<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="0.92">
<channel>
	<title>LM Legal Services Blog</title>
	<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog</link>
	<description>Advice when you need it most</description>
	<lastBuildDate>Mon, 14 May 2012 14:31:44 +0000</lastBuildDate>
	<docs>http://backend.userland.com/rss092</docs>
	<language>en</language>
	
	<item>
		<title>BULGARIAN ECONOMY</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Although that according to the official statistics the construction of buildings has decreased by 1,4% on an annual basis, the index of the construction has increased by 2.1% in March 2012 in comparison with March 2011. The production of the construction industry in March 2012 has increased by 7.1% annually. This is mainly due to [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/883</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>BULGARIAN PROPERTY MARKET &#8211; REVIEW</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Although that according to the estate agencies, the number of property sales in Bulgaria has increased by 22% in 2011, it must be underlined that this includes the sale of Mall Sofia for 100 million Euros which in fact was about 55% of the investments in the last year. In the last quarter of 2011 [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/881</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>DECLARED INCOMES AND TAXATION</title>
		<description><![CDATA[According to the Bulgarian Inland Revenue Agency about 177 million levs (85 million Euros) have been declared as income from rent of property. The total amount of the declared income that also included the income of free-lancers was 587 million levs or 290 million Euros. In the second largest Bulgarian city Plovdiv, despite the recession, [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/879</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>PROPERTY PRICES IN SOFIA</title>
		<description><![CDATA[According to the Land Registry, the property sales in the Bulgarian capital Sofia have increased for a second consecutive quarter reaching 3324 sales in the first three months of 2012. On the average in Sofia have been completed 37 sales per day – an annual decrease of 8.8%. The property prices in the capital have [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/877</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>PROPERTY PRICES IN BULGARIA</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In the first quarter of 2012 the property prices in Bulgaria have decreased in 17 regional cities on an annual basis, while price increases have been registered in 10 cities. In 2011 the property prices have dropped by 6.1% on average and at the end of last year the average property price in Sofia was [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/875</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>SOFIA &#8211; THE PROPERTY MARKET</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In the last year the property prices in Sofia continued dropping. The sharpest decrease was of the prices of studios – which have dropped by 6.9% in comparison with April 2011. Now they sell for less than 700 Euros per square metre, while in 2011 their price was 733 Euros per square metres on average. [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/873</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>BULGARIA &#8211; FINANCIAL ANALYSIS</title>
		<description><![CDATA[According to leading Bulgarian banks, the value of the properties owned by Bulgarians has decreased by 3 billion levs (1.6 billion Euros) to 208 billion levs (106 billion Euros) in the last quarter of 2011. At the same time the savings held in bank accounts have increased by 1.4 billion levs and at the end [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/871</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>BULGARIAN BANKS</title>
		<description><![CDATA[At the end of 2011 the profit of the Bulgarian banks has reached 586 million levs (270 million Euros). In the last three years the Bulgarian banks have saved their profit to create a buffer zone of capital for emergency situations. Thus at the end of last year in the banking system there was a [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/869</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>THE BULGARIAN PROPERTY MARKET &#8211; OVERVIEW</title>
		<description><![CDATA[It is clear that the foreign buyers are the most influential on the property market in Bulgaria. Currently, the most active buyers are the Russians and the Russian speaking citizens of the former Soviet republics with share exceeding 40% of all buyers. They mainly buy holiday apartments in ready developments at the Black Sea (90% [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/867</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>AGRICULTURAL LAND</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The sale of agricultural land in Bulgaria has peaked up in March 2012 after two months of stagnation due to the winter. The areas of Vidin, Stara Zagora, Razgrad and Haskovo are the most attractive for the buyers. In 2011 the number of sales of agricultural land has increased by 10-13% on the average and [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/865</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>NEW LAW</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The National Union of the Bulgarian estate agents will propose to the parliament to pass the drafts of the new Law for the Work of the Estate Agents. This project has the support of the Notary Chamber, the Surveyors Chamber, the Builders Chamber and the Confederation of the Customers in Bulgaria. Such kind of law [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/863</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>RURAL PROPERTIES</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In the beginning of 2012 the market of rural properties in Bulgaria is slower than in the same period of 2011. This might be due to the exceptionally harsh winter this year. The average price of houses sold in rural areas in the first two months of 2012 is 15 500 Euros. This price for [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/861</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>BUSINESS PROPERTIES</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Globally, the investments in business properties have increased by 14% in 2011 in comparison with 2010. The highest growth was in North America – 52%, followed by Europe and the Middle East – 17%. In Central and Eastern Europe, these investments have reached 19 billion Euros in 2011, which is a growth of 76% in [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/859</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>UNFINISHED CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Many construction projects in Bulgaria launched in the days of the property boom have been left unfinished. Some people look at this as an opportunity to destroy these semi-finished buildings in order to collect scrap which they later sell. The most striking case is in Blagoevgrad, not far from the ski resort of Bansko, where [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/857</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>PROPERTY MARKET IN SOFIA – A REVIEW</title>
		<description><![CDATA[Although in comparison with other Central and Eastern European capitals the property market in the Bulgarian capital Sofia is not so profitable at the moment, still in 2011 it has displayed signs of stabilization. In comparison to 2010, there was not much change in the demand and in the properties on offer. The situation in [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/855</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>THE PROPERTY MARKET &#8211; OVERVIEW</title>
