Frequently Asked Questions

I've got preliminary contract signed with local developer, but they are not following it any longer and obviously failed to complete the project - what can I do now in order to protect my investment?

The most important thing is to get the contract examined in order to establish if you are the non-breaching party, respectively if you are entitled to claim the liability of the other party. This will open the gates for you to seek protection of your investment, respectively will allow us to start out-of-court settlement of your relations and later where needed - entering civil court claims for refund of your investment and obtaining penalties for non-performance. Remember that in Buglaria the legal protection in cases of non-performance of contracts is via the local courts. For the performance of the last legal action you will need to get informed in advance about the available assets of the other party - such information will clear your (and ours) view on the chances to secure your investment and respectively to obtain refund via court procedures at the local courts and execution procedures via the local execution judges. We know very well how to find out and to tell you if there are chances to get your money back and we always offer to our clients first to investigate the legal assets of local developers before entering court cases.

I want to sue the developer in Bulgarian court for non-performance of the signed contract - what are the related fees and taxes and why are they so high?

Please rememeber that Bulgaria unfortunately still is a country with huge burocracy and lots of documentation, where every activitity costs money. Taxes for civil claims at the courts have been set up at the local Civil Code - 4%, 2%, etc. (depending of the type of the case) of the material interest. These are payable in advance by the claimant directly to the account of the court and if they win and where they have requested it, the other party has to reimburse them with these taxes too. The lawyer's fees usually are a percentage of the material interest; the min and the max of its rate has been set up at the Lawyer's Act. If you win the case the other party will have to reimburse you with the lawyer's fee too, in cases where you have requested it. Please remember that cash values this is why pursuing cash and actual financial refund for you in local courts is serious, important and intelligent work. This is why professional lawyers know what they charge for - sometimes the fees may look high, but usually it relates to countless activities to be done during the case, putting maximum efforts in winning the case and achieving real financial outcome for you. You should bear the opposite and eventual suspicious offers for small fees.

I have paid to the developer, but now they are saying they can't complete and they are offering me a swap into another non-completed property of theirs - should I accept it?

This option to respond to the worldwide crisis, always looks like proper security of property investment made by a buyer, but in many cases related to Bulgarian complexes, such "offer" has been used by developers who want to abandon a development due to non-possibility for it ever to be completed. We need to conclude that the most of the buyers who have been offered "swapping" into another complex against their last installment, have not taken proper legal advice prior to signing their initial contract, respectively a professional lawyer to advise them at the beginning if the purchase is risky one. Let's be clear - Bulgaria is small country and for experienced solicitor it is clear if a purchase is straight or dodgy one. In all cases such offer for transfer into another purchase needs to be examined and folloiwng it, new contract to be designated and signed between the parties in order to settle the previous relations between parties and to protect the buyer's interests related to the new purchase - just like it all has gone wrong with the initial purchase and the developer has got your money, it always can go wrong with the swapping. We need to avoid this. Contact our Bulgarian lawyers for more information.

How long it takes to buy a property in Bulgaria?

Been promised to buy your dream house in 2 - 3 weeks usually means somebody wants to get your money asap, or that they have not finished their own job and not all the necessary checks have been carried out to enure straight property purchase. Bear in mind that sellers/agencies have interest to sell their product as soon as possible and quick negotiations or signing of contract may metamorphose you into claimant or appealant instead of proper owner. Land Registry Checks, Court Checks and Companies Checks do not always guarantee clear Title Deed, but without all these lgal ivestigations the risks for your investment are much higher. No matter whether you invest all your savings or this is just an adventure, do not rush the things. Buying property in such young EU member like the still developing Bulgaria takes a bit longer; requires adequate attention to any detail and if done well, brings you profits.

How long usually it takes to re-sell my Bulgarian property?

