Slovenia joined the EU in May 2004, prior to this some Slovenes and a few foreign nationals who were in a position to buy property anticipated Slovenia's entry into the EU and began to drive up the prices of property and land.... This said, property and land is still very good value for money compared to other European countries. Slovenia is a rare new entrant to the EU by not placing a restriction on other EU citizens buying property for the first few years after accession. In most cases, buying is relatively straight forward and uncomplicated. Since Slovenia joined the EU the complicated process of obtaining permission has been swept away and the property market is free of legal restrictions for the EU citizen.

Our aim is to protect you

Our aim is to protect you and give you advice to allow you to choose your own route. We at Live Slovenia.com will give unbiased advice and information based on our experience of buying property in Slovenia, but the final choice of how to proceed is yours. Which ever route you choose, some of the formalities are the same and all have their own pro's and con's, it is up to you to decide which method suits you. Our purpose is to cut out the 'middle man' ensuring that the purchase you have agreed with the vendor is the same price agreed by the owner of the property. Before purchasing the property we can liaise directly with the owner to confirm the price, thus preventing 'mark-up' by the agent/vendor, and in many cases, negotiate a better price. Registered and licenced Agents are bound by law to charge no more than 4% commission on sales, normal practice is the commission is split 2% owner and 2% buyer. We have heard of many other charges levied by agents and vendors and have been asked many times what are the charges over and above the price of the property. Here at Live Slovenia, we make things very simple for you. Should you choose to use our services for purchasing your property here in Slovenia, we charge the following fees: For properties up to and including €35,000 the fee is €1,000, for properties over €35,000 to €250,000 our fee is €1,500. Included in this fee is your application for Tax and ID numbers (the correct forms will be completed for you ready to hand in to the Ministry of Finance), Lawyers fees (Including the contract), Land Application fees, Notars fee (for verification of signature) and entry to Land Registry. To put it simply: A property costing €29,500 will cost €30,500 to complete with no hidden extras so you know the costing from the start.

Safe and Secure

Many people have expressed concerns regarding paying/sending deposits and large amounts of money to agents and vendors here in Slovenia. Unlike the UK, lawyers here do not hold money for property purchases, neither do agents... but your money has to go somewhere. We can take care of this for you too - When is it time to transfer the balance of your purchase you will be given the 'Swift' and 'Iban' numbers of the account you need to pay into. DO NOT use money transfer offices for many reasons, One is that with Swift and Iban you know exactly where your money is going and is traceable at all times, another is that money transfer offices are very expensive and are open to fraudulent transactions. Live Slovenia.com will not hand over your balance to the seller or the agent until the last 'I' is dotted and the last 'T' is crossed on the contract to ensure that your investment is safe. We will issue a receipt and the owner will sign as proof that the amount you paid is the amount they received.

Mortgages

Buying property in Slovenia is really for people who are able to finance their own purchases. Mortgages are rare in Slovenia for non Slovenian citizens. SKB Banka, one of the three biggest banks in Slovenia, can help you finance your home in Slovenia very quickly. The mortgage through SKB Banka is arranged on your property in Slovenia and not taken as a second mortgage on your home in the UK. We have also become aware of a company in the UK who may offer loans for foreign properties, their details can be found in the 'Frequently asked Questions' section.

Do your Homework

Before you think of buying in Slovenia or any other EU country, you should take the time to learn as much as possible about the area you would like to live in, surf the net for geographical and topical information, or click on our 'Region map' and then 'Region Information' to read about the various regions in Slovenia, think about how you intend to get there, and what you expect from your new home and surroundings. Think about how much time you want to spend renovating your dream cottage, Slovene tradesmen (Electricians, Carpenters, Brick layers) are extremely efficient and amongst the hardest working tradesmen we have ever seen. Try to get some idea of costs to buy and renovate your property and costs of new houses and apartments. The choice is up to you, many people like to renovate and enjoy the fruits of their labour while others prefer 'Des res' apartments and being able to take the time to socialise, take in the scenery and enjoy the wonderful lifestyle.

Consider how you would deal with an emergency whilst you are here and out of the country - would you be better off having a management company taking care of you, as well as providing services such as emergency repairs, heating the property in winter, cleaning, security, bill payment and collecting post and packages, or just cutting the grass? Live Slovenia.com has a full management service covering all these aspects and more, click on the Property Services menu for a list of management services we provide.

Take the time to make a list of all possible properties and draw up a short list before coming out to Slovenia; then you can use the time here to the maximum advantage to narrow the list down to your final choice. Also keep in constant contact with your vendor, do not presume that the property on the web site is still available, some vendors can be a little slow in updating web sites using cheaper properties as 'carrots' to entice you to Slovenia to purchase a dearer property. We remove all sold properties from our site on payment of deposit and place it in to the 'Properties recently sold' section, so you only need to click the page to see if the property you are interested in is still for sale. All properties listed on our site are for sale with the exception of the properties recently sold. We have a very good working relationship with our Estate Agents and owners who inform us the moment a property is no longer available.

The best way to find your ideal place is web search to start because of the distance problem. Making a short list of properties you would like is the best idea, the more the better. To try for one property only can be difficult at times especially from March onwards where properties are sold on a daily basis, however, during January and February most people are looking and thinking rather than buying so you are in with more than a good chance of getting your first choice. When emailing us, please use the 'Contact Us' page, try to make your questions as detailed as possible rather than "can we have more details" or "send us details of properties you think we would like". Also include the property ID on ALL emails and before sending, take a look in the FaQs section, some of your answers may be there along with ideas about getting the best answers.

