Be careful with Bulgaria....

[Jain and Chris]

Hi Alexander

"All ,so called "English estate agents " are the same people - "investors' , been "burned " time ago from another "Estate bla . bla . bla" now getting smart and set up agency.How can people , who have just come to Bulgaria from another part of the world to become such "established in 15 years experts " , i am a bulgarian , who lived 12 years in Europe and i know how to see thinks from "in & out .Thank You for the time."

You sound like an agent or touting for business yourself????

Nobody should be "getting smart" and setting up an estate agency - that takes experience, structural engineering know-how, legal understanding... but I agree with you, not only English but also Bulgarians are doing this - this is short term gain and not to be supported.

 

[alexander ivon]

Thank You for good understand.I wish more people like You become guests in Bulgaria and make it popular as a positive destination.Maybe all those "hot arguables" on forums will help out for better.Cheers Alexander!

 

[Jain and Chris]

Hi Alexander

Let's get things right in Bulgaria.

Get the cowboys to saddle up and ride out of town. Get legislation in place and enforce it to get estate agents and developers to do the right things.

I hope too that Bulgaria will do this, we are doing our bit by endeavouring to put pressure on various bodies here to undertake these measures... hopefully we will get these changes made, along with EU policy which will apply to real estate industry in Bulgaria very very soon

Cheers

 

[jez]

stay away from Bulgaria Revealed!!

Hi,

I would urge everyone to avoid using Bulgaria Revealed like the plague!

They were awful for me and added no value whatsoever to our purchase. Lots of empty promises and now the land that they promised would be part of our "communal garden overlooking the beautiful Pirin Mountains" has now been developed and we have another apartment block being built 5 metres in front of our balcony. Also the apt was over 12months late and we did not receive any financial re-imbursement.

Everyone in our building (48 apt owners) feel cheated and the investment has been completely ruined by the new building!

Regards,

Jez

 

[rabarbaro]

still here...

Here I am...
still in troubles ! I've been to BUlgaria last week to see with my eyes...
the resort looks pretty nice ( not yet finished...far from being finished....but the area is georgious...) but still, lot of things that doesn't match !
First of all I've signed a POA with an attorney, saying that they take care of everything, deed, act 15 and act 16....
Now they say "it's written that we CAN do it for you, not that we do it !"
Obviously I've already paid them ! They signed the deed on my behalf and the complex it not yet finished...
No act 15, neither 16...
I have the deed, in bulgarian only. I asked to a translator to have it in english so I've found out that in this deed there is written half of the price paid...
SO the lawyer has to give me back the money I paid for the taxes....
609 euro of refund that nobody had told me about...
Not yet got !
They say ( the lawyers ) that they work is finished as I've the deed....
but I have a deed and don't have the apartment...as is not finished...
I could go on for hours....
And this should be the biggest bulgarian builders....
You can see the site at Saint Thomas Residence
NOw I'm worried about many things...first of all Bullstat, taxes and so on...
How it works ? What should I do ?
It all so "messy"....

 

[thetravelbug]

Daniela,

Please contact me. I think I might be able to help but need to know your complete situation from start to finish. If it is the same development, then I may have contacts with the actual builder and might, I say might, be able to try and sort this. I also have a good independent lawyer (currently suing Platinum Developments on behalf of the 20 British waiting for money from Platinum for 3 years now!) and she can help sort out all paperwork.

Please do not panic. I get calls for help with problems like this all the time. Can all be resolved in one way or another.

Rachel

 

[Jain and Chris]

Hi there

Are you using the lawyers the developer or agent recommended?

What did your PoA say? In this PoA did you allow them to sign the notary deed on this and pay all the monies before Act 16?

I think your problem may not lie with the builders but more the agent/lawyer.... you need to check the PoA you gave them and find out what it said precisely.

As a separate aside, what are you worried about concerning Bulstat and taxes, etc????

You have made several posts in as many days... so clearly you do have a problem but perhaps you would kindly say what help you expect and then we can probably assist.

Hoping to hear back from you

 

[rabarbaro]

Poa

Hi there

Are you using the lawyers the developer or agent recommended?

What did your PoA say? In this PoA did you allow them to sign the notary deed on this and pay all the monies before Act 16?

