An independent look, before you sign
Everybody involved in a Croatian property sale is paid when it completes. The agent, usually the lawyer who drafted the contract, sometimes the person who introduced you. We are not. Our job is to tell you what the building and the street are actually like, including when the answer is that you should walk away.
The person reassuring you is usually the person being paid
This is not an accusation. It is how the transaction is built.
An agent earns a percentage of the sale. Their incentive is for it to happen, and the honest ones will still, quite naturally, describe the damp patch as “typical for a stone house”. It may well be. But you are hearing it from somebody who is paid if you believe them.
The situation gets worse with distance. Most buyers on this coast see the property two or three times, in summer, on days chosen by the seller. Winter, wind, the road in January, what the neighbouring plot is zoned for, whether the terrace drains, none of that is visible on a viewing in July.
We are on this coast anyway, all year, looking after houses that somebody else bought. A good part of what we know about buying here comes from repairing the consequences of it.
What we do not earn
- No commission from any seller
- No referral fee from any agent
- No cut from the lawyer or surveyor we introduce
- Nothing extra if you go ahead
The same rule as everywhere else on this site. See partners.
One to narrow the field, one before you commit
Most buyers use the first several times and the second once.
We walk the ground you cannot: the street, the neighbours, the noise, the access in winter, what the photographs leave out.
- The setting assessed on foot, not from a listing
- Access, parking and what changes in high season
- Photographs and video from your point of view
- Written verdict, including the reasons not to buy
The building and the paperwork examined together, by people who have no interest in whether you buy.
- Condition survey of structure, roof and installations
- Title and land-register check through an independent lawyer
- Utilities, boundaries and access confirmed
- One report with findings, risks and what they will cost
Ranges, not quotes. What a property needs only becomes visible on site, so the figure that counts comes after the survey, before any work begins, and in writing.
The problems that are expensive are rarely the visible ones
The paperwork does not match the building
An extension that was never registered, a floor area on the title that differs from the one on the ground, a boundary that has been assumed for thirty years. Cheap to find before the purchase, very expensive afterwards, and it decides what you may rent out later.
Water, in every form it takes
A roof that was patched rather than repaired, a terrace that drains inward, a stone wall that has been damp for a decade. On the coast this is the single most common category, and the signs are readable if you know the buildings.
The setting, in the other nine months
The road that is a rat run in August, the campsite behind the trees, the building plot next door, the wind that only shows up in January. A viewing in July tells you almost nothing about the year.
None of this means do not buy. Most properties we look at are worth having at the right price, and knowing the roof needs replacing is not a reason to walk away. It is a reason to negotiate, or at least to arrive without a surprise. What we deliver is the list, with what each item is likely to cost, so that the decision is yours and it is informed.
Ranges, and why they are ranges
A house on an island with an unregistered extension is not the same job as a flat in a managed building. The range covers the ordinary cases; anything unusual we tell you about before we start, not on the invoice.
What moves the figure
- Distance and whether the property is on an island
- House with grounds rather than a flat in a managed building
- Extensions, conversions or anything not on the original plans
- Inherited ownership, or several owners on the title
What is not in it
Third-party costs, the lawyer, a structural engineer where one is needed, official extracts from the register, are invoiced to you directly by the people who do the work.
We do not mark them up and we take no share of them. That is the same rule as everywhere else here, and it is the reason the advice is worth having.
Prices for looking after the property once it is yours: our services.
What buyers ask us first
Are you estate agents?
Do you value the property?
Who does the legal side?
How long does it take?
Can you do this outside your usual area?
What if we buy and then want you to look after the house?
You may be looking for one of these
Property management Croatia
What the term actually means in Croatia, where the statutory building manager stops, and the paperwork side: utilities, bills, deadlines, records.
Villa management Croatia
Larger houses with grounds, pool and a lot of technology, where a walk-through is not enough and presentation matters.
Caretaker service Croatia
The hands-on side: walk-throughs, small repairs, seasonal work, storm call-outs.
Holiday home management Croatia
Your own stays and your rental season: arrivals, changeovers, guests, eVisitor.
Property inspections Croatia
The method itself: intake, checklist, photo reports and three escalation levels.
Send us the listing
A link to the property and roughly when you would need to decide is enough to start. We will tell you which of the two makes sense, and whether we are the right people for it at all.