In general, foreign individuals can purchase and own
real estate (land or buildings) in Bulgaria only if they
buy through the medium of a Bulgarian limited company.
A person buying an apartment does not need to do this.
This is because you only ‘own’ your apartment, not the
land it is built upon. You need not be too worried about
this. Your rights over it continue for ever. Even if the
property burns down you are allowed to rebuild. It is
just that it is not, officially, classified as the
ownership of land.
Some apartments are sold with a share in the land upon
which they are built. In this case you will need to own,
at least the land, via a Bulgarian company.
You can always, as a foreign individual, register a
company in Bulgaria and buy the property through that
company. ‘a company owned by a foreign person in the
Bulgaria is considered to be a Bulgarian legal entity
and, as such, may acquire real estate ownership rights
without any restriction- whether the real estate is
acquired for business or for some other purpose. This
applies even if the company is 100% foreign owned. All
the necessary procedures for establishing the company
can be completed within approximately one month.