Property
Property in Bulgaria
What a purchase actually involves, which costs arrive alongside the price, who charges them and where to read the current rate. This page orders the process — it does not replace a legal check on the specific property.
Start in BG is not an estate agent. We hold no listings, make no valuations, broker nothing and earn nothing from any purchase.
Why there are no percentages on this page
Transfer tax, notary fees and price per square metre vary by municipality, by property value and by year. We publish no figure we have not checked against the office that sets it — least of all in property, where people plan around a wrong number. What is here instead is the complete list of what you pay, who charges it and which office publishes the current rate. That part is hard to assemble yourself; the number is not.
Three decisions before the price
They move the total more than any negotiation does — and most buyers make them without noticing they were decisions.
Where
Sofia, a regional city, the coast and a village are four different markets with different buyers, different resale prospects and different vacancy risk. A coastal property empty for ten months a year is a different calculation from a Sofia flat with year-round demand.
New-build or existing
New-build is often sold without interior finishing — no flooring, no bathroom fittings, sometimes no internal walls. The price per square metre is then not comparable with a habitable existing flat. Always ask which finishing standard is included.
Own use or letting
Letting turns the purchase into a business with ongoing management, a tax return and maintenance. Budget for vacancy rather than twelve let months — and check the property can be let at all before the price goes into a yield calculation.
What a purchase consists of
The sequence is not unusual, but the order and who is responsible for what surprise many buyers.
- 1
Property and price
YouSearch, viewing, negotiation. Nothing is binding this far.
- 2
Preliminary contract
A professional you engageUsual, with a deposit. From here changing your mind gets expensive — which is why the contract should be checked before it is signed, not after.
- 3
Title and encumbrance checks
A professional you engageWho actually owns it, are there mortgages, seizures or co-heirs, do the area and cadastral data match. This is the step that decides whether the purchase becomes a problem.
- 4
Notarial deed
An office or notaryThe transfer is executed before a notary. The notary checks the formalities — but does not represent your interests in the contract.
- 5
Registration
An office or notaryEntry in the property register makes the transfer effective against third parties.
- 6
Transferring the running accounts
YouElectricity, water, building management, the waste fee and registering the property with the municipality for tax.
What you pay — and who charges it
Alongside the purchase price. The last column says where the current rate is published.
| Item | Who charges it | Where to check the rate |
|---|---|---|
| Purchase priceNegotiable. For new-build, check which finishing standard is included. | Seller | Negotiated, not officially set |
| Municipal transfer taxLevied by the municipality the property sits in, and differs between municipalities. | Municipality | Municipal administration (population register) |
| Notary feeOn the official scale, based on the value being certified. | Notary | Bulgarian notaries |
| Registration feeFor entering the transfer of ownership. | Registry Agency | Registry Agency (Commercial Register) |
| Agency commissionIf an agent is involved. Establish upfront who pays it and whether it is inside the quoted price. | Estate agent | Negotiated, not officially set |
| Legal reviewOptional, and the line most likely to save more than it costs. | Law firm | Negotiated, not officially set |
| Translation and certificationIf you do not read the contract language or are bringing in documents from abroad. | Sworn translator | Sworn translators and legalisation services |
What continues after the purchase
The line yield calculations leave out most often.
- Property tax
- Annual, levied by the municipality.
- Waste collection fee
- Also annual and municipal — on some properties noticeably higher than the property tax itself.
- Building management fee
- In complexes, for management, cleaning, lift, pool or security. In coastal holiday developments this is often the largest running cost.
- Electricity, water, heating
- Standing charges apply even while the property is empty.
- Insurance
- Not mandatory, but worth serious thought when letting and in areas with earthquake risk.
- Tax on rental income
- Rental income is taxable — in Bulgaria and possibly in your country of residence as well. What you keep is decided by the double-taxation treaty, not by the Bulgarian rate alone.
The most expensive mistakes
Bought the building, never checked the land
Building and land can be owned separately. Buying a house without establishing what happens to the plot underneath is buying an open question.
Construction and use status not checked
Whether a building has been signed off for use decides utility connections, lettability and resale. “Nearly finished” is not a status.
Off-plan without protection
Buying from a plan means paying for something that does not exist yet. Without protection written into the contract you carry the completion risk alone.
Underestimating the building fee
In holiday complexes the annual management charge can consume the yield. It is rarely in the listing.
Confusing a purchase with residence
Owning property gives you neither a right of residence nor tax residence. Those are three separate things with three separate procedures.
Calculating yield without vacancy
Twelve let months is an assumption, not a forecast — and on the coast, usually a wrong one.
What to check yourself, and where
These bodies publish the figures and facts this process depends on. They are authoritative — we are not, and neither is a listing.
- Municipal administration (population register)
Keeps the population register and performs address registration for permanent-residence holders.
- Bulgarian notaries
Perform notarial certifications and set their own appointments and fees.
- Registry Agency (Commercial Register)
Keeps the Commercial Register. A Bulgarian company comes into existence on entry there, and annual financial statements are filed there.
- Sworn translators and legalisation services
Translation and legalisation of foreign documents. Whether and in what form either is required is decided by the receiving body.
Where to go next
Your result above is complete — nothing here sits behind a form. These pages go deeper on what you have just told us.
In the book
What changes when you move to Bulgaria yourself — daily life, choosing a location, the labour market — is covered in detail in the book.
Property, moving and the company are connected
Residence, right of stay, tax liability and property ownership get treated as one thing and are actually four, with four procedures. The book takes them together rather than one question at a time.
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