Buying apartment in Sunny Beach Bulgaria

bri007 · 24-08-2019 02:43PM #1

Hi all,

A girl I work with her and her partner have just bought an apartment in Sunny beach in Bulgaria for €15,000.

They get a lot of holidays each year so plan on spending anytime off over there and making use out of it and not for an investment or renting.

It got me thinking, has anyone else bought over here or would consider buying there? I was shocked when she said the price of it.

I wouldn’t have the money now but in the future I would love to buy something in the sun to spend holidays in it all year round..

She didn’t mention flights etc I would imagine that’s where the catch could be, expedience flights no doubt.

24-08-2019 02:47PM

It's not warm in Bulgaria in winter. In fact it can be very cold..... Probably bit warmer in sunny beach but you wouldn't spend time after September or before April /May in it.
You could rent a house for couple of hundred for a month, if you knew the area or someone that did.
Tiger must be back!

Sonny noggs · 24-08-2019 02:55PM

Has the apartment been built or was it bought off plan?

handlemaster · 24-08-2019 03:23PM

OP take a holiday there twice a year for 7 years thats what you need to do to get this apt to pay for itself

Sonny noggs · 24-08-2019 03:32PM

What about service charges, maintenance, insurance, utilities etc.

SEPT 23 1989 · 24-08-2019 03:33PM

Is it not a bit of a dump

Horusire · 24-08-2019 03:35PM

Been there myself. IMO it's a dump. Wouldn't go back. Didn't feel safe and was literally falling apart.

I was young and on the beer so couldn't complain. Plenty of clubs and bars etc.

bri007 · 24-08-2019 06:57PM

It was build, think she said it was a few years old. It came fully furnished.

Just couldn’t believe how cheap it was. They are taking 3 weeks off next month to go over.

Sonny noggs wrote: »

Has the apartment been built or was it bought off plan?

bri007 · 24-08-2019 06:58PM

I think she said it’s €600 a year or €12/14 per m2

Sonny noggs wrote: »

What about service charges, maintenance, insurance, utilities etc.

L1011 · 24-08-2019 07:00PM

You would need to not get bored of repeating the same holiday over and over to get the use out of it. It is not somewhere you'd retire to realistically so its a holiday place only.

Ursus Horribilis · 24-08-2019 07:04PM

Sometimes things are cheap for a reason. I know someone who holidayed there and would never go back, no matter how good the price was. Property in Bulgaria was the ultimate con job during the last property bubble. It'd be well worth googling how Irish people got burnt.

dory · 24-08-2019 07:08PM

Ursus Horribilis wrote: »

Sometimes things are cheap for a reason. I know someone who holidayed there and would never go back, no matter how good the price was. Property in Bulgaria was the ultimate con job during the last property bubble. It'd be well worth googling how Irish people got burnt.

Yup! When I saw this thread title I thought someone had resurrected a zombie thread. Lots of people got burned last time round. And I've heard lots of bad reports about that place.

Spanish Eyes · 24-08-2019 07:09PM

Personally, if I had say 20k or so, I would rent rent rent. In a place of my choice, different place every time, and enjoy the views, etc. whilst the LL takes on all the responsibilities.

Now don't get me wrong, members of my family have bought in Spain and France and are doing well with their holiday homes. But it is expensive on the upkeep. Community charge, local council taxes and so on. They don't rent them out either, so is really only used June-September maybe October really.

Each to their own.

But if it is cheap to buy it is usually for a reason.

catrionanic · 24-08-2019 07:11PM

Sunny beach is a dive. Pure brits abroad. Cheap booze, drink in, sense out.

I know it well because my parents have an apartment not far from sunny beach. They are in a beautiful seafront location. Very peaceful, very beautiful, and still very cheap - although not Sunny Beach cheap.

Its not an all year sort of place either. Late may until early September and then things close up.

Dawido · 24-08-2019 07:52PM

i've few apartments in albania myself, would really recommend it for holiday purposes

handlemaster · 24-08-2019 07:56PM

Dawido wrote: »

i've few apartments in albania myself, would really recommend it for holiday purposes

YeA maybe a holiday but to buy is a totally different story

Atlantic Dawn · 24-08-2019 08:23PM

Seems like a good investment to me, an EU country and you can buy 1 bed apartments for the price of a new Corolla. Can only go up.

hmmm · 24-08-2019 08:26PM

Atlantic Dawn wrote: »

Seems like a good investment to me, an EU country and you can buy 1 bed apartments for the price of a new Corolla. Can only go up.

Sunny Beach and "can only go up". It's like 2006 never happened.

P.s. is anyone flogging Cape Verde yet?

Sonny noggs · 24-08-2019 08:42PM

hmmm wrote: »

Sunny Beach and "can only go up". It's like 2006 never happened.

P.s. is anyone flogging Cape Verde yet?

Any magic beans going?

