"I first got the idea of buying a house on the beautiful island of Hvar a few years ago, and went looking for a property with a Croatian friend who had a house of her own on the island. I soon discovered that buying a house in Croatia isn't quite like buying a house in France or New York, the two places I have lived. Getting clear title is very complicated. Prices are, to put it kindly, fluid. Nothing is straightforward, the way Americans expect it to be.

By the time I asked the Broker Agency to help me in my search. I had already seen several houses I had tried to buy slip through my fingers. I still wanted more than ever to buy this exquisite island, but I realized I needed help.

I was looking to buy a traditional stone house on the island-not one of the modern villas erected after World War II. Broker showed me several, and I made an offer for one that pleased me immensely. I was prepared to engage in the time'honored practice of offering something below the asking price and meeting the owner somewhere in the middle. Forget it. Doesn´t work that way.

Following Broker's advice, I met the asking price and expected to hand over my deposit immediately, go to contract and wrap up the closing in short order, as I planned to pay all cash.

Then ensued the REAL negotiation, which meant convincing the owner to go through with a sale he was half-hearted about in the first place, with his family pressuring him to take the place off the market. Here's where Broker went from being a pleasant, cordial and thoroughly professional real-estate agency to my heroes. Over the course of the following two months, the principals of Broker engaged in a shuttle diplomacy between Split, Hvar and Zagreb worthy of Middle East peace talks. The owner was selling, he wasn't selling, he was selling but only under unacceptable conditions. It was surreal. The prospect of losing yet another house loomed large, and discouraged me mightily. But Broker stayed with it, and, it seems, wore the seller down with a combination of iron perseverance and finesse. I got the house! I am currently trying to buy the house next door. It's another shall we say, um, unusual situation. You better believe Broker is doing the negotiating.

As you can tell, I'm a big fan. The Dalmatian Coast is fast turning into a booming real estate market for entirely logical reasons. It is simply stunning, and it's been left relatively undisturbed while overdevelopment has trashed much of the rest of the Mediterranean coastline. But buying a house there has unfamiliar wrinkles, and the wrinkles have wrinkles, which means you need help. Broker was that help for me, and I count myself very lucky that they were.

Regards, Josh"




"I set out in the spring of 2004 with the intention of buying a home in Croatia to use initially as a holiday home and then to retire to as soon as I'm able. Through the internet I found the Croestate.com website which not only had the widest selection by price of properties for sale but also gave the most comprehensive description and warnings of the buying process in Croatia, so I emailed to arrange a visit.

On my first visit to the Broker Agency in Split, and on subsequent visits, I was welcomed by my email respondent with warmth and with a genuine interest in my particular needs, and she has continued throughout to be my point of contact. We went through my list of possibles from the internet, eliminating those we both agreed were not suitable, then arranged to view the others a couple of days later. I was also taken through the same info about buying as on the website to be sure I understood it. It's not difficult, just different to the English style.

My agent drove me to the viewings and we discussed them objectively. There was no bias shown and no pressure put upon me to force a sale. I did decide on a property that day and we returned there to agree a timeline and price, handled by my agent as the vendor can't speak English and needless to say..

The Broker Agency includes legal support as well so provides the beginning-to-end service essential to someone like myself with limited time available. At all times I have been provided with timely and accurate English translations of all documents and have been kept informed through regular and friendly email contact.

I have been through both English and Croatian buying processes and would certainly say I have much more confidence through the Broker Agency's endeavours than I have ever had from the English equivalents.

Take care, Steve."




"A little while ago i decided that i would like to buy a small property in Croatia, after trying a number of other agencies via the internet, i came upon your website. From the first contact i was very impressed by the friendly and helpful manner in which i was assisted, every time i needed help or assistance, you were back in no time, so far, the whole purchase, which, given the distance and the different country laws has gone very well indeed, i am happy in my mind that was it not for the manner in which you assisted me, it could have been a lot more difficult to do.

To this end i thank you for all your assistance, i know now that as a result of this business transaction, i now have a new friend in Croatia and for that i am very happy.

Kind regards, Adriaan."