Agreeing the Purchase

Found the right property
Now is the time when you really need to understand the purchasing process. The law in Bulgaria is different to that in most other countries. To ensure that the purchase proceeds smoothly it is a good idea to understand the culture of the country, the way people think and act, how your seller will be feeling etc. Plain and simply, you need to know how things are to be certain you do not offend and lose the chance to buy your chosen property.

Making an offer
At this point it really is important to understand local culture. The Bulgarians are a proud race and I have often known a seller remove his house from the market if an offer is too low. His or her belief is that his pride, his family and his heritage have been offended by such an undervaluing!
You will need to take advice from the agent who has the house for sale regarding whether an offer will be acceptable to the seller or not. As a foreigner, it can be too easy to believe that everything is open to offers but this is not always the case. Whether to offer a lower price or not will depend on the knowledge the agent has of the seller. He or she should know the seller's attitude to their property, whether this is the lowest price, whether it is an 'indication' price, whether the vendor needs to release funds urgently etc.

Securing the currency
For purchasers from non-euro countries it is important to secure a rate for the purchase of euro required for the deposit and for the completion of the purchase as soon as possible. You will be agreeing to purchase a property in euro and the only way you can be certain that the price does not change is to forward-buy the necessary euro at the time you make your decision to purchase. Alternatively, you can decide to take a chance on getting a better rate later, but you whichever you decide to do you will need to take advice and act at this point.