The American actor John Malkovich has joined the growing ranks of westerners snapping up properties on the Adriatic coast after putting in an offer of £3m for a large villa that once belonged to Yugoslavia’s communist elite.

The 51-year-old Hollywood star’s bid has been accepted by the estate agents but needs to be rubber-stamped by government officials in Bosnia-Herzegovina before he can take possession of Villa Aurora in Trsteno, 20 miles west of Dubrovnik.

The complexity of the purchase is a legacy of recent Balkan history. Although the home is in southern Croatia, it has remained Bosnian state property since the bloody break-up of Yugoslavia. The villa bears the scars of war and Malkovich will have to splash out on extensive repairs.

The 1,500sq m villa and gardens was used as a summer retreat for top Communist party officials after the dictator Marshal Tito took power at the end of the second world war.

Like the historic gems destroyed when shells rained down on nearby Dubrovnik in the early 1990s, Villa Aurora was targeted by warring Serb and Croat troops.

The villa and outbuildings were plundered and ransacked by each side when they used them as a base for their militiamen. As one set of troops was forced out, they destroyed as much as possible to leave the house uninhabitable for the enemy troops about to seize control. Since the end of the war, in 1995, it has lain unrepaired and abandoned.

There are cracks running along the stone courtyards and some of the windows are missing — either blown out by retreating troops or stolen. Despite the damage, the property holds immense charm. Built in the early 20th century from local stone for a wealthy merchant, the main villa has 10 bedrooms. Five other smaller buildings were used as servants’ quarters and for storing supplies.

The Aurora offers a magnificent view of the Adriatic islets of Lopud and Sipan and has a private beach and a stone swimming pool filled with sea water.

It is just 200m from the 500-year-old Trsteno Arboretum, which includes 60 acres of parkland, a nursery and olive groves, as well as a pine forest. It has been a state nature reserve since 1948.

Malkovich, whose family emigrated to America from Croatia in the 19th century, first glimpsed the property from the sea while cruising on his yacht in the Adriatic last year. He said at the time that he had fallen for the beauty of the local coastline and the “quiet bays” that were not only free of paparazzi but offered the lure of fresh seafood, a staple of local cuisine. Malkovich is now waiting for the Bosnian finance ministry to finalise the deal for Villa Aurora.

The actor is not the only celebrity to have been taken in by the charms of Croatia’s Adriatic coast. The French diver Jacques Cousteau described the waters off the Croatian coast as “the cleanest and clearest” in the world. The playwright George Bernard Shaw dubbed Dubrovnik the “Pearl of the Adriatic” and, in the 1970s, the film star Elizabeth Taylor described the Adriatic as one of her favourite places on earth.

Two years ago, the Leeds United footballer Mark Viduka splashed out a reported £500,000 on a villa in Dubrovnik. Even the Prince of Wales was rumoured to be weighing up an investment in a Benedictine monastery on the remote island of Mljet, northwest of Dubrovnik, when he paid a visit in 1996.

Slightly further north, the port of Split also draws well-heeled property investors. Goran Ivanisevic, the former Wimbledon tennis champion who was born and raised in the town, has nearly finished building a luxury villa in the exclusive Meje area for himself and his family.

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