Buying an apartment

For me, it took around 1 month. Much depends on whether buyer or seller are present at the notary or whether they are represented by a lawyer with PoA. The latter might delay the procedure because you need to sign the PoA at a notary or embassy. Depends also on whether there are incumbrances on the property and whether you negotiate conditions to be fulfilled.

Thats where i am.Pomorie

A great town..everything you need

No louts like sunny beach..avoid

Everything within easy reach.

Beaches..town centre..buses.and 30 minutes from burgas airport.

Lots of appts for sale..mostly

Newbuilds..or people selling up

Mostly russians..

Good prices

Good luck.

Bulgaria has a notary-based system for real estate transactions. So if everything is ready to go, and the buyer and seller are present, you can get a notary appointment in a few days. I'd guess in simple cases, you can have it all done in a couple of weeks. If it's more complicated it takes longer. And if it involves banks and mortgages (either on buyer or seller side) then it obviously takes significantly longer.

As the transaction is completed at the notary, you don't need an attorney. But some prefer involving an attorney to do some due diligence on the property, and draw up the contract. It costs a bit more, and adds some time, but many would recommend it.

There are lots of great places on the Black Sea. I like Varna and Burgas, if you can afford a big city. But there are many smaller towns and villages that could be considered. I agree with @wtruckyboy that Pomorie is very nice. Personally, I prefer Sveti Vlas (the other side of Sunny Beach). However, our favourite so far is Sozopol.

Thank you all for your input, it always helps.

We want to retire and get to walking distance to the sea. Maybe Varna and Burgas sea water is more polluted?

Right now we laid our eyes on an apartment building for year-round living in Golden Sands, Benita Mare building. However, I am concerned of why are at least 10 apartments for sale from the same building, from studio to 2 bedrooms, could it be a compromised building structure, maybe caused by landslide??? How can I check that out?

Is the price negotiable at all?

Thanks,

Julia

Could be the building was built illegally.

Might i add..that buying second hand

From a bulgarian is easier.

Easy to locate.a russian for eg.is harder to attend..because of the current climate.

Yes you can haggle the price

But do everything with an independent solicitor.

Varna and Burgas are big Bulgarian cities, so the water is definitely a bit more polluted. But there are city beaches at both, and Blue Flag beaches nearby. I've swum in the sea at Burgas Beach and I didn't suffer any ill effects. :-) And the beach/water was pretty crowded too. Both these cities have super downtown beachfront parks/sea gardens with plenty of walking paths. An apartment in this area would be ideal as you would have everything nearby. As Ferris Bueller said: If you have the means, I highly recommend picking one up. :-)

Outside of the big two, I think there are just a few year-round small towns... maybe Balchik, Nessebar, Sozopol? All 20k ish people, which is big enough to get a Lidl/Kaufland and other facilities.

There are plenty of dinky beach villages and small towns too, and they have a certain charm, if you like a quiet life. :-)

Golden Sands is more resorty, I'd say. My concern is how much life there would be here during the winter. It's very much a matter of personal taste, as there are usually some all-year residents in any resort building who love it... while others dislike the building (and locality) being mobbed in high season and empty in low season. I'm on a tight budget so I don't like living somewhere where I have to pay tourist prices! But maybe its proximity to Varna keeps it lively. There's a good bus to Varna, that's a big plus! The nearest Lidl is in Saints Constantine and Helena which doesn't seem too far away, but might be a good area to look at too, as it's slightly closer to Varna.

As for Bendita Mare, it's a pretty big complex, so having 10 apartments for sale doesn't seem too crazy. The complex is on booking.com with a good score and nice photos, so it certainly doesn't seem too scary. If it looks this good when you visit, and you like it, then that's the main issue. If you're concerned, you can get an attorney to do a bit of due diligence on the property/seller and deal with the notary. If the seller is helpful, you could ask to see the electricity and maintenance payments just to check that they seem reasonable. Prices seem to be 1,000 euros / m2 and up... and it's quite a fancy place so I think maintenance will be 10 euros / m2 plus, so best to avoid the 200 m2 penthouse. :-)

Thank you for your thoughts. We would like daily swim in a sea, but have to keep the retirement budget in mind, and also Bulgaria is close to Romania were we born.

Julia, how old is the building? I believe the package tour companies set a limit on age for properties they will rent coastal apartments in. That can lead to a lot of apartment owners who relied on that income selling their investment once the tour companies no longer rent in that building.

The other thing to note is that sometimes when that happens the maintenance of the pool and common areas isn't so diligently managed. I would be cautious about buying somewhere in a resort without inspecting it personally. I notice even the reputable agents will show photos of the pool and entry when the building was new, and five years later things may not be so pretty.

