Cheap Property in Bulgaria

yellum

http://www.bulgarianproperties.com

Houses from 3.5k

Bulgaria is well famous for its Ski resorts too

Ebonyks

Yes prime real estate



This ones going for just under 7 grand....i don't think she even knows it's being sold. Ah, it has that warm, homely,...syphillis invested...feeling about it

MF2HD

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Also, there are available maps of the biggest cities in Bulgaria - Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Bourgas and Ruse, where you can find any address or street located in the city.
Please note that if you can't find any place on the map of Bulgaria with the name you typed you have to try typing the name in different but similar way. For example Borovets can be also written as Borovetz or Borovez and Sofia can be also written as Sofiya. Try different ways of writing until you find the place on the map of Bulgaria.

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ha ha just made me laugh....just make up a name lol until you find what you want lol

little amuses the simple, i know lol

comet

I just bought two, price includes postage and packaging, my only worry is customs, cheers for the tip off yellum

sceptre

Originally posted by MF2HD quoting from the site
Please note that if you can't find any place on the map of Bulgaria with the name you typed you have to try typing the name in different but similar way. For example Borovets can be also written as Borovetz or Borovez and Sofia can be also written as Sofiya. Try different ways of writing until you find the place on the map of Bulgaria.l

I found a really nice property when I spelled "Sofia" as "Monaco":)

ozmo

Originally posted by Ebonyks
Yes prime real estate



This ones going for just under 7 grand....i don't think she even knows it's even being sold. Ah, it has that warm, homely,...syphillis invested...feeling about it

Appartment for: 780 € EURO (no, not per month - to buy it!)

http://www.bulgarianproperties.com/Apartments_in_Bulgaria/AD172BG_Apartments_for_sale_in_Sunny_Beach.html

Robbo

Originally posted by ozmo
Appartment for: 780 € EURO (no, not per month - to buy it!)

http://www.bulgarianproperties.com/Apartments_in_Bulgaria/AD172BG_Apartments_for_sale_in_Sunny_Beach.html

That would be if you fancied a 1 square meter appartment...

unkel

Originally posted by ozmo
Appartment for: 780 € EURO (no, not per month - to buy it!)

Yep per sq meter. So a 100 sq meter apartment would cost you €78000

You might be laughing at those prices, but it is not long ago that you could buy a derilict cottage on an acre of land somewhere in the midlands for €8000

Remember Ireland used to be pretty much the poorest country in the EU only about 15 years ago

sceptre

Originally posted by unkel
Remember Ireland used to be pretty much the poorest country in the EU only about 15 years ago

Ah but we were happy even though we were poor...

yellum

The best thing is to buy some property and just sit on it til Bulgaria joins the EU and wait for the prices to go up. Property is probably one of the best things to invest in over the longterm.

l3rian

when will the prices go up? whats the best property/area to invest in?

is bulgaria the best of the new eu joiners to invest in?

shepthedog

I would say czech republic is well worth looking at..

anyone got a similar website for there? I had one great one but cant find the addy now!

raphaelS

Originally posted by Ebonyks
Yes prime real estate



This ones going for just under 7 grand....i don't think she even knows it's being sold. Ah, it has that warm, homely,...syphillis invested...feeling about it

I think I will go for an "apartment" in this lovely building in the capital... (only 48000 €! a bargain!):
http://www.bulgarianproperties.com/topimg/B0_900_11.jpg

http://www.bulgarianproperties.com/2-bedroom_apartments_in_Bulgaria/AD900BG_2-bedroom_apartment_for_sale_in_Sofia.html



Raphael

ozmo

Three/Four years ago - my company sent me to Stockholm, Sweeden - cheapo they were they let me fly Ryan Air - had to get a car lift over 100 km to the city.
On they way we passed through some lovely places up for sale - best I saw was for a very nice two story wooden house on an acre of land with its own a jetty into a lake in a really picture postcard valley. Worked out at only 20,000 IEP.
Was told employment was down in that area and everyone was moving out.
Dont know what its like now.

griffdaddy

does anyone else find themselves putting on a stupid borat from ali g style accent while they read through that site?

magpie

does anyone else find themselves putting on a stupid borat from ali g style accent while they read through that site?

