Selling Property in Bulgaria with Document Problems

Sales Department · 8 min read · both cases checked against the notarial deeds and the municipal and cadastre documents · updated October 2026

Vitaliy Ivanovich Pepelyashkov

Managing Director of VOTCHINA · Lawyer by training, 6 years of practice in law enforcement · over 2,600 properties checked

In short

Selling a property in Bulgaria with document problems is possible if the problem is fixed before the buyer walks away. In both cases below, from Kavarna and from the Balchik area, the buyers had a mortgage and their bank checked everything. An error in the notarial deed, a mismatch with the cadastre and a dispute with a neighbour were all resolved, and both sales were completed at the notary.

Not sure whether your property documents will pass the check by the buyer's bank? Send them to us before you list the property.

Message us on WhatsApp

You can also reach us on Viber or Telegram at the same number.

In this article

Kavarna: the notarial deed described four flats instead of one house

A house on a slope with a sea view, owned by a Bulgarian company belonging to a Danish family. It was bought in 2005 as a two-storey single-family house, built under a building permit and officially put into use. In 2007 a new notarial deed of ownership was drawn up, and it described the house as four separate flats with shares in the common parts. The municipality recorded it the same way for tax purposes. The owners had not visited Bulgaria for years and did not know this was a problem.

The problem surfaced when a buyer with a mortgage came along. The bank's lawyers asked a simple question: are we financing four flats or one house? The documents said one thing and reality said another. A bank will not lend against a property when it is unclear what exactly is being bought.

How we solved it

Turning the house into four legal units would have required a new design and a division of the common parts. That would have taken far longer than the period for which the bank holds an approved loan. We took the opposite route: proving that the house had always been one house.
We retrieved the architectural design and its explanatory note from the municipal archive. They describe exactly one house: garage and living room on the first floor, bedrooms on the second, a studio under the roof and a summer kitchen in the lower level, which opens onto the garden because of the slope.
The local zoning plan had changed since the purchase, so we obtained certificates from the municipality confirming the identity of the plot and its address.
Based on these documents, the notary recognised an obvious factual error and executed a notarial deed of correction. The house is again a "single-family dwelling", and the tax assessment was updated.
The fence also enclosed a small strip of municipal land. The sale deed stated clearly what belonged to the company and what did not.
The owner was a company, so the sale required a resolution of the general meeting of the partners and a current company registry extract. The managing director attended the notary in person, and the deed was translated into English for him.

Result. The paperwork took most of 2024, and the sale was completed about six weeks after the correction, within the validity of the approved loan. The bank registered its mortgage as first in rank, and the sellers received the price by bank transfer.

The lesson for sellers: do not change how your property is described in the documents "for convenience" or on someone else's advice. The notarial deed must describe the property as it was built according to the design. Otherwise the error will be waiting for the first buyer with a mortgage.

Balchik area: a cadastre mismatch, a neighbour dispute and a delayed mortgage

A family was selling a house in a village near Balchik, in a part of the village with little buyer interest. They owned two adjoining plots. Our checks revealed three problems at once.

The land. The areas in the notarial deeds and on the cadastral map did not match, and part of the land the family had used for years was not theirs. Together with our partner surveyor we prepared a project, and the cadastral map was corrected by order of the regional Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre Office. The owners chose not to buy the extra land.
The neighbour. A structure near the boundary had caused a long dispute with the neighbour. We settled it before the sale, so that the buyer would not inherit any conflict.
The bank. The buyer had a mortgage, and the bank's lawyers checked every document: cadastral sketches, a certificate of no tax debts (Art. 87 of the Tax and Social Security Procedure Code), registry searches. We met their requirements one by one.

After the preliminary contract was signed, a fourth problem appeared. The buyer, a Bulgarian working abroad, changed employers. The bank required several months of service with the new employer before releasing the loan. Instead of letting the deal collapse, we extended the deadlines with an annex to the preliminary contract and waited about six months.