Ursus Horribilis · 24-08-2019 09:07PM

I wonder when will Eddie Hobbs be joining the thread?

bee06 · 24-08-2019 09:12PM

Flew into the airport nearby and drove through Sunny Beach on the way up the coast and that was enough for a lifetime. It looked grim and most of the people on the plane were just going for a piss up. If that’s your thing then grand but you don’t need to buy an apartment over there to do it.

Edited to add: there was actually one of those reality shows made about Sunny Beach a few years ago if you want to get an idea about the place.

2Mad2BeMad · 24-08-2019 09:16PM

my mam and dad bought an apartment there during the boom

think they paid 35k for it (was only being built)

they have gone there every year since, sometimes twice a year.
They did try to sell it 2-3 years ago for less then what they bought,
they told me they got no takers so just kept it.

In fairness they love it now, my dad would go there for 3 months of the year if my mam wasn't working.

When i was young id have to go with them
but i hated it
still hate it

its a dive of a place. Its cheap sure, the plane tickets are cheap if you book early so theres no catch.

Its just the place is run down so badly.
Russians own nearly everything there as well. In saying that in all the years I had to go, I saw little very little trouble, police were always there on strip.

Taximen can be dodgy so if you find a taximan you like or seems pretty cool get his card off him, they will happily give you a lift anywhere throughout your holiday.

Honestly if your friend plans on going every year, or has been there at least once and said they like it then fair enough buy away.
But if they havnt been there before, go over first even for 5 days and you will get a feel for the place.

But I wouldn't recommend anyone buy from there if you plan on renting it out or for selling in the future for profit.

L1011 · 24-08-2019 10:00PM

2Mad2BeMad wrote: »

if you find a taximan you like or seems pretty cool get his card off him, they will happily give you a lift anywhere throughout your holiday.

This pretty much applies to anywhere without rock solid pricing rules like Ireland has - and we've only had those since '06 or so.

Absolute worst ripoff merchant taxi drivers I've found were those working coastal areas outside Amsterdam, followed shortly by those in multiple other areas of the Netherlands - and then a giant drop down in dodginess to Latvia.

utmbuilder · 25-08-2019 12:16AM

sounds like a good spot for a mid life crisis, do it for the #gram

Dolbhad · 25-08-2019 07:44AM

I was there a few years ago. Wouldn’t go back again. Really couldn’t go beyond the tourist areas as it’s not safe. Seems to be a lot of corruption and mafia there. Wouldn’t fancy having to go back there every year cause I had an apartment there!! Even the airport was dire because it was so small and old. Couldn’t complain cause it was a cheap holiday and you get what you pay for.

myshirt · 25-08-2019 10:37AM

Dolbhad wrote: »

I was there a few years ago. Wouldn’t go back again. Really couldn’t go beyond the tourist areas as it’s not safe. Seems to be a lot of corruption and mafia there. Wouldn’t fancy having to go back there every year cause I had an apartment there!! Even the airport was dire because it was so small and old. Couldn’t complain cause it was a cheap holiday and you get what you pay for.

Including Legionaries disease.

Apparently a load of people struck down with it across Sunny Beach.

For me, it's 15 grand. It's not a lot of it goes wallop. But there are much better investments out there in emerging markets than this. Nevertheless, best of luck to the op's friends, let's all hope it goes well.

Atlantic Dawn · 25-08-2019 05:52PM

Having a look around the area on Google Street View it looks a little like Torremolinos meets Pripyat.

Eric Cartman · 25-08-2019 06:17PM

I had never really looked into bulgaria, or sunny beach there at all. It literally looks like former soviet (generic bad spanish holiday destination)

The wonderful '4 star' astoria hotel , 55 euro a night and theres an all inclusive option which according to the british reviews, the supply of chicken nuggets, pasta and chips on a never changing menu is a delight.

just down the road from the 'highly reviewed' stella sponsored red lion pub where sky sports is blasting out the sports game non stop on giant tv's while you drink piss in the sun with lads from bristol.

Streetview of the place makes it seem like its been completely built to try and take over from benidorm as the new ex-pat retirement destination for working class brits currently in their 30s.

After looking into it, I doubt id even visit it, let alone advise anyone to buy property there.

and ofcourse, they have a few places with signs up about paella and even a restaurant called the same, for those group of people who believe its the only foreign food that they can try on holiday and claim to be cultured.

Del2005 · 25-08-2019 11:32PM

The biggest issue I have with Bulgaria is that they banned smoking indoors and it's not enforced. Was there with a group for an event and even the smokers didn't like it.

Cheap as chips but the smoking is a major turn off.

CollyFlower · 26-08-2019 12:14AM

"Sunny Beach" sounds lovely, lovely name. I'm trying to think of what the Irish equivalent would be, would it be Bray? ... After reading this thread it reminds me of the property (time share) scheme that a lot of people bought into and are stuck with that investment forever.

NIMAN · 26-08-2019 12:19AM

Heard the Russian mafia have huge links to all the hotels, resorts there.

Buying apartment in Sunny Beach Bulgaria

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