Two families from Chile and Mexico are now finalising contracts to purchase properties under this initiative.
Legrad’s Mayor, Ivan Sabolić, explained that the latest call offered four properties, two of which garnered interest from returnee families—one from Chile and the other from Mexico.
The properties include houses, but they are in such poor condition that they need to be demolished. Sabolić noted that the future owners have visited their new homes and are very pleased with the location.
Neither family has roots in Legrad, but both were drawn by the public offer and later by the charm of the area itself.
Joshua Grozdanic Ormazabal shared that his father is Croatian, while his mother is Chilean. He returned to Croatia two years ago and has been searching for a housing solution ever since. The Legrad property program caught his attention, leading him to decide to move from Velika Gorica to the small municipality near Koprivnica.
Joshua, a flight attendant, says that life in Croatia is better than in Chile, which was a key reason for his return.
Similarly, Ana Raquel Figuero Avila, a Mexican, explained that her husband’s grandfather hailed from Lika, Croatia. They had been planning to leave Mexico, and her husband’s Croatian roots made returning to this part of Europe an appealing option.
After a brief stay in Croatia, the couple discovered Legrad’s program through media coverage. The nearly free land, with the condition of establishing permanent residency, was enough to persuade them to settle in the Drava River area. The two families will even be neighbors in their new homes.
So far, Legrad has sold 13 properties through this program, and no more are currently available. The municipality is waiting to inherit or be gifted more land or houses, at which point they plan to relaunch the initiative to continue improving the demographic outlook of the area.