Pitfalls of buying on the Bulgarian coast, and why a new build is the better choice today

Most purchases on the coast go smoothly. The problems that do come up are almost always the same three, and all of them can be seen in the documents before you pay a deposit. Below we go through each one, and then explain why we increasingly recommend new buildings over resale.

1. Unpaid maintenance fees

In a resale purchase the previous owner may owe the management company. That debt is theirs, but in practice the dispute over access cards, the pool and services lands on the new owner. Before the notary we ask the manager for a written confirmation that nothing is owed, and any debt is settled by the seller before or on the day of the deal. What the fee covers is explained in our article “Maintenance fee in Bulgaria: what it is and what to read in the contract”.

2. The building has no Act 16

A building may not be used before it has been put into service (Spatial Development Act, Art. 178(1)). For most coastal complexes this is a permit for use issued by the National Construction Control Directorate, commonly called Act 16; smaller buildings get a certificate from the municipality (Art. 177). Both are published in the public register, so we check them before anything is signed.

3. The land and the right to build

Many complexes in Sunny Beach stand on land the developer did not own: it held only a right to build. The buyer then owns the apartment, while the land stays with someone else. What this means for you is explained in “What you actually own when you buy an apartment in Bulgaria”. For a building that is not yet finished there is one more point: a right to build that is not used within five years is extinguished (Property Act, Art. 67). So we check when the right was granted and how far the construction has gone.

Resale: what you are actually buying

Most of the housing on the coast was built in the boom years before 2010 as summer apartments, not homes for living all year. Many are well kept, but the insulation, windows, heating, lifts and pipes were designed for the season, and they are now 15 to 20 years old. Major repairs are paid by all the owners together, so an old building can bring costs you did not plan for.

New build: why it is the more universal option

A new building can only be put into service with a technical passport and an energy performance certificate (Spatial Development Act, Art. 177(1)). It is built with current materials and insulation, for all seasons, and everything in it is new. The minimum guarantee periods under Ordinance No. 2 start from commissioning, so defects in the first years are the builder's responsibility.

That makes a new apartment a universal investment: you can live in it, including in winter, rent it out, or sell it later. A modern building is simply easier to rent and to resell than a twenty-year-old summer complex. This is not a promise of profit, only a practical observation from the deals we handle.

A new build has its own risks: the building is not finished yet, and you pay before it is. That is what the preliminary contract is for. We explain it in “The preliminary contract for a new-build apartment: what to look for and how it protects you” and in “Act 14, 15 and 16: how an off-plan purchase works, stage by stage”.

Collins Solicitors works with Virgin Build, the developer of the J'Adore projects, so we know these contracts from the inside. One example of a new building in Sunny Beach is J'Adore Blanc.

Resale or new build, send us the documents before you pay a deposit. We check the title, the encumbrances, the debts and the permits ourselves, so you do not have to go from office to office.

Virgin Build · Sunny BeachJ'Adore BlancTwo new residential buildings about 400 m from the beach, with a pool, an outdoor spa and a reception.See the project