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Some of the most far-reaching news to affect overseas owners of property in Bulgaria for some time is the fact that failure to re-register property or land purchased in the country before 2008 could result in the property being seized by authorities, reports leading property portal House Sales Bulgaria (http://www.housesalesbulgaria.com/).

As you may well be aware, foreigners are only allowed to own real estate in Bulgaria if they do so through a Bulgarian company; they cannot purchase property in Bulgaria which comes with land (and even many apartments are considered by law to include land) in their own name if they are a non-national. The area of the property decreed by law to constitute land has to be purchased through a registered Bulgarian property. So far, so straight-forward; however, any foreign national which purchased property in Bulgaria with land (or a land parcel in Bulgaria) through a Bulgarian registered company before 2008 must re-register that company or run the risk of losing their property or land altogether.

Bulgarian commercial law stipulates that any companies set up by foreign nationals to purchase property and land in Bulgaria before 2008 has to re-register with the Bulgarian Registry Agency before December 31^st 2010. Failure to do so will result in that company being taken off the register, effectively liquidating that company. As in most cases of liquidation, the owners of the company in question are responsible for the costs of liquidation but what's more, any company assets will be lost, namely the land or property purchased through the company.

General opinion from property and legal experts is that this requirement has been publicised too little and far too late for the deadline, and the fear is that many foreign owners of real estate in Bulgaria will miss the deadline through ignorance. The message, albeit late, is clear: whether you want to sell property in Bulgaria or simply keep your property in Bulgaria, if it was purchased through a company before 2008, it is imperative to re-register it without delay and before the end of this year. To find out further information on this and all of the latest pertinent news for owners and purchasers of Bulgarian property, go to http://www.housesalesbulgaria.com/.