The notary act defines who is the legal owner of the Bulgarian property. It is only valid if ft isin notaryform, signed infrontofand bya notary. You should know this, in case someone tells you that just a simple contract signed between you and them along with payment, is sufficient.
Checking the Reputation of the Bulgarian Developer
In the specific case of buying an off-plan apartment in Bulgaria, besides the usual legal checks, it is advisable to make enquiries into the reputation of the developer. It is also useful to view his previous projects that have been finalised.
The preliminary contract represents a legal commitment between both parties.The seller commits to sell the property and the buyer commits to buy it. you do not have to certify the preliminary contract in front of the notary in order for it to be valid, although, if you do so, this provides more protection for both parties. The preliminary contract is usually drafted and signed in Bulgarian. In case any of the signing parties does not understand Bulgarian, there should be a licensed interpreter present at the signing, and the contract must be translated.There is no problem if the contract is also signed in English if,for example, both parties are English and understand the language, but if the contract needs to be presented to the court or any other state or local institutions, it should be officially translated into Bulgarian by a licensed translation agency. If your lawyer is signing the preliminary contract on your behalf,you may still ask for a translation so that you understand the terms and conditions.
In general your lawyer will check the existing notary act of the current owner or seller. He or she will check the history of the Bulgarian property that you are buying and also if there are any encumbrances on it – mortgages, court claims, court injunctions and so on. Since all notary acts are registered with the Registry Agency, it is possible to trace the history of the property and all previous transactions.