Vitaliy Ivanovich Pepelyashkov
Managing Director of VOTCHINA · Lawyer by training, 6 years of practice in law enforcement · over 2,600 properties checked
Section: Safe purchase · Reading time: ~15 minutes · Checked against Bulgarian contract, procedure and criminal law, the Constitution and Registry Agency rules · updated October 2026
In short
Property scams in Bulgaria rarely look like scams: there is a real notary, a real register and a “convenient” quick deal. The seven most common schemes — a fake owner or power of attorney, a hidden mortgage, a “reservation” deposit, cash under the table, a project with no land rights or building permit, a company for a house with land, and a fictitious debt followed by a public auction — can all be spotted before you pay.
One rule protects you from most of them: no payment before a check in the Property Register. And if you live abroad and already own property here — sign up for free alerts and check it at least once a year.
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Most schemes do not “break” the system — they use its weak spots and people’s haste:
The state is tightening the rules: since 15 January 2026, copies of notarial deeds are issued only to owners, heirs, notaries, lawyers, enforcement agents or people with a proven legal interest. This makes collecting data for forgeries harder, but it does not replace your own checks.
How it works. The “seller” poses as the owner with forged documents or acts under a power of attorney while the real owner is abroad and suspects nothing. Notaries check ID cards against the Ministry of Interior database, so fraudsters increasingly rely on powers of attorney — old ones, issued abroad or with vague wording.
Warning sign. The owner “cannot come”, everything goes through a representative, the price is below market and there is a rush.
From our practice. We have not personally come across a forged power of attorney. Badly drafted ones — often: the representative has no right to receive the price, or to receive it into a bank account. The notary then decides on the spot whether the wording is enough — and the deal either collapses or goes through “on good faith”.
How to protect yourself. Ask for a copy of the power of attorney in advance, not on the day of the deal. The notary handling the deal has access to the register of notarial certifications and can check not only the signature but whether the power of attorney was really certified and what exactly it says — ask for this check before the day of signing. This only works for powers of attorney certified in Bulgaria.
Power of attorney from abroad. A Bulgarian notary cannot check a power of attorney certified in another country. That is why it needs an apostille — unless Bulgaria has a legal assistance treaty with that country that waives it (for example, with Ukraine). Notaries and banks, especially for mortgages, increasingly require powers of attorney and declarations from non-EU countries to be certified at a Bulgarian consulate, so that the text is verified, not just the signature. Every foreign power of attorney also needs a translation by a sworn translator. Ask for it early: a problem with the power of attorney often delays a deal on the very day of signing.
The price — by bank transfer and only to an account expressly stated in the contract or the power of attorney. If in doubt — a video call with the owner.
How it works. You are offered to go “straight to the notary” — no deposit, no preliminary contract, no checks. The draft deed contains a declaration that the buyer is familiar with the physical and legal condition of the property and has made enquiries. You sign it — and the risk is yours. A mortgage follows the property (Art. 173, Obligations and Contracts Act): if the debt is not paid, the creditor can enforce it against the property, whoever owns it at the time.
A case from our practice: Panorama Bay 1, Sveti Vlas
Our client was about to buy an apartment in the complex — quickly, with no deposit, straight to the notary. What caught our eye in the draft deed was exactly this declaration about “enquiries made”. We asked for a pause and ran a check: the apartment was mortgaged for the developer’s loan. The client walked away. A few years later, in 2013–2014, the case became a public scandal: the developer went bankrupt, the bank sold the claim to a debt collection company, and it demanded from the owners amounts of around half of the price they had paid. Our client later brought us five more buyers.
Who drafts the documents. By established practice, the seller’s side drafts the preliminary contract and the buyer’s side drafts the notarial deed, because the buyer pays the notary. Foreign buyers rarely know this: especially in deals with developers, the seller prepares everything and the buyer sees the documents minutes before signing. You have the right to ask for the drafts in advance.
Warning sign. Rush and “no deposit”, a developer with loans as the seller, a declaration in the draft that you checked everything yourself.
How to protect yourself. A Property Register check on the property and on the seller before any payment, and an updated check before the notary. If there is a mortgage — a letter from the bank with the amount owed and payment of that part directly to the bank so the mortgage is deleted.
How it works. A listing for an apartment in Varna or Sunny Beach at a price clearly below market. When you call: “it has just been sold, but we have a better option” or “transfer a deposit today or someone else will take it”. Sometimes the photos are copied from a real listing.
