Buying property in Bulgaria
can a foreigner buy property in Bulgaria?
If so, is it complicated? What is the process of purchasing a property in Bulgaria?
Any tips for buying property, such as a check-list of items to verify ?
Thanks in advance for participating!
Christine
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Anyone wishing for safe contacts in the Veliko Turnovo area may contact me.We have seen people ripped off by both Bulgarian and the expat community but we have never had a problem.
I started a company in Bulgaria with the intention of buying a holiday cottage but I have since come to regret this and in the end I only purchased a building plot. The houses I looked at were ones that were structurally fairly sound but needed modernisation, mostly having no bathroom and only the crudest of kitchen facilities. On my visits to Bulgaria I stayed at various hostels. The useful thing about hostels is that the staff generally speak good English so they can tell you about Bulgaria, local attractions etc.
Mention has been made of horror stories from foreigners who have been ripped off in various ways. The most well known of these are probably the cases of people buying "off plan" apartments on the coast that never get built. These did not worry me as I was planning on buying an existing structure. When in Bulgaria I started hearing other tales of woe. Some people have bought houses in villages and spent a lot of money on new bathrooms, kitchens, windows etc only to find a bare shell next time they visit Bulgaria. Thieves (these crimes are normally attributed to the Roma community) see the empty property full of nice new equipment, break in and rip it all out to sell on. This would be heartbreaking and it was enough to put me off buying a house. Part of the idea behind buying a holiday home in Bulgaria was that it may either be used later as a place to retire or it might eventually go up in value so could represent a low outlay investment. For these reasons I did not give up entirely on purchasing a property but bought a 1500 square metre plot on the edge of a village. The land is "in regulation" which means it is classified as building land rather than agricultural land.
Personally, I have ended up moving to Hungary, a country which is similar to Bulgaria in some ways but much more westernised in others. Village houses here are not as cheap as in Bulgaria but still only a fraction of the price you would pay in France or Spain, let alone UK. Europeans can own property here in their own name so there is not the need for starting a company, employing an accountant etc. The biggest disadvantage of Hungary compared to Bulgaria is that hardly anyone here speaks English and Hungarian is a more difficult language than Bulgarian.
fidobsa wrote:The biggest disadvantage of Hungary compared to Bulgaria is that hardly anyone here speaks English and Hungarian is a more difficult language than Bulgarian.
Do you really find this to be case with the youngsters in HU? I visited Budapest not too long ago and some regions around it, and found that the youngsters spoke a dissent English, enough to understand them and vice versa. As far as the HU language being more difficult, can't say much. But have a BG friend that claims it is just a matter of a year or so to study it and you would know it. He claims to know it and I've heard him speaking to HU, but for me not knowing it at all is hard to say either way.
Don't take my word for it that Hungarian is a hard language, ask any linguist or Hungarian. I know of a chap who has lived and worked in Budapest for 15 years, has a Hungarian wife and bilingual children but still struggles with the language.
My apologies for going off-topic on what is supposed to be a Bulgaria thread. My mention of the country in my previous post was merely to present it as a possible alternative for those looking to buy holiday homes or relocate.
Are you still looking to buy a property in Bulgaria ?
I am Bulgarian and my husband Belgian . We can always help you for free ? Dont hesitate and contact us.
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽Axinia Milanova
You could give some information on the forum so that everyone can benefit from it.
Thank you.
ps:
Christine - 大咖福利影院 team
Like you known I am now Bulgarian and my husband is from Belgium .
We already help a lot of people from Europe and UK . Bulgaria is beautiful but when you buy a property you need to be extremely carrefull. You are looking to be happy and not to be angry !!
Your Expat forum is really perfect and will help a lot of new buyers from UK and the rest of the world
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽Sincerly yours ,
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽Axinia
Welcome to Bulgaria .
The best is renting a cheap car , drive arround and discover your future region or village .
Than look to see if you find your dream house ! And the most important take an English speaking lawyer to help you when you buy in BG
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Axinia
You like to buy in Bulgaria , no problem but take ALWAYS an laywer who speak English !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Alex do you know that in 2006 a UK real Estates together with his BG collaborater from the coastside cheated many UK citizen who all lost togheter more than 250.000 pound !!
So again and again take first an independant lawyer !!!
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽Axinia
Since this year, Bulgaria changed it's law which means foreign individuals do not need to start a company anymore if they want to buy a plot of land or house!
This means buying something now is much easier, avoiding (yearly)costs involved with the company.
Kind regards,
Alex
Mary
Guys, could we please concentrate on the initial topic ?
We're looking for advice and not for agents
thanks
Regards Robert (uk)
@SERGESSR, there are many people who can help you with buying a house in Bulgaria, but it depends on the area you are looking to buy a house in.
@Rmsparey, there are a lot of options about buying a holiday home near the sea. The main options are:
1) to buy a holiday home directly in a town/village on the seaside
2) to buy in a 10-20 km radius from the sea
The problem with 1) is that it costs more and is usually cramped with buildings in the bigger towns. If you are not a party animal, you should avoid Sunny beach, as this is what it is and it is definitely the direction it will be going in the future.
Option 2) is way cheaper and you can get a house in an are that is not so crowded.
But it all depends on what you are looking for. Personally, I will choose some smaller village directly on the sea(I prefer the south part more). Great places(for now) are Lozenets(the best combination of modern and authentic and not so crowded place) and Nessebar(but there are a lot of tourists here in the summer, as the town is of historical importance). Another option is to go south near the Turkey border. There are almost deserted areas around there and you can really enjoy a better relaxing lifestyle.
