mawood47

Yes I forgot to state the Wife is Hungaren, it,s a good job she is, we atttended the Law,s to do the Deed,s and hand over the amount witch we did, we left, I was happy to have the Property but short lived next Day phone call to wife the Law,s office stating I was and could not have the Propery in My name, the Lawer did not do his Job Properly and the cost re tract the sale was a bit of some think we did not know how to do. That was 3 years ago when exchange rate 289fh to pound

Peter_in_Hungary

When the lease comes up for renewal then it must be done under the regulations of the day - where does the buyer stand? - well the buyer (legally the Hungarian bought the property) owns the property! it's the lease holder (foreigner) who looses out.
Other problems arise if a death occurs amongst the parties, this can be a real bag of worms regarding ownership, user rights, leasehold and inheritance tax, not to mention the the fact that Hungarian law is very specific about property inheritance.
There are very few companies that own land as companies were only allowed to own land for a very short period, but yes if a foreigner purchased a company that owned land then they would effectively become the owner.
If a foreigner buys a holiday home and comes unstuck by trying to circumvent the regulations then OK they loose maybe 30K to 40K GBP, probably survivable given its a holiday home. If the same thing happened to someone who had sold up and retired here then that could be real problems.

billyandjan

Hi Everyone

Just to say thank you for all your insights and advice. We will be taking all this on board very seriously.

Very interesting to see all the different rules and regulations (Laws) on EU/Non EU, Freehold/Leasehold, Agricultural and so forth.

We will keep reading the forum just in case you guys right something more that takes our interest. Again, thank you very much for all your comments and advice.

Regards Billy

John Gilbert

As long as the wife or partner is Hungarian thats fine as the property can be in their name. Problems arise if the Hungarian partner / wife dies before the non-Hungarian. The non- Hungarian partner can not inherit so the property goes to the Hungarian family. Maybe the answer next year will be to own a house in the village plus the agricultural land on the hill (within 20 km) It will be interesting to see how the law emerges over the next year.

mawood47

There is no Tye To
Closed Garden Land. and a owning a House in the Village we live 45 k from the plot Zarkert The Law is clear, My Wife is Hugarian, if she pass away before me being a English the Law the plot can the propery can be regersted to my self, but if I sell then only to Hungarian I know is the Law at Present. How ever a Brt. who as Plot near to me for 10 years the Plot is in is name but he can only sell to a Hungarian

Peter_in_Hungary

The Hungarian law on succession inheritance is very different to English law, there is the principle of forced shares, to ensure close relatives are provided for and a hierarchical order in the event that a person dies intestate, this starts as follows:
The children of the deceased,
The descendants of the children,
The spouse of the deceased (only in the absence of children),
Parents of the deceased,
Note that the spouse is third on the list!! The law resolves the apparent problem of the spouse being potentially left destitute by giving the spouse a beneficial interest (the right to use) in all property not otherwise inherited by the spouse. Since foreigners can use Hungarian land/property this does not create a problem. The Hungarian law excludes the application of foreign rules related to any Hungarian property.
The law also regards as Hungarian any child of a partnership where one of the parents is Hungarian, regardless of place of birth, so children can inherit with the spouse having a right of use. The right of use is not transferable or inheritable.

There is no inheritance tax between close family members in Hungary, but this does not stop the UK from charging inheritance tax. There is no dual taxation agreement between UK and Hungary regarding inheritance tax.

A bit off topic but perhaps relevant to those retiring here.

Health warning - I am not qualified to advise on the above matters.

duztee

I had the same information from my solicitor when I bought, so would say Peter is, if not qualified then still very acurate.

mawood47

Two subjects Wrong

Rural Hungary

Would agree, there are a couple of threads on here covering the topic, unless I imagined it hmmm No, sure there is as it had to do with the importance of making a will in Hungary.

Widows rights can be a sneaky one but if you have a competent solicitor, you have nothing to worry about as it will be on the title.

The Hungarian law excludes the application of foreign rules related to any Hungarian property.

About a year ago, there was actually a heated debate on this subject as, despite personal experiences being posted and extracts from both UK and Hungarian law, there was apparently a solicitor in Keszthely ensuring a forum poster that as they were from the UK, they could choose to use UK law instead of Hungarian.
Interesting point on Hungarian children, I did not realise that the inheritance law was not applicable to non Hungarian children. Can you clarify on the point as I'm sure it will be useful to many. For instance, a family who move and live here but neither parent is Hungarian. A couple who move here but their children and older and remain in the UK. Does the law of forced shares apply in either case?

mawood47

First I have and allways been working class earned every peny, so for me to make life work over hear, the one and only 1 can Trust is the words of Law, so I did my research . The wife Hungarin no children that maid life easy we have a Deed of Convance if I dye first my investment ie property is sold and funds past on to my grandchildren this is a legal docement witch was drafted by the Law section in District 11 law office and duly stamp and wittnes to. if the wife dies first then all go,s to my self, as sole serviver

Peter_in_Hungary

The law, as far as I know, as it pertains to Hungarian real estate (as opposed to other assets) specifically states that Hungarian real estate is subject to Hungarian succession inheritance law and the Law will not entertain another jurisdiction of choice. This means that foreigners who own real estate in Hungary cannot avoid Hungarian inheritance law regarding Hungarian real estate.

For other assets I am not sure if the forced share applies to foreigners.

Rural Hungary

That's as I knew it, movable assets were different, if I remember correctly. I'm sure there was a new law brought in which caused some confusion though the end result was the same as even if Hungarian law allowed for the inheritance to be dealt with under UK law, there was a clause in UK law which would in turn revert the inheritance issue back to Hungary!

cathyg

My lawyer advised that as house is in my name only if I die first then house goes to our children first even though they re not Hungarian and don't live in Hungary. I am sure they would not evict their dad but something maybe to be aware of if you have remarried.

Peter_in_Hungary

The children can't evict the spouse because the same law that gives the house to the children gives the spouse the right of use (right of abode), which effectively makes the house unsaleable without the consent of the spouse and the children can't stop the spouse living in it. (And of course the spouse can't sell the family home because they don't own it).

FenTiger

I think I'm lucky in that my wife is Hungarian and still holds a Hungarian passport ....so there shouldn't be too many barriers for her to purchase property. We won't have any issues with children because there aren't any unless you count our two dogs!