I think your problem may not lie with the builders but more the agent/lawyer.... you need to check the PoA you gave them and find out what it said precisely.

As a separate aside, what are you worried about concerning Bulstat and taxes, etc????

You have made several posts in as many days... so clearly you do have a problem but perhaps you would kindly say what help you expect and then we can probably assist.

Hoping to hear back from you

I've read the POA many times, it says nothing in details...it says that they act on my behalf for notary deed, act 15, act 16.
Is not mentioned that they could sign the deed before act 16 but is not even mentioned the opposite....
..you are right... I've a problem...
I try to right a "resumè" and post it...
thank you

 

[Jain and Chris]

Ah.... that might be where the problem lies. The fact that the PoA is too "open" without sufficient detail to control them? So, maybe not enough detail? Omission or too much detail can cause many problems.

If you would like to post the resumé of this, then please can you make sure that it is completely factual so that there are no legal issues for the totallyproperty forum.

Meanwhile, I would strongly recommend you take independent legal advice from a recognised independent lawyer conversant in property laws in Bulgaria, provide them with all the documentation you have and see what they have to say.

I'm really sorry for what you are going through.

If you would like to talk to the lawyer who writes for our magazine, then please pm me and I'll send you details.

All the best and if you need anything else, please do just post on here.

Jain and Chris

 

[thetravelbug]

Daniella - now had time to read in more depth about your issues. Do not completely understand as you seem to say you agreed to buy an apartment for 35,000 E and then they upped it to 61,500 Euros which really seems impossible to believe, particularly given you MUST have signed a contract stating what you were buying. And not unusual for terrace not to be included but again need to check this first. Areas can change a little on paperwork depending on what is included - read small print or ask.

As for apostiling notarised documents at embassy this is entirely normal if doing paperwork outside Bulgaria but your lawyer should have explained this.

For a studio apartment you appear to have a hugh terrace! Not saying this is a bad thing just seems very big.

Lawyers usually charge 3 to 5% of purchase price but not sure what you actually paid.

Annabel - they cannot sell your apartment if you have notified them of snagging (finishing work to be done) and they have not done that. If penalty clauses in contract for late completion can try and get money back. But they usually squirm out of it saying weather or municipality caused delay.

Flora - if you own house and everything above land can buy land from council for minimal amount. This happens because under communism they were given plots and could build on them but did not actually own land. Had similar situation and no problem to legalise and get yours.

Jez - Helped friend get out of purchase with Bulgarian Revealed couple of years ago. Apartments awful - miles away from ski lift and poor finish and poor service.

Rachel

 

[Stevie P]

Good legal advice.....

Hi Daniela,

I have been in a similar situation to you; the only solution to your problem is to have good 'honest' legal help. Scrap your present lawyer & use a good independent legal firm, I don't hesitate to recommend Asya Mandjukova her firm (GPNG Law) is based in Sofia.

Let me know if you need more details.

Good Luck!

Steve

 

[Jain and Chris]

Hi Stevie, Asja writes for us and we have used her personally too

 

[flatron]

Establishing A Company

In accordance with the current law FOREIGN CITIZENS have no right to buy PLOTS, including villa property, houses with the land, as well as land with any type of statute. In order to purchase PLOTS, the foreign citizens shall establish their own firm complying with Bulgarian law.

 

[rabarbaro]

