PROPERTY · BULGARIA
Search, checks, purchase. With the documents read first.
Buying a property in a country whose language you cannot read means signing documents you do not understand. The work is not finding the property: it is establishing that it is exactly what it appears to be, before the deed.
What it covers
Search and selection
Definition of the criteria, screening of the market, viewings on site with a written report and our own photographs.
Document checks
Title of ownership, entries and registrations, cadastral and planning compliance, permitted use, service charges, arrears on utilities.
Checks on the counterparty
Who is selling, under what title, with what signing powers. Register searches on the selling companies.
Negotiation and preliminary contract
Assistance in negotiating price, timescales and conditions; coordination with the lawyer on the preliminary contract.
Notarial deed
Preparation of the file, coordination with the notary, attendance at the deed, final check of the sums and of the register entries.
After the deed
Transfers of registrations, utilities, building management, and, where applicable, letting or handing over to a management operator.
How it is carried out
Definition of the criteria
Intended use, area, overall budget including taxes and costs, timescales. Criteria set down in writing save months of pointless viewings.
Search and first screening
Selection of the compatible proposals and preliminary desk checks, before anyone travels.
Viewings and report
Inspection with a written report: state of the premises, visible defects, open questions to be clarified on the documents.
Document due diligence
A full reading of the documents. If a problem emerges, it is stated in writing before the negotiation, not after.
Completion
Preliminary contract, deed, transfers of registrations. A final file with all the documents in an ordered set of copies.
What we need from you
To start without documents being sent back, the following items are normally required.
- Intended use of the property — Home, office, letting, hospitality. It determines the permitted use to be checked and changes the whole search.
- Overall budget — Not only the price: taxes, notary, translations, any renovation works. The realistic budget is the overall one.
- Time constraints — A genuine deadline changes the negotiating strategy.
- Identity documents — Of the buyer or of the representatives of the purchasing company, with verifiable signing powers.
Limits of the service
The activity consists of search, document checks and assistance with the transaction. SAURON LTD does not issue legal opinions or valuation reports and does not stand in the place of the notary, who is the only public officer competent to receive the deed.
No return is promised, projected or guaranteed. A property is an asset, not a financial product: its value may rise or fall. We do not provide investment advice and we do not place financial products.
Structural and building-services checks require qualified technicians, who are appointed separately where the transaction requires it.
Frequently asked questions
Can a foreign national buy a home in Bulgaria?
For buildings the answer is generally yes, including for non-resident individuals. For land there are specific rules that depend on nationality and on the type of land: it is one of the first things to check, before any searching begins, because it can change the structure of the transaction.
Is it better to buy through a company?
It depends on the intended use, on the applicable taxation and on how you intend to resell or let the property. It is an assessment to be made with the accountant before the preliminary contract is signed, because afterwards it becomes expensive to correct.
Do you also check the structural condition?
The inspection report notes the visible defects. Structural and building-services checks require a qualified technician: where the transaction justifies it, one is appointed and we coordinate the work.
What happens if the checks reveal a problem?
We put it in writing and explain the practical consequences. The decision to proceed, to renegotiate or to walk away rests with the client. We have no interest in the transaction closing as such.
If Bulgaria is on the table, let's start with the right question.
Describe the situation. We reply telling you whether it falls within our scope and how we would proceed.