Buying Bulgarian property through a company

Asset purchase or share purchase?

If a new company buys a property, the company is the proposed owner on the deed. In a share purchase, you would instead acquire shares in a company that already has assets and may also have obligations. Ask what searches and warranties are needed in each route.

For an existing company, request the commercial register file, accounts and a clear list of debts, contracts, tax matters, litigation and people authorised to act. Ask your adviser to check any charges over shares and whether there are obligations the property documents would never show.

Budget for ownership after the deed

• Ask for separate quotes for incorporation, registered address, document translation, banking and any registration work.
• Ask a Bulgarian accountant what filings, bookkeeping and taxes apply even if the company has no rental income.
• Discuss how you will fund the purchase, who can operate the bank account and what records you will need for transfers from the UK.
• Ask how personal use, rental income, selling and inheritance would be handled in Bulgaria and the UK.

Set the conditions before a reservation

Put company set-up and bank onboarding on the purchase timetable if your lawyer says they are needed. Ask who would sign the reservation agreement today and whether the intended buying entity can sign the final deed later. Have the written terms address the outcome if the legal structure or finance cannot be put in place in time.

Give the lawyer the land classification and the company’s proposed shareholders. Ask for a separate opinion if the purchase includes agricultural or forest land. Rules for those categories need their own review.