Good luck!
If you are interested in buying property in Bulgaria I highly recommend considering this choice. I'm not a realtor but the head of the project is a friend of mine. You can contact them in Moscow or Bulgaria. High quality and lots of support. Check it out for yourself at pines-beach-resort com not far from Varna.
If anyone is interested to write to聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 hotel_ray@abv.bg
Upon purchase of the property do not forget to make sure that no encumbrances on the property mortgage, etc.
good luck!
ivankagp@yahoo.com
I see that one can get a 5 year bulgarian residence permit if one has a company in Bulgaria. So once you open the bulgarian company that is required to buy property in the country, is that enought to get a 5 year residence permit? Or does it require some "activity" or reputation of any kind?
You can stay in Bulgaria for 90 days without a visa. Does that mean that if I cross the border once every 90 days, I can practically live in Bulgaria as long as I want without a visa?
Just to be sure...can foreigners buy AGRICULTURE land in Bulgaria if they form a bulgarian company?
What is the general price of getting unregulated land regulated, and does regulation neccesitate establishment of electricity and water supply and cloaking system? Im asking because I want to build a house without electricity and water.
What is the max percentage of building area on a regulated plot?
Is it legal to build a windmill on your property in Bulgaria? In Denmark it appears to be illegal.聽
What are the total costs of opening a bulgarian company, all fees included?
Many thanks,
Mikkel
I understand you are from Denmark is the country which is a member of the European Union. To get a residence in Bulgaria will need based on what being in the country. If you own a registered company in Bulgaria will actually be appointed as manager of this company and you will have a contract to work in Bulgaria. You will need also ask you a contract to rent apartment or can relocate property declaration by the person who is in Bulgaria which states that you live in his address. Also you have to do a translation of a Bulgarian identity document that you have.
It is not necessary to prove activity of your company. To obtain a residence permit in Bulgaria nationals of member states of the European Union is easy.
Company registered in Bulgaria may purchase any real estate in Bulgaria land and suffering, no matter whether they are agriculturally or for new construction.
All costs for registering a company in Bulgaria is around 450-500E.
Your comapny will have an annual fee for accounts maintanance that it depends on the workload of the company min 300E per year
I hope this information is useful for you!
Ivanka Petkova
ivankagp@yahoo.com
AlexBulgaria states that foreigners buying land in Bulgaria doesnt need a bulgarian company anymore, but I suppose I still need a company to get residence permit.
I have been looking at cheap agriculture land in Veliko Tarnovo, but I would like a plot of land far from neighbours and would prefer a place with big mountains and nature such as in the south. Is it realistic to find cheap land in the south and then convert it to regulated land easily?
Does anybody here live in the Rila mountains or other places with high mountains?
Im looking for a cheap ruin or agriculture/forest land in a rural mountain area with no neighbours in sight. Preferably close to a town but just isolated from its roads.
Mikkel
What does a bulgarian lawyer cost all in all for carrying out such a process and is it possible for me to obtain all the documents eventually saving hours of the lawyers work? Do you pay a bulgarian lawyer pr hour or pr property?
this may be off topic and a bit of a cleche but i am thining of buying/renting a beachbar/cafe. would anyone know of a good realestate office?
yavlena.com/
mirela.bg/en/
Both websites with English version so you may search and compare.
Cheers.
I'm local. I have worked for some real estate agencies. Now I don't, but I still have my contacts.
There are so many beautiful houses which are in dying villages. Still, a house can be that easily manipulated to look solid. You don't just need an agent, you need a friendly agent, who can state the exact condition of the property, what is it made of, is there any inner-wall leakage that with time can ruin the whole electric system, what the neighbours are... These are just some of the things you need to know.
How do you imagine living in the crappiest part of Paris, just because you see that Paris is a beautiful city?
You need someone to guide you. Getting a lawyer is the easiest, but he knows that you cannot ask him for refund if the house turns out disaster...
Better think twice, and then decide whether you wish to take that risk to buy on your very own...
A friend of us bought just a property without Real Estate and you know what ......... any problem at all and in two weeks all the documents ok !聽 聽 聽 聽 聽
聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 聽 Axinia
Moving into a new community is no more difficult in Bulgaria then in any other country of my experience and offers the same hazards as one would encounter in the UK. I talk from the experience of having moved into small communities in several parts of the UK on the basis that I did what the poster considers impossible; got in my car, found a village, bought a property and moved in.
The advice offered by the last poster is off topic and misleading although clearly well intentioned. I for one would be fascinated to learn why the poster thinks Bulgaria is unique in offering barriers to potential immigrants.
In my experience in several countries on several continents there will always be people who will dive head first into property purchases which turn sour. There will also, always, be agents, whether they be of the estate or best friend variety who will give advice which is not necessarily in the best interests of the property purchaser.
Can you imagine the naivety of someone who takes advice on the purchase of a property from someone who has been employed by the owner of that property to sell it on his behalf? I can, I've seen it on several occasions and here we have an expert suggesting just that - I trust the members here to make a sensible judgement of how useful that advice is.
The reality is that swimming in the shark infested waters of ex-pat existence is risky and only for the aware. The only opinion one should trust is one's own as it is one's own money one is risking. It makes perfect sense to ask the opinion of others but treat it warily, check it, check it again and then make your own mind up.
There are, IMHO, two kinds of people in this world and they exist everywhere; the good and the bad. If you are incapable of identifying which is which then curl up and die. If on the other hand you have the imagination and courage to settle in another country then trust your own judgement and seek out the good, you'll find them with some searching.
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