The deposit is paid. Then the problem appears.
Most serious problems in a deal do not show at the viewing. They surface after the deposit, when walking away already costs money.
2,000 missing documents.
The Ministry of Justice (Министерство на правосъдието) began an inspection of the Registry Agency (Агенция по вписванията) in May 2026, after a report by BOETS (БОЕЦ) of more than 2,000 missing notarial deeds (нотариални актове) in Sofia, issued between 1912 and 1989.
If a previous owner in the history of the property acquired ownership through a defective document that went unnoticed because of the disordered archive, every later buyer can end up drawn into a court dispute, even years later.
The bank enters the deal.
For every two sales registered at the office there is about one contractual mortgage (Registry Agency). Not every mortgage is for a purchase, but every buyer with a loan goes through a bank valuation, where differences in floor area, a missing Act 16 (Акт 16) and a valuation out of line with the agreed price come to light. If the declared price is higher than the bank valuation, the buyer has to find an additional down payment or reduce the deal, or is refused, after having already paid a deposit.
The rule sounds simple.
The trap is not the rule, it is proving “whose fault it is” when a problem surfaces late. Many deals turn into a dispute over how to interpret the preliminary contract (предварителен договор), not into applying a clear rule.
The debt that does not disappear automatically.
Deleting a mortgage after the loan has been repaid is not automatic. If the seller says “it is paid off” but the formal deletion has not happened, the buyer buys a property with an encumbrance that is still registered.
The buyer inherits someone else’s debt, secured on their new property, without having taken the loan and without having received the money from it.
A quiet risk that rarely shows.
A deal without the signature of all co-owners is not automatically null and void.
But it remains relatively ineffective (относително недействителна), and legally vulnerable for years to come.
An heir who turns up years later is enough to reopen the dispute from the start, to be settled through a court partition (съдебна делба).
A small change. A big consequence.
Even a “small” change is a violation. The bank may refuse financing. On resale the new buyer falls into the same trap, and in serious cases the municipality can order the construction to be demolished.
A missing Act 16 leads to a more conservative bank valuation or an outright refusal. A property that looks clean at first glance can turn out to be impossible to finance.
More time for a problem.
A longer window between viewing and notary means more time for a complication to surface, exactly while the deposit already stands paid.
We do not replace the lawyer. We see the problem before they do.
Checking ownership, encumbrances and the history of the property, drafting the contract, coordinating with the notary. Agents do not have full legal competence, and good agencies work with a lawyer and a notary rather than replacing that role.
The buyer profile changed in 2026, and with it the expectations of the deal. Read more in The buyer has changed. For the tax consequences after the notary, see When you pay tax on selling a property, and when you don’t.
Before you pay a deposit, ask us.
We check the history of the property and spot the red flags before you get to the deposit. €25 for a Registry Agency search plus a confirmation call with the notary.
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