Rental agreements

@grumpyoldbird

I would keep it simple and do a rental agreement, as this is what they expect. They're not going to check whether you actually pay any rent or not, and whether they receive any rent or not (and pay any tax or not, if they do get any rent).

But if you want to be creative, I'm sure there are plenty of variations... as long as the agreement is from the owner of the property, and it's for a year (= long term), and it's for a place (flat/room) for you to live in. Also note that you need a 2nd document, the Landlord Declaration (i.e. gives you permission to live there / use the address for immigration). At least one must be notarized.

It sounds like the ideal property for you, good luck with it!

The arrangement proposed sounds pretty good for you, in that they'll show you how it works, instead of chucking you in at the deep end. However, with a few weeks exposure to them and the biz, you might uncover reasons why it's NOT a good option for you. Personally, I would be trying to minimize the deposit to something that I wouldn't be too upset to lose, if I were to discover some skeletons in their closet. :-)

But it works both ways: they might get a better offer, or find reasons to stay in Bulgaria after all.

@gwynj

Thank you for that. You're right of course, it could go either way. I might get to Bulgaria and absolutely hate it and if it's only a deposit, it would give me the option to cut my losses. I don't think they'll back out, because rescue does wear you down eventually and they've been doing it for 18 years. The wife wanted to stay in Bulgaria, but her husband said no, because wherever they live, she'll just keep rescuing, so they're going back to the UK.