Hello, I see that you did not receive any response and most likely by now, you have your answers. However it is good to know that you can open a bank account in Serbia without residency. Joint accounts are not known in Serbia. In the case of a couple, one is the main account owner with the other having access. This is annoying if you do online banking because only the main account owner has online access.
It is not necessary to have residency standing to rent a home. You must know however that the owner, not the tenant, is responsible for all utility bills. As such, there may be reluctance to rent out a house. Apartment rentals seem much more common. Also, it seems that for the most part, the tenant is responsible for repairs to the home. It is best to have a contract which stipulates all details.
I hope this post is helpful.
