Menu
Expat.com

How to obtain Plan/map identifying a property?

Last activity 05 September 2023 by Judy Green

Post new topic

westo_uk

Hello, I wondered if anyone could help me obtain a map/plan of a small plot of land that I own? I purchased the land back in 2007 and seem to remember having a plan identifying the plot at the time, but can't seem to find it now. I have the title deed but it only has a written description of the plot without a plan. Is there a way to find a plan of the plot just from the title deed description? There is a four digit plan number, a quarter number and gives the name of the village, municipality - however it doesnt seem to have a long form cadastre identification number.


I tried to locate the plot on the map on the Geodesy, cartography and cadastre agency web portal but the whole villa area seems to come under one large 'immovable property' entry, and is not shown as the individual plots - even though there are quite a number of villas and plots in that area owned by other owners.


Essentially what I'm trying to find is the equivalent to a UK Land Registry Title Plan. I'm sure I saw one at the time of the purchase - would that be on file on a public record somewhere? If so, how could I retrieve a copy? Is there a website for such a service? Any advice would be much appreciated. Many thanks, Harry

kaththomas700

I didn't get a plan or "skitsa" when we bought this house but I showed so much interest in the sellers copy at the notaries office that they photo copied it for me.  Now I was told that you only get a plan like that when you intend to sell but I don't know if that's true because the agency  we bought from ripped us off on a couple of items and we'd never use them again.

westo_uk

@kaththomas700 Oh thats interesting - in that case maybe it was the seller's copy I saw and just naturally assumed I had a copy of it in my file. It seems a kind of strange concept to me that the buyer doesnt get a copy. I was planning to try to list the land for sale (although probably has minimal value) and wanted to find a plan of the plot for the listing if possible.

kaththomas700

I think that the idea is if you want to sell you go back to the notary you bought from with the deeds and they give you a copy of the skitsa , for a price I think. I have heard that no skitsa no sale but I'm no expert.

janemulberry

I don't know for sure, but I think what Kath says is correct. Going back to the notary is probably your best bet. There wasn't a copy of the land plan for my property included in the paperwork I got for the place I bought. I only have it because the seller gave me a copy.

westo_uk

@janemulberry @kaththomas700


Many thanks to you both, I really appreciate the help as I was very unclear on how that works. I will do that. Cheers,

gwynj

the cadastral map of Bulgaria is here

https://kais.cadastre.bg/


Not sure if it's very easy to use, but might be worth a look.

janemulberry

Thanks for linking to it, Gwyn! Unfortunately it's definitely not easy to use, and I think some villages aren't shown in detail on it.


I found the same as @westo_uk did when they tried to locate their property on the site. The larger zone the property is in is marked out, but as one contiguous area, when in reality that piece of land is divided into many smaller parcels. And certainly for my village even where the smaller parcels are marked on the map, the real-life property boundaries in no way follow the nice neat squares! 


My actual very old been-there-since-the-house-was-built fences don't match what's shown on the skitsa, either! I just have to hope there's never a property dispute!

SimCityAT

Are they no records or plans at the town hall?

fluffy2560

Hello, I wondered if anyone could help me obtain a map/plan of a small plot of land that I own? I purchased the land back in 2007 and seem to remember having a plan identifying the plot at the time, but can't seem to find it now. I have the title deed but it only has a written description of the plot without a plan. Is there a way to find a plan of the plot just from the title deed description? There is a four digit plan number, a quarter number and gives the name of the village, municipality - however it doesnt seem to have a long form cadastre identification number.
I tried to locate the plot on the map on the Geodesy, cartography and cadastre agency web portal but the whole villa area seems to come under one large 'immovable property' entry, and is not shown as the individual plots - even though there are quite a number of villas and plots in that area owned by other owners.

Essentially what I'm trying to find is the equivalent to a UK Land Registry Title Plan. I'm sure I saw one at the time of the purchase - would that be on file on a public record somewhere? If so, how could I retrieve a copy? Is there a website for such a service? Any advice would be much appreciated. Many thanks, Harry
-@westo_uk


Sorry, I wrote below thinking you were in Hungary. .....


There's no title deed. You might have an extract from the registry which is now all online.


The maps are kept at the county level. You can easily get the property number (usually 4 digits) from the cadastral agency but it won't necessarily show the coordinates unless a survey has been done. Any outline could well be completely wrong (we know!). It could be your plot was part of a larger plot and was divided up way back when. This is not formal. If you really want the coordinates, you need a surveyor who can do it to the nearest cm.


If you want to sell the land and you're not in Hungary, you're better off getting a lawyer on the job. It takes a lot of time to get appointments at the cadastral office and there's a backlog. If you don't speak Hungarian, it'll be even more difficult. Lawyers have special access (which is annoying).


You have to pay extra for notarised copies delivered online.

JimJ

I own a number of properties here - every one has a skitsa as part of the Notary Act; I've never seen one without.  You can't be sure what you have actually bought without one and I find it hard to imagine that a notary would conclude an Act without one.  You should be able to get an official copy from the local cadastral office - take your ID and original notary deed with you.  Many municipal plans are on-line, but the cadaster takes precedence if they differ in any way; mistakes/discrepancies aren't uncommon.

gwynj

@JimJ


I'm the opposite: a bunch of Notary Acts, and not one includes a skitsa. Your notaries must be responding that ol' JimJ charm. :-)

porridgeandprunes

When we bought our property, which is in Gabrovo district, my partner (Bulgarian) dealt with the paperwork. She went to the municipality offices in Sevlievo with the estate agent, and was able to inspect the plans to confirm the plot area with our house purchase. In this instance I don't think these were available digitally. She was able to confirm that the orchard behind the house was part of our plot, which was our purpose of inspection. We didn't feel the need to get a  copy, but I guess they are available if you pay the fee. You would probably be best to book an appointment, we were fortunate that they weren't too busy and allowed a meeting without one.

Judy Green

@westo_uk I recently got a skitsa at the municipality headquarters of the surrounding villages when my new neighbor and I were trying to determine the proper placement of a fenceline between our two properties. You take the deed to the municipal building, fill out a request form, pay a small fee,

and pick it up a week later. The map I got is very basic with a couple dimensions and total area of the plot. No GPS coordinates.

Articles to help you in your expat project in Bulgaria

All of Bulgaria's guide articles