The preliminary contract for a new-build apartment: what to look for and how it protects you, on the example of J'Adore Blanc

When you buy an apartment that is still being built, the preliminary contract is what you hold until the notarial deed, which on a new building comes a year or two later. Until then your money, your apartment and your deadlines exist only in this contract. So it is worth knowing what to look for.

We will not retell the whole contract. Below are the points that matter, shown on the contract Virgin Build signs with buyers at J'Adore Blanc in Sunny Beach: what is written, how it works and how you are protected. Collins Solicitors works with Virgin Build, so we know this contract from the inside; we say so openly. The same points apply to any developer on the coast.

How it works, in five steps

• You choose the apartment and agree the price and a payment plan with the developer, individually.
• You pay a deposit and sign the preliminary contract, in Bulgarian and in your language side by side. The first instalment follows (on Blanc usually about 40%); the rest is spread over the construction period on fixed dates.
• The building goes up. You get progress reports, with photos or video on request.
• Act 15 is signed: the building is finished. Within three weeks the developer emails you an invitation to the notary.
• Once the price is paid in full, you sign the notarial deed and receive the keys. From that moment you are the owner.

What to look for, and how it is solved here

1. The apartment is described exactly. Number, floor, area, the share of the common parts and the cadastral identifier of the plot. This is not paperwork for its own sake. If the seller ever refused to go to the notary, a buyer who has paid in full can ask the court to declare the preliminary contract final, and the judgment transfers the ownership (Art. 19(3) ЗЗД). For that the court needs to know exactly which apartment it is. In the Blanc contract it does.

2. The price is fixed, and the money goes where it should: to the account of the developer company. Every instalment has its own amount and date.

3. The deposit works both ways. Under Art. 93 ЗЗД, if the buyer walks away, the seller keeps the deposit; if the seller fails to perform, the buyer can claim it back twice over. That is why the Blanc contract calls the first payment a deposit expressly.

4. You know what you will get. The finish level is written out item by item: brick walls, full thermal insulation, PVC windows, laminate floors, a tiled bathroom with sanitary ware and a water heater, granite tiles and railings on the terraces, entrance and interior doors, fully finished common parts. At the handover the apartment is checked against this list, and anything that does not match goes into the handover protocol.

5. Deadlines are tied to official acts, not to promises. Act 15 is due within 36 months of the official opening of the construction site, and within 10 months of Act 15 the developer must apply for the use permit (Act 16). After Act 15 the developer has three weeks to notify you, and the deed is signed within the agreed term, usually three or four months. One practical tip: the email in the contract is where all notices go, so use one you will still read in three years. How the construction acts work is explained in our article “Act 14, 15 and 16”.

Where you are protected

• If construction costs jump. If materials or labour rise by more than 20% in a year, or inflation exceeds 10%, the developer may propose a reasonable indexation or end the contract. If it ends the contract, it must return every euro you paid within 30 working days. No penalty, no lost deposit: you get either the apartment or your money.
• If the apartment is encumbered. The seller declares it free of mortgages, attachments and third-party rights. If any exist on the day of the deed, you can terminate, get everything back and receive 10% of the price on top.
• If the seller refuses to transfer. Once you have paid in full, the court can transfer the apartment to you without the seller's signature.
• If the developer is late through its own fault. The contract provides a penalty in your favour. Delays for reasons beyond its control, such as the summer ban on construction in Sunny Beach, do not count, but a delay the developer caused itself does not stop the clock.
• If defects appear. Visible defects found at handover are repaired at the seller's cost within 30 working days. Hidden ones are covered by the statutory guarantees, which run from the use permit: 10 years for the structure, 7 for insulation and waterproofing and for internal installations, 5 for finishing works.
• If something happens to you. Your rights pass to your heirs, and the contract stays in force.

And your side of the contract

A fair contract binds both sides. Your main obligation is to pay on time. A delay of more than 14 days carries a daily penalty, and a delay of more than 30 days allows the developer, after a written warning, to end the contract and keep a significant penalty. So agree a payment plan you can actually keep, and if a payment is going to be late, talk to the developer before the date, not after. Bank charges and the closing costs at the notary are paid by the buyer, as usual in Bulgaria.

You also sign the maintenance contract for the complex together with the deed. What to look for in it is the subject of our article “Maintenance fee in Bulgaria”.

What we check before you sign

A contract is only as good as the facts behind it. Before a client signs, we check what the contract itself cannot prove: that the developer company is in good standing and its representative has a valid power of attorney, that it owns the plot or holds a registered right to build, whether there is a bank mortgage on the plot and how the apartments will be released from it, and that a building permit exists for this building. More on this in our article “Six checks before you pay a deposit”.

Thinking of buying a new-build apartment on the coast? Come to us before you pay the deposit. We will check the developer and the contract, explain it to you in plain words, agree any changes that are needed and take the deal through to the keys, remotely if you cannot travel.

Virgin Build · Sunny BeachJ'Adore BlancTwo residential buildings about 400 m from the beach, with a pool, an outdoor spa and a reception. The contract discussed in this article is the one buyers sign today.See the project