FAQs

What are current property prices in Bulgaria?
Property prices in Bulgaria are increasing all the time. Property still remains excellent value for the moment. A basic rural cottage can be purchased for as little as 5000 GBP, but expect to pay significantly more for a property in one of the beach resorts or cities. 

Can foreign nationals own property in Bulgaria?
Yes foreign nationals can own property in Bulgaria. For more details check the Property in Bulgariasection.

What is the law on foreigners owning property in Bulgaria?
Foreign nationals and foreign legal entities may acquire ownership title over buildings and limited ownership rights over property in the Republic of Bulgaria.
Foreign individuals cannot own land (this is a Constitutional prohibition). However, the Foreign Investment Law removed the restrictions on acquisition of land by locally-registered companies with foreign participation. By setting up or joining a company incorporated under the Bulgarian legislation foreign persons can acquire full land ownership rights including ownership rights on agricultural land. For more details check our Property in Bulgaria section. "ALL OFF-PLAN PROPERTIES DO NOT REQUIRE COMPANY REGISTRATION."

What is the predicted change in Bulgarian property prices?
Property prices on the coastal and in the ski resorts have increased by 40% in the 12 months to April 2004. Forecasters expect prices will continue to increase at 20% to 30% annually until 2007 at least (the year of EU accession for Bulgaria)

What are rental yields for Bulgarian property?
You can expect 12% gross rental income for a good quality coastal apartment. Rental yields are better for apartments in complexes than for resale properties as there is more likely to be managed property letting for apartment developments.
The general rule of thumb is the smaller the apartment, the higher the rental yield. So a one-bedroom apartment is likely to achieve a higher percentage rental yield than a three-bedroom villa.

Are mortgages available on Bulgarian properties?
Mortgages secured on Bulgarian property are now available from Conti Financial Services. The introduction of this mortgage facility, probably the first of many, is likely to cause a great surge in demand for Bulgarian property.

Alternatively, the UK has the most efficient and competitive mortgage market in Europe, and the cheapest way to finance the purchase of a home overseas is by selling or re-mortgaging a UK property. (Re-mortgaging means withdrawing equity from a property whose value has increased by increasing the mortgage on it.) Moreover, unsecured loans at very low rates are available from UK lenders.

What about taxes?
For a treatment of taxes on rental income, capital gains, and local authority taxes, please refer to our Taxation section.

What is the cost of living?
The cost of living in Bulgaria is the lowest in Europe. Red wine from Melnik (Churchill's favourite) is a pound a bottle. A cooling pint of draft Zagorka at a local pub ('mehana') is 30p. Domestic cigarettes are 30p a packet. A taxi journey costs a pound. Dinner for two, based on wonderful organic produce, will rarely exceed seven pounds.

How do we travel to Bulgaria?
We recommend booking a Beach holiday with Balkan Holidays.

Do foreigners need visas?
Foreigner residents automatically receive one month stay entry (free of charge). This can then be extended locally. Please, double check our Stay In Bulgaria section and Useful Links section for more details.

Why are the property prices in Euros?
Property in Bulgaria tends to be sold in Euros rather than the local currency Leva.

If I buy a property with the assistance of Our company what agency fee will I be charged?
Our standard commission is approximately 2.5% of the purchase price. For most of the off_plan apartments we do not charge any commission. It is paid by the developer/seller. Please, check the Financial terms section for more info.

How do you calculate this exactly?
If the client pays by Euro we multiply the Euro purchase price by 2.5 % which is our commission.
If the client pays by GBP we multiply the Euro purchase price by 0.68 to get an approximate GBP equivalent and we charge clients 2.5% of this value as our commission.
e.g. A Purchase Price is 20,000 Euro

20,000 * 2.5 % = 500 Euro commission
20,000 Euro * 0.68 = 13,600GBP
2.5% of 13,600 = 340 GBP commission

What if the purchase price is very inexpensive?
Our company has a minimum Agency fee of 500 Euro or 340 GBP which will be charged if the standard Agency fee calculation gives a value below this.

What if the property price is very expensive?
 Our company has a maximum Agency fee of 2,500 Euro or 1,700 GBP which will be charged if the standard Agency fee calculation gives a value above this.

If I buy a property using Our company services, when will I pay Our company their agency commission ?
Our commission is payable when paying a deposit and signing the preliminary contract for purchasing a property.

What currency will the Agency Fees be charged/paid in?
It is up to the client either Euros or GBP.

What is the property buying procedure in Bulgaria?
A typical purchase of an of-plan apartment goes like this:

What extra costs are there?
You should budget as follows when buying an off-plan or new-build apartment. Take the example of an apartment you are buying for GBP 50,000.

What are your services?
We offer an all-inclusive service from locating properties through to delivery of the Title Deeds. We identify and appraise property for sale in Bulgaria, and act as an agent in property sales. We deal in off-plan properties, new-built properties, and resale properties. We sell appartments, houses, villas, commercial real estate and plots of land. 

Increasingly we are selling off-plan and new-build properties. We minimize the risks of these transactions for our clients by choosing very carefully which developers we agree to assist. Before agreeing to promote a new development we check that its legal basis is valid. This includes:

Setting out independently to buy an investment property or holiday home in Bulgaria is a very considerable task. The language is foreign, the alphabet is Cyrillic, and the bureaucracy is great for the uninitiated. There are also considerable risks.  Without proper support, there is a possibility of paying an inflated price. Worse, there is the possibility of losing your deposit or indeed the full settlement amount due to credit settlement risk or legal risk. (Credit settlement risk means that you pay for the property and do not receive the Title Deeds. Legal risk means you buy the property from someone who is not the rightful owner.)  Our company therefore provide a service that is both more encompassing than the normal estate agency service, and not more expensive, but extensive.

What next?
Sorry, we do not send out brochures. The buying procedure, our fees, and other vital information about buying Bulgarian property are described above and in other sections. The next step is to come to reserve a property or to come to Bulgaria.

Travelling from UK
If you book a package holiday with Balkan Holidays we will show you properties when you are here.

Travelling from Ireland
You can book a holiday with Balkan Tours who fly to Bulgaria from Dublin (to Burgas) and Belfast (to Varna).