Searching for good & honest Conveyancing Solicitor firm!

When you find one please let me know. I have found that part of the problem is solicitors here often have the attitude one used to find in the UK - I know better because I'm the solicitor, you don't need to ask questions, I know all you need to know which means you don't need to know!

In particular I would be be asking a solicitor what they know about the Cadastral laws and Technical Passports and how they will affect you and the house or apartment you are proposing to buy. I've tried this and discovered a serious ignorance of the law among solicitors.

Hi,

My Solicitor is a lady in Sofia named Mrs. Greda Ganeva. She was recommended to me by a Bulgarian friend in Cyprus 
. She is honest and will protect you and be next to you.
She speaks very good English.
I don't have her tel no.
Her email is: Greta Ganeva

Best regards,

Vangelis

Thanks for the info!

What are the trusted or reliable Estate Agents of Bulgarian Property Market? How about the "Premium Properties BG"  ? Any comments or experiences with them?

Some Estate Agents like the one "Premium Properties BG" offer there own Solicitors as part of the service as standard, what you guys think, whether it's OK to use their own provided solicitor?

I know nothing about the Estate Agency you mention so cannot comment on them. I will, however, comment on the practice of an estate agent providing a buyer with legal services - it is in my opinion completely unacceptable. In the UK it is actually illegal for a solicitor to represent more than one party to a contract or in a dispute to avoid conflict of interest.

In a place where the law does not provide such protection It is for the buyer of legal services to ask whether it is possible for a solicitor to provide the best advice to both buyer and seller because in many areas the interest of the buyer is diametrically opposed to the interest of the seller. The real risks in a property transaction are not associated with the price of the property but with the ongoing costs and responsibilities a buyer assumes on purchase.

An agent employed by a buyer should make his client aware of any of these risks which are against his client's interests. From what I have observed so far this does not always happen in Bulgaria and I believe this is because a solicitor may restrict what he does for a client to only precisely what the client asks to be done. If, therefore, a client asks a solicitor to purchase a property and does not ask about the duties and responsibilities that purchase may entail then a solicitor may not advise on these duties and responsibilities. 

In Bulgaria today that is particularly important as there are issues a buyer should consider when buying a property which a seller would likely prefer the buyer to know nothing about. There is nothing illegal about a buyer not being made aware of a matter which will incur significant cost after the completion of the sale or indeed lead to the loss of the property. It is not the responsibility of the seller to make him aware of such matters. Since a solicitor is nothing more than an agent of the party he represents it is not the solicitor's business to make the buyer aware of these matters either.

If a property transaction does not take place the estate agent earns nothing. It is, therefore, in the interest of the estate agent that the buyer is only made aware of matters of which the estate agent must legally make him aware. It is in the direct interest of the estate agent, therefore, to avoid the buyer discovering any matter which may influence the buyer not to proceed with the sale. This is not dishonest in any way, it is simply good business practice. compare it with the tobacco companies which for many years avoided explaining the risks of using tobacco and might still be avoiding such explanations if the law did not require them. If you subscribe to the belief that smoking is a matter of choice then equally, the use of a single solicitor recommended by the agent of the vendor is also within the free choice of the buyer.

In my opinion, no solicitor should, ethically, be prepared to represent both buyer and seller. Clearly, that opinion is irrelevant in a country which allows that practice. It is for the buyer to be aware of the most fundamental tenet of Roman contract law - "Caveat Emptor" which means simply - Let the buyer beware.

I think Edislaw you hit the nail on the head in you first paragraph where you refer to the situation and law of the UK.
You seem to forget that this is Bulgaria not the UK and, when in a foreign country one must abide by their rules, and we cannot expect everyone else to  to practice in a certain way because that's how it's done in the UK! The days of the British Empire when we enforced our rule on others are long gone.
Therefore, yes great care must be taken when dealing with an unfamiliar legal process but the final decision and answer to the dilemma you pose is a simple one, and that is:-

Nobody is forcing you to buy property in Bulgaria.

Absolutely correct, nobody is forced to buy property anywhere. I do not, however, see what point you are making. The original poster asked for advice and that is what I offered. Clearly he is a liberty to take or reject the advice and anyone, including yourself is perfectly entitled to disagree with it but your post doesn't appear to disagree so what exactly was it intended to convey?

What the British Empire has to do with my advice or the question escapes me completely.

Before one can abide by the rules one must know what they are and there is clearly no rule which forces or even encourages the use of any particular solicitor. Using one's own and not the one recommended by the vendor or his agent has nothing to do with rules just plain old-fashioned common sense.

