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Big price rises in run up to EU entry... Buy Remotely without visiting Bulgaria or book your viewing trip. NEW !...Sell your property privately FOR FREE !....

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How To Buy Property in Bulgaria

This section gives important information. If you're thinking of visiting to buy Bulgarian property, please read it carefully before you go. There are two main ways we sell Bulgarian Property. Firstly, when clients visit us and purchase. Secondly, by Remote Purchase. This is when the client doesn't visit Bulgaria immediately, but buys from UK. This latter option is very popular with lower priced property and enables people to secure a bargain in a fast moving market.
Full information on these two options are below.

Choose Your Property

Select from our website the Bulgarian properties for sale that you would like to view and send us the reference numbers. Please note that it is not usually feasible to view more than 4 or 5 properties in one day. Our web site shows all current property and is updated constantly.

Arrange Your Visit

We can agree a date and time for your visit. Then you need to arrange your own flights and let us know your arrival time at Varna Airport (or train/coach stations). Pick up from Airport/Station and transport to your hotel can be arranged for 20 Euro. For more information on flights, please see our "Travel to Bulgaria" section on our website.

How long should you stay? That depends, of course, on your plans, but allow about 2 days to view property and 1 day to do the legal paperwork if you want to buy. Please note: As the solicitor and Notary office aren't open on a week-end, make sure you stay for at least one weekday to do any legal paperwork.

If you already have plans to be in Bulgaria, such as a package holiday to one of the Varna area resorts like "Golden Sands" (a cheap way to see the area), then all we need to do is fix a time for you to meet one of our representatives. All our staff speak English and Russian. They are friendly, with expert local knowledge, and will look after you well.

What to Bring

This is very important if you wish to buy property on your visit, so please read this section carefully. Please bring with you cash or travellers cheques in Euros (or Bulgarian Lev) to the value of 10% of each property price. Also, if you aren’t planning on returning within a few months, you’ll need to do your company set-up during your visit, as it’s something that can only be done in Bulgaria. This is charges at 775 Euro company set up charge. Important note: Please bring the traveller's cheque numbers with you to get the best conversion rate And you will need to bring 5000 Lev (or 2600 Euro equivalent) to open your company account. This money remains yours and is only needed to open the account. It can be withdrawn after company is formed (about 21 days). Many clients use it to defray final balance payment on their property purchase. Also add about 200 Euro to cover small charge for opening company bank account charge and Preliminary Contract fee, and document translation costs if required. And, of course, don't forget to bring some money to cover living and travel costs during your visit. Please note that credit cards are of little use in Bulgaria for these costs as there is a modest daily withdrawal limit on most.

Transport

Once in Bulgaria, you can hire your own car and our representative will accompany you to view without charge. Or you can hire our car with driver for 50 Euro per day, including petrol. Payment for this can be made to our representative. There are no other charges, such as for viewings that other agencies commonly make.

Accommodation

We can arrange accommodation for you. If you have a look at the Rental Section of www.blackseavillas.net, you will see villas that offer rental on a bed per night basis, for around 10 GBP. Or we can arrange hotel accommodation, for around 30 Euros per person per night to 45 Euros for hotels.

Once you have visited your selected properties and made your selection, it is the time to set in motion the legal process.

The Legal Process

For non residents in Bulgaria, buying property with land requires the setting up a limited liability company. This is not as daunting as it might sound and can all be done on the first visit if required. Allow a full day for these legal proceedings.
Once you have chosen which property to buy, you will instruct a Preliminary Contract to be drawn up and pay a 10% deposit. Then the lawyer checks Title. You also set up a company at a cost of 775 Euro, which requires opening a bank account (small fee applies) with the deposit of 5000 BGLev (about 2600 Euros), which can be withdrawn once the company has been formed. This is a small inconvenience (more for us than you) and once only cost, but there is the benefit in that owning through a limited liability company affords excellent legal protection and offers flexibility for multiple ownership.
When the lawyer is satisfied that all is in order, the balance of price is paid plus agency fee and a land tax/Notary fee. Please note that this Land tax/Notary fee is dependant on declared value of property, which by mutual agreement between buyer and seller can sometimes be different from price entered on document of sale.

The whole conveyance process takes about 4 weeks, but by giving Power of Attorney you do not have to return to complete. We then inform you that you are then the proud owner of your Bulgarian property!

You can have confidence in the legal process, particularly as we employ the area's top lawyer. It's normal for the Lawyer to represent both sides, as in France, for example, and the lawyer is legally bound to be diligent. If there is the slightest irregularity in a property's paperwork, you will be advised accordingly.

It's worth noting, that to involve another solicitor is completely unnecessary legally and will only drag out a sale. In fact, in our experience you will most likely lose the property. It is by avoiding such pitfalls as duplication of solicitors and also by only offering property we have found and know ourselves, that we maximize your chances of a successful conveyance.

Please note that we will require those viewing properties to sign a contract that they will pay our company its rightful commission of 3% (VAT incl) or minimum of 995 Euros for any property they purchase that they have viewed with us. We put a lot of effort into supporting clients through the whole process and need to ensure that we are fairly recompensed for our work.

