Bulgaria property news and articles

As mentioned previously, the cost of building works in Bulgaria is higher than people initially expect, and prices are set to increase further. What follows is a breakdown of some of the current costs to carry out works in the VelikoTurnovo region. You will find that in other regions, such as Sofia and along the coast, prices will be higher. These prices have been provided by Best Bulgarian Properties Ltd.

To build a new house in Bulgaria from scratch costs from 660 leva (£300) to 865 leva (£405) per square metre. This includes the structure, windows and doors, heating system, bathroom and kitchens, and all wall and floor finishes. A typical three-bedroom house with open-plan lounge/diner/kitchen and family bathroom, 180 square metres, would therefore cost 119,500-155,850 leva (£58,400-74,000). To this must be added the cost of buying the plot, and design costs amounting to between 3,500 leva (£1,650) and 5,200 leva (£2,500). The cost of demolishing a pre-existing house (around 5,750 leva or £2,700) and the project management company’s fee are other possible costs.

Most people buying in Bulgaria, however, will be undertaking smaller works such as installing a new kitchen and retiling the floors. Here are some of the typical costs of such works (including labour and materials), again with reference to the VelikoTurnovo region.

•  The cost of laying medium-quality wall and floor tiles is 50 leva (£22) per square metre.

•  To paint walls with two or three coats of white paint is about 2,890 leva (£1,350) for a two-bedroom apartment of 100 square metres.

•  A new kitchen will cost 5,750-11,500 leva (£2,800-5,700), including all of the appliances.

•  A new bathroom with all the fittings including sink, toilet, bath, tiles, boiler, electrics and plumbing costs 2,000-3,500 leva (£900-1,700).

•  The price of installing doors and windows is 215 leva (£100) per square metre. An average door or window would therefore cost around 350 leva (£170).

•  To build a fireplace, expect to pay 2,600 leva (£1,200).

•  Probably the most important part of the house to keep in good repair is the roof.The cost of repairing a roof, including removal of all the tiles, fixing wooden structures, inserting insulation and laying new tiles, is typically at least 5,750 leva (£2,800). If you need to completely rebuild the roof, expect to pay double this amount.

Bulgarians have a long tradition of using stone in building and you will find many wonderful dry-stone walls defining the borders of many rural properties. These skills survive in the villages and it is never difficult to find workers if you need a new wall built. Avoid going for the cheaper option of breeze-block construction, with plaster and paint; it requires more frequent maintenance and does not look attractive. The average price per linear metre for a dry-stone wall is 215 leva (£100).Typical dimensions would be 1.6m height and 0.50m depth, with concrete foundations of at least 0.50m. To build a stone wall around an average-sized garden of 1,000 square metres (30m by 33m) should cost you in the region of 26,000 leva (£12,500).

If you only need a few small jobs to be completed around the house, another way of estimating the costs is to calculate them by time. Semi-skilled labour costs about 23 leva (£11) per day, so if you require three workers for five days of work expect to be charged about 350 leva (£170).These are the costs you should incur if you engage the workers directly – if the workers are engaged through a foreman or contractor, then expect to pay more.

Bulgarian properties for sale

Perhaps you have bought a plot of land in Bulgaria without a dwelling on it or the property requires so much work as to make Bulgarian property renovation impracticable. In this instance a new build property will often be a better solution than messing with an existing building – and sometimes cheaper. If this scenario might apply, try to take the decision early – possibly by inviting a qualified Bulgarian surveyor, or at least some experienced Bulgarian builders, to assess the structure – rather than after a month of hacking out rotten supporting beams!

A new build should put paid to any structural uncertainties that may have accompanied the old Bulgarian property that you bought, and you will often find that during the course of the building works you increase your dedicated budget anyway as new ideas (and problems) occur. Building a house in Bulgaria from scratch will also confer the flexibility to specify exactly what you want (within certain regulatory guidelines). The process of building from new may take more time, however, and necessitate more expert input. The initial stage of a new build is the design.

