The Absent Seller and the Expired Power of Attorney
On 12 March, a notary in Plovdiv receives an application for certification of a notarial deed of sale of an apartment worth BGN 180,000. The seller, Mrs. Ivanova, is abroad and is represented by her son under a notarized power of attorney executed in 2019. The power of attorney authorizes sale of 'the apartment at 14 Vasil Levski Street' but does not state the cadastral identifier, and it contains no clause on receiving the purchase price. The buyer has already paid a BGN 20,000 deposit directly to the son. When the notary asks for the original power of attorney, the son presents only a certified copy made in 2020. The notary also notices the seller's identity card copy shows an address different from the one in the property register. The transaction is scheduled for the same afternoon, and the buyer insists on completion because his mortgage pre-approval expires in three days.
1. May the notary certify the deed on the basis of the certified copy of the power of attorney? Explain the evidentiary requirements.
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The notary should not proceed on a certified copy alone. A power of attorney for a disposition of immovable property must be established by the notary through the original or an officially certified transcript, and the notary must verify the scope of the representative's authority. A copy made in 2020 proves only that a document existed at that time; it does not allow the notary to check for later revocation, which the seller could have effected unilaterally. The proper course is to require the original, or a transcript certified by a notary or another competent authority, and to compare the identity data of the principal. If the original cannot be produced, the notary should refuse certification until it is supplied or a fresh power of attorney is executed before a Bulgarian consular officer. The buyer's expiring mortgage pre-approval is a commercial pressure that cannot override the notary's duty of verification.
2. Does the description of the property and the absence of a clause on receiving the price create obstacles to certification?
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Yes, potentially both. First, the power of attorney identifies the property only by street address. In practice the notary must be able to match the object of the authorization to the property in the deed; where the cadastral identifier is absent, the notary should check the property register and, if there is any doubt that the address could refer to more than one unit, seek clarification or a supplementary authorization. Second, a power of attorney for sale normally needs to address the price and, critically, the receipt of the purchase price. If the son is to receive the BGN 20,000 deposit and the balance, the notary must confirm that the authorization covers receipt of payment; otherwise the payment should be made to the seller's account or into a notarial deposit account. Paying the representative without such authority risks a later claim by the seller that the debt was not discharged.
3. How should the notary handle the discrepancy in the seller's registered address and the buyer's urgency?
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The notary should treat the address discrepancy as an identity and capacity verification issue. The notary must establish that the person named in the power of attorney is the registered owner and that the identity document data are consistent or explainable (for example, a recent change of address). This is done by checking the identity document, the property register extract and, if needed, a certificate of current address. If the discrepancy cannot be resolved, the notary should postpone certification. As for urgency, the notary must explain that the three-day mortgage deadline does not permit shortcuts: a deed certified in breach of verification duties may be attacked, and the notary may face disciplinary and civil liability. The parties can be offered a later appointment once the original power of attorney, a clarifying authorization and the register extract are in hand.