Hi Jane, one real estate says that the building was built in 2008, the other says in 2006. We agree that we need to see it personally.

Ouch on inconsistent information! That makes it difficult. They might be referring to different standards of what "built" means, one may be meaning started and the other meanting having the Act 16 or whatever the official authorisation to live in the building is.

Seeing it personally is a very good idea!

Also, be wary of top floor apartments in buildings that age. Better views, but when the roof needs replacing which I believe is every 10-15 years with the asphalt type roofing many apartments have, getting others in the building to contribute to the cost can be challenging. I saw a gorgeous top floor apartment about the same age on an estate agent's site. The photo showing the roof looked fine at first glance. But a closer look showed the roof covering was close to failing and was in need of replacing.

I hope when you visit you can find what you want.

Depends on if there are any issues or whether the seller needs to provide any additional paperwork. Make sure you get a good lawyer, I have used MH Legal in Varna and they were excellent.

Golden sands for me is only for visiting..not living. But your choice.

Where i live we dont have a swimming pool..but the sea and town centre is 5 minutes away.

My service charges are 100 lev per year..council tax.90 lev. So if you want a swimming pool and a reststaurant on site its gonna cost you.

We have residents here who live here all year..still have some restaurants..supermarkets open all year too..Lidl is just up the road on a bus..i only stay in the summer months..go back to the uk for the rest of the year..its a quiet town

Packed in summer..but no problems.

Good luck.

Spot on, as usual. Like you, my maintenance is around 10 leva per month (60 euros per year). A resort building (sea or snow) can easily be 10 euros or 12 euros per m2, so that's nearly 1,000 euros a year for a smaller apartment (and if you if you want to live there all year round, you'll want a larger apartment). Plus the resort locations are always more expensive places to live, and it's hard to avoid paying tourist prices at the restaurants and the small local supermarkets.

Thank you all. Do I need to hire a building inspector beside lawyer?

@janemulberry  and to All

Hello janemulberry  and All

,

You wrote : "Also, be wary of top floor apartments in buildings that age. Better views, but when the roof needs replacing which I believe is every 10-15 years with the asphalt type roofing many apartments have,getting others in the building to contribute to the cost can be challenging."

I am from US , and in US some part  of all residents monthly  payment for management( HOA) including  payment for " Reserve "

in the amount that recommended by audit company and the money from Reserve and Community master Insurance cover roof repair.....and I was under impression that Bulgaria have similar rules 

My husband and I realty likes top  floor  apartments in buildings....so your comments is very frustrating and helpful on the same time.

So my questions, is that common rule that the owner of top floor should "getting others in the building to contribute to the cost "

or building management company should pay for roof repair ?

Also, about home warranty insurances ....can I find Home Warranty That Covers Roof repair/replacement with good reputation  in Bulgaria ?

Thanks,

N

Of course, who doesn't like to live in the penthouse?! :-)

My impression of Bulgaria is that there are many laws and regulations which seem broadly in line with our expectations from USA/UK/Germany, etc. But the difference comes in the level of enforcement (and sometimes there might be little or no enforcement). This might be in areas like speeding/parking, planning regulations, dumping your trash, or buying/maintaining properties.

There is supposed to be protection against an unscrupulous HOA, but devious developers can still get around it... so they are in charge, and they can inflate the charges, and not do the maintenance. And maybe even have communal electricity (instead of individual meters) and then mark it up. But this is not common at all, I assure you. And most large and reputable developers would not dream of doing anything like this.

It is however much more common (perhaps typical) to not hold a reserve fund. Instead, expenses are paid as incurred... and expenses are much higher when there is a major work required (exterior painting, roof overhaul). Our apartment in Spain works exactly the same way, so the 30 euros/m is only for ongoing maintenance... and then last year we all had to give an extra 250 euros as our share of the exterior painting of the building. Our Cyprus apartment (60 euros/m) is now quite well-behaved as the HOA has been keeping a reserve fund for many years (mostly because of the challenge of getting folks to pay the big bills).

A renovated roof might be a big job, so that could be a significant expense for everyone. And, depending on the building, there might be many regular Bulgarians who can't afford it... and so that causes a big problem as they don't want to do the work until the money is available. Or maybe it's a wealthy expat who doesn't live there much, and doesn't even know about this "extraordinary" expense. Or maybe just can't be bothered to pay it. There's not much enforcement against non-paying owners either, so you can have a backlog of maintenance. And then it's a vicious circle as the maintenance can't get done if the owners don't pay, and then more owners withhold payments because they are upset about the tatty building and the lack of maintenance!