Usually a month in straight sales (without preliminary contracts, mortgages or other complications). This is related only to the slow burocracy in Bulgaria and respectively the slow issuing of the needed documents related to the property - cadastral scheme, tax valuation document, certificate for lack of burdens; there could be unpaid taxes, etc. Our Bulgarian solicitors can help you with legal advice and ensure that you will sell your Bulgarian property quickly and following the requirements by the local Laws. Most important - we will ensure that you will receive the agreed price and we will prevent you from being involved in any fraudulent acts or cheats. Do I need to make any other checks? Almost all agencies offer real estate checks in return of the fees they charge you. The point is, who will sign personally to you, we mean oblige in writing to you that the deal will bring no complications to you and that you will not lose your investment? We all know that commission fee has been strongly pursued, but actually clauses obliging the property agent to you for any eventual torts or damages from eventual dodgy deal with the other party, do not exist anywhere in writing. The other warning is that nobody investigates the agencies/sellers you are dealing with and whether you may rely on them. Bear in mind that 85 % of the agencies charge both sellers and buyers and in fact represent nobody but only theirselves. The fact that many of them do not oblige in writing for any damages caused to their clients, speaks quite well. If you are unsure how to proceed, refer to our section our fees

Do I need to establish a company in Bulgaria?

That depends on three things: your future plans, your finances and your time. Most agencies and sellers deliberately mislead the foreign buyers with explanations that when you buy flat/studio you do not need to go through registration of a local company. Do not trust them - you will buy the right to use and the right to build someone else's property!

Consequences of such transfer are worse than you expect:
- the owner of the plot is legally entitled to charge rent for the use of his/her land
- if the building company gets acquired or declared in bankruptcy, its creditors may start major building works around the whole holiday complex and you cannot stand a legal action
- you are limited to sell your property only to non - EU citizens (since no person, entitled to buy the land will accept to pay the same amount for one limited right).

Another reason for this misleading is that sellers, while competing with other agencies always prefer to go through the transfer process ASAP as they do with Bulgarian clients. Establishment of a company varies in terms in each county, depending on how busy is the commercial section of the county court and agencies are risking losing prospective client because of delayed registration. Matters are much worse when buying private detached house. For example, you cannot make any major building works, get phone line or even apply for a court order in case of trespassing. And finally, if you buy the real estate only in order to sell it in a couple of months, just consider how dishonestly this is to the new buyer (who usually comes from your own country).

Which forms of companies are permitted under Bulgarian Law?


- Sole proprietorship /self employed
- Joint Stock Company
- Holding
- Co-operative
- Limited Company (could be of sole or mutual ownership)
- Limited Partnership
- Unlimited Partnership
- Unlimited partnership with shares
- A few variations of public limited company

Are there any specific forms, designated for foreign investors?

No, but you should consider what are your real plans when establishing company in Bulgaria. Most popular and easiest type is company of limited liability, with sole or mutual shareholding.

What are the consequences of establishing company in Bulgaria?

All along with the good sides, you should be prepared for some paperwork to be done permanently - even if your brand newly registered company is not performing business. Things do not differ a lot from setting up a company in your home country. This involves annual tax calculation, submitting of tax returns, payment of health /national insurance contributions, registering with local authorities etc. On the other hand, your company entitles you to lease your property to locals; having all your expenses recognised by the Inland Revenue (and very often not paying any taxes at all) and eases the granting of your visas or permanent residence. You may visit taxation

How much it may cost me to establish a company?

Contact member of our staff for a quote. Most agencies offer setting up of Ltd Co only and their fees vary between 500 Euro and 700 Euro. Be careful whether the price includes registration with the Tax Authorities, Bulgarian Statistics Institute, Health and Pensions Authorities and most important - in case when you buy off - plan, who will receive your correspondence and at which address. We offer registration of Ltd Co for £330 including VAT. Click on our fees.

Do we need a visa for Bulgaria?

