Bulgarian British Partnership
- Property for Sale in Bulgaria
Helping to bring out the best in Britain and the best in Bulgaria.
Bulgarian British Partnership is a UK based company, with Professionally Qualified Staff working in both the UK and Bulgaria.
Property for sale in Bulgaria;Language & Business Services
©
®
FEES INVOLVED IN BUYING PROPERTY IN BULGARIA
Once you know the Sale Price of the property you are buying you will be able to calculate the fees involved more accurately. But the information below will provide you with a very approximate idea of the kind of fees involved. Fees vary according to the Purchase Price of the Property and as you will appreciate also, there is some variation in the fees different Solicitors and Agents make. The Authorities too may make some increase/change in the way they calculate their fees. Therefore, please check current fees. Below is only a very rough guide and should not be relied upon for accuracy.
FEES INVOLVED IN BUYING PROPERTY IN BULGARIA
Please Note: All the Fees below are subject to change, I have provided them just to give you an idea of what costs might be involved. Please also note that I have converted the Bulgarian Lev to British Pounds – if the exchange rate changes this could also affect the fees. Also, if you cannot come over to Bulgaria to deal with conveyancing, you have to arrange Power of Attorney, which involves additional fees. It is very difficult to comment on Fees without knowing the purchase price and what work will be involved. There are different regulations for different types of purchases and different regulations for different buyers from different countries (EU, or non EU, etc). Also, laws are amended, which means different procedures, which incurrs different fees. Before proceeding to purchase and before signing the Preliminary Contract - make sure that your Solicitor confirms all current Fees that you will be charged.
Summary of Fees involved:
-
Solicitors Fees
-
Agents Fees;
-
Preliminary Contract Fee;
-
Cost of Setting up and Registering a Company **
-
Municipal Tax;
-
Property Tax;
-
Notary Fees;
-
Translation Fees;
-
Possible Additional Fees.
The Fees are often calculated on a sliding scale according to the Sale Price of the property. Don't worry if you find the Fees involved complicated, once we know which property you are buying/the sale price, your Solicitor and Agent can help you to calculate what fees you would have to pay. However, below is an example of how fees are calculated and further details concerning fees.
** See note below about a change in the law - EU citizens can now buy property, with land in their own name without having to set up a company (this does not apply to Agricultural Land or Forests).
Old Postcard showing a Bulgarian Vineyard
For example: If you paid £10,000 for a Bulgarian Property, the Fees involved might be very approximately as follows:
Fee for Preliminary Contract £ 100.00
Selling Agents Fee * £ 1,000.00
Solicitor's Conveyancing Fee £ 1,000.00
Company Formation and Registration Fee £ 650.00
Municipal Tax £ 200.00
Property Tax £ 15.00
Notary Public £ 80.12
Sub-Total £ 3,045.12
* Sometimes the Selling Agents Fee is included in the Purchase Price, sometimes the Buyer has to pay the Agents Fee on top of the Purchase Price. (It's 'swings and roundabouts': If the Agents Fee is included in the purchase price, the purchase price will be higher, or pay a lower purchase price and then pay the Agents Fee on top). We include our Selling Agents Fee in the purchase price.
Sometimes there are additional fees charged for e.g. Translation Services, Utility Connections,Special Searches, Power of Attorney, Surveyor's Report, Financial Services - e.g. Setting up a Mortgage, Bank/Money Transfer Charges - please ask your Solicitor what Charges you will be liable for in your particular case. Also, ask your Solicitor what services their Solicitor's Fees include and any additional charges that you may incur.
However, very roughly - on a property you buy for a purchase Price of £10,000 - you can expect to pay around £3,100 for Related Fees. If a property was bought from my website, then this figure would be reduced by £1,000 because the Agents Commission is included in the Asking Price. Don't forget to also put money aside for a deposit in the Company Account, Incidental Costs, Travel Costs, Property Maintenance/Running Costs/Repairs/Renovations.
Please see below for further details:
Your Solicitor’s Fees: Some Solicitors charge 1-2% of the purchase price and have a minimum fee. Other Solicitors charge an hourly rate. Make sure you ask your Solicitor if there are any extra charges or minimum fees. For Example:
If you bought a property for £10,000 in Bulgaria – do not assume that you will only be paying 2% of £10,000 - this would only be – £200. Your Solicitor may well have a minimum fee charge of £800 or more – thus you will not be paying £200, but £800 or more. Because properties in Bulgaria are much cheaper than in Britain, minimum fees may often ‘kick in’. Also, ask your Solicitor what checks are included in their services and what their extra charges are for any additional checks.
