What to consider when investing in Bulgaria

[Italkcash News]

With Bulgaria joining the EU many investors and private parties were excited to buy property in the country. Part of the EU very cheap (compared to the European standards), beautiful never ending nature, it seemed like heaven. I guess the good part ends here. Many people got burnt when investing in property due to the large amount of scam schemes going on.
The first rule for anyone willing to invest in Bulgaria is to have a trusted local representative. By trusted I do not mean a person who persuades you to trust them because 'they are so good at what they do', but a person that you actually do know and have some kind of an established relationship.

One of the most popular scams that happen in Bulgaria is that people sell you property which is not theirs, does not have building permits or is in a family dispute. Due to the slow and old fashioned bureaucratic system in Bulgaria you might not even realize what is happening only until its too late. Once you pay the money there is no going back. The law enforcement officers will not really move to protect your rights. If you decide to sue the people who scammed you, you will tie yourself up in long, costly and never ending court appeals, appearances and so on. The final outcome is yet a question.
There were many cases of scammers who re-sold the same house/property to more than 30 people and collected either holding deposits or the whole sum (depending on how naive the client was), some of these people are still not caught.

If you wan to avoid all that


In order to be safe regarding your investment:

Always require all documents to be presented to you translated (in your own language), signed and stamped by a notary. A notary verification is almost impossible to fake in Bulgaria. Once you have this you might say you are on the safe side. Also if you require to build a house and develop the property, you should always require a copy of the building permit/restrictions (again translated and stamped).

The safest way is to go through an agency. I know it is an additional cost but then you are certain that everything is in order. Chose one of the big ones, do not rely on some little agencies with two people staff. The big agencies have the appropriate licences and are very trust worthy (they have a brand and a reputation to keep up). I am not advertising agencies here, it is just a helpful suggestion for your own security.

Also avoid random people who tell you 'fairy tales' about the next booming region in Bulgaria, which is going to make you rich. most of these people just want to get rid of some property in a forgotten of God region, or a region which might be taken by the Government and so on. Lucrative properties in Bulgaria are usually very expensive, you will not find a deal. Properties around the resorts (ski or beach) have similar prices to the European market. So if someone is selling you a house for 5 000 Euro in this 'very good place, which is developing so fast' just run. Although it is a poor country, people are not stupid. Good properties' prices vary between 700Eur/ 1500 Eur per sq.m

Bulgaria is a good pace to have a holiday house or maybe relocate to, one just needs to be very careful when and where are they investing. Just do your homework and you won't end up robbed of your savings.

[Italkcash News]

If you have any other interesting experiences please do share them with us. It is always good to know all the little tricks out there. And never forget that the high level of corrupted government officials won't help you solve your problems faster