If you are non-EU citizen and if your country does not have mutual agreement with Buglaria for removal of the visas, then yes, you do. You may spend 30 days in Bulgaria as a tourist; however most buyers intend to settle or to do serious business. We have had many clients misled deliberately by dodgy advisors and non professionals. Of course, you can always leave Bulgaria for one day and come back for another 30 days (you can do it only once in six months) but imagine how inconvenient is to make unpredicted journeys in the middle of the seasons to Serbia or Macedonia for example. Any overstay leads to serious fines by the local Authorities and you may end up paying your property twice. We encourage our clients who are obliged to apply for visa when visiting Bulgaria, to apply for Long-term visa (D). For more information, visit EU Law & Translations

How do I make the payments for my property and my company?

Starting 2011, every payment for property deal in Bulgaria, which is at amount higher than 10 000 levs (little more than 5000 Euro) is required to be performed only via bank transfer in Buglarian banks, and then to be presented to the local notary public on signing the Title Deed. This payment can be easily proved via signed by the bank payment order. In addition to the above we advise: always make payments for the property only and only directly to the seller who will sign personally the Title Deed - and please do not agree to pay to foreign property agents, third parties, other companies, etc.

New! Can I recover debt?

Unfortunately, this is not possible in 100 % of the cases. Most of our clients appeared to have made in the past three simple mistakes: - some have paid without signing of contract and taking legal advise - others tried to make alternations/choose different property without reading and understanding the legal jargon /and the foreign language/ - third group (mainly agents and commissioners) have entered into contractual obligations with British and Bulgarian agents, selling one real estate to unknown number of buyers and transferring amounts into bank accounts, held outside the UK, Bulgaria and even the EU!

We highly assess your and our time and therefore we ask all prospective creditors/clients to take into account the following:
1. If possible, do not take any initial steps without been properly advised by our Bulgarian lawyers.
2. Give us a call immediately. The longer you wait for your money the less chance of recovery you have.
3. International debt collection is extremely complicated matter; costly in monetary terms and in time.
4. Tracing of debtors; obtaining of Judgement and Enforcement Order may take years.
5. The summoning may cause you a long - term mental disease. For instance, the local English or Bulgarian Court is under statutory obligation to send the summons via its state Ministry of Justice/Foreign Office. Imagine how many times invitations, evidence, letters will be left in the hands of bureaucrats from these two countries and how easier is an alternative solution - finding of another buyer who can pay the outstanding amount and acquire the title deed in his name.
6. 95 % of debt collection in Bulgaria requires Issuing of Court Proceedings (we mean you can't skip this step in most cases), which usually go through all the stages and lead to another litigation "Enforcement Proceedings".
7. International Property Business is not a place for "war of principles" - once your debt has been secured on the debtor's property or other available asset they own, then you should consider how to use your refunded money forward so you don't lose it again in dodgy deals.

I negotiate directly with owner/s. Do I still need legal advice?

Yes, more than ever. Fax us/email us their proposals and contracts before taking further steps. Owners, just like property agents, want to receive the money as soon as possible - this is why they will promise you everything. Your only advantage is the fact that you are holding the money and you can order how long the process to take - please do not accept for real soap bubbles that "there are 3 other buyers waiting for this property". The sooner they try to perform the deal without giving you option to get legal advice, the more certain it is that something is wrong with this deal. And once you've signed the Title Deed and have passed the money - well, then your chances to secure your investment are rather than zero.

Breach of contract: How do I protect myself?

Breach of contract is always deleterious for your rights. In Bulgaria there is only one legal protection against breach of contract - serving certain documents to the guilty party in order to prove their fault in writing, and pursuing court cse for refund. But realizing that sometimes you may be in breach, please try to delay with 24 hours /or until the next working day/ any promises, payments, threats or doing anything which may tie the knot. Contact us and leave the rest to us to handle with and to protect your invesment.

Has the estate market in Bulgaria developed enough so I could sell my property, without losing profit?

