Buying an Apartment

1. You find the apartment you want to buy on our website and send us the reference numbers. Our website shows all current property for sale and is updated constantly.

2. Reserve the property by paying a reservation fee. In order to reserve the property which has ticked all the boxes for you, you’ll need to sign a Reservation Form and pay a reservation fee amounting to 1000 Euros (in most of the cases) and then the property will be reserved for you for the next 30 days within which period a preliminary contract should be drafted and signed and respectively funds organized. Please note that the reservation fee is non refundable but will be deducted from one of the installments due to be paid on the property. The reservation fee can be paid either via a bank transfer which takes normally 3 to 4 business days or in cash in our office.
In most cases the legal process is dealt with by a lawyer nominated by our agency and known to be an experienced professional. In case that you would like to use his services for a complete check up of the property to be made, a preliminary contract fee will need to be paid together with the reservation fee amounting to 250 Euros so that he can start the preparation of the preliminary contract and the respective check ups straight away. After all checks are completed a Letter of confirmation is being issued by the lawyer stating that all check ups have been completed and advising the client how to proceed.

3. Sign a preliminary contract. The preliminary contract is the most important step to be made as it sets out all agreed terms and conditions of the deal including property detailed specification, property price, payment terms, delivery date, rights and obligations, penalty terms and etc. You will need to sign the contract in order to proceed with the purchase. This may be done in person or by your duly authorized representative.

No agency commission will be charged!

4. Arrange Payments on time as per the preliminary contract.
Usually the first installment is due upon signing of the preliminary contract and you are given 10 to 14 days to organize and transfer funds to Bulgaria. The remaining payments are to be paid as agreed in the preliminary contract.

5. Checks are carried out again on the title documents, construction documents, licenses and permissions, debts on the title, terms of contract and etc. After all checks are completed a Letter of confirmation is being issued by the lawyer stating that all check ups have been completed and advising the client how to proceed.

6. Sign the Notary Deeds. Once final payment is made as per the terms of the contract, the vendor will invite the Buyer to make the final transfer of ownership. The Buyer may either be present in person in Bulgaria for the actual signing or authorize a third person to sign on his behalf. The Buyer is responsible for the payment of all fees applicable upon transfer of ownership such as the local tax, notary tax, court registration fee etc. The exact amounts depend on the different municipality regulations and of course on the value declared in the Notary Deeds, which value may, by mutual agreement, be sometimes different from the price stated in the preliminary contract.

The Land and Notary Fees are to be paid together with the final installment on the property so that the lawyer manages to prepare all needed documents for the deal on time.

7. You now become the new owner of the property!

8. Bulstat Registration. BULSTAT registration should be required for property owners who are foreign legal entities that do not have such a registration – they are not registered according to the Commercial Act or at the Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry and also for property owners who are foreign individuals who are not permanent residents of the country.

An application for the registration at this Unified Register for Identification of Economic and Other Subjects in the Republic of Bulgaria should be filed within 7 days of signing the Notary Deeds for purchase of real estate, at the respective local office of the National Statistics Institute. It takes up to an hour for the registration in the BULSTAT Register to complete, upon which a temporary certificate is issued which is valid one month. Upon the expiration of that period a permanent identity card is issued. The Registry Office keeps a file for each registered person. The registration is automatically terminated in case of death of the registered person but the BULSTAT Register keeps an archive for a period of 10 years, after which period the information is transferred to a state archive.

Please note here that if the registration is not performed in the required term, the law foresees a penalty up to BGN 700 for individuals and up to BGN 1000 for the legal entities. The legislator’s presumption to require such a BULSTAT registration is that the foreign entities that are not permanent residents could not be identified.

9. Registration of the property with the Tax Administration. The Local Taxes and Fees Act applies for every foreign citizen according to which the the owner shall inform the municipality on the acquisition of the real estate in writing within 2 months and submit a tax statement for levying an annual property and garbage collection tax.

10. Transfer of the water and electricity accounts under the name of the new property owner.