At present, non-Bulgarians cannot own land in the country directly; this means that a buyer must first set up a limited liability company in whose name the purchase of land may be made. This can all seem to be a pretty daunting prospect at the outset but it is actually a surprisingly simple procedure.
 Bulgaria has one of the most liberal foreign investment laws in the region. The most common type of organization for foreign investors is a limited liability company. Other forms are companies limited by shares (joint stock companies), joint enterprises, business associations, general partnerships, limited partnerships, and sole proprietorships. The law does not limit the extent or amount of foreign participation in companies. Foreign companies have the right to open deposit accounts in hard currency and Bulgarian leva.
Property Taxes:
Transfer taxes: The transfer is subject to notary and municipal fees. The notary fees are paid on the higher of the market price or the book value of the property at varying rates, specified in a special chart. In addition, 2% of the market value of the property is paid to the municipality where the real property is located.
Value Added Tax
Transactions with land, lease of property for residential purposes are exempt from Value Added Tax (VAT).
    According to the Bulgarian Constitution a foreigner cannot purchase a real estate property together with the land. You need to form a company in order to be entitled to buy a real estate property together with the land on the territory of Bulgaria. We recommend that you establish a Ltd-Limited Liability Company (almost all foreigners who want to buy land form this kind of company).
Limited Liability Company
1. Who is entitled to set up a Limited Liability Company?  A foreign or a Bulgarian entity (both legal and physical) can set up a Limited Liability Company. The person/s will be liable for the company's obligations to the value of his/her share of the company's registered capital.
2. Capital:  A bank account must be opened in order to deposit the company capital and to attend to the company needs. The minimum required capital is BGN 5 000
3. Setting up the Company:  Usually, setting-up a company takes about 4 weeks. Express registration from 2-3 days. The papers required by the court, which each company's owner should have provided are as follows: Copies of passports, Copies of documents showing the address of residence, Application to the court, Articles of Association, a Protocol from the Constituent Assembly of the company, two Notarized Declarations, a Receipt for the payment of the company capital, a Receipt for the paid state fee, a Tenancy Contract. The term for setting-up a company starts running after submitting from you all the documents mentioned above as well as the name of the company and the division of the shares between the shareholders.
For the setting-up of a company in Bulgaria, in the company documents must be indicated the seat of management in Bulgaria /address of company activity/. The seat of management is better to be the same as the address of the future purchased property. If this is not possible for any reason, we will give you an address for company registration. The establishment of a company in Bulgaria is better to be at the same address and in the same district which could be of your own property or a tenancy address. Once having copies of passports of the shareholders, copies of documents with the address of residence, our lawyers start preparing the following paperwork:
The Application to the regional district court details the name/s or, respectively, the business name/s of the shareholder/s, name of the company, seat and address of management, company capital, scope of activities.
A protocol is signed at the first meeting of the owners/shareholders. Then the so-called constituent assembly of the company take resolutions regarding the Articles of Association which include: general provisions, company capital and shares, rights and obligations of the owner/s, management of the company, balance of payments, distribution of profits and losses, termination and winding-up.
All the relevant documents are signed in Bulgarian as required by Bulgarian law.
Two sworn declarations should be signed before a Bulgarian Public notary by each owner in Bulgarian in the presence of a certified translator.
All the above mentioned documents are submitted to the respective court for passing judgment on the company establishment. After having issued the Court Resolution for the set-up company, then follows registration and receiving tax number, a Bulstat number and a Registration number from the National Social Security Institute, Regional Labor Inspectorate.
A preliminary purchase contract could be signed prior to establishing a company, however for the notary deed signing the forming of the company is obligatory.
4. Publication of the Register entry in the State Gazette: The Bulgarian State Gazette is the official paper of the Bulgarian State. All Bulgarian legislation is published there in order to come into effect. It announces the act of company constitution to the general public.
5. Filing the tax declaration, stating that the company has not carried out commercial activities during the respective period.
6. Annual tax declaration for zero down income.
7. Registration Fees.
Money to set up the Ltd Company and pay the local Notary to sign relevant paperwork, 500 Euro. Express registration 650 Euro.
Taxation
If the activities of a foreign person owning real property in Bulgaria do not constitute a permanent establishment, the person will be liable for only 15% withholding tax on the rentals and capital gains, unless an even lower rate is applied under a double tax treaty.
Transfer taxes
Apart from corporate tax, no other direct taxes are levied on the transfer of real property. The transfer is, however, subject to notary and municipal fees. The notary fees are paid on the higher of the market price or the book value of the property at varying rates. In addition, 2% of the market value of the property is paid to the municipality in which the real property is situated.
Local taxes and rates
The owner of a building or a plot is obliged to pay a real property tax. Where a building is built on a State or municipal plot, the value of the plot will also be included in the tax base. The tax is equal to 0.15% of the book value of the property. Arable land is exempt from local taxes. In addition to the real property tax, owners also pay waste-collection fees.
