The greater the passive income you can build, the freer you will become.
Todd M. Fleming
Invest in real estate in Bulgaria with legal conformity in mind
Our real estate legal department will protect you from the different scams on the real estate market, the unscrupulous real estate agents and will ensure you investment is done with 100% legal conformity.
The real estate market in Bulgaria
The rapid growth
The real estate market in Bulgaria rose dramatically after Bulgaria joined the EU. The construction business picked up with the speed of light and Bulgaria experienced construction boom, not seen in Europe since the end of World War II. Huge seaside and ski resorts were built and golf courses emerged in all areas around the country. Residential and commercial properties became the new investment hype and logically, the real estate prices skyrocketed. Investors from around the world flowed into Bulgaria hoping to profit from the real estate boom in the country. The prices rose further and in some areas in Sofia one could expect to pay more than in cities like Berlin or Madrid. Many made fortunes and the flow of foreign investors increased even further. Still, if selected wisely, even today, reasonably priced properties with immense investment potential can be found in many areas.
Scams and extremely poor legal conformity
As result of the unprecedented real estate boom in Bulgaria, the scam artists entered the stage. Hungry for fast profit foreigners believed all they were told and started pumping money into questionable developments. Many burned with the money they invested (most of it borrowed, to leverage returns). Others, misled by their Bulgarian “partners”, were dragged into illegal dealings (leading to tax evasion for instance) and are now branded with criminal sentences (or are under investigation).
How can we assist you with your real estate investment plans in Bulgaria
We can assist you in two ways. Through our team of licensed lawyers in Bulgaria, we can help you to protect your investments and ensure the legality of all dealings with your Bulgarian counterparts. Additionally, we are in position to present you with unique investment opportunities in real estate in the country, not available from the high-street real estate broker.
Legal support and protection of your investments
When investing in real estate in a country other than your own, legal compliance and due diligence should be a paramount. We will support you in all aspects of the investment process, namely:
- We will perform full check and due diligence of the property that will be purchased. Ensuring there are no encumbrances or any burdens is the most important condition for every real estate deal in Bulgaria. Properties with encumbrances for instance can be easily sold to investors without them knowing of the fact that they can be evicted in case they don’t settle the outstanding debts of the previous owner. Another issue can arise from properties that have been transferred as gifts and can be later reclaimed by the lawful heirs of the once ex-owner. And the list of goes on…;
- Next we will perform due diligence of all ex owners (not only the owner you are buying the property from). This is also extremely important as any irregularities that are not found prior to the notary deed being signed can result in the eviction of the investor and loss of capital;
- We will represent your interests in front of the seller in order to ensure fully legal compliant conditions (also best financial terms). For instance, many sellers in Bulgaria suggest selling officially at lower than the real price in order to save on municipal tax. This is extremely dangerous and illegal practice (implies criminal responsibility for tax evasion) that can cause for the buyer problems of immense magnitude;
- We will also represent you at the notary’s office at the signing of the notary deed. Thereby you can rest assured that no conditions will be changed in the last minute, as it often happens and the buyer has no chance to object with the pen in his hand;
- Once the deal is concluded, we will assist with the tax declaration of the property and with all other administrative procedure that the new owner has to undergo.
Our support of course won’t stop here. There are many other checks and procedures that need to be done that are dependent on the particular deal.
Unique real estate investments opportunities in Bulgaria
We have access to wide range of properties that are not on the list of the usual real estate companies in Bulgaria (the only companies that the foreign investors can get in touch with). It is easy to buy highly overvalued property in Sunny Beach or Bansko and even one that is close to some of the new fancy golf courses. Investing however is better done by buying an “unpolished diamond” rather than purchasing a shiny piece of art from your local shopping center. We have access to undervalued residential and commercial properties, but also agricultural land, forests and other types of comprehensive real estate investments.
We can also assist with investments in real estate properties that will enable the non-EU buyer to obtain long term residency in Bulgaria.
Last, but not least, you can be sure that you will not find our offerings anywhere on the books of the real estate agents.