Result. The sale was completed. With the proceeds, the family bought through us a ready, furnished house in Sokolovo, one of the most sought-after villages near Balchik.

Important: if the buyer needs a mortgage, the preliminary contract must say what happens if the bank delays or refuses the loan: deadline, extension, what happens to the deposit. Then a delay is unpleasant, but not a disaster.

In both cases the buyer was also our client: we worked for both sides openly, with written offers. For how we organise a sale step by step, see How we sell with VOTCHINA.

"I turned to Votchina to sell my old house and then to buy a new one. They helped both with sorting out the land for the sale and with preparing all the documents. Everything turnkey."

Oleg R., 2025, Google review (translated from Russian)

What we check before a property goes on the market

Both cases have one thing in common: if the seller does not find the problems first, the buyer's bank will. That is why we compare the documents with each other and with the actual property already at the valuation stage. In the UK a solicitor would run these checks during conveyancing; in Bulgaria nobody does it automatically before the property is listed.

We compare	What we look for
Notarial deed and the actual property	Are the floors, the number of units and the rooms described the same way
Notarial deed and cadastral sketch	Land area and boundaries; is there a strip belonging to a neighbour or the municipality
Building records	Building permit, certificate of use (occupancy), architectural design
Tax assessment	Does it describe the property the same way as the deed
Owner	Individual, heirs or a company: this determines the powers of attorney and resolutions needed
Property register and neighbours	Mortgages, attachments, disputes over structures near the boundary

"The case was quite complicated, with missing documentation for the property. Vitaliy and his team took care of everything. All I had to do was sign the preliminary contract, a power of attorney and the documents at the notary."

Bozhimir A., 2023, Google review (translated from Bulgarian)

3 mistakes that stop a sale

Waiting for a buyer before fixing the documents. Cadastre corrections, certificates and deed corrections take weeks or months. The buyer and their bank will not wait that long.
Signing a preliminary contract with no mortgage clauses. If the bank is slow and there are no clear deadlines or an annex, the sale and the deposit become a dispute.
Changing the description of the property "for convenience". A deed that does not match the design blocks a mortgage-financed sale years later.

"For two years we tried unsuccessfully to sell our property. Vitaliy and Nikolai sold it to the right buyer in two months."

Iris R., 2026, Google review (translated from German)

Questions and answers

Can you sell a property with an error in the notarial deed?

Yes, but the error must be corrected first. An obvious factual error is corrected with a notarial deed of correction, provided there are documents that prove it: the design, the building permit, the certificate of use.

How long does it take to fix the documents?

From a few weeks to a few months, depending on the municipality, the cadastre office and the archive. That is why it is better to start before listing the property, not when a buyer is already waiting.

Who pays the fees for the documents?

State and municipal fees are paid by the seller, against receipts. Our time at the institutions is free of charge under an exclusive agreement and charged separately under an open agreement. Details in How we sell with VOTCHINA.

Can I sell a complicated property if I live abroad?

Yes. With a notarised power of attorney we represent you before the municipality, the cadastre office and the Registry Agency, and the sale itself can be signed by a proxy.

How is a company-owned property sold?

The company sells through its managing director, and a Bulgarian limited company (OOD) needs a resolution of the general meeting. Taxation differs from that of an individual, so consult an accountant. Overview in Taxes.

Does your property have a "history" in its documents?

Send us the notarial deed and the cadastral sketch, and we will tell you what needs fixing before we look for a buyer.

Message us on WhatsApp Call: +359 876 111 535 office@votchina.eu

You can also reach us on Viber or Telegram at the same number.

The cases are described from the notarial deeds, certificates of the Kavarna and Balchik municipalities and the sketches of the Geodesy, Cartography and Cadastre Office in Dobrich (2024–2025). Client names are not given. Legal basis: Cadastre and Property Register Act, Spatial Development Act, Tariff of Notary Fees (deed of correction), Commerce Act. This information is general and does not replace legal or tax advice. In case of discrepancy, the signed agreement and the General Terms prevail.

Information