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Identify the property and the parties
- Property address, cadastral identifier and a description matching the proposed contract; identify separately any land share, parking space, storage or right of construction.
- Seller’s title deed and earlier acquisition documents needed to review the chain of title. A current cadastral sketch or scheme should be compared with the actual object.
- Seller’s identity and authority: company details and representative powers, or any power of attorney. Flag co-ownership, inheritance, marital-property questions and required consents.
Check legal and technical status
- Appropriate property-register searches and encumbrance certificates, with the relevant underlying instruments. The period, parties and property searched must be suitable for the transaction.
- Documents explaining any mortgage, attachment, right of use, lease, litigation or other restriction, together with a workable clearance plan where required.
- For construction: building permit, approved plans and specification, relevant stage documents, and the applicable authorisation for use or commissioning certificate when due.
- Independent technical inspection where appropriate, including discrepancies, common parts, access, utilities and unfinished work. A legal review does not replace a structural survey.
Review the payment agreement
- Every draft: reservation agreement, preliminary purchase contract, agency agreement, annexes and payment schedule, in each proposed language.
- Exact recipient, amount and currency; whether the payment is an advance, earnest money or a separate agency fee; and the legal conditions for refund or retention.
- Financing conditions, completion date, final-transfer conditions, extension clauses, penalties, termination and notice provisions.
- For a mortgaged property: the lender’s release requirements, payment sequence and documents needed to remove the mortgage from the object being bought.
Before transferring funds
- Confirm payment instructions through a trusted channel and compare the beneficiary with the agreement. Investigate unexplained third-party accounts or last-minute changes.
- Obtain a signed, complete version and understand which language governs. Resolve differences before signing rather than relying on an informal translation.
- Record outstanding documents, who supplies them, the deadline and whether payment is conditional on satisfactory review. Keep the transfer confirmation and correspondence.
For an initial enquiry, give the property, proposed amount, seller or developer, payment deadline and any known concern. Arrange document sharing before sending identity papers or bank records. The notary’s role does not replace a buyer’s independent contractual and risk review.
Legal sources and scope
- Obligations and Contracts Act
- Registry Agency legislation: Civil Procedure Code and Spatial Development Act
Official sources are in Bulgarian. The English and Russian explanations are not official translations of the legislation.
General information on Bulgarian law. The applicable documents, facts and current legal requirements determine the appropriate action.