The New Inn
hi there! just wondering if anyone out there has purchased at the new inn, in bansko. if so please could you get in contact, very nervous about this whole purchasing in bulgaria thing!! Cheers

I bought there. Went out to see in June. Have either of you looked into the issues of price on the notary? I discussed it with developer and their solicitor when I was in Sofia. Gave 3 options. 1) Tax evaluation price on deeds (30% of real price) 2) Transfer to another company on completion in order to have full price on 3) Set up own company I have left it with my solicitor to look into.

Hi Flatlander We are also purchasing at The New Inn. It seems that undervaluing property on the notary is commonplace throughout Europe but we have insisted on the correct price for our apartment at the Refectory. We have used option 2 and are in theory now buying from another company. This has cost us around £1150 in 'extra taxes' initially but we are comfortable with knowing our paperwork is correct. regards Redcoatduke

Thanks for that Redcoatduke. I am a bit concerned about the extra taxes of 1150 pound though. They never mentioned this when I discussed it with them. I'm already cutting it fine with being able to afford the appartment without further costs. Are these extra costs associated specifically with option 2 or is this the taxes (notary etc) that everyone has to pay on completion? Also, did you get a solicitor to check option 2 and did they think it was all above board? Thanks

Hi Flatlander According to the sales agent these costs are always applicable but they 'offer' to pay them for you if you accept the reduced price on the contract :evil: No we didn't have option 2 checked out by our solicitor but it seems as above board as making the stage payments to a bank in Hungary :roll: which we were very concerned about at the time.

Hi guys, Maybe you should have looked at our place instead of the New Inn :-) They are our neighbors so I am not going to say anything about them. Just about us: all of our prices, fees etc. are the final and real ones including full VAT. No hassle, no worry. Everything stratightforward. And the contracts are only in English. Thought I should let you know :-) Frank

New Inn Roofing
Hi I am buying at the New Inn through Emerging Real Estate in Leeds. I am very concerned though that I am being conned in that Lakon wrote to me at the beginning of December to say that the roof was now on and that the next payment was due. However, despite requests to both Lakon and Emerging for a photograph showing the development with the roof on and despite their promises to send one, I still have not received photographic confirmation. Is this roof on or have I been fraudulantly conned into sending the next payment. Has anybody seen the New Inn recently? Does it have a roof?

New Inn Roofing
Pilotpaul, I think you are ok on this. I was in Bansko in September. The New Inn was pretty well finished in terms of superstructure and either the roof was on or it was pretty close. That was four months ago. Londonman

I've not sent next payment yet. I've asked my solicitor to check if roof is completed (though she can't get to bansko for 3 weeks so doubt they'll let me wait that long). I also emailed lakon couple of days ago to request photo before I send payment - they said their engineer is in process of taking them and they would send them as soon as they get them. So will see what comes of that.

Hi Why do agents not show regular updates of the building progress on their sites? We are buying property here, and property which isn't easily accessible from my armchair in Manchester!!! It is also not acceptable to ask someone to pay extra to set up a company because the developer wants to dodge tax. It is the same as going into Tesco's and paying £100 for your shopping and them saying "Would you mind accepting a receipt for £30 because my bosses want to pay less tax", and "If you want a receipt with £100 on it then you have to pay extra". It is mainly Brits who are buying property out there in Bansko, and the developers need to wake up to common European business practices. If another agent or developer tells me "its just the way they do things in Bulgaria" I will scream. It is our money, our liability and our risk. Can anyone else not see that people demanding a lower notary price are severely ripping us off???

Well put Growler

Purchase Price and Deeds
I have read a lot recently about the price put on the final deed both on this site and on other sites and a lot of people seem to be getting quite agitated about this. I too have given a lot of thought to this and this is the conclusion I have reached, for what it is worth! I have decided that I am Ok with the "taxable valuation" being put on the deeds rather than the actual price paid as I am sure that I will not be selling the studio before five years as I am certain that there will not be a resale market in this time frame as there will still be new developments and agents only want to sell these for their huge commissions. A sale after 5 years will therefore not incur CGT in Bulgaria but will give rise to a payment of CGT in the UK. My thinking on this is that in these circumstances the price shown on the deeds is irrelevant as, having sold the property, you will no longer have the deeds to show the Inland Revenue. What you will have is the original contract, which is a legal document and which shows the full purchase price and stage payments and you will also have your bank statements to show that these payments were in fact made to show to the Inland Revenue. I am convinced that the IR will therefore accept this as evidence of the initial purchase price and therefore I cannot forsee any problem at all. Any comments? Just keep them polite!!!

Pilot Paul I think you are spot on Only drawbacks and risks are 1)If they change the 5 year rule to say 20 years as other EU countries. 2) If you have a dispute and are ejected from the complex you will be compensated at the Notary price 3)If you want to remortgage in the future the bank's lawyer may not like your undervaluation 4)If you want to sell and your buyer needs a mortgage he will insist on the full price 5)If Bansko Municipality put a motorway through your building your compulsory purchase price will be as per the Notary Deed. 6)Your UK taxes are helping to build roads in Bulgaria which the Bulgarians can't afford owing to their tax revenue being too low. Can't think of any others Mono

Hi Mono / Paul I can think of others.... 1) The IR ask to see your notary deed 2) The IR request the notary value from the local municipality Everyone has their own opinion on this, however, what would you do if you walked into a shop and bought a new TV for £200 and they gave you a receipt for £60? Three things: 1) I would be nervous of the future implications to me 2) I would be nervous with why the seller is doing this (do I want to spend a lot of money with this person/company) 3) I would make sure I got what is rightfully mine by insisting for the correct receipt. I think that the same principals lie for this notary issue. I don't like people making tons of money out of me at my expense....... I am sure I am not alone.