Anyone Purchasing Property From Ambasun Bulgaria?

mark08

I am not paying my final payment until I am happy with the developer and my solicitor.At present definatley not singing of same sheet.I would be intrested to know how many of us are holding payments and how many have paid final payments.I also think it might be a good idea to find a good Bulgarian solicitor to act on our behalf.The pattern is we are all in dispute with the developer,solicitors and Ambasun uk.I am starting to believe the problem is in Bulgaria.They have agreed that they have had payment,except final but still question my contract.NO furniture pack now,nothing to do with developer.IT IS in my contract however, but not in the new contract they want us to sign.At present solicitor is going along with developer as she says we might have a contract not approved by her.I have loads of question for her and hope I can relay any answers if and when recieved?

Sheilared

hi mark08 we went to ambersun today to try and sort it out as we are the same as you we owe our last payment ane we should have the furniture pack they will sort it out he is going to phone me tomorrow to let me know more not holding any hope i think we should all get together as he said there are a lot of people involved please reply they said to pay the last one cause they can cancel the contract

FraudBuster

At the time of posting eBay.co.uk has 150 overseas properties being advertised.

Of these 53 are in Bulgaria.

GDB2222

FraudBuster wrote: »

At the time of posting eBay.co.uk has 150 overseas properties being advertised.

Of these 53 are in Bulgaria.

I like this one, although it does appear rather expensive (seeing as there are quite a few on ebay for under £10k):
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220319777051

I think the problem people seem to have is that Bulgaria is a low-cost country, and people are comparing prices to the UK, which is simply not comparable. I have severe doubts about whether the Ambasun properties are really even worth the final instalment that people are being asked to pay, let alone what they have already paid.

Anyone buying an overseas property advertised in the UK needs to ask themselves one simple question: Why is this property being offered here? Are there no purchasers in the property's own country, and why not?

RIANNE_2

Hi Mark 08 and Shielared

I am withholding my last payment - this should have been paid on 1st december but as Nadya at Ambasun bg has told me that there is a deficit of €15k euros against our payments. Ambasun uk have sent me details of passing all monies to Bulgaria and bank confirmations to prove this.

I have sent all evidence over to Nadya and solicitor and am not paying anything more until I receive and am satisfied with their response. When was your final payment due?

regards

RIANNE_2

Mark 08

Regarding your new contract.

Does this confirm that all monies have been received by developer?

if not then I wouldnt sign it personally.

Anna is advising me that I dont need a new contract as it was with the developer in the first place, however like you, ambasun signed mine.

let me know please as I am witholding my last payment and as per original contract - my 30 days over due will expire 1st January 09

Horseman_2

GDB2222 wrote: »

I think the problem people seem to have is that Bulgaria is a low-cost country, and people are comparing prices to the UK, which is simply not comparable. I have severe doubts about whether the Ambasun properties are really even worth the final instalment that people are being asked to pay, let alone what they have already paid.

Anyone buying an overseas property advertised in the UK needs to ask themselves one simple question: Why is this property being offered here? Are there no purchasers in the property's own country, and why not?

I don't know if you have been to Bulgaria or how much you know about it.

The average wage for a Bulgarian is less than £400 a month and though property ownership is high they tend to live in run-down tenement blocks in the towns and cities. Only the rich can afford the "luxury" apartments and villas and though that was a growing number, beach and ski properties have been bought by foreigners.

That's why you won't find many local buyers - they can't afford it, they're poor. Especially in inland villages.

So when you're looking on ebay at properties 100km or more from the beach they're of little or no value unless you're planning on re-locating to the 19th century.

In the tourist areas and major cities it's completely different. Obviously the market has declined in value just as it has in every other country. No doubt prices will recover in the medium term just like has been predicted for everywhere and have after past recessions.

If people can't afford the final instalment(s) they have to cut their losses. Otherwise they may as well go ahead and hang on for the next three years while the market shakes itself out.

When the recession is over, Bansko will still be a decent quality, low-cost ski destination that tourists who go there like.