You need to know one certain thing about the Bulgarian property market: currently it is working on slow speed, and on levels of prices times lower than the prices of properties 3-4 years ago. Yes you can make a profit from eventual re-sale, especially if you have bough in British Pounds 3 years ago but are now selling in Euro - however your profit greatly depends on the speed with which you wish to perform the deal, and whether you are being pressed by bad financial circumstances back home. We can analyze the local property market and real estate prices in the area where your property has been situated, and we can propose to you an option for sale, respectively a price for which you can expect fast re-sale. Of course you are not obliged to follow our advices on the matter, but to request a price designated by you.

Do I have to pay taxes for the sale of my property?

We have detailed that Capital Gains is not due where physical individuals sell only one property per year. But if you own a local company which sells the property, then most likely, yes. Still there are legal instruments to reduce your tax bill - please contact our lawyers and they will advise you accordingly. Instead of this, you will definitely have to pay the needed taxes for obtaining the documents that will legally allow you to actually transfer the property before local notary public.

Why it is better to use a Bulgarian lawyer when re-selling my property situated in Bulgaria?

Instead of securing the actual receiving of the agreed slae price, there are several other things which could go wrong, starting with the fact that if you are foreign individual or corporate body, you will face troubles in your own country, or ending with the possibility that sometimes the local burocracy may not recognize the property sale (for example - to refuse to register the sale at the Land Agency due to defects of the deal or not to un-register the property from the seller's file at the Tax Authority). The simple process of obtaining the papers for the sale actually is not simple at all. If you decide to proceed on your own, you will be expected to spend weeks in Bulgaria, applying for documents, paying taxes and waiting one week to receive the obtained documents, traveling and possibility of missing deadlines, not to mention the nightmare of striking off a company afterwards (if you have one). Another "piece of work" may arise if your buyer pays by the means of a bank loan/mortgage.

What do I do with my dormant company once I have sold the property?

Depending on your profit you may strike it off or keep it for a few years. Ask one of ours legal advisors what is the best option. If any questions arise, contact us on info@dynsolgb.com. Our belief is that in one or another way this information should be available to the public, so for any general enquires we do not charge our prospective clients and you are not risking to loose your first thirty minutes free advice.

Worst Lies in the Bulgarian Real Estate Field (Informative page for foreign investors)

Lie 1:
There is no difference between Act 15 and Act 16 (called here Certificate for Exploitation or Permission for usage). Act 16 is not something important.
We say:
Although being a daily practice and many developers expect full payment on Act 15 (completion of sub-contractors works), this is the moment when with Act 15 the developer accepts the building works from its sub-contractor. Sadly, usually this is the moment where most local developers transfer officially iva Title Deeds, all apartments to the buyers and vanish with the cash, leaving in this way the new owners to pig in the middle of nowhere, where officially via the Deeds, the initial developer has been officially released of their responsibilities to apply for Act 16. On the other hand, Act 16 is the State license for exploitation or inhabitance of the site and approval by the Authorities that the built construction follows the legislation (local laws), so until that moment, every try to inhabit, rent out or re-sell may lead to serious consequences and it is illegal per the law. Also, most likely after Act 15 you may find that no water and electricity are available in the site. We've often concluded that owning an apartment or house on Act 15 only is similar to owning nothing, because if you try to re-sell it one day, it is very likely that the new buyer or their lawyer will ask to check if there is Act 16 before they buy it.

Lie 2:
We do not need a lawyer when purchasing abroad, the very helpful eveloper will assist us on this matter so we will save couple hundred Euro from legal fees.
We say:
in very small percentage of the cases you may not need a lawyer. In the rest of the cases however, nobody will sign anywhere to you in order to oblige to you and to cover your back and you will be paying the price for your own naivity, without being able to claim any party's liability later if something goes wrong (and in Bulgaria many things can go wrong when it comes to property deals). There is no such thing as free lunch or free conveyancing. Somebody pays - and this is either the vendor, because he has a hidden interest of doing so or you on later stage - together with the state fines, headache pills and loss of profits. This is why you need us - namely to oblige to you to check the legal aspects of the prospective property deal (purchase or sale) and to confirm to you if everything is proper or not. Please remember that 95% of the foreign property investors who have lost their money in dodgy deals in Bulgaria, actually have not used proper lawyer to consult them in advance, or have used the services of the lawyer offered by the developer.

