The good news is that a foreign national does not need to ask for permission to purchase a property in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The emerging property market is similar to other developing countries with high end construction, and investment opportunities.

Your estate agent operates in a reasonably transparent and competitive market, given the newness of the market; most agents only operate in the major town, handling mostly residential sales along with apartment rentals.

Property valuation is not regulated in Bosnia and Herzegovina, there is no national body offering this service, so you're Agent's local knowledge of property and prices will prove invaluable.

At this moment we are unaware of any mortgage lenders in Bosnia and Herzegovina that will offer foreign nationals finance to assist with property purchase.

It is easier to complete a property purchase if you use the company route, this will cost you around €1000 in fees and an initial start up capital of €2000. Owning a company then has a regular obligation of maintaining your accounts to present to the tax authorities making life that little bit easier.

In every case engage a trustworthy lawyer, you will pay between 3-5 of the agreed selling price to the seller. To be valid properties must have been registered in the property books within the local courts. Properties are also recorded in the local Cadaster (property map) which provides a unified property and cadastral system. This property law has only just been implemented, as property books are frequently out of date and many property books were destroyed during the civil war. This is where your agent comes into his own as it is his job to ensure that your property purchase has a clean title deed.Registration procedures allow for a "subscription" which is a temporary registration of property rights, pending authentication. Once this has been done, you are then obliged to pay the seller of the property the balance of the money owed. (Because of court backlogs it can take up to a year to get the property registered and get title deed).

You will have to pay 6% property tax and a 1% property tax payable. At this moment there is no Capital Gains Tax in Bosnia and Herzegovina for foreign nationals buying and selling property. As a foreign national you can rent out your property in Bosnia and Herzegovina without any requirement to obtain a rental licence from the authorities.

Sometime in the future Bosnia and Herzegovina will become members of the European Community and when it does the prices of property will be considerably more than they are at the moment.

These guidelines are meant for guidance only and describe a straightforward purchase scenario. However this information is not meant to replace proper legal advice, which we always insist you take.