If one Solicitor offers to do your conveyancing for £800 and another Solicitor offers to do your conveyancing for over £1,000, the latter is not necessarily more expensive - it depends on what is and is not included in their service.
Agents Fees and Preliminary Contract Fees: Different Selling Agents have different Commission Charges and any single Selling Agent can change the way they calculate their fees according to whether they are selling expensive or cheap properties. In Bulgaria, the Selling Agent sometimes includes their Commission Fee and Preliminary Contract Fee in the Asking Price for the Property. If it is not included in the Asking Price, then you could be liable to pay the Agents Commission and the Preliminary Contract Fee.
In Britain an Estate Agent might for example charge 3% of the Sale Price for their Commission: however, property prices in Britain are much higher, therefore 3% commission provides a reasonable fee. In Bulgaria - the Estate Agents can charge 10% Commission and can have minimum fees, this is because the property in Bulgaria is much cheaper - especially in the Villages. Thus a 10% commission on a property selling for £4,000 in Bulgaria (£400) would not be sufficient to cover the Selling Agents Advertising, Viewing and other Expenses, therefore they may have a minimum commission of £1,000. Commission of 3% on a British Property selling for £80,000 would be £2,400. Hence Bulgarian Agents often have much higher Commission charges/minimum fees on the cheaper properties (10% or a minimum fee. Or if they charge less commission, they may charge more for helping with other services). Our Selling Agents Commission is a minimum of 2,000 Euros. Details of Bulgarian British Partnership Agents Commission are as follows:
SELLING PRICE COMMISSION
Up to £5,000 Minimum Fee of 1,500 Euros
£5,000 - £20,000 2,500 Euros
£20,000 - £40,000 3,500 Euros
£40,000 - £100,000 6,000 Euros
Over £100,000 8,000 Euros
Bulgarian Crane nesting on Telegraph Pole
Ask Agents and Solicitors to specify their charges for every aspect of their service. E.g. An Agent who offers a 'Free' Service, will no doubt be looking to cover their expenses by charging more (than other Agents) for another aspect of their services. Our Selling Agents Commission is included in the Asking Price. However, the Buyer will have to pay other Fees on top of the Purchase Price (Solicitors Fees, Preliminary Contract Fee, Fees for Forming and Registering a Company, Notary Fee, Municipal and Property Tax, Translation Fee, Viewing Fees, etc).
Please note some Fees are non-refundable: E.g. Once a Buyer decides to proceed to purchase, the Preliminary Contract Fee is not refundable. Therefore, if you change your mind about purchasing the property you will lose this £100 at the Preliminary Contract Stage. Also, if you then proceed further to pay a deposit on the property and you back out at the last minute - you are then at risk of losing the deposit on the property. The 'deposit' paid into the Company Account should not be confused with a deposit paid to purchase the property. E.g. If you paid £4,000 deposit on the purchase of the house, then changed your mind - you could lose your deposit. Therefore, please do be sure you seriously want to buy the property to avoid losing money because some fees/deposits are not refundable if the sale falls through.
There are still lots of Traditional Carts being used in Bulgarian Villages today - a slower pace of life and less stressful than cars!
Cost of forming and Registering a Company: It was very approximately: £450 -£650 and in some cases property can be purchased in a personal name rather than in a company name. In 2022 I've noticed costs increasing, so current costs need to be checked.
You will also have to put into the Company Bank Account a Deposit of between approximately £1,550-£2,150. This Deposit in the Company Bank Account remains your money, after the company is formed you can have access to that money. (I’m not quite sure why they have this procedure of showing funds in the Company Account, but don’t worry – your Solicitor will confirm that this is the way it is done in Bulgaria. I recall being worried about this procedure, I could see no point in this procedure and thought someone was going to run off with my deposit, but after my company was formed – I took my deposit back out to pay a builder for renovation work to my property). I think the idea behind it was to show that you had some spare cash and were not going to be penniless in Bulgaria. But make sure this money is paid into your own account and is not accessible by anyone else but you: talk to your Solicitor if you are concerned.
