gb
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Post by gb on Sept 29, 2013 18:56:10 GMT 1
Hello all.
I have read through many threads on this very interesting forum but have not been able to find an answer:
We are preparing to buy some land in Croatia but the agent has not yet received the Uvjerenje (land certificate) from the land office.
The date agreed in teh pre-contract for signing the final contract is very near.
They are suggesting we sign without the uvjerenje to ensure the obligation to sign by set date is fulfilled and then pay once it arrives - this of course does not seem very usual!
My question concerns the importance of the Uvjerenje we are obviously keen to see it as it will certify that the land is in the building zone (currently a small plot with trees termed "forest" in the contract). We do trust the agent after many years of seeing them work with others, but we know that only what goes down in writing is law, so trust is only part of the matter.
In your experience, should the final sales contract only be submitted once the Uvjerenje has been obtained or do circumstances occur when it is signed beforehand?
As a precaution I have asked for the existence of the uvjerenje to be inscribed in the contract, the agent says this will make no difference.
Any advice or personal experience would be much welcomed.
Many thanks
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Post by crojoe on Sept 29, 2013 20:27:39 GMT 1
Hello all. I have read through many threads on this very interesting forum but have not been able to find an answer: We are preparing to buy some land in Croatia but the agent has not yet received the Uvjerenje (land certificate) from the land office. The date agreed in teh pre-contract for signing the final contract is very near. They are suggesting we sign without the uvjerenje to ensure the obligation to sign by set date is fulfilled and then pay once it arrives - this of course does not seem very usual! My question concerns the importance of the Uvjerenje we are obviously keen to see it as it will certify that the land is in the building zone (currently a small plot with trees termed "forest" in the contract). We do trust the agent after many years of seeing them work with others, but we know that only what goes down in writing is law, so trust is only part of the matter. In your experience, should the final sales contract only be submitted once the Uvjerenje has been obtained or do circumstances occur when it is signed beforehand? As a precaution I have asked for the existence of the uvjerenje to be inscribed in the contract, the agent says this will make no difference. Any advice or personal experience would be much welcomed. Many thanks As long as no money changes hands, or you can kiss your money goodbye. It's next to impossible to get money back from people in HR, even if on a signed paper. Not only the lawyer needs to be involved but also a notary with their official stamps. a signature will not do. |
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gb
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Posts: 7
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Post by gb on Sept 29, 2013 21:06:23 GMT 1
Hello crojoe,
Many thanks for your reply. Initially no money would change hands, but the contract stipulates payment would have to be made within 10 days of signing...
Hence our reticence!
We feel we should be given a chance to see the land certificate and have it translated before signing, but perhaps the land certificate (uvjerenje from the upravni odjel za prostorno uredenje) is just a formality for Croatia. The plot is in a coastal town and there are buildings next to it. To all intents and purposes it does seem to be in the building zone.
We have paid a downpayment already with the pre-contract of course, and are concerned that the paperwork is not here by the time the agreed final contract signing date has arrived. This does not seem "normal"!
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Post by Ribaric on Sept 29, 2013 21:25:00 GMT 1
Which particular uvjerenje is this?
Why have you paid a deposit without EVERYTHING being in place?
I would strongly you not to pay anything else until ALL the required documentation is in place. Also, make a date by which you will pull out if it hasn't been done. As Crojoe says, if nothing happens, good luck getting you (double) deposit back.
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gb
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Posts: 7
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Post by gb on Sept 29, 2013 21:49:22 GMT 1
Hello, Ribaric: it is the uvjerenje that comes from the Upravni odjel za prostorno uredenje, to certify that the land is in the building zone. The one needed for the land court to prove that the (foreign) owners can own that land. it seems like a formality - but one we haven't been presented with yet! The agent explained that it has to be "recent" so only requested for it a week or two ago, expecting it to arrive more swiftly... :-) But from what I hear about admin in Croatia, you should never expect anything until it actually arrives. We signed a pre-contract to seal the deal at the price we wanted and because we weren't actually told about this certificate until just recently. Funnily enough. @ January: yes, thank you for the tip. I take it that if it says "forest" (because there are trees on it) but is in the building zone, then it's not the kind of forest that foreigners cannot buy. This is why we want to see this certificate before we sign. As you say, it seems highly unlikely but with all the new building and land laws in Croatia, better to be safe... |
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Post by crojoe on Sept 30, 2013 8:47:45 GMT 1
Hello, Ribaric: it is the uvjerenje that comes from the Upravni odjel za prostorno uredenje, to certify that the land is in the building zone. The one needed for the land court to prove that the (foreign) owners can own that land. it seems like a formality - but one we haven't been presented with yet! The agent explained that it has to be "recent" so only requested for it a week or two ago, expecting it to arrive more swiftly... :-) But from what I hear about admin in Croatia, you should never expect anything until it actually arrives. We signed a pre-contract to seal the deal at the price we wanted and because we weren't actually told about this certificate until just recently. Funnily enough. @ January: yes, thank you for the tip. I take it that if it says "forest" (because there are trees on it) but is in the building zone, then it's not the kind of forest that foreigners cannot buy. This is why we want to see this certificate before we sign. As you say, it seems highly unlikely but with all the new building and land laws in Croatia, better to be safe... Are you not there doing it yourself with a lawyer? I mean, can't you go take a look at the documents and see for yourself? |
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gb
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Posts: 7
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Post by gb on Sept 30, 2013 10:13:11 GMT 1
No sadly, other obligations prevent us from being there at the moment. If we'd received the certificate in time there'd be no reason to doubt it on the part of an agent with many years in business. But signing without the certificate just seems increasingly ridiculous.
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Post by zvekov on Sept 30, 2013 19:29:14 GMT 1
It seems gh is unwilling to pay heed to the advice, but that could be really costly.... I would think your money should work for you rather than the other way round...
Maybe time to change lawyer, if they cannot protect your interests.... You seem to have raised a concern yet your lawyer is trying to convince you to part with the rest of the cash that paperwork is just a formality...I think lawyer should be changed...paperwork in cro is a nightmare... Much more expensive than the saving you made in striking the deal....
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gb
New Member
Posts: 7
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Post by gb on Oct 1, 2013 16:53:47 GMT 1
Hello,
We've arranged a new signature date and so have time to get all the paperwork looked at - which has now thankfully all arrived.
it seems the new certificates from the land registry office are much shorter than before. We look forward to discovering what they say so succinctly after translation.
Thanks to all for your input.
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Post by Carol on Oct 5, 2013 11:01:38 GMT 1
You've done it already, but make the signature date, not a fixed calendar date but a floating one eg within 30 days of providing your lawyer with evidence that the missing document has been obtained.
I'd also be thinking about a clause that deals with the what-if scenario that the document is never obtained. Presumably you don't want it leave it open ended for the rest of your life?
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Post by istria786 on Oct 24, 2013 17:51:14 GMT 1
Www.KARTA.TPORTAL.HR gives you maps of Croatia. You have to find your parcela ...if it is large yellow squares its potential building land but you need to check it out with an architect because not all building land can be built on. Also check ekectricity / water distance . I have built , renovated, converted houses here and currentky Elektra Istra want 10000Euros to install electricity over 100m ! I would not hand over any cash until architect has checked land and even applied for permit. Although I'm in Istria ..... it may be different elsewhere. But watch out . Remember lawyers dont do 'searches ' here for properties. They dont know everything. I like lot of people learned this the hard way. I bought land and built and if previous owner hadnt died and Croatian law hadnt changed twice regarding illegal property I would have lost 100,000 Euros ......beware.
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