		<description><![CDATA[According to analysts the prices of apartments in Bulgaria will not decrease further. The experts refer to the prices of actual purchases, underlining that the advertised prices sometimes are unrealistically high. There is already are a mismatch of the demand and the properties on offer. The most desirable properties have sold and there is a [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/853</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>BULGARIA’S GDP AND TRADE</title>
		<description><![CDATA[According to the National Statistics Institute, Bulgaria’s GDP is still 4.4 % bellow its highest pre-recession level of the last quarter of 2008. It is expected to catch up in the end of 2012. The economic growth is expected to be about 2%. The slowing down of the economies of the major economic partners of [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/851</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>OFFICE SPACE &#8211; STATISTICS</title>
		<description><![CDATA[In 2011 the prices of offices in Bulgaria continued dropping, although the average decrease of 3.48% on an annual basis is nothing near to the 18% drop in 2010. Buyers usually expect a price decrease of 30% in case of purchase. The highest price drop was in Blagroevdrad – by 7.71% and in Varna by [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/849</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>NEW BUILDINGS &#8211; STATISTICS</title>
		<description><![CDATA[According to the Bulgarian National Statistics Institute the number of the completed new buildings in Bulgaria (in the country the buildings must receive the so-called “Permission to Use – Act 16” to be considered completed) in the last quarter of 2011 has increased by 34.5% in comparison with the previous quarter, totaling 928. The number [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/847</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>THE AMENDMENTS TO THE LAW FOR THE FORESTS</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The amendments to the Bulgarian Law of the Forests were passed by the Bulgarian Parliament. According to them ski slopes can be constructed on state owned land without the need to take out this land from the forest fund. Some of the amendments concerned the production and sale of timber. The easement (the right to [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/845</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>BULGARIAN ECONOMY &#8211; FORECASTS FOR 2012</title>
		<description><![CDATA[According to the report of the Center for Economic Development the annual inflation in Bulgaria for 2011 was 2.8%. The predictions for 2012 are that the inflation will be between 2,5% and 3%. The unemployment for 2011 was on the average of 10,2% and for 2012 the expectations are that it will reach 10,5%. It [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/843</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>PROPERTY PRICES IN BULGARIA &#8211; FORECAST</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The expectations of analysts are that the property prices in Bulgaria will continue to drop on average by 5%. The top prices fetch luxury properties in Varna on the Black Sea, where they sell on average for 1500 levs (760 Euros) per square metre, while the properties in the capital Sofia are in the second [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/841</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>BULGARIA-EU – NO CONCESSIONS</title>
		<description><![CDATA[After his first visit to Brussels, the Bulgarian President Rossen Plevneliev said that there has not been a positive response to the demand made by the Bulgarian Prime Minister Boiko Borissov the EU to increase its financial share in infrastructure projects in Bulgaria. Currently Bulgaria pays 20% and the EU 80%. During his meeting with [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/839</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>BULGARIAN STATE BONDS</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The Bulgarian Ministry of Finance has issued state bonds to the value of 35 million levs (18 million Euros) with maturity date in seven years time and a coupon of 4.45%, which shows increasing trust of the investors. The bonds were bought by banks (about 36%), pension funds (48%) and insurance companies (13%). The coupon [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/837</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>THE DRAFT AMENDMENTS TO THE LAW FOR THE FORESTS</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The Bulgarian government has approved the draft amendments to the Law for the Forests and has sent them to the parliament for voting. According to the draft amendments more than 100 state owned companies that look after the forests will be allowed to cut and sell timber. Until now only private companies have been doing [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/835</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>SOFIA – PAYMENT OF PROPERTY TAX</title>
		<description><![CDATA[This year the citizens of Sofia and the companies based in the Bulgarian capital must think twice before deciding to delay payment of their property tax. Sofia Municipality has focused on collecting debt from individual tax payers whose unpaid property tax exceeds 1000 levs and from companies owing more than 50 000 levs. Until now [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/833</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>SOFIA &#8211; REVIEW OF PRICES OF LUXURY PROPERTIES</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The prices of large properties in Sofia have dropped sharply. Only in the area of Oborishte where the most expensive properties in the capital are located, prices have increased by 4% and start at 923 Euros/sq.m. , reaching 4331 Euros/sq.m. At the same time in the affluent area of Lozenets the property prices have dropped [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/831</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>FOREIGNERS BUYING LAND IN BULGARIA 2012</title>
		<description><![CDATA[After its accession into the EU in 2007 Bulgaria had the right to keep in force its existing laws concerning the purchase of a second property by citizens of EU member states and citizens of states signatories to the European Economic Area Agreement (EEAA) for five years. This term has practically expired on 1 January [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/829</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>SOFIA – PROPERTY RANKING</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The Daily Telegraph has published the ranking of The Global Property Guide Europe’s Top Places to Invest in Property. The Bulgarian capital Sofia took 17-th place overtaking Prague (18), Paris (20), Lisbon (22) and London (26). According to The Global Property Guide, the positive feature of Sofia is the pro-landlord rental market. The negative feature [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/827</link>
			</item>
	<item>
		<title>BULGARIA &#8211; REGIONAL DIFFERENCES</title>
		<description><![CDATA[The differences in the standard of living among the regions in Bulgaria continue to grow despite the European funding. The poorest regions – the North-Western and the Northern Central ones – continue to lag behind the rest of the country. At the same time Sofia receives the largest share of the European funding per capita [...]]]></description>
		<link>http://lmlegalservices.com/blog/archives/825</link>
			</item>
</channel>
</rss>
<!-- This Quick Cache file was built for (  lmlegalservices.com/blog/feed/rss ) in 0.36777 seconds, on May 23rd, 2012 at 5:06 pm UTC. -->
<!-- This Quick Cache file will automatically expire ( and be re-built automatically ) on May 23rd, 2012 at 6:06 pm UTC -->
