ABOUT PEOPLE & SQUARE METERS: Non-Bulgary

Ask me what is Croatia. My answer will be: it’s a resort country in the Eastern Europe somewhere on the half way to Italy. I don’t want you to doubt my intelligence, I had “excellent” in geography, moreover I can easily find a map of Croatia in Yandex. It’s just I am watching how the promoters of the Croatian real estate are forcing the Internet space. So strange they sound when they talk about the pearls of Adriatic and oases of stability. Without being ironic in any way I take off hat to them. You know it really differs from promoting a country known for its Corrido or Coliseum! Just imagine you will have to explain the difference between Croatia and let’s say, Bulgaria, and persuade people to go to the first!

First they claim being crisisproof. The prices are not dropping, they are merely moderately going down. The decrease makes about 5% as compared to the last year- this is the time for the owners of the Costa del Sol devalued villas to cry! Moreover tourism is developing, including camping, which means that it becomes ever more profitable to let accommodations and estates into lease.

Second, they mention the absence of taxes and fees. There is no annual estate taxes, utilities are paid only with the accordance of the meters, which means that during the off-season one ought not to pay for the utilities if the house is empty. It’s definitely a plus. Let’s take for instance foreign skiers possessing estate in Andorra: they pay for their empty flats for 10 months of the year so that they could enjoy skiing during the rest two months.

Third, the estate in Croatia is quite popular because of its neighbourhood to Italy. The region called Istria which is closest to the Apennines, is supposed to be the most promising region. In economical point of view it’s quite a fortunate option, taking into consideration the fact that square meters in Croatia are considerably cheaper: the same sea, the same climate, — so why should you pay more if there’s no difference? However I can see a shade of some pseudo prestige in all that. “I’ve bought a house in Istria!” – “And where is it?” – “Oh, it’s just next to Italy!”