Let’s talk today about the pros and cons of owning real estate in Montenegro.
The advantages largely depend on how you use your property in Montenegro, and there are different ways to use it. Let me remind you that foreigners usually buy real estate in Montenegro for one of the following three reasons:
- For permanent residence after immigration
- For extended annual vacations
- For rental purposes and income generation
Real Estate in Montenegro: Pros
Let’s now list the pros of purchasing real estate in Montenegro:
1. When living permanently in Montenegro after immigration, owning your own property is much more comfortable—if only because you don’t need to ask the owner’s permission (as in the case of renting) to make changes, such as renovating or replacing furniture.
2. For permanent residents, having their own real estate reduces overall living expenses in Montenegro.
3. Having property in Montenegro allows you to use it as a vacation home. Many foreigners come only during the season, spending 4–5 months in the country each year. Buying property drastically reduces costs for long stays—real estate pays off completely in about 15–16 years.
4. Spare money should be invested wisely, and real estate is undoubtedly the most reliable investment. Investing in a business or stock market carries risk, but property retains value. In addition, property investment in Montenegro is more secure than in CIS countries.
5. Montenegrin real estate can be used to generate income, i.e., by renting it out. Rental income in Montenegro is comparable to that in other European countries.
6. There is an opinion that once Montenegro joins the EU—which will undoubtedly happen sooner or later—real estate prices will increase, allowing profitable resale. Whether this is true is unclear, but theoretically, it’s possible. Still, prices have remained stable for many years, and it’s hard to see how EU membership will affect pricing.
7. Real estate is the kind of investment that never fully depreciates and will one day be inherited by your children.
8. By purchasing property, you can obtain a residence permit in Montenegro.
As you can see, buying property in Montenegro has clear benefits. But what about the cons?
Real Estate in Montenegro: Cons
When people google the disadvantages of owning real estate in Montenegro, honestly, I don’t quite understand what they expect to find. What disadvantages could there be to owning property at a European seaside resort? Real estate in Montenegro is certainly not useless and won’t get in anyone’s way. Worst case—if you ever want to exit your investment—you can always sell the property.
The only thing to really consider is what exactly you plan to buy. Alongside good properties, there are options that clearly should not be purchased. But these are not cons of owning property in Montenegro—they are cons of making a poor purchase decision. To make that clearer, let me give a few examples.
Example: Non-Urbanized Plot
I had a client who once told me she wanted to buy a cheap non-urbanized plot. For those who don’t know, you cannot build anything on non-urbanized land in Montenegro. So you can buy it—but the reason why is unclear. I told her not to buy it under any circumstances. She replied that she could only afford a non-urbanized plot because it was much cheaper than an urbanized one, and that she would wait for it to become urbanized.
I explained to her that she might be waiting for decades—or it might never happen. No arguments helped, and she bought it. In the end, she became the proud owner of land on which nothing can be done, and which will be very hard to sell. Even after 20 or 30 years, when she realizes the urbanization will never happen, she’ll still have to find someone crazy enough to buy it.
Is this a con of buying real estate in Montenegro? Absolutely not. It’s a con of a poor, misinformed personal decision. She should have bought a “normal” plot—or none at all if the budget didn’t allow it.
Example: Illegal Property
The same applies to buying illegal property. I understand the motivation—people want to save money. But they forget that being cheap can end up costing you double.
Resale and Liquidity
I’m quite sure I’ll never leave Montenegro. I’ve lived here for many years, and I love it. But if you think you might want to leave someday, buy property that can be sold relatively quickly.
All the complaints about people taking too long to sell real estate in Montenegro come down to two causes: either they’re asking for an unrealistic, above-market price, or they simply didn’t think through what they were buying. Again, these are not cons of owning real estate in Montenegro—they are cons of poor decision-making. As with anything in life, you need to use your brain when buying property. If you do, you’ll enjoy all the advantages and face no real disadvantages of buying real estate in Montenegro.