A case from our practice: a 10,000 € deposit that is “with the seller”
A client was renting an apartment and decided to buy it through another agency — he left a 10,000 € deposit. The deal fell through, the owner started evicting him, and the client came to us to find a new home. The agency told him the deposit had been passed to the seller, who refused to return it. We advised him how to act, and the seller returned the 10,000 €. The agency, however, sued him under its contract, froze his accounts, and he paid a commission for a deal that never happened. The lessons: before you hand over money, know who physically holds it and get a receipt; before you sign with an agency, check whether you owe a commission if the deal falls through.
Warning sign. Money is requested before a viewing and a check, to a personal account or in cash.
How to protect yourself. Viewing first — in person or a live video viewing, then a title check, and only then money, and only against a written document stating who receives it and when it is refunded.
How it works. You are offered to state a lower price in the notarial deed — often the tax valuation — and pay the difference in cash, “to save on taxes and fees”.
Why it is a trap for the buyer. If the deal is later challenged — by the seller’s creditors or third parties with rights to the property — the provable price is the one in the deed. You will struggle to get the cash part back. Cash payments over 5,112.92 € (10,000 leva) are prohibited by law, and false declarations before a notary carry criminal liability (Art. 313, Criminal Code). When you sell later, the lower price in the deed may also increase your tax.
Our advice. The real price in the deed, payment by bank transfer. If the seller insists on something else, we explain the risks to the buyer before they decide.
How it works. Billboards all over town, a sales office, stories of large-scale projects. The preliminary contract is written entirely in the seller’s favour, and the documents for the land and the construction “will come later”. Sometimes the money also goes through a “compatriot” intermediary to their personal account. The surprise comes years later — when the building is not finished or turns out to be illegal.
A case from our practice: Baba Alino area, Varna
Our clients — a family from Belgium — saw the developer’s adverts all over the city and asked us to look at the project. On site, the sales manager talked about large-scale projects. To the simplest question — the ownership documents for the land and the building — we were told that a neighbouring hotel “had given them tolerance status”. A memorised script, without understanding what it meant.
At the office we were shown a preliminary contract written entirely in the seller’s favour, but still no documents. After two or three days of insisting, we received a notarial deed: the land was designated as forest territory. We consulted a notary we work with in Varna and advised the clients not to buy. They liked the project and insisted on leaving a deposit — we held it ourselves and did not pass it on to the developer. Soon the clients withdrew on their own, and we returned the deposit in full. This was in 2022–2023, when there were only foundations of two or three houses on site.
In 2026 the case became a scandal. According to Varna Municipality, the KUB Corporation complex in the Baba Alino area has no detailed development plan in force and no building permits, the tolerance certificates issued are considered false, the prosecutor’s office has warned notaries in Varna, and the municipality has issued its first demolition orders. Meanwhile, dozens of buildings have gone up there.
A public example. An apart-hotel near Nessebar: in 2015 a buyer paid 80% of the price (about 27,000 €) under a preliminary contract. The building was never finished, and the buyer was left with a civil lawsuit.
Warning sign. Documents are not provided on first request. “Tolerance status” for a new building (this status is for old structures, not new ones). Land designated as forest or agricultural. A contract in which all the risks are yours.
How to protect yourself. Before any payment: a title deed or building right for the land, its designation, a detailed development plan in force and a building permit. Payment only to an account stated in the contract, never to an intermediary’s personal account without a written basis. Payments in stages tied to Act 14, Act 15 and Act 16.
How it works. Citizens of countries outside the EU and EEA cannot acquire land in Bulgaria (Art. 22 of the Constitution), so a house with land is often bought through a Bulgarian company. There are two risks. First, an incompetent intermediary registers only the building, and the land under it is left “in the air”. Second, the partners’ data and signatures are in the Commercial Register — they can be used to forge minutes changing the manager or a share transfer, after which the company’s property is sold. The owner finds out by chance.
How to protect yourself. Have the company registered and maintained by a lawyer and an accountant, not “by someone you know”. Make sure the land is in the notarial deed. Monitor the company’s file in the Commercial Register and the property’s file in the Property Register.
How it works. A debt the owner does not owe is claimed against an owner living abroad — for example, under a promissory note with a forged signature or for “services” never ordered. The court issues a writ of execution, a private enforcement agent seizes the property and puts it up for public auction. Notices go to the Bulgarian address. The enforcement agent does not assess whether the debt is real — only a court can, and the deadline to appeal the agent’s actions is one week.
