Private individuals are allowed to purchase property in Bosnia and , but must first apply to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of Justice for permission to do so, but this process can take a number of months. The other option available is for a company to be set up in the country – by using this method permission only has to be obtained from the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations, which makes the procedure a whole lot faster – usually around ten days processing time.

There are no real regulations or standardised practices for buying property in Bosnia and Herzegovina as of the time of writing, and though the government is slowly changing this, things can be pretty chaotic. Above all diligence is required on the part of the buyer – hire a reputable lawyer, use real estate agents with a good reputation and if using them, make sure builders and developers are reliable. A preliminary contract is drawn up between the buyer and seller, and once it is signed by both parties a deposit is paid, usually of three to five percent of the total purchase price.  Once permission has been obtained from the relevant ministry and the purchase has been initiated, the purchase must be registered with the local property register for the legal ownership to be signed over to the buyer. Unfortunately this can take a very long time – some surveys put it at around 300 days – though a provisional title is given when the registration is applied for. Once the provisional title is granted, the purchase can go through fully.

A number of fees are payable on completion of the transaction, with lawyer fees varying but usually being around three to five percent of the purchase cost. There is also a property/real estate tax that must be paid to the local authority – this can range from around five to fifteen percent, but again it varies through the country.

Once a property is in the ownership of a foreigner, they are party to the same rights as any other citizen of Bosnia and Herzegovina, including the right to rent properties out as they see fit.