Lie 3:
It is better to become an owner of a building without the appropriate inhabitance license because you will save from transfer taxes and annual council property taxes (on Act 15 and before Act 16).
We say:
Saving a few percents from stamp duty means you will pay another few hundred/thousand Euros of Stelring Pounds on finishing works, you will cover higher rates for water and electricity (applicable on Act 15 only), for accountants, lawyers and state fines. Why? Because if you pay in full on the rough construction, the Law will consider you have accepted the building works with no complaints. (see Lie 1).

Lie 4:
You can appoint a solicitor from your own country, which will handle the property deal from there.
We say:
the same chance of success has a Chinese lawyer, trying to protect his client in the USA over the phone and talking in Chinese! Unfortunately property transfers in Bulgaria require necessary presence of both parties; this means that if you have hired foreign lawyer to represent you on your property deal, they will have to appear in person before the local notary public in the area where the property is situated. And also to use interpretor - the official language of documents, incl. Title Deeds, is only Bulgarian. Title Deed can not be prepared and signed in another language. Excluding all other problems like the enormous difference in the Property Laws in countries that may lead to dangerous consulting by foreign lawyer, we can advise you to hire a solicitor in Bulgaria for the job - it will be cheaper for you and it will save you lots of headackes. We will be happy to assist you on the matter.

Lie 5:
The land is leasehold, but the flat is freehold.
We say:
Such absurd is usually pretended by people desperate to sell or take your money despite what they are going to do for you. The pure lease- and free-hold concepts do not exist in Bulgaria. Any attempt to create them should "flash the red light on" to you. Feel free to us us about detailed explanation of the similar concepts and their scope in Bulgaria.

Lie 6:
When buying an off-plan unit, you must accept to pay maintenance fee from the moment of the issuing of the title deed in your names.
We say:
You may agree to pay management fees for your property only when the whole complex is fully operational - and we mean all facilities entered into exploitation. We truly understand your goal to buy an apartment not because of the four walls, but because of the working facilities and extras you can get in your capacity of owner. This is why in our legal practice when negotiating maintenance contracts, we always use legal instruments to ensure that the buyer (future owner) won't be robbed by evelopers who try to retire from the amount of annual maintenance fees.

Lie 7:
It is better for you not to include the full price of the property (actually the price you have already paid in cash on several installments) in the title deed, because you will pay less for registration taxes and local municipality fees.
We say:
Although there are no Capital Gains due for re-selling only one propery annually, such fraudulent activities serve only the interests of the developer and not yours. You always need to bear an eventual situation where something may go wrong with your newly bought property and you will have to pursue refund - unfortunately only on the amount detailed in your Title Deed. Especially in cases where the purchase price has been initially paid on couple installments towards foreign property agents in foreign bank accounts, detailing of the actual price in the Title Deed is advisable.

