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News & Press
Independent Legal Representation
13th May 2008

Employing the services of an independent solicitor in Bulgaria is one of the safest and most sensible steps towards completing your property...

Mortgage Products

Bulgarian mortgages are increasingly necessary when buying a property in Bulgaria.

Mortgage Calculator

A quick way to find out how much a Bulgarian mortgage is likely to cost you.

Top Tips to Buying

Essential advice for buying a Bulgarian Property for living and / or renting.

Top Tips for Buying

Our guide to getting the right start in Bulgaria

If you dream about owning your own Bulgarian Property take the following practical steps to making that dream a reality.

1. Have a plan! Ask yourself "why am I doing this?" the answers will certainly dictate what you should or should not be buying and how you should buy it.
2. Make sure you understand your financial position before committing to purchasing a property in Bulgaria, a five minute chat with our UK office should provide you with this.
3. The amount of mortgage that you can raise against a property in Bulgaria is dictated by the lower of either a % of the value of the property (commonly 70%) or the purchase price on the Notary deed. It is common that the banks expert surveyors will not value a property at the same price as you are purchasing it for. You should expect to have to make a larger deposit than the mortgage particulars dictate. The surveyors commonly look at 2 comparable properties to help them decide what value to place upon a property.
4. If you are buying an off-plan property it is common to have to make staged payments during the build process. Although some banks do offer staged payments this is a new and relatively untested product addition and hence you should be prepared to make all the staged payments out of cash and then recoup this money when the bank lends on completion.
5. Ask your sales agent for testimonials from satisfied clients and if they have developed previous properties see if you can look at the finished article. I have seen properties in Bulgaria that are 2 years old but look 20.
6. Protect yourself! When you sign a contract you become legally obliged to purchase the property, the time frame between committing to buy and actually taking ownership can be over one year and hence you should consider insurance to cover you for an unknown eventuality. Recently we had a couple who had re mortgaged their property in UK and committed to purchasing three properties, sadly husband died in an accident but as it was a joint contract they still had to purchase the Bulgarian properties, wife did not work and the result was they lost all deposit in UK and ended up with a very large UK mortgage. This could have easily been avoided if a small insurance policy had been taken out. We can provide such advice via www.simplicityfinancial.com.
7. Only fools rush in! Don’t believe everything you are told. I suggest that before you do anything you should make sure you know what you are talking about or at least listening to. A little research can save a lot of pain.
8. Make sure you read the small print. It is too easy to just feel obliged to sign something without first studying the contract. Don’t be afraid to ask lots of questions and if you do not understand that take independent advice.
9. Ask to see the ownership certificate to prove that the company selling the property has the right to do so. It has been known for foreigners to buy a property from someone who was not entitled to sell it. 20 years ago my grandfather bought a villa in Spain only to later find out that all he had done was bought the keys off the builder, when the real owner turned up he had to buy it all over again. Needless to say the builder (that he trusted) had disappeared.
10. If it is too good to be true it usually is! We don’t wish to sound sceptical, great opportunities do exist in Bulgaria but if something seems ridiculously cheap or the deal seems very slanted in your favour you should be cautious.
11. Things are different in Bulgaria! We each have a lot to learn from each other. The relaxed pace of life in Bulgaria can be very frustrating, however in the UK we are opposite in that we get too stressed and perhaps utopia lies somewhere between our two cultures. Be prepared to be frustrated, however, try not to let it get you too stressed out.
12. Purchasing a property is likely to be one of the largest investments you will ever make. Prior to entering a legal commitment to purchase or making the final payment, the best way to enable you to minimise any potential risks and to make a properly informed decision, is to have your own independent survey. Click here for more information.