Municipal Tax: (a bit like Stamp Duty in the UK): this was 2% of the purchase price. Thus if you bought a property for £10,000 the municipal tax would be £200. However, always check for any price increases.
Property Tax: (this is the cost of Registering your Title Deeds with the Authorities): 0.15% of the Purchase Price. Thus if you paid £10,000 for your property – the property tax would be £15.00. However, always check for any price increases.
Notary Public’s Fees: There is a scale of charges according to the amount the property is purchased for (please note figures shown are approximate, please check current charges and current exchange rates between Bulgarian Levs and British pounds):
Purchase Price of Property Notary’s Fee
£440 - £4,375 (1,000 – 10,000 Bulgarian Lev) 28.5 Lev (Approx.£12.50) plus 1% of the amount over £440
£4,375 - £21,870 (10,000 – 50,000 Bulgarian Lev) 118.5 Lev( Approx. £51.99) plus 0.5% of the amount over £4,375
£21,870-£43,733 (50,000-100,000 Bulgarian Lev) 318.5 Lev (Approx. £139.69) plus 0.2% of the amount over £21,870
Over £43,733 (100,000 Bulgarian Lev) 418 Lev (Approx. £183.32) plus 0.1% of the amount over £43,733
Using the above Table, for example, if you purchased a Bulgarian Property for £10,000 ( 22,797 Bulgarian Lev) the Notary Public’s Fees would be calculated as follows:
Approximately - £51.99 plus-
0.5% of £5,625 - £28.13
Total Notary Fee £80.12
The maximum fee charged by the Notary is very approximately £1,285.
Again, please check for any price increases.
Additional Costs involved in Purchasing a Property: There may be additional costs, for example if you decide to have a Surveyor’s Report, or Special Property Searches, or Translation Services, or you give a Solicitor the Power of Attorney (Be careful who you give Power of Attorney to and be aware of different types of Power of Attorney and exactly what you are giving power to do in your absence), and - the Selling Agents Fees can sometimes be included in the Purchase Price of the property (and then this is deducted before forwarding the balance to the Seller), etc. Don’t forget that after purchasing the property there are ongoing running costs (Property Insurance, Paying for Utilities, Property Maintenance/Repair, Annual Accounts/Reports,Municipality Taxes (like the UK Council Tax but currently a lot less expensive), etc)
Utilities: E.g. If the telephone, or Electricity, Water, etc. has been disconnected at the property – you may have to pay re-connection fees. Sometimes these Services are not available and you would have to pay to have them made available.
When asking about your Fees be careful about companies that try to mislead you by telling you only some of the information about their fees and not all of it. What sounds cheaper can sometimes turn out to be more expensive because some companies include services within fees, others do not. Some offer to do the job for what appears to be a much less expensive fee - but then they keep adding on charges so it ends up a lot more expensive than others were going to charge. Find out exactly what their Fee covers and does not cover and what additional fees may be incurred.
If you would like to see some of the properties we currently have for sale in Bulgaria please click this button. If you tell us what type of property you are looking for, we can make sure to take you to see properties you are likely to be interested in buying. The properties shown on this website are just a small selection of the properties we have for sale. We don't always manage to update our website, so don't hesitate to tell us what type of property you are looking for.
DISCLAIMER:
Whilst I hope you find the above information useful you should not rely on it as the only guidance to follow when Buying Property in Bulgaria. Neither can I provide a guarantee about the accuracy of any of the information provided. Your Independent Legal Advisor must be consulted on all aspects of information and procedures concerning the purchase of property. You must please check all the information you have read on this website concerning buying property in Bulgaria with your own Independent Solicitor. Procedures for Buying property in Bulgaria are subject to change because of changes or modifications in the Law, because of changes since Bulgaria has joined the EU and because Solicitors, Agents and Authorities may increase their fees. I have provided this information as a basic guide to give you a very rough idea of possible costs. However, please check costs again before committing to any purchase or giving instructions to act on your behalf. We are NOT Solicitors and your Solicitor can better advise you. Information provided on this website is intended to provide a general idea of some of the points you need to consider, but it should not be taken as an exhaustive list of all the points you need to consider and I cannot guarantee the accuracy of the information. Neither can I confirm the Fees charged by Local Authorities, Solicitors, et al - their fees may have increased at the point of your purchase.