Yes. "Can I touch?" "Is this where you go to make dirt?"

ashleygirl

I bought an apartment in sofia last year, it has already gone up by 30,000 euro . they are now in the EU, so prices are on the up .... one tip though, when it was ready the furniture package that the developers supplied were from 6,500 euro. Had a look around the net and found www.edited.com Irish couple, got the same package fro 4,300 euro..nice people and very good service...:D

moe_sizlak

ashleygirl wrote: »

I bought an apartment in sofia last year, it has already gone up by 30,000 euro . they are now in the EU, so prices are on the up .... one tip though, when it was ready the furniture package that the developers supplied were from 6,500 euro. Had a look around the net and found www.edited.com Irish couple, got the same package fro 4,300 euro..nice people and very good service...:D

how do you know it has gone up by 30 k , also , have you it rented out

connundrum

Speaking as someone who may or may not have peddled this crap to eek out a megre living, don't even go there.

In one of the 'best' ski resorts - Bansko, we had a situation last year where there were 8000+ apartments for sale - either existing or off plans. There were 4000 odd apartments sold. So developers would agree to push prices up by 5% in order to make it seem like there was a demand, which did actually generate more sales. Again, it was a false demand.

It was hard enough to sell a newly built apartment, let alone a second hand one. You'll know that you've made €30k profit when you actually have the cash in the bank, until that point you have nothing.

One couple I was dealing with bought 3 apartments in Sofia for €40k a pop, then the ECB put up the rate twice and all of a sudden the couple wanted to sell the 3 apartments and get out clean. 4 months worth of effort later, they got €37k per apartment and were absolutely raging, as one would be.

"Home buyers stung for a place in the sun"
Jonathan Calvert, Claire Newell, Gareth Walsh and Jon Kirk
The Sunday Times, October 15, 2006
A Sunday Times investigation reveals that some of the employees of the property agency MacAnthony Realty International (MRI) exaggerate the investment potential of overseas properties. They are ensuring customers “guaranteed rents,” which never materialise.

MRI say the sale staff are told not to lie or exaggerate and to sell ethically. But when an undercover reporter from the newspaper joined the MRI training scheme to become a “sales executive” he understood from his instructors that some lies are permissible. Trainees were told to use “third-party” information - “My mom has just bought in Bulgaria..., I’ve bought in Florida”.

When asked about this, the company answered that they encourage their employees to talk about their own experience only if it is true, since many of its sales staff have indeed bought properties from the company.

A second undercover reporter contacted MRI posing as a potential client who wants to buy an apartment in Bansko. A sales executive in London told him the resort was visited by 400 million people last year and is becoming the world’s second biggest ski resort. The reporter was also repeatedly told that the prices rise by 20 to 30 per cent every year. The Bulgarian National Statistical Institute’s official figures show that prices in the area rose by up to 2 per cent over the past year and have dropped in the last quarter.

Several buyers complained about being pressured to buy properties “on the spot” during short inspection trips to resorts. There are also complaints about false promises for impossible property price increases (200 per cent when Bulgaria enters the EU) and guaranteed rents.
MRI issued an assurance that any staff guilty of the misconduct described in the Sunday Times article would be disciplined and said that the company was “committed to providing a comprehensive, honest and professional service to all our clients”.

GG66

What may seem like a bargain compared to prices in Ireland is not necessarily a bargain in another country. IMO, most of these apartments which boast an increase of 30k in 1-2 years are because speculators keep buying off one another. Those who got in early will make money.

The real test is, will a Bulgarian pay these prices? Probably not, they probably think we're daft. So if Bulgaria loses its appeal as a holiday destination, then your bound to lose....

Think carefully and do your research!

