wolfi

Re owners being helpful:
You still have to be very careful, sometimes the owners who want to sell will only inform you selectively ie won't tell you about problems with the electricity, gas, water etc - and of course possible problems with the neighbours.
So be careful and ask around!

xavierx

Investigating property in Hungary is so much more difficult than in the UK, mainly because the estate agents provide such little information, take terrible photos, almost never include any floor plans or sizes and absolutely definitely don't answer questions.

So being able to find out from the owner simple things like what utilities are available on the plot or what the annual property tax cost is a godsend, but yes, as an Englishman looking at property in Hungary, its going to be near impossible to find out about the problems without some help it seems

duztee

To say House hunting in Hungary is fraught with problems is an understatement and a half.
The list of things I should have checked and didn't is long indeed. and I had a native Hungarian assisting me(!)
Some were really stupid and simple, e.g. Hungarians LOVE net curtains and every window will be cover by them, did I move them and check the state of the frames, no it felt a bit intrusive. The result was a bill for 17 new windows and 4new doors when I did finally see the state of them.
Others that might not rear their ugly head until it is too late, my neighbour is a retired gent which seemed no problem, he is actually very active restoring and repairing old motorbikes, a hobby which involved a lot of grinding cutting welding and sheet metal work!
The other thing Hungarians are obsessively fanatical about is security which means every house will have a dog, a dog which is kept outside and will bark at any and everything, and often at nothing, but once one starts the others will chime in, and yes this does include at 1or 2 in the morning. Not so bad in the winter, but in the summer with windows open I can tell you mosquito screens are not great as sound insulators.
My suggestion is to buy/hire a campervan and park it outside any prospective properties for a day!

wolfi

Duztee is absolutely right re the dogs barking, it can really annoy.
And it's no wonder:
A few houses further on in our street is a house where two large dogs are chained to their doghouses - with chains max 5 m long!
Can you imagine how crazy these poor animals are?
Afaik there is now a law against this but ...
Another point:
Be really careful re handymen! We had problems at first, got some "ezermester" (thousands master) who did everything - but shitty ...
And we couldn't do much since we had no written contract.
Now we always ask our very friendly neighbours for recommendations - and it's been working perfectly!

scrubbedexpat0105

One prospective purchaser of my property was apparently dissuaded by the neighbour's four dogs, so the estate agent told me.

Bear in mind though that the absence of dogs in the immediate vicinity is no guarantee that the situation will stay that way! They are part and parcel of rural life in Hungary.

FenTiger

Another neighbour might have lots of cats. Opposite my Mother-in-law property six, further up the road the Sister-in-law has at this point in time six. According to a neighbour running a smallholding Mother-in-law cat killed one if their hens! So if you want them to be free roaming you'll have to set up a 24 hour watch tower!

FenTiger

IGNORE THE ABOVE - have just seen on UK government website you need apply to Budapest.

Driving in Hungary

This guidance for UK licences also applies to licences from Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey and the Isle of Man.

You cannot renew or replace your UK licence if you are resident overseas.

You must exchange your UK driving licence for a Hungarian licence within 1 year of the date you move to Hungary.

To exchange your licence, you need to provide:

• photo identification eg. passport
• address card (lakcímkártya) or an official document from the immigration authorities proving your right of residence in Hungary (residence permit)
• proof of health assessment from your doctor
• UK driving licence
• proof of payment of the administration fee (this may vary between £4 to £15 depending on your individual circumstances)

You do not need to take a driving test or provide a translation of your UK licence.

You must go to the following Budapest government office (Budapest Főváros Kormányhivatala) to exchange your licence:

XIII. district, Budapest Főváros Kormányhivatala
Központi Okmányirodai Főosztály
1133 Budapest
Visegrádi utca 110

wolfi

And if I remember correctly the Hungarian driver's licence has to be renewed every 5 years, have to get a doc to sign some paper.
Or did they change this?

FenTiger

Still the same. There's a thread of this. Mines up for renewal next year, 63, can't remember for how many years, might be three or five.

Peter_in_Hungary

To be pedantic it is not the licence that runs out but the medical - without which the licence is not valid. For mere mortals it is 5 years between medicals, for others with more advanced licences (HGV, bus etc.) it is 3 years. When you get a bit older the normal licence drops to 3 years and then annually (but I forget the exact ages)

wolfi

Peter, thanks for correcting me.
Yes, that medical - if the doc is your friend, it's no problem.
But if you forget it ...
A neighbour of ours once was a month over the limit and they didn't allow him to drive home - though he was a retired policeman ...

ecurb

This Hungarian goverment website has details about exchanging foreign licenses , this page is in English
https://nyilvantarto.hu/en/driving_l...naturalization

FenTiger

I found something which states from 60, it's 3 years but seems that publication maybe out of date.

FenTiger

It's the fitness to drive certificate age ranges the above are referring to. Can't see anything on that document.


Category 1:
Up to 40 = 10 years, 40 to 59 = 5 years, 60 - 69 = 3 years, 70+ 2 years.

Category 2:
Up to 45 = 5 years, 45 to 59 = 3 years, 60+ 2 years.

Sachina

It doesn't drop to annually. It drops to every two years.