The seller backs out after a preliminary contract: can you still obtain the property?

You have signed a preliminary agreement, paid the agreed amount and are waiting for notarial completion. The seller says a better offer has arrived and proposes returning your money. That proposal alone does not necessarily terminate the agreement or oblige you to accept it.

First decide what you want: the property or an exit with an appropriate settlement of the consequences. The answer guides the next steps.

What Article 19 makes possible

A preliminary agreement for a future transaction requiring notarial form must be in writing and contain the essential terms of the final contract. Bulgarian law allows either party to seek a court judgment concluding the final agreement.

This is a legal remedy, not an automatic guarantee of ownership. Relevant questions include validity and terms, whether performance is due, the seller's title and the other requirements for transfer. The buyer's obligations also matter: what has been paid, what remains payable and when.

A missed appointment is not necessarily termination

Expiry of the agreed date does not invariably make the contract disappear. Clauses concerning deadlines, termination and breach must be read together. A demand for performance and a notice seeking rescission can have different effects.

If you still want the property, an unconsidered statement that you are withdrawing and demanding your money back can complicate that position. Do not sign a full settlement before understanding which claims it releases.

Double the deposit is not a universal answer

Article 93 requires earnest money and the relevant legal conditions. Not every payment called a deposit or Bulgarian kaparo has that legal character. Choosing performance is also different from withdrawing and claiming double earnest money.

Contractual penalties or damages may be relevant, but their basis, compatibility and amount require assessment. The remedies mentioned in an agreement should not simply be added together.

If a sale to someone else is possible

Seek review promptly. Registration of the statement of claim and possible interim protection may matter. They do not retrospectively defeat every earlier transfer and cannot be replaced by a letter to the estate agent.

Assemble the signed agreement, amendments, payment records, correspondence, completion arrangements and available finance documents. Preserve evidence of your readiness to perform your own obligations.