Useful information

Buying a property in Bulgaria can be divided into three stages:

The first stage of buying a property in Bulgaria.

After inspection and selection of a suitable apartment or house in Bulgaria, the Buyer contacts the Company (realtor, developer, property owner in Bulgaria) and arranges a meeting with a representative. At the meeting a Deposit Agreement for the purchase of the property is concluded, which stipulates the terms of the preliminary agreement (the Buyer pays the Deposit amount usually from 500 EUR to 2000 EUR) for the reservation of the right to purchase a property in Bulgaria for the period agreed in the Deposit Agreement. The deposit amount paid according to the agreement is counted towards the purchase price of the property in Bulgaria.

The second stage of the property purchase in Bulgaria.

The Buyer of the property in Bulgaria agrees and signs with the Seller a preliminary contract for the sale and purchase of the property, according to which the Buyer must pay for the property (it can be an instalment payment, a one-time payment, etc.). The preliminary contract describes all the terms of purchase, specifies the following points: parties to the contract, description of the property, legal purity of the object, terms and procedure of payment, date and place of signing the final contract – the notarial deed of purchase – sale of real estate, sanctions for failure to fulfil the terms of the contract, etc.

After signing the preliminary agreement for the sale of an apartment in Bulgaria, the Seller starts to prepare the documents for the transaction and the Buyer pays for the property according to the agreement. On the appointed day the Seller and the Buyer meet at the notary for the transaction. At the transaction at the notary’s office the parties confirm the fulfilment of all conditions of the contract, the notary checks the documents and certifies the notarial deed, after which it is sent for registration to the district court and the Entry Service. This procedure takes from 2 to 5 days.

After signing the notarial deed, the Buyer accepts the property from the Seller and a deed is drawn up.

The third stage of buying a property in Bulgaria.

After the Buyer receives the notarial deed, the new owner of the property in Bulgaria, must register with the Bulstat Service and the tax office in the territorial area. Also, if necessary, re-register with the water and electricity organisations. The agreement on the maintenance of the property in the complex, if any, is signed.

This is how the standard stages of buying a property in Bulgaria look like, which may differ only in terms of payment and terms (using credit or long-term instalments).

The costs associated with the registration of the title to the property in Bulgaria and amounting to ~ 5% of the cost of the apartment or house are paid by the Buyer.

The process of buying a property in Bulgaria is a chain of certain steps, which are simple enough for professionals, but for an inexperienced in legal matters may seem difficult. Let’s describe all the stages of this process to help future buyers of property in Bulgaria.

The first and very important stage in the registration of the future purchase is to check the property for cleanliness (no encumbrances). Whether the seller has the title to the property, whether he has no mortgage on the property, whether there are no third parties who have the right to use the property, whether there is no prohibition to sell, no open court cases that could prevent the buyer from exercising his property rights – all these questions should be answered even before the purchase documents are drawn up. If you have a lawyer, he will easily carry out such a check: analyse the authenticity and correctness of the documents establishing the rights of the parties, make sure that the seller has the right to sell the flat, check the absence of persons who could claim their rights to the property.

After you have chosen a property in Bulgaria or with the help of an agency, and after it has been reserved, you will most likely need to agree and sign a preliminary contract. It specifies all the main terms of the transaction: payment procedure, bank details of the seller, terms and amounts of payments, description of the property itself. The preliminary agreement does not require notarisation, nor does it require the certification of signatures in it. However, the preliminary agreement is not always drawn up – payment for the object can be made in full and when signing a notarial deed.

Then the preparation of documents for registration in ownership begins. It is necessary to order and prepare the following documents:

• a scheme of the property from the Cadastral Service;
• tax valuation of the object from the Tax Service;
• certificate (extract) from the register of the district court on the absence of encumbrances on the acquired object;
• text of the final contract (notarial deed) and declaration.

If the Buyer and the Seller act through authorised persons, each of them must prepare a notarised power of attorney and the relevant declarations in advance. Properly executed declarations and powers of attorney shall be submitted to the notary on the day of the transaction.

The execution of the notarial deed, which is a document of title to the property in Bulgaria, is done in the presence of the notary in the area where the property is located. The notary checks the status of the object of sale and the cleanliness of the transaction on the basis of the extract from the register of property rights and other documents. The notary confirms the fact that the property belongs to the seller, certifies the signatures of the parties and the transaction itself as a legal act. The notarial deed is drawn up only in Bulgarian as the national language of the Republic of Bulgaria.

The buyer – a foreign private person for the registration of the real estate must provide at the first stage only a passport, and from the buyer – a legal entity will also be required the constituent documents for the company, which must be translated into Bulgarian and apostilled (if required by law). Before the notarial deed is executed, a declaration of civil status and citizenship, as well as a declaration of origin of funds must be filled in and then signed.

Depending on the price of the property, notary fees, transfer tax and state duty are payable. Depending on whether you sign the notarial deed yourself or your proxy, you may need an interpreter.

