Some information I have put together based on my experience buying land in Bulgaria. It may be useful as a starting point to someone!
Land in Bulgaria is essentially divided between regulated and unregulated. Regulated basically means the land can be developed subject to planning permission. These plots are located within an existing city/town/village boundary and are generally serviced by water and electricity. Unregulated land is everything outside this and encompasses agricultural and forested lands. Where these two classes of land meet is where great interest lies with speculators since unregulated land is generally cheaper than regulated land in that location and there is the prospect that at some future stage the land can be regulated resulting in increased value.
Whilst speculating on unregulated land offers the greatest potential returns the risks remain higher than buying regulated land so proceed with caution.
So if you find a piece of land and are interested in buying find a very good solicitor and at a minimum check the following:
Verify Status of the land - Is it Unregulated or Regulated land. If it’s regulated you will be able to verify what is is regulated for (e.g. holiday complex, hotel etc). If it’s unregulated (e.g. agricultural) there is a process where you can apply to get it regulated. This is a complicated and risky process but could significantly increase the value of the land after regulation. Note if you are buying unregulated agricultural land there is also a type of land ranging from 1 to 9. 9 is the least arable land and most likely to be regulated.
Skitsa – There is a "skitsa" (literally, plan, drawing) in the local municipality for all of plots located at the territory of municipality. Every plot of land in Bulgaria has (or should have) its own "skitsa" showing the plot location, relative to other plots, size, border measurements and immediate neighbours. These "skitsi" have a functional life of 6 months, ie when buying a plot of land you or your advisers should sight the relevant skitsa that is not more than 6 months old. They are issued mostly by the regional agencies for agriculture and forests (successors to the land commissions), though slowly some parts of the country are coming under the direct administration of the Cadastre Agency.
Title Deeds/Ownership – Verify clean title through your solicitor. If there are multiple owners of the land this makes things a lot more complicated.
Check for Water and Electricity – It’s costly to get connected so make sure they are both close by.
Red Zone – There is some coastal land in Bulgaria that is subject to land slides. This is known in Bulgaria as Red Zone. It is impossible to build on Red Zone land so make sure you find out.
Geological Survey – Don’t assume you can build on the land, and/or you can build to the height you want. There may be issues with the land so a geological survey is useful.
Plot Dimensions/location – It is very useful to get the plot market out which will show you the exact location of the plot. A lot of times the plot is slightly different than you thought or could even be in a different location.
If you are happy with everything then you will initially sign a preliminary contract and then a final contract when the deeds are handed over. In Bulgaria generally they like to put a lower value on the deed but I would advise against this as you will end up with higher taxes in the future.
If anybody has anything to add or update please send it on and I’ll update it.
Note: A foreigner cannot own land so you will need to set up a company with you are the owner of this company and buy through this company.
Changing status of Agricultural land to Regulated
The following is the typical process for changing the status of unregulated land to regulated land in Bulgaria:
1. Tracing of property borders, tachometric survey, and digital terrain model creation for further planning purposes.
2. Planning - preparation of Preliminary Regulation Plan / Building Plan of the plot of land and submitting to the authorities.
3. Final Regulation Plan / Building Plan, presentation before Experts Council, road connection project prepared by a road engineer, water and sewage system project, electrical supply project.
4. Presentation to the agricultural committee, municipality, water board, electricity board, ecological division, sanitary division, sewerage office.
5. Preparation of ecological report.
6. Application for change of plan to the municipality.
The total process takes from 5 months to 1 year. It's different depending on the land, municipality you deal with etc.
Land in Bulgaria is essentially divided between regulated and unregulated. Regulated basically means the land can be developed subject to planning permission. These plots are located within an existing city/town/village boundary and are generally serviced by water and electricity. Unregulated land is everything outside this and encompasses agricultural and forested lands. Where these two classes of land meet is where great interest lies with speculators since unregulated land is generally cheaper than regulated land in that location and there is the prospect that at some future stage the land can be regulated resulting in increased value.
Whilst speculating on unregulated land offers the greatest potential returns the risks remain higher than buying regulated land so proceed with caution.
So if you find a piece of land and are interested in buying find a very good solicitor and at a minimum check the following:
Verify Status of the land - Is it Unregulated or Regulated land. If it’s regulated you will be able to verify what is is regulated for (e.g. holiday complex, hotel etc). If it’s unregulated (e.g. agricultural) there is a process where you can apply to get it regulated. This is a complicated and risky process but could significantly increase the value of the land after regulation. Note if you are buying unregulated agricultural land there is also a type of land ranging from 1 to 9. 9 is the least arable land and most likely to be regulated.
Skitsa – There is a "skitsa" (literally, plan, drawing) in the local municipality for all of plots located at the territory of municipality. Every plot of land in Bulgaria has (or should have) its own "skitsa" showing the plot location, relative to other plots, size, border measurements and immediate neighbours. These "skitsi" have a functional life of 6 months, ie when buying a plot of land you or your advisers should sight the relevant skitsa that is not more than 6 months old. They are issued mostly by the regional agencies for agriculture and forests (successors to the land commissions), though slowly some parts of the country are coming under the direct administration of the Cadastre Agency.
Title Deeds/Ownership – Verify clean title through your solicitor. If there are multiple owners of the land this makes things a lot more complicated.
Check for Water and Electricity – It’s costly to get connected so make sure they are both close by.
Red Zone – There is some coastal land in Bulgaria that is subject to land slides. This is known in Bulgaria as Red Zone. It is impossible to build on Red Zone land so make sure you find out.
Geological Survey – Don’t assume you can build on the land, and/or you can build to the height you want. There may be issues with the land so a geological survey is useful.
Plot Dimensions/location – It is very useful to get the plot market out which will show you the exact location of the plot. A lot of times the plot is slightly different than you thought or could even be in a different location.
If you are happy with everything then you will initially sign a preliminary contract and then a final contract when the deeds are handed over. In Bulgaria generally they like to put a lower value on the deed but I would advise against this as you will end up with higher taxes in the future.
If anybody has anything to add or update please send it on and I’ll update it.
Note: A foreigner cannot own land so you will need to set up a company with you are the owner of this company and buy through this company.
Changing status of Agricultural land to Regulated
The following is the typical process for changing the status of unregulated land to regulated land in Bulgaria:
1. Tracing of property borders, tachometric survey, and digital terrain model creation for further planning purposes.
2. Planning - preparation of Preliminary Regulation Plan / Building Plan of the plot of land and submitting to the authorities.
3. Final Regulation Plan / Building Plan, presentation before Experts Council, road connection project prepared by a road engineer, water and sewage system project, electrical supply project.
4. Presentation to the agricultural committee, municipality, water board, electricity board, ecological division, sanitary division, sewerage office.
5. Preparation of ecological report.
6. Application for change of plan to the municipality.
The total process takes from 5 months to 1 year. It's different depending on the land, municipality you deal with etc.