Scale. In 2025 the media described dozens of such cases involving owners from the United Kingdom, Germany, Belgium and other countries, and several embassies warned their citizens.
How to protect yourself. See the section “Living abroad?” below.
One more case from our practice: the “garage” that was thin air
Varna, 2011. A seller offered two apartments and a “garage” — enclosed, with a roller door, priced as a garage. On paper, however, it was not a separate unit but undivided shares in the common parts of the car park, with no defined boundaries and no manoeuvring area accounted for. We advised the buyer not to buy in that form. The lesson: check exactly what the deed describes — a separate unit with a cadastral identifier, or undivided shares in common property.
Not a scam, but a lesson: the preliminary contract
A case from the area, known to us from colleagues. Obrochishte: a house for 70,000 €, a 10% deposit, the buyer gets the right to live in the house, the preliminary contract runs for six months. Covid arrives and the seller does not come. The buyer wins a court case under Art. 19 of the Obligations and Contracts Act, and the court declares her the owner. The seller finds out years later; two more years of litigation follow, then a settlement: in total he receives 35,000 € — half the agreed price, when similar houses already cost over 120,000 € — plus years without rental income and legal costs. The preliminary contract matters more than it looks — for both buyer and seller.
| Warning sign | What it may mean | What you do |
|---|---|---|
| Money requested before a viewing and a check | Fake listing or a “reservation” with no property | Viewing and check first, then a written document |
| “Straight to the notary, no deposit” | No time to check — mortgage, seizure | Pause and a Property Register check |
| The owner does not come, a representative sells | Forged or incomplete power of attorney | Copy in advance, video call with the owner |
| Payment to an account not stated in the documents | The money may never reach the seller | Only to the account in the contract or power of attorney |
| New project, but land and building documents “later” | No building permit, risk of demolition | No documents — no money |
| “Let’s state a lower price” | In a dispute you lose the difference | The real price in the deed, bank transfer |
| A declaration in the deed that “you have checked” | All the risk is shifted to you | Sign only after your own check |
| A letter from an enforcement agent about an unknown debt | Fictitious debt, the start of a public auction | A lawyer the same day — deadlines are in days |
Owners who do not live in Bulgaria permanently are the last to find out about a problem. Six steps reduce the risk significantly:
Don’t want to monitor it yourself? A regular Property Register and enforcement check is part of our property management service while you are away — by arrangement.
Ask on WhatsApp1. Paying before a check
A “reservation” deposit for a property whose owner and encumbrances you have not seen in the register. A check takes minutes; a lost deposit costs thousands of euros.
2. Signing “I am familiar with the legal status” without checking
This declaration in a notarial deed is normal — if you have really checked. If you have not, you have taken on the whole risk yourself.
3. A general power of attorney and years without checks
An owner abroad, a general power of attorney “to someone trusted” and no check for years — the most convenient situation for a fraudster.
One “no” is enough to stop and check.
Free express checkWith a report on the property from the Property Register of the Registry Agency: it shows the latest title deed, mortgages and seizures. Compare the name in the report with the seller’s ID or the power of attorney.
Partly. The notary checks identity and ownership on the documents, but not whether you are being rushed, whom you paid before the deal or what declarations you signed. More in our article on buying without an agent.
Contact a lawyer the same day. The deadline to appeal an enforcement agent’s actions is one week, and the debt itself is challenged with a separate claim in court.
Yes. The Registry Agency offers free SMS or e-mail alerts for every registration, note or deletion in your file. You apply in person or through a representative.
A general power of attorney “for everything” is dangerous, as is one given to someone you have no written contract with. If you instruct a sale, the power of attorney should cover the specific property, specific actions and a term, and clearly state the account the price is paid into.
Sign up for the free Registry Agency alerts, keep your documents safe, do not give a general power of attorney and never sign blank sheets. If you live abroad — have an address in Bulgaria where someone collects your post, and check your property at least once a year.
Before you pay — ask us
Send us the listing link or the documents you have. We will tell you what we see and what to ask the seller for.
Write on WhatsApp +359 876 111 535or e-mail office@votchina.eu
Sources
This article is general information as of October 2026 and does not replace legal advice on a specific case. The cases described are summarised without personal data.
