Think of buying a property.

Bulgaria is a new property market for British investors. Moreover, the country is constantly becoming one of the most popular tourist destinations for British holiday makers. People in Britain say that Bulgaria at the moment is what Spain used to be for Brit's more than ten years ago. The eastern European state is developing rapidly and attracts more and more investors from all over the Old Continent. However, British investors and holiday makers comprise a great part of the so called New Bulgarian Phenomenon. The Balkan country is scheduled to become full member of the European Union by 1 January 2007. That is why property experts in Bulgaria and Britain say. Now is the time to invest because in few years time the return on investments will be double and even triple

The market of Black Sea coastal real estate has grown significantly since the beginning of year 2003. The residential property market in the big cities along the Black Sea coast has grown notably too. During the last year demand was higher than supply, due on one hand to the increased supply of mortgage loans and on the other to consistent migration of workforce from inland to sea resorts and big coastal cities like Varna and Bourgas.

According to the National Statistical Institute of Bulgaria, the quarterly real estate prices growth rate is 12.5%. Sofia, the Bulgarian capital city, is the most expensive real estate market, followed by the coastal areas.

Despite of the Bulgarian property boom potential real estate buyers find it difficult to make their own way through the whole process of buying a house, villa, apartment, land, etc. We would be delighted to help you and give you an accurate advice on how to invest in Bulgaria.

Legal issues
There are some legal issues that you have to be aware of:;

A far as houses, villas, flats and limited ownership rights are concerned, you can directly purchase them as a person
to buy a real estate with the land you have to set up a commercial company

Setting up a company takes about 2-4 weeks.

Foreign investors can open bank accounts denominated in Bulgarian or foreign currency.

There is no limit to the company stake investors possess.

When signing preliminary contract you have to pay 10 per cent of the purchase price.

You need 5000 leva to open a Company bank account (if you have to set up a company); once the company is registered you can withdraw the money from your account.

You need EUR10-20 to open personal account.

You need to pay to a solicitor (optional) and local Notary to sign relevant paper work.

Investors have to pay taxes which vary from person to person due to factors such as your tax domicile,

the extent of your business activities in Bulgaria, the nature of the property transaction, etc.

Corporate tax is levied on the transfer of real property.

2% of the market value is paid to the municipality in which the property is located.

Notary fees are paid on the higher of the market price or the book value of the real estate at varying rates.

You will be liable to pay a real property tax (the tax is equal to 0.15% of the book value of the property)
VAT 20% (transactions with land and lease of property are exempt)

BUYING PROPERTY AND RELOCATING TO BULGARIA: SOME GUIDELINES

The Bulgarian real estate market is currently undergoing a boom; prices increased by about 40% in both 2003 and 2004. Foreign interest in properties on the Black Sea coast and in the ski resorts is particularly responsible for driving up demand and prices.

Buying property in Bulgaria should only be undertaken with good professional advice. It is essential to use a reputable real estate agent – the boom in what is a largely unregulated market has led to a huge increase in the number of companies selling property, some of which may not have the experience or professional approach of longer established agencies. It is advisable to ask for references from previous customers, particularly other foreigners.

Before entering into any contract, making a down- payment or a deposit, it is essential to appoint a lawyer who can establish if title of the proposed property is available and help with other conveyancing procedures. It is inadvisable to use the solicitors of the property vendor, who cannot be expected to offer impartial advice to both parties. It is also important to get legal advice to ensure that you yourself are complying with all the Bulgarian regulations relating to the purchase and ownership of property. Non-Bulgarian nationals are currently not allowed to own land in this country, even though they may own the property that stands on it. It is possible for foreigners to purchase land by registering a company here and then buying the land in the name of that company. If you plan to do this, however, you will need to ensure that you comply with the law relating to the creation and operation of companies in this country, both at the time of purchase and subsequently.

Particular care should be taken in purchasing developments which are still under construction (‘off plan’). In such cases a lawyer should always be consulted before paying out a deposit, agreeing a schedule of payments or anything which involves entering into a contract. It is important to look carefully at what safeguards are in place should a developer go out of business before the project is completed.


