Your own home in Bulgaria — is it worth building or better to buy ready-made

Whether it is better to build a house yourself or buy a ready-made cottage on the coast of Bulgaria is something everyone has to decide for themselves. You can read recommendations from experts on forums and listen to your neighbours' feedback, but just as you choose your friends and your life goals, the decision to buy or build must be your own.

Beyond personal desire and dreams, the decision is influenced by the following factors:

• Prices. In most cases, the budget for buying a ready-made house has to be higher than for building one. The exception is an urgent sale or the presence of hidden problems.
• Time. Building a cottage takes from 1.5 to 2 years. This is a normal period for the foundation to settle and for construction and cosmetic work to be completed.
• Legislation. There are legal nuances that must be taken into account. For example, to build a house with an area of more than 100 sq. m, you have to hire a licensed construction company.
• Location. Having decided to build a house, you need to make sure you can do so in the place you have chosen. Construction in the mountains, in a forest, or by the sea can have restrictions. These are linked to the status of the land — for example, when it comes to a protected area — or to seismic status. In some cases, it is more practical to buy a ready-made property with a view of the sea or forest, carry out renovations and bring it to the desired condition. This will save nerves, time, effort and money. 

But still, if you dream of building a house on the coast of Bulgaria and moving there, why not make your dream a reality?

Buying a plot of land

So, you have decided to build your house yourself and settled on a location. 

The next step is to buy a plot of land in Bulgaria. It is better if electricity and water are already connected to it. A plot of this type is called in Bulgarian «урегулиран поземлен имот» or UPI. 

If you like a piece of land without UPI status (there are such plots on the market too), consult specialists on the possibility of connecting water and electricity. In addition, obtain your neighbours' agreement in principle to running the utilities through. This will allow you to obtain UPI status quickly.

By the way, you may prefer another option — buying a cheap house for demolition. Prices for property of this type are low. Using a project, you can rebuild the structure, carry out renovations and quickly obtain a comfortable new cottage.

When buying land or a house with a plot, it is important to know about the existing restrictions. Citizens of Bulgaria and the European Union can buy land as an individual or as a legal entity. Citizens of the CIS and other countries can purchase a plot only through a company.

Bulgaria Avenue helps to set up a company and provides its legal and accounting support. The registration period is 1-2 days.

How much does it cost to build your own house in Bulgaria?

Once you have decided to build your own house, you need to draw up a rough calculation of expenses in advance. The budget is affected by the cost of labour, the price of materials and the location. 

An important factor is who obtains the documents, coordinates the construction and physically builds the house. Provided that the area of the building being erected does not exceed 100 sq. m, and you have experience in construction and a building team, you can do it yourself.  If you need speed and you are not confident in your abilities, it is worth turning to a licensed construction firm. When the built-up area is more than 100 m², the developer must be registered with the association of builders. 

But even after taking all factors into account, when you come right up to the construction stage and to hiring a building company, you will be surprised. The internet is full of prices ranging from 200 euros per m² to 1,000 - 1,500 euros per m2. Without understanding the specifics of building a house in Bulgaria, it is easy to get the budget wrong.

The key question is the stage at which the firm considers its duties fulfilled. 

Several stages are distinguished:

• Rough construction. The foundation, frame and roof have been built. There is no thermal insulation, no door or window openings, no ventilation, water or electricity. Act 14 has been obtained.
• The cottage has been prepared for occupation but has not been commissioned. The house has windows, doors, water supply, sewerage and electricity. In some cases, a turnkey renovation has been carried out. Act 15 has been obtained.
• The house has been commissioned. Renovation may be turnkey, but this condition is not mandatory. Act 16 has been obtained.

Calculating construction costs 

As an example, let us take a two-storey house with a built-up area of 200 m². The roof is a four-sided hip roof covered with tiles. The perimeter shape is a quadrilateral. 

Design documentation, taxes

Before starting the construction of the house, it is necessary to prepare the documents and pay the fees and taxes. 

The total amount will come to about 16,000 leva and includes: 

• drawings and project documentation at 44 leva/m².
• Fire safety approval.
• Energy efficiency assessment.
• Building permit. This will cost approximately 2,600 leva. 
• Connection to utilities. This is the connection to the main electrical panel / 15 kW /, sewerage and water supply. The approximate costs under this item are 1,500 leva.

Start of construction

The first stage is the preparation of the working area. The goal is to keep the construction site clean and orderly and to ensure safety. 

To do this, a solid fence must be erected (a mandatory requirement), temporary access to water and electricity provided, and security and a temporary toilet for the workers organised. It is important to ensure access for excavator equipment. 

The approximate cost of the work, services and materials is 3,000-6,000 leva, depending on the scale of the project.

Preparing the house for occupation, Act 15

The main stage of erecting the building is the rough construction, or the erection of the frame. The approximate cost of work and materials is 76,000 leva.

