The asking price is never the amount that actually leaves your account. On top of it come tax, the notary, land registry fees and, if you are sensible, a lawyer. This guide breaks down every item, with two worked examples and the points at which each is paid.
How much should you budget on top of the price?
Roughly 4 to 5 percent of the purchase price. On a house at 450,000 euro that is between 18,000 and 22,500 euro in additional costs.
That figure covers real estate transfer tax, notary and registration fees, and a lawyer. Agency commission is agreed separately and in advance. Each item is explained below.
Real estate transfer tax: 3 percent
The largest single item. The tax is 3 percent of the market value of the property, it is paid by the buyer, and it is paid once, after the purchase.
The base is the market value at the time of acquisition, which is normally the agreed price. If the tax authority judges the agreed price to be significantly below market, it can set the base itself, so signing a contract at an artificially low price is not a saving but a risk.
When this tax does not apply
On new builds where VAT has already been charged, transfer tax is not payable, since that would tax the same transaction twice. In practice this means you should not expect this item when buying directly from a developer, and should expect it almost always when buying from a private owner.
Notary and land registry: 200 to 500 euro
A fixed cost, effectively independent of the price of the property. It covers certification of signatures on the sale contract and the fees for registering ownership in the land register.
The range depends on the number of signatories, the number of copies of the contract, and whether a power of attorney is required. If you are buying from abroad by power of attorney, budget for the upper end of the range, plus the cost of certification at a Croatian consulate or an apostille in your own country.
Lawyer: around 1 percent
Not legally required. We recommend one regardless, and without exception when buying from a private owner.
The lawyer drafts the bilingual sale contract, verifies ownership and encumbrances, and runs the process through to registration. On a 450,000 euro purchase that is around 4,500 euro for the only item on this list that can protect you from losing the entire amount. We work with lawyers who speak Croatian, English and German, so you understand the contract before you sign it rather than afterwards.
Agency commission
Agreed per contract, transparently and in advance, before the first viewing. You never find it out at the end of the process.
Commission is not included in the advertised price, so treat it as a separate line in your budget. If any agency will not tell you its commission before taking you to a viewing, that is in itself sufficient information about that agency.
Worked example: a house at 450,000 euro
A realistic calculation for a mid-sized house on Pelješac, bought from a private owner:
- Transfer tax at 3 percent: 13,500 euro
- Notary and land registry: 200 to 500 euro
- Lawyer at around 1 percent: about 4,500 euro
- Total excluding commission: approximately 18,200 to 18,500 euro, or about 4.1 percent of the price
Agency commission comes on top of this and is agreed in advance.
Worked example: land at 89,000 euro
The same rules apply to land, but the fixed costs make up a larger share because the base is smaller:
- Transfer tax at 3 percent: 2,670 euro
- Notary and land registry: 200 to 500 euro
- Lawyer at around 1 percent: about 890 euro
- Total excluding commission: approximately 3,760 to 4,060 euro, or about 4.2 to 4.6 percent of the price
With land the lawyer has one task they do not have with a house: confirming that the plot really is building land under the applicable spatial plan, and not merely according to the listing.
When each cost falls due
The order is predictable, and the timing runs as follows:
- Deposit, on signing the preliminary or main contract, as agreed with the seller
- Balance of the price, per the schedule in the sale contract, normally before or at the same time as certification of signatures
- Notary fee, on the day of certification
- Transfer tax, once you receive the assessment from the tax authority, which follows the filing of the transaction
- Registration, filed after payment and certification, with the entry taking as long as the land registry department needs
Two to four weeks normally pass between agreement and signature. With tax and registration, the whole process takes four to eight weeks. You normally take the keys on payment, not on completed registration.
What to check before you pay anything
The costs are predictable. What is not predictable, and costs incomparably more, is buying a property with disordered paperwork. Before any offer we check:
- Sole ownership, and whether there are co-owners or an unresolved inheritance
- Encumbrances and mortgages entered in the register
- Agreement between the cadastre and the land register, a more common problem on Pelješac than you would expect
- Building and occupancy permits, meaning whether the building is legal and whether legalisation was completed
If any of that is not clean, you will hear it from us, before the offer, rather than from a lawyer three weeks later.
Next step
The full purchase process, step by step, is set out on the buying property on Pelješac page. If you already know what you are looking for, see the current properties for sale, and for a calculation on a specific property, contact us directly.
Villages covered in this guide
About the author
Sottomonte
Real estate agent
Lives and works on Pelješac. Handles sales, from stone houses for renovation to building land by the sea. Checks the land register, cadastre and permits personally before any offer goes out.