We work hand-in-hand with estate agents and property owners for two reasons, the first is that only licensed estate agents can sell properties here other than private sales and second, you will be sure that the property is sold/bought at Slovene prices and not inflated tourist prices.

We can help you every step of the way here and the procedure is simple.

1, You find your property/ties on our or any other web site. If you tell us exactly what you want and why you want it, we will give you the best advice we can to make sure the chosen property suits your needs.

2, Keep checking the 'Properties recently sold' section to make sure that the properties are still available. We mark a property as sold and inform the agent the moment the deposit is paid.

3, Book your flight to Graz in Austria with Ryanair.com, ferry tickets with P&O or the train with Eurostar, as soon as possible after your choice is made because things change quickly here.

4, Send us your flight Itinerary, Date, time of arrival, booking ref, and number of passengers, or if driving, date and estimated time of arrival and number of passenger should you be requiring accommodation.

5, From here we can do three things:

a, We will send you a map with instructions on how to get here and you may hire a car from the airport and book your own hotel on arrival.
b, We can collect you at the airport for a cost of €55.00 for up to 4 people.
c, Book your hotel for you and take you directly there on arrival. We have a nice motel close to our office for as little as €25.00 per room per night. (the food is great)

Normally try not to view more than 6 properties per day because we have found it becomes confusing and stressful. The best plan is to view 3 in the morning, stop for lunch and then 3 in the afternoon, giving you time to relax and think in the evening. Some people make a decision soon, others take longer.

Should you choose not to buy a property, you will have time to relax, get to know the area and return/be taken back to the airport in time for your flight home and hopefully we will see you again.

Should you choose to buy a property this is what happens next:

1, You will need to pay 10% deposit in either GBP/EURO is does not matter but cheque's are not accepted in Slovenia for obvious reasons. You should then be issued with a receipt for your deposit.

2, You will then need to apply for your Slovenian Tax number and EMŠO (Slovene ID Number) Pronounced EMSHO that will stay with you for life in Slovenia.

3, You should, if possible, (time and weekends permitting) be introduced to the lawyer who will deal with your sale so you will know who you are dealing with.

Now you have two choices.

1, You can return to the UK whilst all papers are completed and are ready to be signed, you should be informed when you need to return, this can take as little as a week or as long as two months depending on type of land purchased. You will need to return to meet with the lawyer and a court appointed translator who will help you complete the transaction.

2, You can sign power of Attorney to Live Slovenia.com or your Lawyer to act on your behalf and we/they will complete the transaction for you. With this we will keep you informed every step by email.

Above all else you MUST use the services of a Notar, Lawyer or an Advocate To make sure that all goes smooth and correct, we use a firm that is reputedly the best Advocate in this region - Dejan Rituper, Odvetnik, of Murska Sobota. Dejan speaks English as does his associate Andreja Kikec who also speaks German. Time permitting we can introduce you to Dejan or Andreja, prior to you making a purchase in order for you to ask questions, understand, and feel at ease with the procedures that will follow should you proceed with a purchase. We can also introduce you to other advocates should you choose not to use ours but as of yet, Mr Rituper and Miss Kikec have not given us or any our clients any reason to doubt their professionalism.

Other things worth bearing in mind before purchasing your property maybe extras such as bank costs, translation of documents (an official-Court appointed translator must do this), currency transfers and not forgetting transport of furnishings from your home to here.

Live Slovenia.com will assist in all the formalities if needed including the introduction to a reliable Advocate and appointed translator. Land searches in Slovenia have to be seen to be believed, a Slovenian Advocate can perform a land search normally within two working days, obviously a UK based Lawyer will take a little longer.

When is it time to transfer the balance of your purchase you will be given the 'Swift' and 'Iban' numbers of the account you need to pay into. DO NOT use money transfer offices for many reasons, One is that with Swift and Iban you know exactly where your money is going and is traceable at all times, another is that money transfer offices are very expensive and are open to fraudulent transactions. Live Slovenia.com will not hand over your balance to the seller or the agent until the last 'I' is dotted and the last 'T' is crossed on the contract to ensure that your investment is safe. Talk with your bank because as you know, all banks vary so you must take advice from them. We have used Abbey on a number of occasions and have found that I can transfer money from the UK to our account in Slovenia in under 24hrs just by one fax and a phone call (from them to us) for as little as £25.00 per transaction.

Some if not all Slovenian banks accept currency in all denominations and will keep it in that denomination until you decide to convert it. You should also be aware that as of the 1st January 2007, Slovenia adopted the Euro. We have two different denominations in our account, Sterling, and Euros. You will need to open a bank account in Slovenia (we will assist with this too) and in our experience it is much easier than in the UK and can be completed in minutes, you will need this account for the payment of utility bills, cable TV, management charges and so on.

Selling your Investment

If you wish to sell your property, Live Slovenia.com will be happy to advertise any property free of charge if you supply photographs and description, or we will be happy to photograph your property for a fee of €10.00 per hour + miliage.

Selected Properties

35,000 Euro 39,900 Euro 98,000 Euro 6,500 Euro