This Guide covers the following topics.
- Which properties can I find with ESi?
- I would like to join ESi to get my share. How does that work?
- Legal section.
The New Way to Buy
Equity Share from ESI is a simple, hassle-free, yet professional and safe.
Which properties can I find with ESi
- ESi selects properties from reputed developers worldwide, for lifestyle as well as for investments.
- How ESi selects properties you can read in close-up in the “Owner’s Pack” which you can request >> Owners pack.
- ESi also offers the option of individual owners of vacation homes to join Equity Share and sell shares in their holiday home. This is called “Equity Release” and if that is interesting for you, please follow the link for more information >> What is Equity release
I would like to join ESi to get my share. How does that work?
- Scout a property:
As you are here on the website, you may have found a properly to your liking; or you may have used our Tailor made facility to register your interest.
- Get support:
You can use the web site FAQ to research ESI or simply contact us and ask a manager to call you to answer your questions personaly.
- Express interest:
Once you have Found your property and have decided on the share value you are interested in you will be asked to deposit your funds into our, secure ESi Client account with ING bank.
- Legal steps of setting up your shares:
ESi will send to you the necessary legal papers for you to sign, by which you agree to join the specific ESi-Ltd which (will) govern your property and that you will assign the rights to manage this Ltd to Equity Share International.Of course you will be kept informed on the management of the Ltd via your personal login-code on our website an you will be invited to the annual meetings, should you be interested to attend. Otherwise, all management of your Ltd and your apartment will be handled by ESi.
- Financial statement:
ESi will send you a statement which shows your financial investment overview.
- Registration as shareholder:
Upon receipt of the paperwork and full payment of the investment from the ESi Client account, ESi will register you as shareholder of the ESi-Ltd with the Bulgarian Registration Agency for Commerce.
- Being an owner and ESi-member:
Now you are the proud owner of an Equity Share and have thus the shared title in your holiday home, and you are assigned 13 weeks of personal use of your property.
Why a Bulgarian Ltd-structure
The comparison of various legal and fiscal regimes around the European Union shows that the Republic of Bulgaria has a wide range of advantages when it comes to governing (smaller) companies. Like in many countries, the company form of Limited Liability Company exists, which can be set-up with just over EUR 2.500 as minimum registered capital. The new amendments on the Law on Commerce introduced the Registry Agency on Commerce in the beginning of 2008. Registration of companies is thus done nation wide and can be done in one day (in most cases). Also many internationally reputed banks have operational offices in Bulgaria, and therefore also banking is easy and safe.
The fiscal regime in Bulgaria has a flat-rate tax of just 10% over the net profit of the company, which makes Bulgaria among the two countries in the EU-27 which have the lowest corporate income tax.
Bulgaria further has double-tax Treaties with most other countries in the EU, and therefore fiscal treatment of your profit, should you have sold your share, can be done according the relevant bilateral Treaty. How such a Treaty works for you is a question which you should ask your fiscal advisor, although ours partners of Rex Consulting (member of Russell Bedford) can also be of help.
Finally, the possession of shares rather than a holiday home (in kind) is often much easier to inherit.
Legal procedures and your representation in Bulgaria
The set-up of an Ltd sounds like a very complex issue just to govern one premise. Actually it is not, because the fruitful effects in the long-run will make keeping and managing the property very easy.
First, each investor must agree to become a shareholder in the specific ESi-Ltd, and signs for that the “Articles of Incorporation”, easier said the official rules of the company. This document must also be legalized at the Bulgarian Embassy. In turn, the ESi-Ltd confirms to accept the investor as shareholder. Together with a signed copy of your passport, these are the official legal documents to set-up the company.
Second, the investor also signs that he accepts the Equity Share International will be the manager of that ESi-Ltd, by which he actually only has the joy of his investment and not the burden of keeping and managing it.
Third, ESi will also prepare the forms to activate a “digital signature” by the official authorized company who manages these signatures in Bulgaria. Having such signature will make it easier to sign all relevant company documents when you are outside Bulgaria.
These three sets of documents you need to send back to ESi. So, you see, setting-up an easy to manage Ltd is actually quite simple and you can do all that from your own country.
Contracts, Funds and Guarantees
All stages of the buying process are subject to contracts and agreements, which have been drafted in Bulgarian as legal language but also accompanied by a column-base translation in English. These contracts have been carefully crafted according the latest legislation and practice of Law.
During the reservation stage, your deposit (see above) of € 1.500 is fully refundable and is guaranteed by the fact that your money is held in a blocked ESi-Client Account. The deposit agreement states that as from the sale of the 3rd share, your deposit is non-refundable
If you decide to make an intermediate payment to secure your investment, the full amount of this intermediate payment will be held in the blocked ESi-Client Account for future purchase of your ¼-share in the ESi-Ltd of your property.
So, at all times the safety of clients’ money is guaranteed.
|
