Bulgaria's Notary Chamber has proposed the introduction of a final power of attorney in a bid to reduce property fraud.

"This is how the elderly and the sick, including alcohol and drug addicts, will be able to entitle only their closest people to manage their property," Dimitar Tanev, Chairman of the Notary Chamber said.

Data of the prosecutor's office shows that a total of 90% of the people who fall victims to the so-called real estate mafia are elderly or psychologically unstable.

New rules that envisage that all property transactions in Bulgaria must be carried out via bank transfer were approved at second reading by the parliament at the end of September as part of amendments to the Notary Act.

Whilst the change to buying and selling was first mentioned a year ago as part of a bigger plan to reduce corruption in the property sector, they have not come to fruition.

There is hope that the new rules will help to reduce property fraud and money laundering, as well as ensuring that all fees and taxes owing to the state are paid.

The legislative changes will require that both the vendor and the buyer specify their bank accounts for conducting a property deal. Alternatively, they could use the account of their notary public.

These legislative changes are seen as the first step to an all-out regulation of payment in purchase deals through a special law to be called Deposit Account Act.

There is also hope that the new laws may inspire more confidence from overseas property buyers.

But, there are risks to this new system, as sellers and buyers may want to avoid the new fee charged by the bank for servicing the transactions.

Thus, they may agree a lower price for the official transaction and then do a cash deal privately. This is common in France where the new system planned for Bulgaria is already in use.

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