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Bulgaria has one of the most
liberal foreign investment laws in the region
regarding Bulgaria real estates well as regarding
the foreign investors
According to the Bulgarian Constitution and
legislation foreign persons and companies can
invest in real estate in Bulgaria either
personally or through a local legal entity.
Generally speaking, foreign investors can acquire
only buildings but not land. Only Bulgarian
citizens and legal persons (including such with
foreign owner) can obtain the ownership of
Bulgarian land. Foreign investors however purchase
land as a Limited company,which holds the land for
the investor. A limited company can be
incorporated within 2-3 weeks for the investor who
is the director of this limited company. To
arrange this you must contract a good solicitor or
barrister at law.
There are other ways for foreign investors to
buy land such as: |
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Foreign organizations have the
right to open bank accounts denominated in a
Bulgarian or foreign currency.
There is also no limit to the company stake they
possess. Moreover, there is a special regime of
respect towards the foreign investors on the part
of the Bulgarian legislative system, which is a
gesture of tolerance to those, who are interested
in Bulgaria and are willing to benefit from its
future.
The last 2 Bulgarian governments are doing their
best to attract foreign investors into the
Bulgarian economy, including of course foreign
investors wanting to buy Bulgaria real estate.
The service will be undertaken by a Bulgarian
lawyer, expert in Bulgaria real estate and
specialists who will provide you with a
professional help in the field you need.
In Bulgaria it is important to check the history
of ownership of a property. If one can proved 10
consecutive years true ownership of this property
then there is no problem. It is just a good point
to realize to avoid any problems. Your legal
representative will no doubt take this into
account during their diligence on the property you
choose.
The usual term for the old owners of the property
to move out of it after completion of the sale is
one month. This could be negotiated if the buyers
require a shorter term.
All foreign buyers purchasing real estate property
must be aware that in Bulgaria there are such
terms as "tax estimation price" and "purchase
price". The "tax estimation price" is for the
purposes of real estate taxation and is much lower
than the actual selling (purchase) price. Most of
the Bulgarian property owners (vendors) wish that
the "tax estimation price" is written in the title
deed, and not the selling (asking) price which the
buyers are paying, so due to this practice there
might be discrepancies between the price you are
paying and the price written in the title deed.
This is nothing to be alarmed about, just
something you should be aware of before you buy.
For expert legal advice internationally please see
www.legal500.com
where you will be able to search for lawyers
ranging from the best firms in Sofia to good local
law firms depending upon your individual needs.
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