LAWYER ALEXANDER NIKOLOV: TRUSTED GUIDE IN REAL ESTATE DEALS

Real estate transactions are notoriously complicated and time- and energy-consuming. Not for the clients of Alexander Nikolov. Experienced, dedicated and goal-oriented, he is a trusted partner in all areas of real estate cases. He is an expert who is not only capable to navigate the complexities of the law, understand the essence of the case and delve into the details – he is also a skilled negotiator and psychologist, able to offer solutions that work and defend his clients' interests in the best possible way.

A graduate of Sofia University, he began specialising in civil, commercial and EU law while still a student, winning national case solution competitions five times. Today his practice specialises in commercial and corporate law, commercial transactions, real estate law, law of obligations, family and inheritance law, labour law, civil litigation and enforcement.

You became interested in property law while you were still at university. Why did you decide to focus on real estate cases?

In fact, civil and commercial law, with their diversity of cases and hypotheticals, attracted my attention while I was still at university. My interest in these areas of law, which together make up the private law of the State, is based on the fact that they present the practising lawyer, judge or notary with an endless range of complex and often very complicated problems that arise in the course of citizens' and companies' daily activities. Finding solutions to such cases is a source of great professional satisfaction.

To put it more simply, I was attracted to civil and commercial law by the immensity and diversity of their subject matter. Dealing with them requires the lawyer to think quickly and sharply and to take into account the specifics of each case in order to guide the client towards the most appropriate solution for the protection of his interests.

Real estate matters have been an integral part of my legal career since the very beginning, when I first had the opportunity to provide legal protection and assistance to clients in such cases.

From the very beginning, I found that the knowledge I had acquired at university – a broad legal culture and in-depth knowledge of various fields of law, could be applied in practice, especially in property cases, which are characterised by a high degree of complexity.

For example, if you need to obtain permission to build on a land plot for investment and construction. In such cases, not only the ownership of the land plot is of importance, but also the relationship between the owner and the developer. They must be regulated by the contract between these two parties. At the same time, if the land plot has been inherited or restituted, it is necessary to check whether the legal effects of the inheritance or restitution have been realised in practice. In addition, the lawyer should have adequate knowledge of the content of the right to build and the powers contained therein.

What legal challenges can a property deal pose for investors – and why is it best to have an experienced lawyer on our side when something like this happens?

Real estate matters are highly complex because they are the synthesis and meeting point of several different areas of law that regulate different public relations.

As a result, real estate problems are heterogeneous and appear in civil and commercial transactions in a series of manifestations on the same object – the property – of different elements belonging to separate legal fields.

This poses many challenges and requires the use of specialised and expert legal assistance and support. Clients, who may or may not be investors, can receive such legal assistance in its entirety only from a specialised lawyer.

Something more – real estate is a high-value, long-term asset. Therefore, transactions involving property should be carefully considered and supported by top legal expertise in order to avoid unwanted complications.

The parties to a deal can face challenges at every stage of their relationship – from the initial title search, to negotiating the terms of the contract, to the final payment and, in the case of a sale and purchase agreement, the closing of the transaction.

When a lawyer participates in the process of selling a property, their knowledge and practical skills will help them to guide clients through the process in the best possible and least stressful way.

Last but not least, real estate matters often require in-depth research of many documents in different institutions. For this reason, it is always beneficial for those involved in such transactions to have a lawyer at their side who can adequately protect their interests.

What are the most common obstacles that property owners face?

Property law is not only about rights – it is also about obligations. For example, in the case of a joint property, each owner is obliged to share the burdens. In most cases, these are the various expenses that should be paid according to the owner's share in the property.

At the same time, owners of self-contained properties must refrain from actions that prevent other owners from exercising their rights.

The concept that property rights include both rights and obligations is at the root of the most common obstacles faced by owners. Many of them believe that they have the full right to do whatever they want with their property. But this is misleading and simply wrong.

A good example is the hypothesis in which an individual owns an apartment in a block of flats. Buildings in commonhold are made up of self-contained objects owned by different owners. However, certain elements of the buildings, such as the external walls, the internal partitions between the separate units, the internal load-bearing walls, the columns, the beams, the roof of the building, the chimneys (if there are any), all types of installations and their central switchboards, the lifts, the gutters, etc., are common property. Therefore, it is only logical that the individual owner should not have the right to do anything that would affect common parts, including those located in their own apartment.

In practice, however, there are often cases where an individual owner does something in their property that affects the common parts of the building. This can prevent other owners in the building from using their flats.

Another common obstacle is building too close to neighbouring buildings, or planting tall plants or trees right next to a neighbour's property.

My personal impression is that all these obstacles are the result of the popular idea that the owners can do anything with their property. However, this is against the law.

How can you help property owners defend their property rights?

The provision of adequate legal assistance and support is a function of a proper understanding of the problem faced by the client. The law provides avenues for defence regardless of the particular case. However, it is up to the lawyer, as an expert, to choose the best defence strategy.

Therefore, when a client is faced with some of the above cases, I recommend to start negotiations with the other party to resolve the problem voluntarily. If the negotiations do not produce the desired results, my next advice for the client is to take the case to court so that the other party is ordered to stop its illegal and wrongful actions.

If the client is the owner of a property but another person is using it without any right, my usual advice is to go to court, which will order the defendant to vacate the property and to pay the owner compensation equal to the average rent for the time they have been using the property.

As I said, the defence depends on the particular infringement.

When is the best solution for joint owners to resolve the matter out of court – and what is your role in such a process?

In general, joint property owners have a common interest in the protection and good condition of their joint property. Therefore, the best thing for them to do is to come to an agreement on how to share the costs associated with their common property.

Property maintenance is about taking care of it and paying for it so that it remains in good condition for use. Improvements to the property increase its value. Often, however, only one or a few co-owners bear the brunt of paying for the necessary or beneficial expenditure, which naturally leads to disputes. In such cases, the best solution is for the co-owners to reach an out-of-court agreement to resolve the dispute.

They can do this with the help of a lawyer who will be able to guide them towards the best solution for each party and a balanced agreement that sets out terms that are acceptable to all.

Another case in which it is best for joint owners to reach an out-of-court agreement relates to the use of the property. Each joint owner has the right to use the property in proportion to their share of the property. If the property allows it, joint owners can enter into an agreement between them about the use of the property, which will allow all of them to actually use the common property.

The drafting of such an agreement is best done by a lawyer who specialises in property law and can provide relevant legal assistance.

Without breaching confidentiality, what has been the most challenging real estate case in your practice?

I cannot mention names or specific details. However, the most outstanding case in my practice so far is one that I recently completed. It was a complicated restrospective title search on a property in Sofia, going back almost 115 years.

The history of the property dated back to the time when the young Bulgarian state had just gained final and full independence, and the original law applicable to the case was the 1904 Property, Ownership and Rights of Way Act.

From a practical point of view, the case was particularly complicated because, during this long period, the property had been the subject of many legal transactions – exchanges, donations, sales. It was necessary to take into account inheritance and legal relationships that created a long chain of inheritance. At the same time, I had to consider the legal effects of the judicial and voluntary division of the property.

This complicated factology, in its entirety, had to be set in three independent timelines, which, because of the specific legal consequences of the different legal acts relating to the property in question, were subject to laws that operated in three different historical periods and intersected in the present. It was on their interaction that the final conclusion on the ownership of the property today depended.

As a matter of fact, I felt really satisfied as a professional when I successfully dealt with the case and offered the client the specialised legal assistance and support he needed.

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