This stage includes several sub-stages, the high quality of which ensures the reliability of the building.

Foundation

It is possible to build a strip foundation or a plinth. The decision depends on whether you need an underground floor for a garage, workshop or fitness room. 

As an example, let us take the arrangement of a strip foundation:

• Excavation of earth for building a house with a first-floor area of 100 m² will require 1-2 machine shifts. The cost of the earth excavation is about 500 leva.
• The cost of concreting, including labour, will be around 900 leva.
• Formwork at 32 leva/m2.
• Reinforcement — about 36 kg/m2 at a price of 2 leva/kg.
• Laying reinforced concrete — 0.5 m3/m2 of built-up area. The cost of services is approximately 130 leva/m2.
• Thermal insulation of the walls of the house at the foundation. If there is no garage, insulation to a depth of 1 m will be required. The materials used are concrete, primer and a drainage membrane. The cost of work and materials will come to about 2,500 leva.
• Concreting around the perimeter of the foundation. This part of the work costs 1,600 leva.

In total, building a strip foundation for a 100 m2 house without a plinth will cost about 12,400 leva. Additional cladding of the floor surface around the house with tiles or stone costs 5,000 leva.

Walls

The cost of the walls being erected depends on the material used, the type of insulation and the cladding. Rough construction does not include the installation of windows and doors, but overall this is an important item in the budget. The cost is usually 32,000 leva. This figure includes the erection of brick walls. Covering them with plaster costs an additional 14,400 leva, at a rate of 60 leva/m2. 

Forming a plinth at the roof cornice and on the wall will cost 2,200 leva. 

Another important item of expenditure when erecting the walls is the windows. For standard PVC frames with double glazing, you will have to pay approximately 11,000 leva. Panoramic windows or frames of non-standard shape cost more. 

Roof

One of the most labour-intensive and expensive stages of building a house is the roof.
Its construction requires the erection of a wooden base, insulation, waterproofing material and tile cladding. It also requires the fitting of cornices and gutters. 
The cost of work and materials is 16,000 leva. Pouring a concrete slab for the attic floor will cost an additional 8,000 leva.

Water supply and sewerage

A modern house is impossible to imagine without a permanent system of water supply and sewerage.

There are two ways to arrange this:

• Connection to the municipal utilities. Work and materials, provided the municipal water main is nearby, will cost 6,400 leva.
• An independent water supply and sewerage system. Arranging a borehole, septic tank and installing probes and treatment facilities costs 12,000 leva.

Electricity supply

Work on connecting the electricity, running the wiring and installing the electrical panel, switches, sockets and lighting around the house will cost on average 11,000 leva. 

This amount includes 2 electrical distribution boards, about 1,000 m of cable, 200 junction boxes, 90 sockets and switches, and 3-5 lamps installed around the perimeter of the cottage. 

Heating

Even though we are talking about building a house in Bulgaria, heating is an important issue. From October to April, the property will have to be heated. 

In modern construction, 3 heating options are used:

• Using air conditioners. For a house of 200 m, 5 air conditioners are required. The costs of installing them will come to 6,400 leva. The advantage of this method is the possibility of using the equipment to cool the air in summer. At the construction stage of the house, this solution is the most advantageous. 
• Arranging a full heating system using radiators, a boiler, a chimney and a stove running on pellets (fuel granules). In some cases, gas or firewood is used for heating. On average, the cost of the heating system will come to 14,000 leva.
• Underfloor heating. This is the most expensive option to install. The price of a heated floor starts at 20,000 leva and can reach 40,000 leva.

Yard 

Act 15 can be obtained without arranging the yard and the plot around the house. But obtaining Act 16 without this is impossible. Landscaping work can cost, on average, 14,000 leva.

Fence

The temporary fence erected at the stage of preparing the construction site is recommended to be replaced with a real one upon completion of construction. For this, a concrete structure 120 cm high is often built, with 60 cm of it underground. Work and materials, as well as the installation of a metal door, will cost 8,000 leva. The cost of installing a wrought-iron fence depends on the type of ironwork, the dimensions and the design.

Turnkey finishing

Having built a finished house with a fence and heating and obtained Act 16, it does not mean that you can use the building for living. Finishing of the ceilings, walls and floor is needed. The cost starts at 100 leva/sq. m. 

In addition, furniture and household appliances are required. 

Things to pay attention to

Despite a clearly analysed cost breakdown, in the construction of private cottages there is always room for unforeseen expenses. They are linked to the specifics of the terrain, the weather and the materials used. It is recommended to set aside on average 10% of the budget for force majeure. 

We want your home to be warm and cosy. We want you to feel free and calm in it. Bulgaria Avenue will, together with you, realise your dream and will select for you a house or a plot by the sea, in the mountains, in the city or in a village.