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Archived Articles
Simeon Mitropolitski is a Canadian analyst, of Bulgarian origin, and a former syndicated columnist with the Bulgarian News Agency (BTA). He is the author of several hundred articles dealing with hot political and economic topics, both national and international.
He was part of the first group of Bulgarian intellectuals and students that began the opposition movement that finally put an end to the communist regime in this country in 1989, and in 1996-1997 participated in international observation teams during the elections in several Balkan countries - Romania, Albania and Bulgaria.
In 2002 Simeon and his family moved from Bulgaria to Canada where they live now in Montreal, province of Quebec. Simeon is a Master of Political Science from McGill University and a B.A. of Political Science and History.
Global Real Estate Project
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Croatia: Bright Spot in the BalkansSome time ago I dared cite some unpleasant facts about two Balkan countries, namely Serbia and Bulgaria, linking the scarcity of individual foreign investors there to the high criminal activity. My subjects were Sofia and Belgrade so I was very surprised to receive a negative reaction from people who lived in Dubrovnik (Croatia). Geographically Croatia is also considered to be Balkan. This doesn't mean although that people there like to be identified as such. In fact some areas of Croatia are as far from the traditional Balkan mentality as perhaps Austria is from the Middle East. Balkan country or not, Croatia offers some pleasant surprises to those who plan to make short trips or maybe even pass their retirement there. If you adore the South of France and Southern Italy with their stone houses, but you are terrified by the actual prices there, then maybe Croatia will be the answer. After the last war in the region (1999) and the fall of Milosevic (2000), the political situation in the Balkans looks much safer. The tourists are back and some people from West Europe and North America are looking for places to pass their golden years. The Adriatic coast of Croatia is disposed for such plans and if you carefully consider all the circumstances, this could be your golden chance to prepare for this important decision. As we already mentioned in our previous article, the citizens of many countries (the United States are included in the list), can purchase land and a house in Croatia. However the foreign ownership requires Croatian Foreign Ministry approval. This look as a standard practice, but it can take up to two years to obtain. Such requirements don't apply if you have established a company in Croatia. It takes perhaps only a month but also incurs some additional expenses. The first impression looking at the prices in Croatia is that there are no market rules at all. A stone house can cost $100,000 on one place and a similar house on the next street can cost $250,000 or more. Why are the prices are so different? This is due to the fact that the cheaper house, perhaps 200 years old, is sold as it is. The more expensive one has been renovated with air conditioning and some other modern amenities have been added. The exact location also plays a significant role. The properties around Dubrovnik, a city built from 7th century, are more expensive than in many other places on the Adriatic Sea coast. In some villages houses between $50,000 and $100,000 can still be found. There are also timeshares available. In general the less the initial price, the higher will be the cost of renovation after the deal. In Croatia the good news for the foreign investors is that the war of secession in the early 90's raged relatively far from the Adriatic coast although the Serb army from time to time bombarded Dubrovnik. So if you buy a house near the seacoast there won't be any danger to step upon some land mine. The bad news is linked to the property titles. Before the war more than 10% of the Croatian population were Serbs. Some of them had their own villas on the coast but were forced to leave the country. Some of these villas were sold; some remained empty and were occupied by local Croats. If you want to buy, it would be highly advisable to learn as much as possible about the previous owners. This will give you a peace of mind.
Country profile:-------- --------------------
See also the directory of companies providing real estate services in, and general real estate information of Croatia.
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