Legal Advices

Step by step purchasing process

• While foreigners can purchase buildings or property in Bulgaria they are not currently allowed to buy land. This is expected to change before EU membership next year. In the meantime it can be easily worked around by setting up a Bulgarian registered company.
• After the buyer has visited a real estate agency (or its website) and selected a property a preliminary purchase contract is drawn up and signed. This contract is legally binding, so the best thing you can do before you sign it is to visit the property in order to acquire a detailed idea what exactly will be purchased.
• Our lawyer will make all the necessary checks then, after which the preliminary contract will be signed. This contract outlines all details of the sale and a 10% deposit is paid at this point.
• The balance is paid on final exchange, when a final purchase contract is signed in front of a notary. Then new ownership can be registered.
• If purchasing off-plan, payments are broken into stages, usually three payments of 30% and a final 10% on completion.