The least maintenance will be a middle-floor apartment, so that's obviously the safest option. And small too, as maintenance is charged per m2. But probably you don't want a 3rd floor studio. :-) Instead, I think you can go for nice buildings built by highly-regarded developers... and perhaps you can do some due diligence to see if the place is being properly maintained... and if owners are happy with the administration. We recently purchased a top floor (10th in, our case, they don't seem to go very high here) apartment, but in a very nice building, from a large developer with a good reputation (and, as you'd expect, we have separate electricity and water meters and our own bills direct from the electricity/water companies).

Similar to the whole HOA issue is warranty of new apartments. There are regulations, but poorly enforced. My teaching colleague purchased in a gated community in Plovdiv, from a large and highly reputable Israeli developer, and he says they have behaved impeccably. Everything is done well on the HOA front... and when he submitted issues with his particular apartment they were all fixed without any issues. Many others (especially smaller ones) will pretty much take the view that once you've signed the notary act at the notary, the property is yours... and any problems arising (no matter how soon) are ALSO yours! Even if it's a brand new building... and ESPECIALLY if it's an older building.

I take the view that it's safest to assume that the apartment is entirely my responsibility, and if something needs doing, then I'll need to do it. If repairing the roof would break me, then I wouldn't have purchased on the top floor. If the HOA comes through, that will be a happy bonus, but I'm not counting on it.

I do, however, avoid resort-type buildings (e.g. in Sunny Beach and the Black Sea coast, or Bansko and other major ski areas). My Bulgaria-standard maintenance on our little Plovdiv pad is 6 euros per month, I think. Obviously no HOA and no Reserve Fund... just a little old lady and a book... paying for someone to clean the stairs. :-) It is a middle floor, so no roof or flooding/break-ins to worry about... and it's super warm (apartments above/below/side mean very low heating bills). It would be a bit more if it was a bigger apartment, but 15-20 euros a month would be quite typical for a regular Bulgarian apartment building. A resort building can be 10-15 euros per m2 per year, which is a lot more... and can be a rather big bill if you have the 150 m2 penthouse. Because it's more expensive, you get more issues with non-payment by owners. The extra expense is for extra facilities like a swimming pool, or a gym, spa, bus to the gondola. If you are wealthy, maybe you like the extra facilities... and you can choose a building/developer/HOA with a great reputation. But I feel it's more to go wrong... and I'd rather pay separately if I want to go for a swim or a gym workout (especially as regular Bulgarian swimming pools and gyms are pretty cheap... and a walk to the sea for a swim is free).

Even worse, resort buildings, by definition, are mobbed in high season... and empty in low season. It's not impossible to live there, but in my personal experience, it's far from ideal. And a resort pool absolutely jammed with tourists is no use at all. If you have another property, or you spend some of the year back in USA, you are also paying for these services even when you can't use them. And you will pay tourist prices at the restaurants and supermarkets all the time. Overall, I just think it's a very bad deal! So, for example, our little Bansko pad is in a small building in the centre of town, next to the park, and lived in mostly by Bulgarians with just a few expats. There's life all year round, and I pay less than 3 euros per month. But that's so little, they can't afford to put the elevator on, so we have to use the stairs. :-) And we have to drive to the gondola.

All, I appreciate you taking the time to advice me.

I do not need/want a swimming pool and a restaurants on site and I do not want to pay "tourist price"

but I like to be near good park and good landscaping around my house, and I  would like to be close to the

good clean beach.

I am not especially looking for  resort-type life style .....but when I put my criteria in "property search "

like : 150+ m2, big terrace ( better panoramic ) , big eat in kitchen, big master bedroom, etc.,

it come out " resort-type building "

Note: In order to buy penthouse near the sea in Bulgaria we  are going to sell our 1450 Sq Ft condo in Clearwater, Florida ( near the ocean ). Most reason : hurricanes, sharks, possible sink holes, alligators near front doors and on parking lots under your car, pitons snake......and the new issue - illegal emigrants ....).

So I am ready to sell our vacation condo Florida and move to Bulagaria,

and I need 150m2 near the sea  not just for my husband and me.....but also  to make that place attractive

for our kids / grand kids to come to visit us in Bulgaria from time to time

Still if it possible to find  not-resort building but newest building ( act 16 ) with   penthouse ( with new roof ) near the clean  sea beach ....with parking ....with park and shopping .

Example:  what I think will be good fit for us is property like this  :
Residential complex: resort town of Elenite, Messambria Fort Beach
"On sale penthouse with a large panoramic terrace on the beachfront in the complex "Mesambria Fort Beach". 152K

Still, i know nothing about life style in Elenite. 

Note : I would prefer places  that other expats also likes

I highly respect Queen Elizabeth !

N.