RESIDENCE IN BULGARIA

Entry Requirements

You should bear in mind that owning property in Bulgaria does not give you the automatic right to live in this country on any sort of permanent or semi-permanent basis (even if you have a Bulgarian spouse). If this is your aim you should contact the Bulgarian Embassy in London (www.bulgarianembassy.org.uk) or one of their other overseas missions for information on how to obtain the appropriate visa. An application may take some weeks to process and you should factor this into your plans.

Once you are in Bulgaria, you will need to go through a similar application process at the local passport office in order to obtain a residence permit. You will be required to produce the same documents you provided in support of your visa application, and most of these will need to be legalised with an “apostille” stamp at the Foreign and Commonwealth Legalisation Office in London before you travel to Bulgaria - otherwise you will have to return to the UK to arrange legalisation. The British Embassy in Sofia cannot do this.

Customs

You should check local customs regulations if you plan to ship your household goods here, as you may be liable to pay duty on importation of goods over a certain value. Further assistance with this aspect of relocation can be obtained from large international removal companies. Otherwise the Bulgarian customs authorities have a website at www.customs.bg. Please note that regulations on the import (and export) of cash, in any currency, and of motor vehicles are strict and should be thoroughly researched before you travel. If you intend to bring pets with you, you will also need to check the regulations concerning the import of animals.

Health and Social security

If you are considering relocating/retiring to Bulgaria, you are strongly advised to do some research in advance on local circumstances and living conditions. Some public facilities (for example the health service, roads and infrastructure and utilities) are not yet of the standard you might expect in the UK. Medical treatment is not generally free for foreign nationals (nor indeed for Bulgarians in general) and you will need to take out some kind of comprehensive insurance in this regard, whether you are just visiting or staying on a more permanent basis. Once you are resident here, you may be able to pay contributions to the local national health system in order to access medical services. For further details, please check the Bulgarian Ministry of Health website at www.mh.government.bg.

It should be possible to arrange for funds from the UK, including your pension, to be transferred into a Bulgarian bank account so that you are able to access them here. You will still have to pay UK tax on income received from the UK, but Bulgaria has signed an agreement with the UK to avoid double taxation. For further information please see the Inland Revenue website on www.inlandrevenue.gov.uk. You should note, however, that there is no reciprocal social security agreement between Bulgaria and the UK. If you have been claiming any state benefits in the UK you should check with the Department for Works and Pensions www.dwp.gov.uk whether you are entitled to receive them when residing in this country.

The Bulgarian government website on www.government.bg is a useful source of information on all areas of public administration in this country, and it provides links to all the individual ministries (including those mentioned above). Please note that not all the sites are in English, although most do have an English version under construction.

More generally

If you are considering moving to Bulgaria and want to find out more about the country, one of the best ways to do so is, of course, to see for yourself. Ideally, you should travel here extensively and at different times of the year, to get as broad a view of the country as possible. You should note that, although English may be fairly widely spoken in some areas (e.g. in Sofia and in the resorts which cater for foreign tourists) this is not the case all over the country. If you plan to live here permanently, you are strongly advised to make an effort to learn at least the basics of the language.

We will not sell you a property until you have physically been to view it and determined that it is what you want.

Then we will assist in opening a bank account that only you have access too.

We will ask for a small deposit.

After that we run all background checks on the property to make sure no monies are owed and that the person selling it is the rightful owner.

Once this is certain contracts will be drawn up.

The the balance will be paid.

Then we goto the Notary office and the property becomes yours.

All this may well be achieved whilst your there, Giving you total piece of mind.

If renovations are required we will use our own builders initially to give you a quote, This will be fixed in price and again contracts will be drawn up.

As a safeguard I will give you my Uk Home address, as well as my Home address in Bulgaria, You will have my uk telephone numbers, Both business and private mobiles, as well as my business numbers in Bulgaria, as well as Mobiles.

Our profit margin is quite low, and we are here for the long term.

I`m a family man with family values, At 49 its a little too late for me to become a con-man, and as I`m settled where I live I don`t want the hassle of getting things wrong and having personal issues or legal issues with anyone.

I can supply testimonials of people we have worked with and helped.