Should I buy property in Montenegro and how best to do it?

In childhood, many probably dreamed of having a house by the sea, because it’s so romantic to live in a resort. Adults sometimes buy such real estate even not so much to live here permanently or to come on vacation without worrying about reservations, but rather to earn money on renting out housing. The same Montenegro annually receives several times more tourists than people live here, which means that there will be a constant demand for a well-located apartment during the season and it can quickly pay for itself.

Studying the features of real estate in Montenegro, it should be noted that apartments and houses in this country can have a huge number of advantages. Consider the main, concerning the majority of housing offered for sale.

• The demand for short-term rental housing in Montenegro has been growing rapidly in recent years, and there are no prerequisites for a fall in demand. In 2017, the number of visitors to the country for the first time exceeded 2 million people and continues to grow steadily. Low prices, compared to many other resorts, attract tourists here, and the state has established a visa-free regime with most of its neighbors and many post-Soviet countries. As a result, 20% of guests come from Serbia, Russia and Ukraine together give the same amount, up to 10% of visitors are provided by Bosnia and Herzegovina, but rich tourists from Western Europe also come here.

• The investment attractiveness of the country's housing sector is good because transparent and realistic rules have been formed for foreign investors, strikingly reminiscent of the exemplary EU in this regard. In addition, the country only after gaining independence in 2006, realized how much can earn on tourism, because here a huge amount of housing stock was built after this date. This means that there are many new buildings built on modern technologies, in addition, to find an empty apartment to buy is not a problem.

• If you wish, you can find relatively inexpensive housing in Montenegro - even the average price per square meter does not work here. It all depends on a number of specific characteristics, for example, the historical value of the building increases tariffs, but the presence of a nearby site for prospective development greatly reduces the price. As a result, exactly the same housing at a distance of 300 meters from each other may have a different cost. In addition, prices are also influenced by the geographical factor - in the prestigious seaside Budva, housing is the most expensive, the rest of the coast is slightly cheaper, but in the outback prices are much lower, although the mountains here are also beautiful.

• Tax and communal policies in Montenegro also only contributes to buying housing here. For example, when buying an apartment on the secondary market, the tax will be only 3% of the cost, but if the developer is the developer himself, even this overpayment will not be. The annual tax for owners ranges from 0.1% to 1% of the cost per square meter in this region, but this is in any case a bit.

• Investing is not limited to contributions to the development of housing - larger investors are engaged in the construction of infrastructure such as schools with English or Russian language teaching, ports for yachts and many other amenities. Such an improvement in the situation makes it even more important for tourists to travel here en masse, which means it will be even more profitable to rent housing here.

• Montenegro is considered one of the most environmentally clean countriesAfter all, there is no serious industry here, and therefore the further growth of tourist potential seems quite natural.

Naturally, certain disadvantages are also present, but they are comparatively small and for many people they are insignificant. However, it is for you that they can be a serious drawback, therefore we will also consider them.

• Montenegro has the official status of a candidate for accession to the European Union, but so far it has not become, and one cannot say that it will happen soon. For many investors from the post-Soviet space, buying a home abroad is also useful in the context of simplified obtaining a Schengen visa, also owning an apartment in an EU country, you can apply for a residence permit, and then a passport.

• Montenegro has a noticeable provincial socialist past. - despite the innovations being implemented, the infrastructure limps in comparison with Western Europe. For example, there is practically no centralized heating anywhere in the country, although in winter even at relatively warm seashore the temperature is only 3-7 degrees Celsius.

The local people decided to heat the premises with air-conditioners, however, there may already be a power grid - the outages due to the peak load are still not unusual. Among other things, the mentality and training of local staff is only something average between the vaunted Europe and our unsightly realities, which can scare some wealthy tourists.

As noted above, the state has approached the development of tourism infrastructure in an organized way - at least the land has been handed over to private developers, and those wanting to discourage the money spent, they hurried to build a huge amount of housing. On the one hand, the abundance of proposals should have led to a certain decrease in real estate prices, but in the case of Montenegro we see that here the investment has already begun to pay off.

Practice shows that When buying a home in Montenegro, there is a lot of sense in not looking for an object to buy on your own, but to seek help from local consultants. You yourself can hardly even understand about why an expensive house costs so much, and choosing cheaper housing, you will not be sure that you know about all the risks of such a purchase.

Experts note that recently the growing demand has been intensively boosting developers, and they are trying to complete construction projects as quickly as possible, which inevitably affects the quality of construction. Considering that earthquakes occur periodically in this mountainous country, it is worthwhile to think repeatedly before purchasing an apartment in the "new" building.

In addition, you can often hear complaints that buildings located at the foot of the mountains, have an increased tendency to gradual roll and even collapse.

As for the first line, it will be many times more difficult to acquire housing here, if only because there is a particularly high demand from particularly wealthy foreigners.A few years ago, some influential Western media wrote that about 14% of the entire territory of Montenegro was already bought by foreigners, and it should be assumed that they are primarily interested in the coast. However, There are options even here, just be prepared to pay a very substantial amount.

Montenegrin housing market involves a huge variation in terms of prices - too many factors affect pricing. Take at least the housing stock - you can get an apartment in the old high-rise building that is not fundamentally different from the typical Soviet one, or in a relatively new building that was built at the time of independence, taking into account all the modern building requirements.

Again, somewhere in the mountains or even in the capital Podgorica, prices may be slightly lower than average, but the big question is how much such an investment will pay off, because statistics show that the vast majority of foreign tourists rush not so much to the mountains as to the sea.