Here I am...is not easy to explain things as it has been a 18 or 20 months process, and plenty of things happened !
In the end I've bought a 1 bedroom apartment, 38 sqm plus 14 of a basement plus 16 of a terrace. It's on ground floor so the terrace is mentioned as " a weep of grass" without mesurement at all.
Anyway, the complex is not yet ready, I've been there 10 days ago but they already did the notary deed. I have this notary deed, in Bulgarian and I asked to a bulgarian translator ( really very kind and honest, if someone need it I can give the contact ) to have it in english.
So I've discovered that the amount I paid is splitted in 2 part, more or less 50% on property and 50 % on finishing...This was done I suppose to let them pay less taxes.
Anyway...the attorney says that her job is finished, having done the deed...
At the moment we haven't done act 15 and 16 so in my opinion they havn't finished..
I've already paid the lawyer, 950 euro.
The building society is a big one and the place is really beautiful, it seems that also the material used are good. I've seen the windows, for instance, are Schueco, that is a german brand very good.
So I'm not worried about that.
I'm more worried that nobody takes care of the check of the apartment, communal area and so on.
I've already signed a management contract, I pay 12 euro plus VAT per sq, which is quite high I suppose.
This contract is a real "one way" contract, you cannot get rid of it ( i'm not talking about me, as an individual, but if all the owner together shoud decide to change it should be possible...but it's not... ).
The are penalties that are really unbelievable....5 % DAILY if you are on delay with payment...and they don't even advice you or send a note or something.
I've already paid this, last week, and the complex is far form being finished ! But I was scared about these penalties...
An other headache is the "rental program"...
I've bought it with a guaranteed rental, 5 % yearly.
This contract is not as detailed as the management contract and now I've discovered that I should put the furniture that they ask for ( I've already refused to buy the packed they proposed that was awful and terriblt expensive...),buy the linen, towels and so on, pay the management, pay the electricity, use only 1 week in may or 1 in october and get the first tranche of the money in APRIL 2009 !! And they can cancell the contract with ony 3 months of notice, so I don't feel guaranteed at all !
I've bought this apartment only as an investment and now it sounds all a mess and an headache...
So, my worries are ( among the others...)

-how it works with the taxes ? I've read so many terrible stories and I'd like to have someone that takes care of it, BUlstat and so on, yearly taxes etc

-I can decide to void the rental program but I need to find someone on site ( sozopol ) to take care of the arrival, cleaning and so on. Has anyone experience regarding this ?

-Is a lawyer that should I contact or someone else ?

Thank you
Daniela

 

[thetravelbug]

Daniella, I do not mean to be harsh but it seems most of your complaints are about the contract and agreements you signed. If you were not happy with these or they were not clear then you should not have signed.

I can vouch for the builder/developer. I know one of the directors personally so it will be a good build.

The management charges and rental agreement etc sound fairly standard.

There are many companies offering property management that could look after your apartment but you would then need to market for rental.

Rachel

 

[rabarbaro]

You are right, I signed them.
The problem is that when you read it thinking that both sides are correct it's all ok.
When you begin to "discover" that the other part might be non really correct ( for instance, I've just discovered that they would pay in April 2009...it's not written in what I've signed, it just says "first trance in April, second in October" . IN what I've to pay is written within march 2008....in the other only "april"...) and you read things with a different eye....you discover that the sentences could be open to discussions...
For instance with the management..I pay 12 euro plus VAT, but when you read the contract is not really clear what's inside and what's not....
I mean, what's included in this maintenance and what's not.
Anyway, you are right, I've signed them..
And what makes me mad is that these contracts can me "not very clear" when is something in my favour but are really clear on the other way.
Regarding the marketing for rental you are right, but it's what I do in Italy for living...I could just "extend" the area...

 

[rabarbaro]

and at least I can use it during the summer or let my friends use it...
paying everything and get a rental fee ( if....) the year after....is not really fair, in my humble opinion....

 

[thetravelbug]

rent

without trying to appear smart, given that the apartment is not ready yet (as you have stated you do not have act 15 and 16) and presumably not furnished, and that rental season along the coast is mainly May to September at most, how did you expect to have it rented before April 2008 and receive first rental payment then, when it is March 2008 now? I realise that April 2009is a whole year off and would have expected rental for 2008 summer season, maybe autumn 2008, but no way you could have received rental prior to April 2008.

 

[rabarbaro]

We signed that agreement in November 2006.....

 

[rabarbaro]

Is not easy try to summarize 2 years of problems, foggy things and so on.
For instance plenty of points in my contracts ( all of them ) says things such as : after the deed you must so and so...
BUt I honestly thought that the deed was the last things, when complex was finished...not 1 year before..
I have a signed notary deed, done by the lawyer in JUly 2007 when the complex was at his very beginning...is that normal ?
All the expenses and so on ( only the expenses....) begins after the notary deed....and I'm paying management fees when there is nothing to manage yet...
I'll contact Mrs Asya as everybody says she is such a good lawyer and try to explain everything.