moe_sizlak

an appartment in sofia bulgaria at 40 k is more expenisve than one in ireland at 310 k
the average income in bulgaria is 5k so the appartment there is 8 times the average income per head , the average income in ireland is in or around 40 k so you would have better value with your 310 k appartment in say navan and it would be a luxury one at that for 310 k

moe_sizlak

i know someone who works in investments for irish permanent , they told me earlier this yr they have never met anyone who made money on foreign property , you see the so called property boom in eastern europe was built on an entirely false premise , the reasons for this boom were not in anyway home grown , they were an off shot of the property boom in ireland combined with irish peoples obseesion with all things property , tom and mary get married and buy a house in ashbourne 10 yrs ago , they see there house and there neighbours house quadruple in value within a decade , next thing they hear there neighbours the JONES,s have bought a 1 bed in budapest for the price its costs to have a garrage buit in navan , so they decide they will follow suit , they borrow 35 k from the bank using there own house and equity safe in the knowledge that there own pile will never cease to appreciate in value , not only that the nice lady at the property exhibition has assured them that property in bulgaria is going up by around 25% a yr , they dont ask her what her source is off course as they know that its an irish developer who is building the appartment and irish people never screw irish people
they are also pleased to hear that there is a guarentted 5 yr guarentee of 500 euro per month rent accompnying the appartment so there on the pigs back
so they buy and head over to bulgaria to see there new overseas property , while there they meet other irish people who have bought similar propertys and they party away in the nearest irish pub and raise a toast to future wealth

the problems start to arrise when they realise that they will never be able to sell back there property to anyone in bulgaria as if theese propertys were to appreciate to the tune of 25 % a yr and they kept the appartment for 5 yrs , that would mean they would have to get close to 100 k for there appartment , this is 20 times the average income in a country where banks dont lend money to most people
they will be relying on irish people to buy there property , the problem there is each country has its period of being a hot spot when it comes to foreigners buying property , it was bulgaria last yr along with dubai , this yr its turkey , 3 or 4 yrs ago it was budapest and you cannot give away property in budapest right now , next yr it will be somewhere else , perhaps india or brazil , bulgaria will be forgotten in 5 or 6 yrs time

very few countries if any have ever had the kind of crazy property boom we have had and there is no reason why bulgaria should emulate what happend here
i fear in 10 yrs time , storys of naieve paddys who bought a little piece of eastern europe and got burned badly may be a common theme

johnfás

Problem with all these properties is it's a foreign investment driven market. The ordinary Bulgarian cannot afford these properties, so there is no internal market for them if you decide to sell. That leaves you with the foreign market which at least for the medium term will continue to buy new properties out there so you really do have a limited resale value on them. Beyond which, there are very few flights to Bulgaria so I wouldn't gamble beyond the guaranteed 3 year rent or whatever which is basically just them giving you cash as a bribe to buy the place.

I know someone very well who is developing a large resort in East/Central Europe - they won't even own a property in the end of it. The crude fact is that they see a place to make an awful lot of money from Western Europeans who will buy over inflated prices from him making him alot of money, but will not have as high as retail value as they think into the future. If a developer isn't prepared to invest in his own development beyond developing it, I'd be fairly weary.

That said, if all you are looking for is a cheap holiday flat and the rent, value and so in is not really the issue (which is the case in many instances) then it is a different kettle of fish.

ashleygirl

I know it has increased by 30k as two other people who bought at the same time as me have sold...regarding renting it out, it is rented at the moment for 650 euro a month, it is beside the new business park and 5km from sofia airport.Property in the capital city in every country in the world has started low and increased, I would not buy in bansko, or any other resort, a capital city is completely different, just look at Dublin !!!! The most important thing is to do your homework and buy in the right place..;)

ashleygirl

moe_sizlak wrote: »

an appartment in sofia bulgaria at 40 k is more expenisve than one in ireland at 310 k
the average income in bulgaria is 5k so the appartment there is 8 times the average income per head , the average income in ireland is in or around 40 k so you would have better value with your 310 k appartment in say navan and it would be a luxury one at that for 310 k

That makes no sense at all. As you figure it, yes you are correct but your looking at buying a property from Ireland in Bulgaria. So you are buying a 40k apartment on an Irish average salary of 40k !! your right, some Bulgarians can't afford to buy a lot of the new apartments but take a trip to Sofia, have a look at the cars on the streets and the money passing hands in petrol stations, in other words there's lots of money there. Have a look on Bulgarian web sites, salaries are going up all the time, the teachers are on strike at the moment looking for a 100% increase in wage, the forestry are on strike looking for close to the same. Bulgaria will eventually reach European standards, and let's hope they don't suffer the so called property boom they have here! 10 years ago in Dublin you could buy a 4 bedroom house for 40k! Was it a bad idea to invest in property then? Investment is always a risk and there's lots of dodgy people out there like there are here. Be careful, do your homework and if it's to good to be true then it normally is. Or you can carry on saving in the AIB at around 2%Pa...