All these factors do not allow to determine the average price per square meter - more precisely, it can be calculated, but in practice it does not bring any benefit, because it can be cheaper and much more expensive. If you are still interested and want to have at least a general idea of ​​how much you should expect, you should know that 40 thousand euros is the minimum capital that allows you to purchase a small studio of 20 squares.

A small family apartment with an area of ​​about 50 squares will cost thousands that way at 60.

If you are interested in a house with a land plot, the building itself will determine the cost in many respects, and not the territory itself. For example, a 60-meter house in the yard of 200 squares can cost approximately 80 thousand euros, but a spacious villa of 200 square meters and a plot of 300 more will pull for a good 170 thousand.

The difference in prices depends not only on proximity to the sea, but also on a particular geographical location. First of all, in any region, the view from the window is very much appreciated, housing is especially impressive, from which both the mountains and the sea are clearly visible.

Naturally, A huge bonus is that the local area has its own access to the sea, ideally - its own beach, to outsiders, except at the invitation of the owner, can not get.

If we talk about the regions, among the top places are usually called the Budva Riviera (near the resort of Budva) and the Boko-Kotor (the coast of the Bay of Kotor, including Tivat).

You can try to save money by choosing housing somewhere on the Barskaya Riviera or even in the vicinity of Ulcinj. At the same time, it should be understood that its cost is for no reason lower - there are fewer opportunities for elite rest, tourists are not so torn there, and therefore profits will probably not be so high.

As it becomes clear from the above, Montenegrin citizenship for the purchase of real estate inside the country, of course, is not required - in fact, the state is just the opposite, interested in foreigners investing their money here, and therefore as simple as possible. Moreover, although the prospects and timing of Montenegro’s accession to the European Union are not yet completely clear, for many people, getting this country's passport already today seems like a good way to become a citizen of the European Union soon.

Another thing is that everything is not so simple - for the actual sale of a passport Montenegro asks quite a lot. To buy a property off the beaten track, in order to receive the document you will have to pay from 250 thousand euros, and in a developed region - from 350 thousand, and another 100 thousand in any case should be transferred to the accounts of the state itself. Moreover, this option is not offered to everyone - within three years from the launch of the program (2018-2021), it will be necessary to submit an application, and only 2 thousand lucky ones who will be allowed to participate will be selected from all applicants.

In the absence of big money, you can go a longer way, after receiving a residence permit in the country. If you bought a house here, you are issued a temporary residence permit, which is valid only for a year - during this time you need to gain a foothold and get additional reasons to stay. If you have not found a job and have not tied yourself in marriage with someone from the local, you will be able to do without a visa only if the purchased object costs more than 40 thousand euros - then you can be extended the residence permit.

Regardless of what type of property you decide to purchase in Montenegro - an apartment, a plot of land or a house - your transaction will begin with the so-called preliminary contract. It says not so much - the terms of the deal itself are described (what, where, when, for how much, from whom and to whom), the method and terms of payment are considered, and the amount of the deposit, usually about 10% of the agreed value of the purchased object. The specified amount of the deposit must be transferred to the previous owner, who is obliged to issue a receipt for it, that he received the money specified in the preliminary contract.

After that, the main contract of sale is concluded, the legal registration of which should be addressed only to the public notary offices of Montenegro - these are the rules of the country. Here, the painted points are already significantly more - in addition to what was described above, it should be mentioned, for example, that the seller agrees to re-register the object to another person.

As stated above When buying a home in the secondary market for citizens of post-Soviet countries, the tax is 3% of the amount. In general, as practice shows, taxes, legal support and re-issuance together increase costs by about 5%, so when choosing a property, you must also take into account this mark-up.

The clause that the seller will not have anything against reissue is important for the reason that logically, any new owner should immediately issue the purchase in the state cadastre. However, according to Montenegrin laws, this can be done not at any time in the future, but in the first 30 days from the date of the transaction. It is better not to experiment with what will happen if legalization does not happen in the proposed period, and so that there are no unnecessary problems on the part of the seller, who “changed his mind” and puts stick in the wheel, the agreement on his consent to re-registration is specifically spelled out.

If you are buying a free land plot, planning to engage in building yourself, it is worth considering that in Montenegro, not all lands suggest further development.The reasons why a particular site, from the point of view of legislation, is not suitable for construction, may be many, but you are unlikely to succeed in changing this status of the territory, and any building erected by ignorance or insolent will be considered illegal and may be demolished. .

Many of our compatriots, planning to acquire real estate on the Adriatic, decide to sell "extra" real estate in their homeland in order to gain money. The division of one procedure into two stages greatly delays the process and involves a large amount of paperwork, which is why some potential investors are not even willing to consider such an idea, considering it too difficult to implement. In fact, the problem can be solved somewhat easier than it seemed.

There are international real estate agencies offering an exchange service, for example, Russian real estate to Montenegrin. Instead of two separate operations, each of which can be delayed, one is offered and quite fast, since you are not looking for either a buyer for Russian property or a seller of Montenegrin real estate - this is considered to be the same legal entity. As a result, you may not receive money in your hands, but do not wait until the object you sell is purchased - specialists simply arrive at the address indicated and estimate how much your house or apartment that you offer can cost.

Due to the cooperation with a serious company, you can simplify the process of renewal, even if it "eats" part of the budget. At the same time, such services usually work only for Moscow, St. Petersburg and other major cities where real estate is in demand.

Answers to questions about buying property in Montenegro are given in the next video.