(not OP)
>>82824I doubt people would expect much (if any) money if they offered you a place. People would sell their shoes to feed their guests.
>>82825There are loads of weekend houses for sale, mainly targeted at foreigners I presume. Assholes stealing the deals is certainly the case, but not by a large margin really. I really suggest you learn the language though, because people are very tolerant if you can speak it (properly or not).
As for Russia fucking up the place, recall that Former Yugoslavia has never been part of the Eastern Bloc of the late USSR, so there is negligible influence at all.
As for where, none of the cities bar Sarajevo are that large, but you'll find reasonably sized town dotted everywhere, so living in the middle of nowhere isn't unheard of by any means. You will need a car, though. Amazingly there is pristine concrete even in the most unusual places (see image).
Be aware that there are still the odd places littered with mines, mainly atop mountains. If you're into hiking just bare that in mind (most places have signs labeled "PAZI MINE" (caution, mines) or something along those lines), otherwise it is hardly a problem.
Image is somewhere, I think Bjelašnica (mountain).