Firetrap

There used to be a poster called Auto320 on the AskAboutMoney.com. Sadly, he passed away during the summer but he had an interesting take on buying property abroad.

Here's something he wrote

I have dealt with enough property salesmen in my time though to know the usual patter, regardless of country, which usually goes like this...

1. Ryanair are going to be flying in here next year.
2. They have applied for the winter olympics/summer olympics/european open etc.
3. This is the last one that faces west -- you get the evening sun.
4. This is the last one that faces south - you get the sun all day.
5. This is the last one that faces east -- you get the morning sun.
6. This is the last one that faces north -- you need to be facing north because the sun will roast you out of it in summer.
7. They are going up on Monday
8. They have gone up since yesterday, but you can have this one at the old price if you close today.
9. There is a 2 year rental guarantee on these.
10. The rent will pay the mortgage.
11. I am buying one of them myself.
12. All the lads in the office have bought one each.
13. The top floor is the best, you don't have to maintain a garden.
14. The ground floor is the best, you have the use of a garden.
15. I know that the ski season is short, but you can rent it out all summer as well.
16. I know the summer season is short, but it's only three hours from the ski slopes, you can rent it out to skiers as well.

Blade

And don't forget the classic:

"Only 30 minutes from the nearest airport"
(At 4am in a Bugatti Veyron)

Sponge Bob

He fairly shredded Bulgaria . I must say I agree with everything he says.

http://www.askaboutmoney.com/showthread.php?&p=350369#post350369

I know an awful lot about Bulgaria, and the property market there. I made it my business to examine the prospects in all the post-communist countries after 1990, and that included an analysis of Bulgaria's propects. I was there in 1999 when the huge pyramid scheme robbed most of the country of their savings and caused the collapse of the central bank and the Lev. The crisis was so severe that it cause a famine in parts of the country; farmers used their seed money to get into the pyramid scheme and lost the lot. Strangely, much of the money made in this scheme by the few gangsters who controlled it made its way into property development, where it joined up with drug profits and similar funds from elsewhere in Europe.

When the new wave of scamming emerged, i.e. the sale of grossly overpriced property to gullible foreign investors, I looked at the market again to see if there was any element of sense in it; I found none. Initially the developers simply sold at a markup of 50 to 60 percent on the local price. When they realised that they could get even more from foreigners with no idea of the real value, they kept pushing prices up. In order to tempt the gullible further, they created the "guaranteed rental" scam, adding a couple of years rent to the already over-inflated prices, and drip-feeding this money back (if they are lucky) to the people who actually own the money, minus handling charges, and of course liable for tax.

You also need to remember the kind of people who are involved in the development business along the ocast in particular. High-pressure sales companies like McAnthonys, often slated on these pages because of their approach, are the best of these, not the worst. Remember the number of local developers shot dead as they battled for control of this foreigner-fleecing business? Is this a sane market, or one for a beginner from Ireland or the UK to invest their savings or mortgage top-up?

The bubble has yet to burst, but it is certain as the sun rising tomorrow. Over-supply, thousands of properties bought on borrowed money in the expectation of rent returns that are not going to materialise, and a huge supply/demand imbalance that is unique in Europe. All this makes for a crash of epic proportions; nothing like this has been seen in any European market. There is no underlying saving grace that can take the sting out of this situation; there is no market for retirees as happened around Alicante in Spain when properties were over-hyped there. There is no year-round tourism, just short seasonal business aimed at the bottom of the market. There is no large resident population with the ability to buy or rent these properties. Even if there were, the prices being achieved for sale to foreigners are so far above the local market values that ther is no possibility of getting money back. There is simply no merit in the majority of the property being mass marketed to overseas buyers in Bulgaria.

These are the facts. There are areas of opportunity in Bulgaria certainly, but the risk is too high for most savvy investors. The top-heaviness of the scam properties in the resorts is a factor likely to pull down the entire market, the good with the bad, so anyone with any sense will stay away.

Am I pathetic because I don't walk of the cliff with the rest of the lemmings? Probably, but only in the eyes of other lemmings.

