Planning on Buying
Land in Bulgaria?

During Bulgaria’s communist rule, agricultural land was confiscated from owners and used by the government for State cooperatives and giant State farms. Owners received no compensation.

The fall of communism in the late 80's brought demands for the return of land and property. In April 1992, Bulgaria enacted the so-called Restitution Laws. The Restitution Laws returned to former owners or their descendants property that had been nationalized by the communist government. The application deadline for restitution expired in 1993. According to the government, the program was “more or less wrapped up” by 1995.

In four years, Bulgaria returned over 12 million acres, 91% of land to private individuals. New land records are now in place, providing the base for a market system. This is a great achievement for Bulgaria in such a short time.

Location of Bulgaria

Bulgaria is situated on the west coast of the Black Sea, with Romania to the north, Greece and Turkey to the south, and Yugoslavia to the west. The land area of Bulgaria is 110,550 square kilometers, slightly larger than that of Iceland or the U.S. state of Tennessee. Considering its small size, Bulgaria has a great variety of topographical features. Even within small parts of the country, the land may be divided into plains, plateaus, hills, mountains, basins, gorges, and deep river valleys.

Now that the economy of Bulgaria is no longer state-controlled, foreign direct investment from all around the world is flooding the real estate sector, making Bulgaria one of the top Eastern European countries for property investment.

Land Prices in Bulgaria

According to estate agents, land in Bulgaria along the Black Sea Coast is the most popular for property investment and property development. Most enquiries are from foreign investors searching for front-line development plots with restricted sea views, but these properties are becoming scarcer. Those that are on the market command a high premium.

Land Plots

The price of land in Bulgaria varies considerably depending on the area in which you intend to buy, the size of plots on offer, and the building use of the land. The common plot sizes for building a family house tend to vary from around 550 sqm to 1000 sqm, with price tags of €20/sqm for land in villages to €75/sqm for prime front-line development plots with sea views. The price of agricultural land, which is unregulated land (meaning building is not permitted) costs around €3/sqm.

Title Deeds

What’s the difference between regulated land in Bulgaria and unregulated?

Owning Land in Bulgaria

In Bulgaria, foreigners are prohibited from owning land. The only way around this problem is if you register a Bulgarian limited company that owns the land. Check out my page on the legal requirements for buying property in Bulgaria for an in-depth guide.

If you have found a plot of land you want to buy, be sure to instruct a reputable solicitor to transfer the title of the land, free of encumbrances. There have been cases in Bulgaria of previous owners’ descendants claiming a share of the land from the new owners.

Make sure that your solicitor double checks that the boundaries are marked correctly on the land title deeds. For added peace of mind, ask the vendor to have the boundaries of the plot physically marked before you commit to purchase.

If you intend to build on the land, instruct an architect to prepare the drawings and help in the preparation of the planning application. Do not try to submit the planning application form yourself. It’s unlikely you will be successful.

My Personal View

As an investor, I prefer land. It is more hands-off than managing an off-plan apartment or house. I prefer not to worry about payment of service charges or whether the managing agents are doing a good job. I'm also a developer, and owning a piece of land in Bulgaria is an affordable way to use my skills in this area.

The only downside of owing land in Bulgaria is that you will need to fund the total cost of the asset from your own resources. It’s very difficult to obtain financing in Bulgaria, so you lose the benefit of gearing your investment.

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