Buying and selling property in Serbia: full transaction support, ownership registration and coordination with notaries through RICS Consulting

Updated 17.09.2026 · 2 min read

Price and location are only part of choosing a property. Before paying an earnest-money deposit, establish exactly what you are buying, who is entitled to sell it and which steps separate payment from a registered right.

1. What to check before making financial commitments
2. What the contract must make clear
3. Banking and the transaction budget
4. How RICS supports a buyer or seller

• The owner, ownership shares and the authority of the seller or representative.
• The property in the cadastre: address, floor area, permitted use and correspondence with its actual condition.
• Encumbrances, restrictions, annotations and unresolved registration matters.
• Construction and use status, and available property documents.
• Debts, existing tenancies and arrangements for vacating and handing over the property.
• For a foreign buyer: eligibility to acquire the particular type of property.

Notarial formalities do not make prior checks unnecessary. Some risks concern arrangements, payments and the actual condition, which need to be examined before signing.

Record the subject matter and price, payment stages, conditions for return of the earnest-money deposit, handover deadline, included property and actions needed to register the buyer. Separately agree the documents and consents the seller must provide.

Contracts transferring real estate in Serbia must follow the prescribed notarial form. If one party acts under a power of attorney, check its content and form in advance, before travel and money transfers.

Before promising payment on a particular date, check the banking route and source-of-funds documents. A complex international transfer can affect the timetable as much as preparing the contract.

The budget includes the property price, applicable taxes, notary, interpreter, registration payments and agreed intermediary commission. Tax treatment depends on the transaction: the same percentage cannot automatically be added to every new-build and resale property.

1. We review the task and the property documents.
2. We organise legal checks and set out the issues identified.
3. We agree the contract, payment arrangements and handover.
4. We coordinate the notary, interpreter and registration actions.
5. We check completion of the agreed stages and the post-transaction documents.

If the property is being bought for residence or business purposes, we will include the relevant requirements in the review. Before starting, you will receive the scope of work, price and factors affecting the timetable.

The purpose of support is to make each party’s obligations clear before payment and bring every agreed stage to a documented result. A promise of zero risk does not replace that work.

We will review your starting information, identify the sequence of actions and prepare a cost estimate. You will receive the scope of services, indicative timescales and a clear next step.

Information checked on 17 September 2026. Before applying, confirm the current fees and requirements for your category.

• Serbian Chamber of Notaries: notarial acts
• Serbia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs: legalisation of documents
• Welcome to Serbia: finding and renting a home