Today as a result of the constant complaints by Mr and Mrs Frane  Boko, Sibenik sent the police and contractors to krapanj.com – unannounced – to remove things ?, they said it was only because of   “Frane and Zukera Boko” .

The production of written permission from the “Mayor of Krapanj”, and assurance that the “Mayor of Sibenik “ had confirmed that it should be honoured did not stop them.

Apparently they can remove whatever they want, and warned that complaining would result in further actions.

Now without any cover over the doorway,  water will pour down the steps into the property everytime it rains !

What are your experiences , do you find the bureaucratic system unworkable?

It is bad enough when you are a target of anti-foreigner sentiment, but to have the state support it, well that is really bad.    – Lets hear your experiences – use the comments link below…

(Extract from the blog of Jonty C. Entwistle, UK-based Estate Agent, 29/07/2011)

As we have often said in this blog, buying houses in Croatia has been simplified considerably in the last few years and many of our clients have benefited. We expect even more interest after Croatia joins the EU next year. However, investing in Croatia might still have to come with a small health warning, it seems. Not all regions of the country appear to be as welcoming as others.

Acting, they say, as a result of continual complaints from a neighbour concerning a small metal awning frame attached to the front of a house owned by an Englishman on the central Dalmatian island of Krapanj, Sibenik municipality recently despatched a team of contractors, accompanied by two large policemen, to remove it. A small occurrence of minor significance, you may think, but it appears there are circumstances surrounding this which deserve somewhat closer attention.

The house owner, Mr. Peter Saxon, informed the delegation when they arrived unannounced that the matter of the awning had been extensively discussed in the past and that he had direct approval from top officials at Mayoral level both from Sibenik and the island of Krapanj itself for such an awning. This failed to prevent the delegation from taking action by removing the metal frame and confiscating it. The Municipality representative apparently even told Mr Saxon that he should consider himself lucky that they were not going to confiscate his small flower pots containing geranium shrubs because his neighbour had complained about them as well.

I am perhaps not aware of all details but, from what I have heard, this action appears clearly to be yet another over the top response from local officials in central Dalmatia. The awning structure was apparently there for a good reason. Since Sibenik Council itself undertook construction work to raise the level of the Krapanj port, the house entrance now lies below ground level and some kind of awning is necessary to deflect rainwater from flowing into the house through the front door. One has to question the motivations of a local Council which could reasonably expect someone to let their house be flooded every time it rains as a direct result of their own construction decisions? A closer look at the incident reveals even more disturbing circumstances.

I discover that identical structures, which are locally made, exist over front doors all over the island, many or most of them there for similar reasons. This, I am told, was pointed out and, indeed, demonstrated to officials by indicating the very house next door to Mr. Saxon on the other side. Nevertheless, it seems only Mr. Saxon’s house was targeted for such action on behalf of the municipality.

From our perspective as an organisation dealing with clients interested in finding property in Croatia, this is worrying. It is clear that Mr. Saxon was made a victim of this heavy-handed action simply because he is a foreigner. No other obvious explanation exists if no one else on the island has been targeted. It furthermore seems obvious that the original complainants, a certain Dr Frane Boko and his wife, are displaying and have previously displayed, an undeniable measure of prejudice towards their neighbour, almost certainly because he is foreign. Sad to say, such anti-foreigner sentiment does still occasionally exist in Croatia, particularly amongst older people, though one hopes the forthcoming accession into the EU and the passing of time might eventually render this insignificant.

Whatever their motives, they have obviously used their influence within the Sibenik Municipality to bring about this unreasonable action against Mr Saxon in spite of reassurances given by the Mayor himself. It is therefore, sadly, clear that the once hospitable reputation of Sibenik in the eyes of foreign visitors and investors is under threat.

Reluctantly, and genuinely so, we will no longer feel able to recommend to prospective overseas buyers that they seek out houses in the Sibenik area. As regular followers of this blog will know, this is not the first case we have come across where local officials have acted unreasonably towards overseas buyers. Whilst the municipality is staffed by such ‘politicised’ personnel who choose, for whatever motives, to discriminate against foreign investors, the risk is just too great. Far better, at least for the time being, to seek out investments in the northern Adriatic where authorities actively encourage overseas buyers by simplifying procedures and regulations and some potentially excellent property investments are regularly hitting the market. We stand ready, naturally, to advise…

The influx of city people buying holiday homes on Krapanj, has created a divide, those who follow the local customs and those who try to imposed the state rules.

Krapanj now comes under the jurisdiction of Sibenik, this has created many legal abnormalities with regards to properties and boundaries – many houses that have been here for hundreds of years – do not exist in the state records, many more are still registered in the name of an ancestor.   Getting state permission to do anything to your property is still at best difficult, but more likely impossible.

I showed this picture to the Ministry of Culture Sibenik, they told me that it was an illegal structure on Krapanj.

I explained that it was provided and installed by the City of Sibenik, just a few months ago ? they said it is inappropriate for Krapanj and should be removed !

My wife and I have visited the island twice now, once a few years
ago and then again last summer. We like the atmosphere and feel of
Krapanj and have been thinking of possibly buying a small house or
flat there, both as an investment and a place to come for holidays.
We are now thinking of returning next summer to see if any suitable
properties are on the market. However, there’s one small but rather
sensitive issue we need to find out more about, which is why I am
writing this and hoping someone will be kind enough to respond.

Last August we got talking to a guy at one of the caf
ferry. He was Croatian but judging by his accent he might have
lived in Australia or New Zealand. Anyway, he seemed to know

Krapanj well. He said that there were several houses for sale on
the island but he also warned us to try and get information about
the neighbours if we were seriously thinking of buying a place.
Apparently almost everyone on the island is friendly and welcoming
but he said that, unfortunately, there were one or two who really
didn’t like foreigners and tried to make life as difficult as
possible for them. If you stayed away from them they were no real
problem but you wouldn’t want to be in the house next door.

Now, I don’t know if there’s any truth at all in this but, as you
can imagine, it’s something that would concern us. It’s also not
something that we could realistically find out much about in a
visit to Krapanj of just a couple of weeks. Could I therefore ask
any other foreigners who have bought property on the island what
their own experiences have been? Do you know of any genuine
examples of ant-foreigner sentiment on the island or was this guy
just exaggerating? (Hopefully so!) Is there any other advice you
might be able to offer? Indeed, do you know of any possible houses
for sale?

I’d appreciate it very much if you could drop me a line
at rbriley@hushmail.comAny feedback will of course
be kept strictly confidential and will, of course, be rewarded with
a grateful coffee – or something stronger – next summer.

Many thanks.
What do you think?

Richard and Betty Riley, Eastleigh, Hants.,UK.

Someone sent in this link, but I don’t know why ?

Is this the son of Frane and Zukera Boko?
Krešo, Ulix …. Is this your friend ?
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