Most of our Bulgarian property sales are done within the month, with the odd one taking longer if some legal issue crops up. If a property title isn’t 100% in order, our solicitor will cancel the sale. Fortunately, this is very rare as we try and pre-vet properties and owners before offering for sale.
If a sale is not concluded for legal reasons, you will receive a full refund of your deposit, without deduction.

Money Transfer

Payment of funds from UK or elsewhere to Bulgaria can normally be done from your local Bank. You will need to fill in a "Priority Payment" or "Electronic Transfer" form and the payment should take about 3 days. When you fill in the form with the Bank staff, please bear in mind that the slightest error can result in the payment not being made. This can be critical when making payment for the deadline on a Preliminary Contract. So check the form carefully before signing it and give yourself plenty of time and transfer at least a week before the due date.

Better currency rate

Currency specialists Currency Solutions provide a friendly and supportive service for money transfers and offer savings on rates quoted by Banks. In fact, benefit can be considerable on larger sums, amounting to hundreds of pounds. As blackseavillas.net use them for our own transfers we can recommend their services. Please call them on 0208 850 22 66 and ask for Ernie, or email info@currencysolutions.co.uk.

When using their services, please remind them to add your name to the transfer description, to help us identify it.

Remote Purchase

We at blackseavillas.net find property that is so low priced that an immediate decision and fast purchase is often required. To enable our clients to secure such bargains, we offer a way of buying quickly without visiting Bulgaria. It's called "Remote Purchase", when you authorize us to purchase on your behalf and you are the named beneficiary on the Contract.

In this process, 10% of the purchase price is sent to us immediately and sale agreed with vendor. After checking that all is in order with the property's legal status, the solicitor sends the Preliminary Contract, which has been signed by us in the buyer's name, to the buyer (in UK or elsewhere). This Preliminary Contract is an important part of the Deeds and the original stays in the Notary office, with only a copy being sent. Very soon after, the balance is paid and sale completed.

All that is required after this is that the new owner travel to Bulgaria within a reasonable period of time to sign the Deeds and set up their company with our full assistance, if necessary. A simple and fast process, that removes much of the stress from buying. No mad rush to get to Bulgaria to buy before the property is sold to another. Just a call or e-mail along with the 10% and its yours.

But please bear in mind that sending your deposit starts the legal process, with attendant costs, and your deposit will not be refundable if you decide not to proceed, for whatever reason, So, be sure that you wish to purchase. Also, please do not treat the Remote Purchase deposit as a "property holding" tactic. We spend a lot of time doing the initial checking of documents and drawing up of the Preliminary Contract - work for which we will not get paid if you do not proceed (the seller gets the 10% deposit in full, not our Agency).

If the sale falls through due to actions other than your own, such as the seller not proceeding or the solicitor terminating the process as he's not 100% happy with the documentation, then you will receive a full refund of your deposit. We don't deduct any costs, but refund in full.

Lastly, it's worth mentioning that many of the very cheap Bulgarian properties are not up to "Western Standards" and will need work doing on them. Typically, this could include installation of internal WC and new bathroom, and fitting a kitchen, plus various other works. Such costs are, of course, very much reflected in the amazingly low prices.

We try to show all aspects of a property on our site, good and bas. You can even request a video to be made and sent to you (see "Our Service" section)

Summary of Buying Costs

Quite a few clients have told us they find it very difficult to get details of buying costs from other agencies. To make these clear to you, here's a list of all the costs:
1. Purchase price
2. Land tax and Notary fee. Depends on value of property. Examples:
Property value E 9,000 , about E 750 . Value 25,000 Euro, about E1600. For E 100,00 , it's E 4000.
One point you need to know about the Land tax. If both buyer and seller agree, it's quite common for a lower declared price to be entered on the Contract of Sale. This can lessen the Capital Gains Tax liability for the seller and save the buyer quite a lot of Land Tax, especially on the more expensive properties. This may sound a little unorthodox, but is common practice.
3. Agency commission of 3% (VAT incl) or minimum of 995 Euros
4. Preliminary Contract fee: 150 Euro
5. Translation of Preliminary Contract fee: 20 Euros
6. If you don't already have a company set up in Bulgaria, then 775 Euro. Note that one company can own a number of properties.
And that's, apart from some living expenses in Bulgaria. For this, take a quantity of Lev with you. Thomas Cook can provide this currency with a couple of days notice.

Our Fees

By keeping our operating costs to the minimum, we are able to charge only 3% (VAT incl) of sale price, with a minimum 995 Euro. This is roughly comparable to the rate of UK estate agents (although our minimum is less) and lower than the European norm. It is a bargain when the amount of work dealing with foreign clients is considered. We don't just draw up property particulars, phone the home owner to say they've got a visit and after an agreed offer, hand over to the solicitors. We provide personal support to our clients to make them feel welcome in a strange country, providing transport and accommodation, translating and explaining, then assisting with the conveyance procedure by ferrying clients back and forth from the Bank and Notary office.
Find out what other agents charge (if you can!) and compare.

Reasons why so many are Choosing blackseavillas.net
1. Fully refundable viewing charges in case of purchase
2. Lowest commission
3. Genuine low local property prices
4. Expert local knowledge and access to reliable building services
5. And, very importantly, a wide range of after sales services, including Property Care Contracts, first class building services, furniture and kitchens, gardening, and recommended letting service.