The conveyancing is done by a government appointed Notary, therefore it is a matter of personal choice whether you use a solicitor at all and bear the cost on top of the Notary fees paid by the buyer. The point is, you cannot apply standards of legal practice in the UK to another country and one should make themselves aware of what fees are likely to be incurred prior to committing to buy. That is a matter of common sense!
Once again, you cannot apply British laws and practice in another country.
Seems to me that some people want to buy cheap Bulgarian property, but want to apply their own rules. Finally, once again, if people don't want to abide by the laws of the country then they should look to buy elsewhere

The function of the Notary in Bulgaria bears no relation to the function of the solicitor in either Bulgaria or the UK. I simply do not understand your suggestion that anyone is trying to apply what happens in the UK to what happens in Bulgaria.

Up to this point the cost of a solicitor has not been mentioned. It makes me wonder if your problem is that you grudge paying the Notary fees, which are government fees charged for the services of a government appointed official, as well as solicitors fees which are for legal advice. The point here being that if you pay for your on solicitor you can reasonably expect him to be on your side. If you pay for a solicitor recommended by and possibly also working for the other side you pays your money and you takes your chance!

If you read my post again I said that it is not mandatory to have a solicitor at all so I don't understand why you keep going on about them.
The Notary is the person doing the conveyancing and it is perfectly possible that with the aid of an interpreter you complete the deal.
It was you in your first post who commented on what is legal in the UK compared to Bulgaria. A point which is totally irrelevant to what happens in Bulgaria.
Of course I grudge paying the notary fees! who wouldn't but I had to pay like everyone else! and fees of around 4.5% (sometimes more) of the sale price can be quite a sum. Then add solicitors fees (if you have one) and estate agents fees, interpreter fees if reqd all of which can result in a tidy sum overall to the unwary.
Many people here do buy without the aid of a solicitor. Given that this is Bulgaria I'd have thought the services of a good property surveyor to be highly important yet has not been mentioned!!

The whole point of this thread is to help the poster. He said:

"I'm looking for a good & honest / reliable Law firm or Solicitor for the conveyancing of a Bulgarian residential property. Could anyone recommend from your experience? Or anyone you have found to be the best, please let me know? That would be great stuff!"

and then added

"Some Estate Agents like the one "Premium Properties BG" offer there own Solicitors as part of the service as standard, what you guys think, whether it's OK to use their own provided solicitor?"

Building Surveyors do not form part of the question which s why they were not mentioned.

Notary fees are fixed by law and cannot be higher than 1.5%.but if you wish to discuss the cost of buying why not start a new thread. A translator is required by law if any of the parties to the contract do not understand Bulgarian.

It is risky to apply legal terms used in one country to the practises used in another. The Notary does indeed draw up the deed which transfers the property from one person to another but the contract upon which that deed is based is drawn up by the parties to the contract with the advice of their legal representatives. In the UK that whole process is usually referred to as conveyancing. There are sound reasons why people instruct solicitors to advise them when buying or selling a property in the UK as well as in Bulgaria but in fact there is no legal obligation to employ a solicitor in either country. Indeed, today in Britain a very large number of people choose to use licensed conveyancers on the grounds of cost but as in Bulgaria they could do it themselves.

Your reference to the content of my first response to this thread completely misrepresents what I said. The issue is how the buyer protects himself in a place where he does not enjoy legally enforced protection like that in place in the UK. You are, of course, correct, many people do buy in Bulgaria without the support of a solicitor but that neither makes the practice sensible or advisable. There  was a time when the majority of people smoked - would you suggest that made the habit sensible?

May I suggest you offer your great wisdom and experience direst to the poster and forget about what others advise. I am sure the poster is well able to come to a sensible conclusion once he has weighed up the various pieces of advice received.

Very informative posts there. Keep up the good work. Thanks everyone!

Hi xpatbg, I have used a good one recently to purchase property in Zhiten.
(Moderated: Please recommend in the Bulgaria business directory)
Very thorough and goes through everything with a fine toothcolm!!
Was recommended by others and now retain him as the family lawyer in Bulgaria.
Cheers
Peter
p.s. tell him Pete and Sarah sent you..

Hi Folks,
Anyone here moved near Zhiten?
Moving from Scotland in May and would appreciate some help e.g. where to get tradesmen, Labourers, how to turn off water, how to turn off electrics. (so i can work on them).
Sorry if you think these are simple things, but they are usually the ones that stump some of us :-)
Thanks
Auld fart

Conveyancing is actually done by the Government appointed Notary but of course you are free to engage your own solicitor if you wish. Where in Scotland are you from? I came here last year from Scotland and so far enjoying life here very much
Ron

Hi Ron,
We have talked before on this forum last year when i said i was thinking of moving to Bulgaria.
We have done it. My wife moves over in May and i will follow end of year. the adventure begins!! looking forward to it.
We are from Ashgill which is just outside Larkhall.
I meant to post thios elsewhere but seem to have got mixed up.
Have now put it in the right place (i Think)
Thanks for the reply
Cheers
Peter

He was not, as far as I could tell, trying to apply UK standards to Bulgaria, but was pointing the difference between the two legal systems, that buyers should be aware of this and take extra care.

All very good advice, so I am not sure why you seem upset at his comments.