWHERE, or even just buying a property abroad as a holiday home, will be easy is in for a shock.

As far as setting up and running your own business here is concerned, then if you have a viable plan and the determination to see it through, then it is perfectly possible to make it succeed.

Not everyone is cut out to run their own business, many people think it is a quick and easy way to make a lot of money which it is not. The risk of failure is high everywhere and just increases when you try to do it in a foreign country.

I think we all agree that Croatia is not one of the easiest places to live and to work compared to western Europe, but it is MUCH better now than six years ago and is getting easier all the time.

I know you are giving your genuine experiences based on today, but maybe you guys should come back in a few years time and judge Croatia again then.