What is the procedure of buying realty in Serbia? Can you do it on your own or a notary must be present at the process? Can you pay in cash? Do you need a preliminary contract? These and more in our new article.
Step 1. Reserve the Property Object
After finding a suitable property, you can reserve it for the period approved during negotiations with the seller. This is usually from one week to a month. At the same time, you must leave a deposit. It often stays in a real estate agency or with a lawyer.
The deposit amount for an apartment worth €100,000 is from €1,000 to €5,000. The exact amount is approved during negotiations. At the same time, the owner undertakes to remove the ad and not sell the property to third parties. The deposit is refunded, if both parties have rejected the transaction for good reasons.
In reality, the reservation option is rarely used.
A preliminary purchase agreement is concluded with the notary after choosing real estate for a purchase. It has the same legal force as the main one, and contains a description of the property, the price, the amount of the advance payment "kapara" (most often it is 10% of the total value of the property), as well as the terms in which the main contract will be concluded.
In addition, it includes a condition that the seller has the right not to return the advance payment if the buyer refuses to complete the transaction for disrespectful reasons or violates the terms of the main contract and payment.
The advance payment ("kapara") remains with the seller, if the buyer declines the transaction. If the owner violates the terms, they pay a double amount to the buyer.
If a preliminary contract was concluded and an advance payment was made, but the final contract is not executed, the realtor is not responsible. According to the law, they have the right to request a commission after the conclusion of a preliminary contract, since at this stage the transaction is considered concluded, and the realtor's work is completed.
The agent will attend and perform their functions in respect of the legitimacy of the transaction at the conclusion of the main contract, the payment at the bank and signing of transfer of real property.
Step 3. Signing the Main Contract
Documents that the buyer will need:
a foreign passport,
a certificate of marital status,
the bank account in Serbia from which the money will be transferred,
documentary proof of the origin of the funds.
Procedure for concluding a purchase and sale agreement
The contract is drawn up by a lawyer, whose services are paid separately or included in the commission price, if the purchase is made through an agency.
It is notarized in the presence of the buyer, seller, real estate agents, a licensed court interpreter and two witnesses. This can be any people who speak Serbian and your native language.
The agreement is drawn up in Serbian. The notary reads it aloud, and the court interpreter simultaneously translates the notary's speech.
You can also order a certified translation of the text from the translator.
The agreement is concluded in writing and contains the following:
1. Information about the parties signing the agreement, with all data.
If they are individuals, this is the full name, passport data and name of one of the parents.
If the contract is concluded with a legal entity (company), it also contains all the data of the legal entity such as name, identification number (PDV), tax identification number (PIB), legal address and name of the authorized person to submit and sign the contract and its passport data.
2. Information about the property (apartment, house, land, garage...) with a precise description of the property (cadastral municipality, area and type of object, address and location, floor, number), indicating whether there are any encumbrances on the property.
The contract is accompanied by an extract from the cadastre with information about real estate. The document is valid for 30 days from the date of issue.
3. The price, terms and payment scheme 4. Obligations of the seller and buyer
The seller undertakes to pay all taxes and utilities for the property and provide documentary evidence of this at the signing of the contract.
The buyer undertakes to transfer tax obligations to their name and re-register the object with all public utilities, indicating the period during which they must do so.
5. Mandatory clause on protection from eviction (protection of a bona fide buyer from possible claims of third parties).
6. Signatures of the parties, the translator and witnesses.
The main agreement usually takes 4-5 pages long.
After the payment the buyer, seller, agents, translator and witnesses again come to the notary to sign the Clausula intabulandi, which isthe seller's consent to register the buyer as the new owner of the property in the cadastre without further participation of the seller. The document size is 1-2 pages.
Belgrade, Serbia
Step 4. Making a Payment
An amount of up to €10,000 can be paid in cash, but more than €10,000 can only be paid in a transaction from the buyer's bank account to the seller's account. In practice, the buyer usually opens an account with the seller's bank to reduce bank fees and other transfer costs.
Most often, 100% of the amount is paid on the day of conclusion of the contract, but with the consent of both parties, you can provide a different payment scheme. It is usually possible to divide the amount into several payments, which are made in the interval from two weeks to three months, rarely-up to six months.
Stage 5. Checking the Property
When buying realty on a secondary market, the seller and buyer, in the presence of the agent, sign the Acceptance Certificate after signing the contract with a notary and making a payment. That indicates the shortcomings and the period for their elimination. The Act may also include a list of furniture and appliances that are transferred along with the apartment (here they often sell fully or partially furnished housing).
If you buy property on a primary market, the quality of the property will be confirmed by "Građevinska dozvola" (construction permit), and when all work on the object is completed and technical acceptance is completed – "Upotrebna dozvola", that is a permission to settle. Guarantees for all work performed are usually given for 2 years.
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The certificate of ownership (List nepokretnosti or Vlasnički list) is issued in the real estate cadastre 30 days after the conclusion of the contract and full payment. The state fee for issuing the original is 1,250 dinars (about €10).
You can also download and print the certificate of ownership from the Cadastre.
Can I seal the deal remotely?
Real estate can be purchased by a notarized power of attorney. It should include the full scope of functions, including operations in the bank and representation in the tax service, utility companies, and so on. The power of attorney must be translated into Serbian by a licensed translator.
