BUYING PROPERTY IN MONTENEGRO 2019

Buying a property in Montenegro is an excellent choice. Our clients are usually interested in buying a property for their own use, but very often they decide to look for investment. In both of the choices we can offer our help. Process of purchasing a property in Montenegro is straightforward and there are no restrictions for the foreign buyers when it comes to buying apartment,  house with limited amount of land or plot for building purpose. Buying agricultural land is a bit more difficult and requests forming of the company for foreign buyers. Some of our clients decided to go through this process as well and the procedure is rather simple and we offer our assistance in all of the cases.The land and property registers are available to public and all contract administration and submission for the registration of the property is handled by a public notary.

SEARCH FOR PROPERTY

Search for property usually starts on intenet. You can choose from a suitable property from our web-site www.planetmontenegro.com

You have to be aware that not all of our properties are listed on the web-site , we only publish one third. Based on your request we can recommend a right property or we can search the right one through the network of our partners. Once you have chosen properties you would like to see, we can help you in organizing your trip, recommending an airline or a hotel and meeting you at the airport or a place of your stay in Montenegro. 

INTRODUCTION AND CONSULTANCY

At the beginning of your trip allow your agent to discuss your ideas, expectations and goals. Your agent will pick up the properties which could be the most suitable option for you from our portfolio. We reccommend viewing of 3-4 properties per day .

VIEWING TRIP

Our sales agents will organize the viewings and the whole trip for you. They are experienced in it and will at the same time offer you all other information regarding the areas of interests as well as any other questions you might have related to the purchase process.

NEGOTIATING

Our agents will help you negotiate the final price with the owner. They will coordinate all of the communication between the owner, yourself and the lawyer/lawyers. Our agents can provide you with advice and help you in every step of purchase process i.e. negotiating the price, establishing the purchase terms and conditions of payment.

ATTORNEY AT LAW

If you wish you can also choose the attorney to represent your interests. We would be happy to present you the list of reputable lawyers to whom we work. Final decision of choosing the lawyer is yours.

POWER OF ATTORNEY

If you do not intend to stay for a long term in Montenegro you would have to give Power Of Attorney (POA) to the lawyer. Lawyer will act on your behalf through the preliminary agreements, sales contract, real-estate transfer tax and change of ownership. POA has to be signed at the Notary office (working hours from 8.00-16.00) and has to be translated by a court translator. Allow at least one day for preparation of it.

CHECKING OF THE TITLE

Your lawyer will perform the check on the property title. Therefore it is necessary to get an independent lawyer who can perform it on your behalf and approve that all necessary paperwork is obtained from the original owners.

ATTORNEY FEES

Attorney fee varies and it is usually 1000-2000 Eur depending on the work involved. Some lawyers do not charge fixed fee but 1-1.5% of the purchase price.

NOTARY FEES

If you wish to buy Real Estate in Montenegro, the signing of the contract has to be executed at the Notary office. The cost of verification of the main Sales & Purchase agreement is calculated based on the value of the contract as per the following table:

 0,00 – 5.000,00 = 70 €

 5.001,00 – 20.000,00 = 120 €

 20.001,00 – 40.000,00 = 170 €

 40.001,00 – 60.000,00 = 250 €

 60.001,00 – 80.000,00 = 300 €

 80.001,00 – 120.000,00 = 350€

 For the property valued above €120,000, for each increase of property price of €15,000 the fee increases by €10. The maximum Notary fee chargeable is €5,000.

SURVEY

If you request we can put you in contact with reputable architects, engineers...who can do the independent assessment of the property for you and provide you with the quotation of their services.

RESERVATIONS 

When you have finally chosen a property we advice you to sign Reservation agreement. Reservation is usually 5-10%. The agreement can be made by your lawyer or with our help. Amount of reservation is agreed with the seller. When Reservation Agreement is signed, the client and his lawyer will carry out the due diligence and prepare the Sales and Purchase Agreement. If you need help finding a lawyer, we are at your disposal to provide a list of experienced lawyers. Once the lawyer has finished with the draft version of the Sales and Purchase Agreement, it will be sent to translation. Finally, it would then be sent to you for final review. Sales and Purchase Agreement can be done in 2 phases or all at once. When done in 2 phases it consists from Pre-Contract and Main Contract. If it is done all at once than only the Main Contract is signed. 

PRE-CONTRACT

Pre-contract is drawn by your lawyer and the deposit paid on signing it is usually 10- 20%. Conditions usually include the clause that if the buyer pulls out of the purchase, he/she loses the deposit. If on the other hand seller pulls out he/she is obliged to return double amount of deposit. It is the same with reservation fee, with a difference that it is usually 5-10% of the purchase price.

MAIN CONTRACT

It is signed usually one month after the pre-contract and at the same time the whole amount of the purchase price is paid. This can be done by your lawyer, coordinated by the agent. Once you sign the main sales and purchase contract, and the full price of the property is paid, the seller provides the client with a document that confirms that the seller received the entire amount from the client (clausula intabulandi) ,which gives the right to register the client as the new owner of the property. Remaining process of registration is followed by your lawyer. Only document which buyer needs during signing of contract is passport.

REAL - ESTATE TRANSFER TAX AND CHANGE OF OWNERSHIP

Real - estate transfer tax is :

• for the purchase price up to 150.000 Eur – 3%

• for the purchase price between 150.000 Eur and 500.000 Eur – 4.500 Eur + 5% from the amount up to 150.000 Eur

• for the purchase price above 500.000 Eur – 22.000 Eur + 6% from the amount above 500.000 Eur

. Once the Main Contract is signed and real-estate transfer tax is paid, change of ownership is done in the cadsastre (it usually takes 2 months).

REAL-ESTATE AGENCY FEE

Agency fee is paid by the seller and it is 3-6% from the purchase price agreed.

AVERAGE COSTS AFTER PURCHASING A PROPERTY IN MONTENEGRO

Once you finalize the purchase of your Real Estate, the average running costs for an apartment are as follows:

• ANNUAL PROPERTY TAX – 0.1% to 1% of the property market value

• ELECTRICITY AND WATER- 70-100 Eur/month

• LANDLINE TELEPHONE – €10 per month

• CABLE AND INTERNET – Packages start from €35 Per month

• GARBAGE DISPOSAL AND COMMUNAL CHARGES – €10 per month

• PROPERTY MANAGEMENT – from €50 per month depending on the project