GDB2222

I am not an expert on Bulgaria by any means, but I was aware of the average wage and that an average sort of house in Bulgaria is worth say £10k, not £100k. It therefore seems extraordinarily dodgy to me to say that in some touristy areas of Bulgaria property is worth 10 times more than in other areas. I fully accept that there are bound to be variations in value according to location, but this seems more like a con or a bubble. The locals must think the foreign buyers are complete fools. They may be wrong of course.

Personally, I cannot see any point in visiting a country like Bulgaria and insulating yourself from the local culture etc. The charm of the place is the history, the people, the 19th century economy, and yes the cheap prices!

nacho6

MrSmartprice wrote: »

I would be very wary of parting with any money to Ambasun. I am sure they are in trouble if my recent dealings are anything to go by.

We have been in contact with Ambasun over the last 2-3 years via their Cabo Roig office in Costa Blanca. We are planning to move there in the next couple of years and have looked at property over there on recent visits. We are looking for a permanent residence rather than a holiday home.

Ambasun were being very helpful and we were planning to go there with them for 4 days of house hunting. We even had their people come to us to set it all up. The deal was that they would pay for our accommodation for 4 days while we looked at suitable property, then we would continue our trip for a few days staying with friends.

We booked our flights as arranged, but when they rang to confirm the dates they sprung a 500euro charge on us because we weren't going straight back to the UK, despite having known this all along. The Ambasun staff were insistent we must pay, so we told them we were not going to deal with them. They got most upset, but we are just having a holiday instead. We shall certainly be house hunting there, but not with these shysters.

I have had several more calls from the Cabo Roig office, almost begging us to go with them. They now claim the charge will be repaid at the end of the trip, but I certainly don't believe this. I am as certain as I can be that Ambasun are in serious financial difficulty so we shall not be touching them with a bargepole. There are plenty of agents struggling in Spain as there is far more property than they can sell.

My advice: Avoid Ambasun at all costs - they may seriously damage your wealth.

I live in Spain and had applied to Ambasun for employment as they were advertising vacancies, trying to follow up on this I couldnt find the webpage again and got onto this link-I have been surprised by all the comments and were unaware that the company was having probs and I live here! also my step father previously worked in another company with one of the directors!
Anyway ref other agents, yes there are plenty struggling but must say plenty operate like the above so do be careful also there are some realy nice places in and around Torrevieja beyond the Cab Roig area that are worth looking at,
I live North of the town in a Spanish community and have no probs, noise etc and dont speak that much of the language! Just thought I would mention this as sometimes buyers / visiters dismiss non english areas.

Horseman_2

GDB2222 wrote: »

I am not an expert on Bulgaria by any means, but I was aware of the average wage and that an average sort of house in Bulgaria is worth say £10k, not £100k. It therefore seems extraordinarily dodgy to me to say that in some touristy areas of Bulgaria property is worth 10 times more than in other areas. I fully accept that there are bound to be variations in value according to location, but this seems more like a con or a bubble. The locals must think the foreign buyers are complete fools. They may be wrong of course.

Personally, I cannot see any point in visiting a country like Bulgaria and insulating yourself from the local culture etc. The charm of the place is the history, the people, the 19th century economy, and yes the cheap prices!

Not really GDB2222. Would you expect to pay the same price for a house in rural Lincolnshire or Norfolk as you would in the leafy parts of Cheshire or Surrey? Of course not, there are huge regional variations. Plus, "village" houses in Bulgaria are usually completely disshevelled, in the middle of nowhere and in need of even the most basic facilities for living. That's why they're going for 10k or less.

In Sofia the average price of a 1 bedroom apartment is 60-90,000 Euros. A 2 bed apartment would be over 100,000 in a good area. Prices in Varna, Plovdiv and Burgas are also towards these levels. And these apartments are for locals.

To take Bansko as an example, an equivalent apartment there would cost five times as much in a French ski resort. Nach06 lives in Spain so he would know that in the Sierra Nevada a studio would cost set you back at least four times what you would pay in Bansko.

It means keeping your nerve but those who have committed to buy there should probably carry on so long as they can afford it. But if they're nervous about the developer they should probably get as cheap a flight out there with Wizz or Easyjet as they can and see the situation for themselves. Or it might be cheaper to try and get a cheap package holiday in Bankso between now and the end of March.