Buying Land in Slovenia

So you've found land to buy, how do you buy it.

The steps are slightly different to the UK, here is our experience of how it works:

1. Agree a price - a lot of people will accept 20% under the asking price, so don't be afraid to negotiate
2. Get a contract drawn up - some times the estate agent will help with this, but our experience was that it was better to do this with a lawyer directly, we used: http://www.odv-lamut.si/
3. We would advise getting a survey done of the property to uncover any issues which should perhaps be included in the contract. We used our friend who is an architect to this work, but it was really useful as it helped us understand the various complexities with the land we were buying, e.g. how does access to the land work, what are the flood risks, etc.
4. The contract will set out two key amounts that need to be paid - the deposit and the final payment. Once the contract is signed the deposit needs to be paid in a short time period. Once the deposit is paid both parties are committed to the transaction and there are penalties if either party cancels the agreement.
5. If you are getting a mortgage, then the bank you are using will need to see the contract before you sign it. If you are a foreigner living in Slovenia then there are fewer banks who will be willing to lend to you. We found Sparkasse to be the most helpful.
6. Once you sign the contract and pay the deposit, the seller needs to send the signed contract to the tax authorities for the calculation of how much tax is to be paid. The seller then needs to pay the tax, after which the tax authority will stamp the contract and send it back to the seller.
7. At this point the contract is lodged with a Notary until the final payment is made.
8. When the final payment is made, the Notary can then register the change of ownership on the land register - to do this you need to pay a court fee.
9. If you have a mortgage and you are not a native Slovene speaker then to you will need a court translator with you when you sign the mortgage contract at the Notary. You will also need 2 witnesses to be there for the signing of the contract. We are really grateful to our friends who came and sat through a 2 hour reading of the mortgage contract in order to witness it!
   

Although the process was different from the UK, we actually found it a bit more transparent. There was less of an issue with waiting for solicitors to speak to each other and doing "searches".

The fact that the land register is fully digital and that there are free GIS tools that allow you to explore a wealth of information about any plot of land before committing to a purchase gives a lot of confidence.

Our own process was relatively complicated as we bought 3 plots of land from 2 different sellers, but it is done now.

Please feel free to contact us on hello@woodenpassivehouse.com if you would like any further details.