Below you can find a short introduction to the main legal matters to take into consideration when buying a property in Bulgaria. This is not meant to be a complete guide and we highly recommend seeking independent advice from a Bulgarian lawyer before you buy or sign any binding documents.

Who Can Buy Property in Bulgaria?
All foreigners can generally buy property in Bulgaria; the main restriction is that currently it is not possible for non-Bulgarian citizens to own land (or a property with land).
Even though Bulgariah as just entered the European Community in 2007 they have got until 2014 to make the necessary changes to their legislation to make the market equal for all EU citizens.

This doesn’t mean that you cannot buy land or a property with land but you will have to do it through a Bulgarian registered company so you will first of all have to set up a Bulgarian company.
This can be done relatively easy though and within a couple of weeks your company could be ready. The price, including both taxes and legal fees, would be around 1000Eur and apart from this you will have to deposit 1750Eur-2500Eur which you will have at your disposal as soon as the company has been set up.

Private Contract
When you have found a property you would like to buy the first thing you will have to do, before you sign a contract or put down a deposit, is have your lawyer go through the legal situation of the property (like the ownership, outstanding debts and charges against the property).

When this has been done and if there are no problems then the next step would be to sign a private contract. The private contract (also called preliminary contract) sets out all the conditions of the sale like price, how it should be paid, the state of the property, date of sale, etc.

Upon signing the private contract the buyer normally pays down payment equalling 10% of the property price for second hand properties and 10-30% of the total price for new developments. Your lawyer should always create or, at least, see this contract before you pay the deposit. The amount paid needs to be clearly included in the private contract. If you are not able to be present when signing the private contract your lawyer can do this for you with a power of attorney.

Signing the Title Deeds
To make the purchase of the property legally binding you will have to sign the title deed in the presence of a Bulgarian notary and thereafter register the title deed in the register office.

The date for signing the title deed will be stated in the private contract but before this date there are some things you will need to prepare.
First of all, you will need to have the money ready. If you are planning on financing the purchase with a mortgage from a Bulgarian bank take into consideration that this can take up to 3 months to clear (see Financial Issues of buying Property in Bulgaria for more information). If you plan to transfer the cash from your home country it can be recommended to set up a Bulgarian bank account so that you can transfer in the funds from abroad.

To make the title deed binding both the seller and buyer (or a representative with a power of attorney) will have to be present at the notary, if you do not speak Bulgarian an official translator will also have to be present. The notary will then confirm the identities of each part and make sure that all the documentation is in order before you sign the title deed. At this stage the property will officially change ownership and the notary will then register the new title deed at the official property register.

When the title deed has been signed you will then have to pay the total outstanding amount to the seller which can either be done with cash or you can transfer the funds to the seller from your local bank in the presence of the seller after the signing the title deed (bank cheques are still very new in Bulgaria and not used very frequently).

The last step would be for your lawyer to register your property with the tax authorities so that you can pay the annual property tax which will have to be done within a week after signing at the notary.