Bulgaria, Sunny beach

ashie

Hi,

Don't know if this is the right place to post this but looking for some advice. We bought an apartment in Sunny beach, Bulgaria which was completed last August. Heading over this Summer to enjoy. Problem is we have decided to migrate to Australia so will sadly need to sell it as it would be difficult to look after and rent out etc all the way from OZ. Question is: does anyone have any advice the best way to sell it here in Ireland, can we do it solo or is it best to advertise with an Irish Intl. property agent. Any feedback greatly appreciated and please don't take this post as a cheeky way of trying to sell the apartment. Just looking for advice. Thats all. Thanks:D

Santa Claus

Have you consulted the original sales agency ? Perhaps they have a list of people who missed out on the purchase and might be interested.

ashie

Thanks for that Santa. Yes, that is an option certainly but without naming names I was not impressed with the original sellers. The sale was perfect, no problems but their aftersales help was poor so without holding back - i would not like them to earn any commision off me!! I would like to sell privately but just wondering if it would be a pain in the neck. I will be contacting my solicitor over in Bulgaria next week who was a treasure and see what she has to say regarding that. Just thought i'd see if anyone had done this and had any useful info for me.

pocca

Just toying with the idea of investing in a property overseas. Did you rent out the appt in the winter at all? Wondering how you keep tracks on the appt being so far away and only being able to get out a few weeks in the summer.

ashie

Hi,

Sunny beach is only warm in the Summer months, freezing in the winter so no rental market for winter.

Ours was only completed last August so summer season was lost then,this would be the first season that we "could" rent it out but because we are migrating to Oz, we will not be renting it out. Just going over for a few weeks and putting it on the market.

We have the option of going with a management company who rents out our apartment and covers all the cleaning and maintenace after each visit , they charge a fee. otherwise you can rent it privately, there are some great agencies that will let you advertise for free on their sites and then theres quite alot of companies who will come in after your visitors leave and blitz the place, change sheets and get it ready for the next visitors. Thats the cheapest way to do things if you have the time to organise the bookings yourself.
Its fine all thru the winter when its not occupied , the developer has an office in our complex and they turn off the water etc when the season is over and keep an eye on things. Security 24 hours too. Everything is done online as they are so used to it, what with owners primarally being from Europe, and the office is great at getting back to you if you email them for something. I furnished the apartment online with a great company and everything ran smoothly.

Hope that answers all your questions. Pm me if you need any more info.

boomshackala

bought one too...completion 2007....worried about re-sale market....any ideas if / when it will emerge?...I'm thinking 5 years probably and ideas?

ashie

Hi,

Check out this forum. Lots of info there.

http://www.mybulgaria.info/bulgaria-property-forums.html


Where did you buy??

ronbyrne2005

Good luck trying to sell,i've heard theres oversupply there unless its a beachfront property. i wouldnt invest there ,check out www.askaboutmoney.com for more info.

boomshackala

not sure if ure familiar with Sunny beach its close to the beach by the main road at that beached ship restaraunt....paid 8k down so far on a 46k studio....getting cold feet...and ideas?

ashie

Hi,

My apartment is in Sunny beach! Check out the ask about money forum Ron Byrne posted though I think it has a negative slant towards Bulgaria. Maybe i'm being naive but with Bulgaria entering the EU, give it a few years to take off. Bulgaria is getting very popular and alot of Irish companies have it on their books , Sunway, Budget to name a couple. It's big in the Uk and German markets too.

Its purely a personal decision whether you pull out or not. Pm me if you want.

ronbyrne2005

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2098-2267408.html

Ashie

If you want to sell it, I would let the people you bought it off sell it for you, despite them getting a commission they would be in the best position to do it. My company sells loads of properties abroad but we dont take on individual resales unless you bought from us, because they are hassle. Doing it on your own is likely to cause you hassle too.
Im a little bit sceptical on Bulgaria at the moment for the following reason:

I think there has been too much built over the last 2 years, my company has loads of different developments, probably more then any other country in the world we sell in. Also I remember being at the RDS show a while back and the amount of hacks selling bulgarian property was ridiculous, its like a band wagon or something.
Anyway I think that it might be best to sell within the next two years, I wouldnt worry now because we still get a lot of calls about property in Bulgaria.

Also, with places like slovakia and what not theres loads of them coming over here and earning better money, and they will go back one day and buy these places we are buying now because they can afford it. I think they maybe better educated also and will have more ability to purchase in the long term.
I dont think this of the bulgarians, hope im not offending anyone now, but I think that they are less likely to travel and make enough money to one day purchase all of these places that have been suddenly built in their country

ashie

Hi El Rifle,

Great post and very informative. Thanks alot. I know that theres alot of negative vibes about Bulgaria right now..........Its disheartening but on a more positive note I feel we will be ok as, without going into too much detail, our property was bought in the elite section of sunny beach right across from the beach in a fantastic complex which is known to be one of the best built and attractive properties there.

I think you may be right about going back to original sellers. Why do you think its best to sell within the next 2 years - do you think the interest will slack off? Any feedback greatly appreciated.

I would advise the sell in the next two years because demand will be outweighing supply, rental income is likely to be scarce. I know that there has been issues already with companies who have said there will definately be rent and there hasnt been, a similar scenario to budapest a while back.

If its difficult now in two years its going to be very difficult.
While Bulgaria is a great place to go, its not as if everyone wants to go to bulgaria, theres a lot of nicer places to go for a holiday.


Also there will be new markets coming through, Slovakia, Morocco, down the line Romania and Bulgaria will loose its shine. I think its mainly an investment area and not a lifestyle area and so its longevity is reduced. This is just my opinion mind. who knows it do the opposite.

As I mentioned in a couple of posts before I am fairly sceptical on Bulgaria at the moment. There was a big article in the sunday tribune on the pitfalls, I suggest anyone thinking of investing there take a read of it

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

Deleted User wrote:

As I mentioned in a couple of posts before I am fairly sceptical on Bulgaria at the moment. There was a big article in the sunday tribune on the pitfalls, I suggest anyone thinking of investing there take a read of it

and you decided to start a new thread on this, rather than post it in that original thread because?

threads merged

Because the other thread has a different title, and this is an important article for anyone who wants to invest there , fairly obvious i would have thought

Hitchhiker's Guide to...

its not - you don't actually include the article, so the thread is just a comment on bulgaria - just like your comments in this thread. there was no need to start a new thread on it.