Real Estate Property

More and more foreigners have chosen to live and work in Bulgaria in the past few years. Of course, when you settle somewhere, you need a place to live, right? That’s why many of them decide to buy an apartment, a house or property in Bulgaria. Usually, it’s not very hard for a foreigner to buy property here, but still there might be some obstacles if you don’t speak the local language or you are not fully aware of the procedures and the documentation. That’s why, it would be better to get the assistance of a broker from a licensed agency to help you with the documents. The specialists might also assist you in preparing credit documents for a bank, if you decide to buy a property with a mortgage. Usually, each agency has attorneys and notaries with whom they work together.
Theoretically, there are no big obstacles for a foreigner to get a mortgage loan. Of course, each bank offers different loan conditions and you must check which one would be the best for you. Moreover, some experts reveal that many banks prefer the borrower to have Bulgarian citizenship or to be married to a Bulgarian. That is because it’s safer for a bank to provide a loan to a person who has a local citizenship (for security issues). On the other hand, you must be aware of the fact that possession of a real estate property in Bulgaria is not grounds for obtaining a Bulgarian citizenship. Also, this is not even a reason to get a long stay permit in the country.
Since 2012, EU and EEA citizens have been able to buy land in Bulgarian, following the expiry of the 5 year prohibition included in the Treaty of Accession of Bulgaria to the EU, which means that EU and EEA citizens can buy properties with land (houses, apartments with gardens, commercial properties, offices, etc.). Following the same treaty from 2012, since 2014 EU and EEA citizens can also buy agricultural land and forests without any restrictions.
EU citizens are allowed to buy houses with land in Bulgaria as physical persons. On the following link you can check all the documents needed for buying a property in Bulgaria, provided by the Registry Agency. For some of the documents you might need assistance from a notary (as for buying/selling a property you will need a Title Deed, which can be signed and stamped only by them). You can visit the section Notary services for more information and find the closest Notary office.