Lie 8:
No problem if I pay installments into a third party's foreign bank account. My printed out online bank statement shows I have actually paid.
We say:
We believe you have paid. But what for? And why to this party where you are actually buying from completely different one? Per the Bulgarian Law payments should be made directly to the seller who will transfer the property to you, and for amounts over 10 000 levs only bank transfers are accepted (we mean only in Bulgarian banks, where the money can be traced). You need to be warned that most of the fraudulent acts have happened in money-laundering schemes where foreign agent (usually UK one) misleads lots of trusfull buyers to pay the installments directly to them, via flying poor receipts signed by anonymous individuals and against the empty promises that these installments will be forwarded towards the local developer. There are examples of many "trusted" foreign property agents, who'se money-collecting procedures have harmed hundreds of foreign property buyers - the Irish "Platinum Developments", also known as "PDI", "McAntony Rialty", also known as "MRI", the UK "Bulgarian Dreams" and their local daughter companies, "Ambasun" in the UK, the US "Sunset properties", the off-shore "BG Realty", and many many more, unfortunately. Basically in every situation where you are buying a property in Bulgaria, and where you do not have signed and stamped contract by local developer and proper receipts signed and stamped by the local developer, your investment is considered to be in huge risk. Fortunately we have won court cases in local courts against local developers involved with these "trusted" property agents.

Lie 9:
I go with these people, because they come from my country.
We say:
Often agents or vendors resell something already advertised on the market by a local real estate agency at much higher prices. Or just advertise off-plan projects that will never be completed, but will help them to collect some fresh cash from trustful buyers from the same country of origin. Please refer to the above Lie 8 related to foreign agents and their money-collecting schemes. Same refers to lawyers from your country, giving you advice on a foreign real estate deal - paying twice for someone's incompetence is not what you need. In order to avoid losing of your whole investment, please contat us for breaf advice before you pay anything in relation to your prospective property deal.

Lie 10:
Paying directly to the vendor without signed contract saves you money and it is more secure.
We say:
Using A PROFESSIONALLY ADMITTED body and its skills is much safer just like keeping money in a bank account is better than hiding it in your jar.

Lie 11:
The whole complex seems non-finished, dead and abandoned, but the agent/the developer assures me that they are negotiating some "financial-action plan" with some foreign investors to complete the development.
We say:
Unfortunately it is more likely that this is a misleading with the role only to postpone any court cases against the developer until they vanish. There are no such foreign investors holding millions of Euros, who are excited to invest urgently in the current worldwide crisis namely in Bulgarian complexes, where the property market is working on low speed and the tourist seasons have cut the income of the locals. There is one sad truth for many off-plan local complexes for the last 3-4 years: "What is noncompleted stays non-completed and won't be completed at all". You need to know that the Building permission in Bulgaria lasts 5 years - if the poject is not completed till then, it turns into illegal construction. This is why, if you have signed preliminary contract for purchase of an apartment or villa, and for the last couple of years these properties have not been completed for one or another reason, then the red light should turn to you. If you find yourself in such inconvenient and risky situation, please contact us so we can figure out how to protect your investment.

Lie 12:
The developer wants to transfer to me the apartment paid by me in full, with some mortgage still on it, but he promises to me he will remove the mortgage very shortly and tells me not to worry about it at all.
We say:
This is most likely a lie. If the developer transfers the property to you via Title Deed, this means that you will be the legal party which will suffer the results of mortgage if is not being paid back by the developer within the initial deadlines - only you (being the current legal owner of the apartment) and nobody else. Please remember that if there is entered statutory or conventional mortgage on your apartment in favor of a bank, it means that the bank which holds the mortgage, practically owns the apartment until the mortgage is paid back. And no matter who owns the property via Title Deed, until there is mortgage on it, the bank can get the property at anytime on public auction in order to collect their money, initially lended to the developer. The existing mortgage gives them the position of "1st privileged creditor" and you should be aware of this. This is why you need us to check the legal status of the property and to obtain Certificate for lack of burdens before you pay for it an before you sign any Title Deed, after which event nfortunately the chances of securing the investment will be reduced, if not expired.

Lie 13:
They want me to pay the maintenance fees in advance, although the complex does not yet have Act 16.
We say:
And you should worry that it may never achieve Act 16 - there are many examples of abandoned complexes on Act 15. In any case maintenance contract should not enter into force (resp. payment of the fees) before the facilities achieve act 16 and have been put into operation by the local Auhtorities. It is worthless to pay for something you can't use.