Not with a 40 foot pole would I go near that mafia ridden place.

griffdaddy

If i was gonna go for a foreign property I'd take a place in Serbia, was there in 2004 or 2005 interrailing with about 10 other lads, we all had about a grand left so we decided when we were bored one day to see if we added all our money together could these 18 year olds just out of school actually afford a house. I found loads of genuinely nicely located houses with pools, big gardens etc for in and around 10grand. Serbia's on the up in a big way, huge, huge increase in tourism, economy is moving nicely, being dubbed the 'Balkan Tiger' by some economists, the same kinda houses were around 25-30 grand the next year. The only thing is i have absolutely no idea of what the process for foreigners buying property is or what the laws are, and I'm still young to rent my own place in Ireland, never mind buy abroad.

Capt'n Midnight

What's the average wage in Bulgaria ?

What's the rent allowance on social welfare in Bulgaria, your guaranteed minimum rent ?

moe_sizlak

ashleygirl wrote: »

I know it has increased by 30k as two other people who bought at the same time as me have sold...regarding renting it out, it is rented at the moment for 650 euro a month, it is beside the new business park and 5km from sofia airport.Property in the capital city in every country in the world has started low and increased, I would not buy in bansko, or any other resort, a capital city is completely different, just look at Dublin !!!! The most important thing is to do your homework and buy in the right place..;)

you are getting 650 euro a month for a property that cost how much , id be interested to know how much you originally paid for the apt so i can work out what the yield is , anything over 10% is completley non credible

in another of your posts ashley girl you claim that bulgaria will eventually reach the same level of afluence as the rest of europe , what on earth makes you think so , there are dozens of countries the world over who have had more or less no growth this past 30 yrs and there not all in africa either , places where the term economic growth simply do not exist
that you could buy a house in dublin for 50 k ten yrs ago is completely irrelevant to bulgarias future chances of prosperity , you cannot compare the fortunes of 2 countries no matter what the similaritys are and there are no similaritys that i know of between ireland and bulgaria , i cant think of any country that has head the freakish property boom that we have had and i certaintly dont see why bulgaria should be the one to emulate what ireland has done

ashleygirl

you are getting 650 euro a month for a property that cost how much , id be interested to know how much you originally paid for the apt so i can work out what the yield is , anything over 10% is completley non credible

I paid 31,000 euro for the apartment off plan, directly from the developer, no estate agent involved..no rental agreement, I have rented the apartment myself on a 1 year contract, your remark about my yield being completely non credible is rubbish.
I am the only Irish person who has an apartment in this development, around 80% of my neighbors are Bulgarian, the rest a mix from Israel, Russia, France, Italy and the UK. Two of my UK neighbors sold their apartments on completion with a 30,k profit.One to a Bulgarian.
Many of the developers I visited in Sofia were sold out, to Bulgarians.
They are not all poor people, some in fact are very wealthy, especially in the capital, and before you say it they are not all Mafia. The resale market is not only to foreign investors.
I went to Sofia, and looked around, so I know where my apartment is located...Between the Airport & Business park !!! I first visited Bulgaria in 1981, and have returned more times than I can remember over the last 26 years, 4 times last year and 4 this year alone. so I know this country reasonably well.
If you do not want to visit or buy in Bulgaria that is of course your decision, and I am sure your advice is well intended, but in my opinion your advice is based on hearsay, mine is based on expierence.This is my expierence of Bulgaria.
I have property in 3 other countries, France, Cape Verde Islands and Tenerife, I am not new to foreign investment, I have some expierence...
I am very happy with my purchase in Bulgaria, and I feel it will do well for me, any property purchase should be based on research, not buying blind.

Santa Claus

Hopefully the mods can move this to Accomodation & property as it's not a bargain alert !

Ruu_Old

I realise this is an old thread that was dragged back up, but there has been some discussion on this issue since. It is no longer a Bargain Alert issue, moved.

The_Conductor

l3rian wrote:

is bulgaria the best of the new eu joiners to invest in?

Possibly if you accept that organised crime is totally out of control, to the extent that warnings have been issued to the government by the EU Commission over the illegal trade in armaments and firearms.

Bulgaria has already been discussed to death in this forum- if anyone is genuinely interested in Bulgaria have a look at some of the old posts here- and be very very careful.

Thread closed.