True Life Stories
avoid being ripped off in Bulgaria!
.
Power of Attorney Letters .
.The idea behind leaving a third party a power of attorney to perform .certain
tasks is a sound one, but only if the power of attorney is limited .to
the tasks that you want preformed,well written, and can not be used
.for anything other than the tasks you authorized. .
.However, prior to 2007, Notaries in Bulgaria did not have to keep copies .of
Power of Attorney letters. .
.This meant that a power of attorney could be given to someone and that
.person, if he was dishonest, could alter the power of attorney and give
.themselves extra rights. .
.Like the right to sell property on your behalf, for example. .
.I met a man (who has asked me not to name him) who gave a power
.of attorney to another man so that local taxes and misc bills could
be .paid when the man was in England. .
.The man had a lovely house with a large swimming pool in the gardens.
.
.Imagine his surprise when he flew from England to Bulgaria only to
arrive .at his villa to find it padlocked. .
.It later transpired that
the man with the power of attorney had sold the property. .
.Now, in this case, the man was fortunate. .
.He contacted the Police and saw
that the matter went through the .Bulgarian Court system. .
.It was a great day when the Courts gave him his house back. .
.Sadly, someone has emptied all his goods from the house. .
.Since 2007 all Notaries have to keep copies of power of attorney letters
.relating to real estate sales. .
.In
addition, a sale of a property can
now only take place with a written .decision from the Owner. .
.Another sign that Bulgaria is indeed improving. .
.However, I would go further, and ask that all powers of attorney should
have .written translations at the time they are signed and that the
translation .is preformed by a licensed Translator. .
.As a foot note, I was telling my lawyer this story the other day, .he
replied: .
"its a serious problem, we have 10 cases just in this area".
.