Why there is a company at all
Citizens of countries outside the EU may acquire ownership of land in Bulgaria only through a Bulgarian company that carries out the transaction and of which they are the sole owner.
That is why a house with a garden, or a plot, almost always means a company. A flat usually does not, because a building and the land beneath it are treated separately.
Many owners went through this fifteen or twenty years ago, signed what was put in front of them, and have not thought about it since.
What happens while nobody is watching
The company has obligations every year, whether or not it trades and whether or not anyone visits. When it is not maintained, several things accumulate at once:
- Unfiled annual accounts, and what follows from that
- Local taxes and refuse charges on the property, which run regardless
- A manager who is no longer reachable or no longer willing to act
- Register entries that no longer match reality
None of this interferes with the property until you decide to sell. Then it interferes with everything.
Selling is not the same
Where a property is held by a company, there are two routes: the company sells the property, or you sell the shares in the company.
They are different in procedure, in tax consequences, and in what the buyer takes on. Which one is better depends on the state of the company and on what the other side wants.
That decision is made before the property is listed, not after a buyer appears.
If you no longer want the company
In the right circumstances the property can be taken out of the company, and the company then liquidated and struck off. There is a cost, and there are consequences worth weighing beforehand.
Sometimes that is the right answer. Sometimes keeping the company is cheaper. It depends on what you intend to do with the property.
What you will need
- The company registration documents
- The title deed
- The most recent filed accounts, if any exist
- Details of the manager and of who holds the shares
- The tax valuation of the property
When to call
Before you list the property. Not when the buyer is already waiting.
Bringing a dormant company back into order takes time. If it starts once there is a real buyer, sales often fail not on price but on delay.
This page provides general information and does not constitute legal advice on any specific case. Rights and deadlines depend on the facts and the applicable law.