investing in bulgaria

sanfrancisco

F_T_Buyer wrote:

Bulgaria? Beware

British buyers on the Black Sea may have to face some hard facts, says Sarah Marks

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-2267408,00.html

Great article. Beware indeed.

Tassotti

Tis all true.

Take a look at https://www.mybulgaria.info for everything you need to know about investing in BG.

Fortunately I don't need to rent out my apartment to repay the mortgage,but I know of many people who have remortgaged their UK homes to purchase an apartment in BG and are now struggling as they cannot rent them out.

It is cheaper and more simple to buy package deals through tour operators than rent apartment, sort out airport transfer, flights, etc, and this is where the problem lies

For me though, I have a stunning penthouse front line beach for the price of a new car. Sunny beach is a great place to holiday.

Tass

leccylite

Be very careful before investing in Bg. Fraud is common and the naive frequently lose money.
As a strictly personal opinion (which some economists disagree with - but not all) I am of the opinion that there is a pricebubble around the coastal areas and around Sofia. In more rural areas (where prices are very cheap) probably not.
However, infrastructure is extremely poor in rural areas. Go look at it before you buy.
Do not hand over large sums of cash to anyone, take your time and check everything out.
It's a beautiful country, it's full of wonderful people - and the rakia is superb. Still, with care and attnetion to detail buying property can be done.
Incidentally, the judgement of the EU on whether Bulgaria can join it in Jan 2007 (which is due in Oct now) could make a big difference to prices. Also, Bulgaria inside the EU will probably be a safer place to buy property.

seven-day-weekend

Remember too that remote inland properties are quite likely not to have any electricity or mains sewage. There are loads of places where I live in Spain without these facilities. (ours has, because it's in a village....these details were NOT something we were prepared to compromise on).

I agree with others, you MUST look first to see what you can get for your money.

sue_balu

If you are a cautious or inexperienced person I would not touch Bulgaria.
I know of someone who has moved there and in some way upset a large lawless local family (by smiling at one of them or something really trivial) and is now under threat of death - can't speak the language, miles from a police station and now cannot find a buyer for their property to get home quick. When they finally do get back they wont be able to afford anything more than a shoe-box here!

There are always reasons why something is cheap.....no-one wants it very much.

Kaminari_2

I wouldn't. But i never buy new builds and i never buy where i don't have a full understanding of the law and regulations. But then it depends on how well you know an area and you have proof of rental returns. If the property you are looking at is surrounded by others the same that are struggling i would run very fast.

If i was investing in Bulgaria i would look for a large prime piece of land and sit on it for 5 - 10 years.

jonnydoe

I was looking at investing in Bulgaria 2 years ago and the estate agents said the usual "get in quick 30% rises every year and joining the EU etc etc".. I still get offered properties at almost the same price 2 yrs later! (some slightly more but certainly not 60% 2x30%).

Ask yourself would you want to live in Bulgaria? It needs a lot more development imo.. Although maybe if your in it for the long term and development starts to take off it could be a nice little earner.. I'm not convinced (yet)

black-saturn

If the properties are being sold for £5,000 or less why do you need a mortgage? Couldnt you just save up for one?

jonnydoe

Don't know if this article will help the OP. Article on buying abroad etc..

http://www.thisismoney.co.uk/mortgages/article.html?in_article_id=410901&in_page_id=8&ct=5

Cheers

JD

Hurby

If you are interested in Bulgarian property, my advice is NEVER to use the services of a property company in the UK. Go to Bulgaria yourself, have a look round, put yourself in the shoes of a local and hire an interpreter which is not recommended by a glossy estate agent. Ideally, you can go into a translation agency (there are dozens and dozens of them in city centres) and ask for a translator. They are all frelance and will happily agree a rate to work for you. The next step is to contact estate agents and express interest in properties as if you were a local and not a 'loaded Brit'. If you are interested in a particular area of the country away from the Black Sea and the ski resorts, you may browse local advertising newspapers or even go with your interpreter into a local pub (it works wonders in getting to know potential house bargains). Bear in mind that residents of villages and small towns desert them en mass to move to bigger cities and abroad in search of work and some of them are really desperate to sell. I have seen adverts for decent village houses with big yards for as little as £1000-£1500.