We at BuyProperty4Less realise that many of you may not be that familiar with Bulgaria and wonder, “Why would anybody want to invest there?”

We therefore decided to put this question to local agents and ourselves in the real estate market. The following is a “short list” of why an investor should invest in Bulgaria:

Rapidly becoming the most sought after area for investment in Europe.

Property in Bulgaria is currently some of the cheapest in Europe and last year rose by over 30%.

1,248,138 foreigners visited Bulgaria in the period January- May 2004.

The Black Sea coast boasts 220km of sandy beaches.

The Black Sea coast has over 1700 hours of sunshine from May to October.

Tipped by Thomson’s 2004 Holiday Forecast as the new top destination.

The diverse geography and climate allows both ski and beach resorts.

The general cost of living is one of the cheapest in Europe.

Bulgaria is close, being in Europe so naturally it is within 3 hours or less from the United Kingdom, Holland and Germany by plane.

Bulgaria joined NATO in 2004 and is set to Join the EU in 2007.

Bulgaria is stable. In 1999 the Bulgarian currency was tied to the German mark and subsequently the Euro, stabilising the currency and allowing for economic growth.

Buying of Real Estate Property in Bulgaria

General Overview

Foreigners as persons can acquire only buildings, but not land. Only Bulgarian citizens and legal persons (including such with foreign participation) can obtain the ownership of Bulgarian land. Therefore, the most popular and preferred by non-residents ways to obtain a real estate in Bulgaria is:

For houses, villas, fl ats with limited ownership rights (the right of use, the
right to build a house, etc.), you can directly purchase them as a person.

For acquiring of real estate with the belonging land, you can set up a company, usually limited company (OOD) that will be the owner of the property.

Procedure on Buying of Real Estate

Full checks on property (on ownership documents, land sketch, securing proper title deeds).

Preliminary contract is signed with the Seller and the Buyer pays 10 % in advance as a guarantee deposit.

Signing the transaction at the Notary’s Offi ce. Notary procedures regarding real estate matters cannot be carried out outside Bulgaria by law – the Notary Deed has to be signed before a local Notary in which area the property is situated. The Notary taxes and local taxes are about 3% of the purchase value.

Declaration of the purchased property in the Tax offi ce.

The EURO is the preferred currency by the sellers in Bulgaria. Money should be in
the Buyer’s bank account at the date of transferring the ownership of the property and the Buyer or his/her representative should be able to transfer the amount to the Seller’s account.

Credo Consult Legal Services

The service will be undertaken by a Credo Consult legal and tax consultants, who will provide you with professional help in the fi eld
you need, including:

Full checks on property (on ownership documents, land sketch, securing proper title deeds)

Preparing of a preliminary contract with the Seller

- Signing the transaction at the Notary’s Offi ce

- Organizing the payment of the property tax to the Tax authorities, when required

Declaration of the purchased property in the Tax offi ce.

Company Set-Up in Bulgaria Includes:

1. Reservation of a company name – this procedure makes sure that no other company bears the same name.

2. Drafting the Articles of Incorporation (including the reserved company name).

3. Opening a collection account for the registered capital of the company (5 000 BGN is the minimum for the limited liability company (OOD).

4. Obtaining a notary verifi ed specimen of signature of the company managing body.

5. The members of the Managing body sign declarations as per the Trade Act.

6. The members of the Managing body sign the application for court registration.

7. The members of the Managing body give a power of attorney to the lawyer who will deal with the registration.

8. Payment of the court fee for the registration procedure.

9. Submitting the application for court registration within 7 days from the date the Articles of Incorporation is signed by the
founders.

10. Obtaining the Court decision for registration of the company.

11. BULSTAT registration (within 3 days from obtaining the court decision).

12. National Social Security Institute registration (within 7 days from obtaining the court decision).

13. TAX registration (within 14 days from obtaining the court decision).