Bulgaria property news and articles

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.

Property in Bulgaria in need of minor building works

You should be able to find many individuals in Bulgaria willing to do minor building works for you. Indeed, in each Bulgarian village there is always someone or a small team of builders who are handy at doing basic building works such as plumbing or plastering (although you should always aim to use a qualified electrician and plumber). Many Bulgarians are practised in DIY, since there was neither spare money nor many builders to hire professionally during the Communist era. Many of the Bulgarian houses in the villages in Bulgaria were actually built by the residents themselves.

The best way to find these semi-skilled workers is through recommendations, and the best way to make a judgement of their building work yourself is to ask to see other houses and properties renovations in Bulgaria that they have done and ask the price that the Bulgarian property owner paid. These people generally do not work with contracts, so do not expect any invoices from them.

Bulgarian property in need of significant building renovation works

These will probably involve structural changes, possibly including extension of the property, and may require approval by the relevant authorities. Below is a list of important issues to consider before embarking on these kinds of work.

Bulgarian property building and renovation project management companies

If you are in Bulgaria for the duration of the Bulgarian property renovation work you might choose to source the building contractors yourself, possibly through recommendations. However unless you are very stout-hearted you are probably better off engaging the services of a Bulgarian building and renovation project management company. A good company will have access to all the necessary contractors and will save you the sweat of co-ordinating tasks and workers yourself. They would be able to assist with finding architects, assist with the planning approval process, identify suitable contractors and negotiate prices on your behalf, supervise all the works and make payments in your absence. A company will charge anything from 10-15 per cent of the cost of the works, but it may more than repay its fee by finding good contractors at the right price, particularly since it is tempting for contractors to overcharge when approached by a ‘wealthy’ western building novice. Another reason why you might be better off using a project management company is because architects in Bulgaria, unlike UK architects, do not generally perform rigorous on-site supervision of projects, so it will also fall to the management company to make the necessary building checks. Beware of project management companies that quote unusually low fees, since they may be getting a kickback from contractors and you will end up paying more for the work.

Finding local builders in Bulgaria

“When I came to Bulgaria three years ago, ’says Bernie,’ I was the first English person to live in the village of Slayeykovo. Now 20 of the 80 houses are owned by English people. The Bulgarian house I bought needed repairs and I found it difficult to get the materials I needed and find local labour. Local people did not advertise their services, so I had to ask someone who knows someone who knows someone. But the situation has changed dramatically in the last few years. Now people come knocking on your door to ask if you need any jobs done.”

Browsing through Bulgarian estate agents’ property listings in Bulgaria, one cannot help but notice that a large majority of the properties for sale in Bulgaria require renovation work. Especially where rural properties in Bulgaria are concerned, you will often see the phrase suitable for renovation or in need of modernisation, with so many Bulgarians trading old rural dwellings for modern city life, there are a large number of very dilapidated rural houses in Bulgaria in need of total renovation.

Renovating an old rural house in Bulgaria and reselling such property in Bulgaria will almost always be a profitable exercise provide that you plan appropriately, or else the Bulgarian property renovation will make your property in Bulgaria more comfortable (and more lettable) now and increase the value when you resell later on. Even in the urban areas of Bulgaria, many Bulgarian properties will require some renovation work, even if it is just a fresh lick of paint and some new kitchen units.

This article tackles Bulgarian property renovation works and will also look at building a new home in Bulgaria from scratch. Bulgarian houses have a unique character that distinguishes them from dwellings in other parts of Europe. The external aspects of traditional National Revival buildings, marrying white plaster with exposed stonework and beams, are delightful. Many of the old wattle-and-daub dwellings remain, too, even in the towns. Or else there is the more austere Communist style, boxy and plastered in drab colours, including a porch with square supporting column. The internal aspects of Bulgarian houses were generally built to optimise the number of uses of available space, so they can be somewhat labyrinthine, with a lot of small rooms leading off one another. Many have a glass ’summer kitchen’ annexed to the house (sometimes even on the terraces of apartments in Bulgaria) that is used during the hot months; this means that the internal kitchens in Bulgaria tend to be quite small. Often there is a mexhana, too, which is the space where most of the entertainment takes place. The mexhana is generally in the basement and is decorated in traditional textures and colours, often with wood cladding. Bathrooms are generally wet-rooms with no bath or means of containing shower water further than a drain in the floor. In rural properties in Bulgaria, toilets, and stairs leading between floors, are often located outside.

Furthermore, small incomes and technological torpor have traditionally limited the maintenance and property modernisation of homes in Bulgaria (such as U-bend pipes to allay the smell of sewers). And nostalgia for the past-including exposed beams and stonework – has not yet overtaken the novelty of modern living, with the consequence that many features that are delightful to westerners might be hidden under wood or plastic ceilings, linoleum floors and plasterboard.

In the light of these points it is not surprising that most foreigners will seek to undertake some property renovation work of their new home in Bulgaria. If you are not modernising the exterior, then you may be repairing it or emulating a traditional style. Inside the house you may aim to create open-plan living by knocking down walls, to expose traditional features such as stonework and beams, and to replace styles that, frankly, does not always please the western eye.

The Beautiful Bulgaria Project

This project has been responsible for the renovation of many public buildings in Bulgaria and spaces throughout Bulgaria over the last 10 years. It has been funded in the past by the EU, the United Nations, other donor countries and through funds from the Bulgarian state and municipal budgets. The project started in the city of Sofia but has grown to include nearly 100 municipalities in all regions of Bulgaria. The vast majority of those working on site were selected from the
employment registry and trained in specific building skills. The project has proved so successful that it is now also being adopted in other countries throughout the world.