Value Added Tax (VAT)
Transactions with land and lease of property for residential purposes are exempt from Value Added Tax.
The Purchasing Process
The purchasing process starts with reserving a property online It is difficult to visualize the properties from a website so we will arrange an inspection trip for you. After finding the most appropriate property you have to settle up a commercial company. Setting up a company in Bulgaria is easy and we will do this for you as we explained.
Having selected a property our lawyer will draw up a preliminary contract after which the buyer is asked to pay a deposit of 10% and the agency commission (usually around 2%) of the property's value while the lawyer check title. After all documents are ready the buyer pays the balance of the purchase price, along with a combined land tax and notary fee and sign the final Notary Act (contract of purchase) in front of a Bulgarian Notary. It is important that you have the following basic funds available when you are in Bulgaria:
100% of the purchase price 
PLUS   5000 leva (approx. 2564 Euro) to open a Company Bank Account (for a property with land). This money is a requirement to show to the courts, when setting up a Ltd Company in Bulgaria. Once the company is registered you will be able to withdraw this money from the account
PLUS money to set up the Ltd Company and pay the local Notary to sign relevant paperwork, 500 Euro. ( or for Express registration 650 Euro.)
PLUS transfer costs  and agency commission no more than 5% of the purchase price
How long will it take to buy a property?
Generally it will take 2-3 weeks to buy a property. This is the time needed to set up your company (for the Express registration 2-3 days) . The same day your company is ready, the sale will take place in front of a Notary at an agreed time.
What level of capital growth can I expect on the value of my property?
It is not possible to say with certainty how the property market will react in the future. However, the property markets of the Czech Republic and Poland, two of the most recent new members of the EU have risen by approximately 250% in the five years to today's date. Bulgarian property prices themselves should rise much more as at the moment the prices are comparative very low. The increase of the value of a property depends on a number of factors, including the location and the type of property. Foreign investors are guaranteed full repatriation of profits resulting from an investment in Bulgaria . The transfer abroad can be made only after the bank effecting the transfer is presented a certificate proving payment of all Bulgarian taxes due.
Do we need a visa to travel to Bulgaria and how long can we stay?
EU passport holders do not require a visa in order to visit Bulgaria for a period of 90 days.
 US, UK, Japan,  passport holders do not require a visa in order to visit Bulgaria for a period of 30 days. Long-term visa (D) can be obtained from the Bulgarian Consular service in London. Visa control has been considerably relaxed between the UK and Bulgaria. For further information please contact us to advise
What is the state of the Bulgarian real estate market?
Like everything else in Bulgaria, property is very good value. This is the result of a general neglect of Bulgarian asset markets (at the moment). Foreign investors in Bulgaria will profit in the long run. Of course this depends on the price at which you buy. Property appraisal and valuation is an important element of our services. We have  a network of local contacts who have negotiated the realistic prices that we offer on our properties.
Bulgaria is scheduled to join the EU in 2007. At the moment, the Bulgarian property market is off the map for foreign investors. We anticipate awareness of this market to increase as EU membership approaches. Plus, the present Constitutional restriction of foreign investment in land in Bulgaria is incompatible with EU membership. When this restriction is removed we expect much inward investment, which will cause an increase in the market's liquidity and its level.
The upturn in the Bulgarian economic climate, coupled with the preferential conditions and guarantees for foreign investors, has generated excellent business opportunities and investment growth potential. The imminent acceptance of Bulgaria in the European Economic Community, with full integration planned between 2006 and 2008, is attracting more and more foreign investors to Bulgaria, providing unprecedented economic growth potential. In July 2000, Bulgarian Property Law was changed to remove the restrictions on foreign investment in Bulgarian land. In common with other European countries, the only remaining requirement is to register the investor or investing company in Bulgaria before any transactions can take place and capital invested. Reaching year of 2007, Bulgarian laws are improving and changing in accordance with the European laws.
Some details about the Limited Liability Company
The Limited Liability Company may have one or more shareholders, who are liable to the extent of their contribution in the capital. The minimum capital required by law is BGN 5 000 (five thousand). The decision-making bodies of the company are the General meeting and one or more Managers. There is no limitation regarding the number of shares, but each share cannot be less than BGN 10 (ten) and shall be dividable to 10. The shares can differ in their size.  Necessary documents for the incorporation:
1. Application to the registration court;
2. Minutes of the incorporation meeting of the company;
3. Articles of association of the company;
4. Declarations of the persons, who shall manage and represent the company that they are not conducting on their own or on behalf of somebody else a commercial activity; that they are not participating in partnerships or any other limited liability companies; they do not hold a seat in management bodies of another companies and they are not declared insolvent;
5. Notary certified specimen/s and consent to manage the company of the Manager/s;
6. Bank certificate that at least 70% of the capital is paid up;
7. Certificate that the proposed name of the company is unique;
8. Evidence/bills that all registration fees and fees for promulgation in the State Gazette are paid.