After the notarial deed is signed, it is submitted by the notary to the district court for registration. The special judge who maintains the state registry makes changes to the ownership of the property in the state register of immovable property. The notary returns the notarial deed to the notary with a corresponding mark on the registration made. Within a week after the realisation of the transaction, the buyer receives a notarial deed of ownership with a mark of the district court on the registration of the ownership right. To receive the notarial deed, the Buyer or his authorised person must come to the notary office with his passport. The notarial deed is a certificate of ownership.

The final stage of the paperwork is the registration of the property with the Bulgarian Statistical Office (BULSTAT) and the tax office. The process of registering the property takes about a month. After the property is registered, you receive a BULSTAT number.

As you can see, it is important to control a lot of things during the purchase of a property, so it is always safer to turn to professionals who have a thorough knowledge of local laws and regulations. The support of a lawyer will help you avoid pitfalls in documentation and other situations

Buying a home in Bulgaria may have seemed like a pipe dream or just a project that is almost impossible to realise. But it is all in the past. Even today the owner of housing in this sunny country can become almost everyone who has such a desire and has certain resources. But the question of where it is better to buy property in this region remains open, because there is no unambiguous answer. Let’s try to understand what exactly you need and what you expect from such a large-scale acquisition.

How to choose a property and not to fail

You can not just take and buy the first house you see, because there is also the concept of infrastructure, as well as personal preferences. If you like silence, then the hustle and bustle of the city will quickly bore you. And, of course, it would be irrational to settle at the foot of the mountains avid fans of beach holidays. Try to answer the following questions for yourself:

What do you like more: the mountains or the sea?

Property on the Black Sea coast is one of the most expensive. In second place are flats and houses in the mountainous surroundings. The cheapest place to buy a property is in the countryside.

What is your goal in buying property?

If you wish to make some money on this purchase, then opt for the southern areas: Sunny Beach, Sveti Vlas or Nessebar. These are all resorts with a favourable location and a large flow of tourists. You can also consider ski resorts as an option. Renting such accommodation is very profitable. But it is better to settle in quieter and quieter places.

What budget are you willing to allocate to buy property?

The cost of property in Bulgaria depends on many factors: region, coast, square footage. On Sunny Beach or in Ravda will be cheaper, but closer to Sozopol prices increase. But this is if we talk about resort regions. In smaller villages, housing is as affordable as possible for the average client.

Along the Black Sea coast of Bulgaria are scattered many small resort towns such as Byala, St. Vlas, St. Constantine and Helena, Obzor, but of course the two main resort places in Bulgaria are Golden Sands and Sunny Beach. I would like to tell more about the latter resort.

Over the last 8 years Sunny Beach has been greatly transformed. There is a developed industry of recreation and entertainment, both for singles and families with children.

There are three water parks to choose from with a full range of water fun, starting with pools and slides for the youngest and ending with steep slopes for thrill-seekers. Going to such a water park, you will not notice how the day flies by, and get a charge of positive emotions for the near future. It is worth noting that in any hotel or complex in Sunny Beach the administration will tell you where there are free minibuses to the water parks.

Don’t like the limited territory? There is a 10-kilometre beach with warm blue sea at your disposal. Here you can hire a sunbed and sun umbrella. Along the beach there are bars with snacks, ice-creams and soft drinks, all in Sunny Beach. It is possible to hire a jet ski or parachute over the water. Fishing lovers can go out to sea.

To move around the streets of Sunny Beach resort you can take an electric scooter.

For lovers of sea delicacies there is a myriad of restaurants for every taste and purse. It is worth noting that the fish is caught in the Black Sea, so the dishes will be fresh. But if you want exotics in the form of lobsters, they will also cook them for you. In general, the variety of dishes in restaurants and their availability is amazing. You will not let you starve here. And children will surely be delighted with oriental sweets, such as nougat, various halva, rahat-lukum, baklava, etc. And of course in summer there is a sea of fresh and tasty fruits available on the corner of any street in Sunny Beach.

As evening falls, life does not stop. On the contrary, the streets are crowded. Sunny Beach is alive around the clock. Some people go to parties in clubs or restaurants, others just take a leisurely stroll along the sea. The nightlife in the clubs booms until the morning.

It is worth noting that next to the resort on a rocky peninsula 850 metres long and 300 metres wide is Old Nessebar. To describe this town in two words, it is a frozen time, an open-air museum. It is the oldest town in Europe, founded more than 3000 years ago. It was founded by Thracians at the end of II century BC.

All the above-mentioned opportunities of Sunny Beach resort for owners of apartments give a good opportunity to have a rest in summer for a month or two, and during the rest of the season to earn money by renting out their apartments to tourists.

When choosing an apartment in Sunny Beach you should take into account some nuances, as the supply of apartments is huge.

Firstly – the location. The place should not be noisy, so that you can sleep both day and night.

Secondly – the presence of a pool on the territory of the complex and its size. The pool in the complex should be of normal size and with the opportunity to sunbathe near it, not always there is a desire to go to the sea. The amount of space (sun beds) near the pool should be proportional to the number of apartments or at least within reasonable limits.

Third – the possibility of renting out the apartments to the developer or management company for the promised money before the purchase.

Fourthly – quality of finishing works and furniture, distance from the sea (sea view) should correspond to the price for the apartment.