The lead expert in this process is normally an architect, but architectural plans will need to be accompanied by a structural engineer’s plans plus further designs prepared by relevant experts detailing the water, sewage, electrical, heating and ventilation systems. Your Bulgarian property agent should be able to advise you about local architects, or failing this a Bulgarian project management company should be able to help. The fees payable to have the plans prepared by a design team vary around the country and have increased considerably in recent years.

Fees in the Veliko Turnovo area in 2007 averaged in the region of 23-35 leva (£8-12) per square metre for the preparation of all the plans, but fees in Sofia and Varna may be as much as double that. It is sometimes difficult to find a design team to prepare plans for small projects such as a simple extension, and you may have to pay a minimum fee that is somewhat larger than you anticipated on the basis of size. Alternatively, you might prefer to have an architect prepare the plans in the UK before submitting them to a local architect for approval.

The architect will prepare detailed plans in accordance with the restrictions outlined in the PUP or visa for building. On completion of all elements of the design (including electrics, water, structural design and so on), an application along with all plans are submitted to the local authority for planning permission. Approval must also be sought from the electricity and water companies (you may also require authorisation from other bodies, such as the fire brigade, depending on the activities you intend to carry out), if everything is approved you will receive a ‘Permission to Build’, which Permits the specified works only and expires after five years. The architect, structural engineer and certain other members of the team are required by law to sign off the works, and at the end of the works the local municipality has to
sign off the project before issuing a ‘Permission for Use’.

Most people build single-dwelling units of perhaps 200 square metres and five metres high, but some investors are building much larger structures. If the structure is over 1,000 square metres, or 10 metres high, then you are required by law to engage the services of a licensed supervision company. Their role is to ensure that the building is being built to the required standards, and their fees vary, averaging around two per cent of the build cost. If you are required to use one of these firms you are advised to still employ a Bulgarian project management company to supervise your building works, because the independent supervision company does not look out for the interests of the investor but simply ensures the works are legal and done to the required standards with the right materials.

Types of land in Bulgaria

There are a few types of plots that you can buy in Bulgaria :

1. Regulated land in Bulgaria – this is a plot of land located within the boundaries of a village or a town. Such plots could be allocated for building a residential building, sport and recreation buildings, industrial buildings or green areas. In order to draw architect plans and start building on such plot all you need to have is a visa from the municipality. In the visa the architect will see the limitations for the specific plot which were given by the municipality.

2. Land with changed status, this is a plot of land which used to be agricultural and it status was changed from agricultural to regulated. Part of the regulation procedure is the so-called PUP, it is a bunch of drawings and documents prepared by an architect. Depending on the PUP you might be allowed to build residential, holiday buildings, industrial or any other type of buildings.

3. Land that is regulated but with different type of use, for example a regulated plot of land allocated for green area, you might be able in some cases, although rarely, to change its status and make it for residential building. This procedure involves preparing of  PUP and takes a couple of months.

4. Agricultural land in Bulgaria – this is land allocated for agriculture, you can change its status and use it for building residential, industrial, holiday or any other type of buildings. The process takes between 1.5 – 2 years time and involves significant paperwork.

The type of building you can build on a plot of land in Bulgaria (height restrictions and so on) is set out in what is commonly referred to locally as the PUP or visa depending if the plot of land was already regulated or is with changed type for use. If the building work that you intend to carry out is not permitted in the PUP or visa then you will have to engage an architect to apply in the municipality to have the PUP changed, in case the land is already regulated and you have a visa issued by the local municipality, and it states for example Kint: 1.8, height: 10 meters, density 40% that means that for example on 1000 sq.m. plot of land you can build a total area of 1800 sq.m. but the building should not be higher than 10 meters and the built up area on the ground should not be more than 400 sq.m.

In case you are changing the status of the land with PUP your immediate neighbours will be allowed a certain time (around two weeks) to object. If it passes you will be able to apply for a visa and get the above stated limitations, they might vary for the different regions and types of properties in Bulgaria.

