Requirements to buy a property in Bulgaria

In order to purchase land or property as non-Bulgarian nationals, a Bulgarian company must first be established. Bulgarian company registration can be done from another country before a viewing trip is arranged, but it will cost more money as all documents need to be signed in front of a notary public and then sent to your country’s foreign affairs department. You may also encounter some problems as some of the public servants are ‘not informed’ about this procedure! This is a simple procedure. From there, the documents are drafted in both Bulgarian and English.

This translation must have the seal of a sworn translator and a Bulgarian notary. 2500 euros must be deposited in a temporary bank account as proof that the required capital of the company has been paid. The documents are then sent to the district court of the company. After approx. 10 business days the court decision is made and then the company must register with the local tax and insurance offices and is given a temporary BULSTAT NUMBER.

The next step will be to open an official business account with any bank and this must then also be registered with the mentioned authorities. After a period of 1 month, the OFFICIAL BULSTAT CARD is ready for collection. The land can be purchased after the collection of the judicial decision and before the collection of the official BULSTAT card. When the client chooses a property, a preliminary contract is signed by both the buyer and the seller before a public notary. Upon signing this preliminary contract, the seller is paid the sum of 10% of the agreed sale price. With this contract the seller agrees to sell you his property and you agree to buy your property.

If you decide not to buy the property, you will lose your 10% initial deposit and the seller may start legal proceedings against you. If the seller decides not to sell, he is obliged to return the deposit plus the costs involved. The deeds are delivered as soon as the seller receives the full amount. This can be done in 1 business day depending on how the money is transferred and all the necessary documents from the seller are correct. Before choosing your property, a due diligence check must be carried out with the local municipality to ensure that all owners (there may be multiple owners) of the property agree to sell.

The above procedure is time consuming due to lack of customer services in public offices and demotivated public servants. It involves long hours in line followed by language difficulties. It is possible and legal to try all of this yourself as a foreign citizen, but it is not recommended. After the transfer of the property titles and all the documents of his property and company are in his possession, he must present the accounts of his company once a year. Currently this means March 1st. If your company does little or no business, it should cost very little to have an accountant send them out for you. Because the property is owned by your business and not by you as an individual, you will not have to pay personal income tax in your home country if you decide to lease the premises. Your company in Bulgaria will have to pay the tax instead. For more information on forming a Bulgarian company please contact Shamrock Consultancy Services (Irl-UK-Bg) www.shamrock-bulgarian-property-sale.com