If your property in Bulgaria is in an area protected by the National Institute for Monuments of Culture (NIMC) or the building itself is listed with the Institute, then special approval of your designs is required from them before the building works can proceed. If the NIMC is involved, the approval process will be longer and more complicated. Your architect should be able to advise you on this. Some architects might advise against seeking approval from the NIMC but you are strongly advised to follow all necessary procedures, despite the time and any financial costs entailed, that is the legal way and in this way you will avoid any future troubles.

Getting the Bulgarian builders to follow your instructions and the architectural plans

Leslie Barker, who lives in Yantra, says “We moved to Bulgaria two years ago after living in Crete. We bought our house in Bulgaria, which is located in a beautiful area in central Bulgaria. The house required the usual Bulgarian property renovation works. We had been through this process in Crete, but made the mistake of leaving much of the work to the builders (as they know best!) and ended up with a house that didn’t really resemble what we had planned. We decided this time we would be present and hands-on throughout the building process of our house in Bulgaria. We completed the project within the budget that we have allocated beforehand and ended up with a house looking the way we had planned, with few disasters, for which we count ourselves very lucky.

We really had only one situation where things didn’t go quite as they should have. The downstairs of the house was the first area to be completed, and after four months we were very excited that we would be finally getting an inside toilet, which would flush and everything. If we had known then it would be another three months before our toilet was installed, murder might have been on the agenda. The builder was not happy with the place we wanted to put our toilet; he wanted to locate it off the utility room and not in the hallway, his argument being that if someone left the toilet door open then others would see him or her on the toilet. Despite the fact that the whole purpose of a door is to shut it, that was where he wanted the toilet and he would not budge from his position. For three months we had to argue with the builder every day and he simply walked away, shaking his head, and would not comply with our request. When it almost came to blows he finally gave in and installed the toilet where we had asked for it. He informed us that if we ever changed our minds about where the toilet should be, he was not going to move it!”

Whether you decide to use a Bulgarian project management company to act as your representative or approach building contractors in Bulgaria directly, you will have to sign a contract with a Bulgarian builder. The contract should describe the obligations of both parties and the payment scheme. There should also be penalty clauses for delays in construction (although it should be pointed out that the normal penalties are not much of a deterrent for delayed work).

The Bulgarian property building contractor makes an estimate based on an examination of the designs prepared by a design team and on the Bill of Quantities (detailed estimate of the elements of works). Contractors typically insist on a 20 per cent advance payment to cover the initial costs of buying materials. Subsequent payments would be based on completed works and a final five per cent of the contract value should be withheld for six months after completion as a guarantee.

During your discussions with the building contractor in Bulgaria you should raise the issue of invoices. These are official documents that the contractor should give to you whenever you pay for work. If you have bought the property through a Bulgarian company (and the invoices are issued in the name of your Bulgarian company) you can use the invoices to reduce your tax bill by declaring them as costs. Many building contractors in Bulgaria are reluctant to issue invoices because it also affects their tax bill, and in any case it will affect the final cost of the actual building work as they will put 20% VAT on top of the actual cost, as they will have to pay VAT to the Bulgarian government in case they are giving invoices. Sometimes building contractors in Bulgaria will give you two quotes, one with invoices issued, meaning VAT included, and the other without, meaning that it does not include VAT; the one with invoices issued will be more expensive, sometimes even more than 20% as in some cases they will include their tax profit as well. It is not unusual for additional works to be found to be required as renovation progresses, resulting in additional costs. These are works that could not have been foreseen by the architect’s team. For example during the excavation of the site more rocks might be found than anticipated. These additional costs must be paid, but should not amount to more than 10 per cent of the total original contract value.

Safety on the Building Site of your Bulgarian property renovation

It is very important to ensure you sign a contract with your builder because, according to Bulgarian law, if there is a labour accident and there is no contract then you are liable for damages no matter what the verbal agreement might have been between yourself and the contractor. If you hire a company with a contract there should always be a clause in it that the company is liable for labour health and safety, and that they provide insurance as per the law.