About me......

I began searching for property in Bulgaria in early 2004. I had initially wanted to invest in a property in a ski resort and had looked at various options from Austria, to Canada to Slovenia but eventually I settled on Bulgaria and Bansko in particular as it seemed to offer a decent standard of skiing, had a new lift system and a proper town, not just a purpose built resort. My research began as most people's does - browsing the internet and trailing through hundreds of websites viewing property details. Around August 2004 I received an email from a well known London based agent - Bulgarian Dreams, who were just launching a new development right by the main gondola in Bansko and with five star facilities. I phoned the agent to discuss the development in more detail and requested floor plans. I was told there were only a couple of apartments left in my price range and so I would need to act quickly and reserve an apartment to avoid missing out on this amazing deal.

And I hate to admit it, but I got caught up in all the hype and put down a deposit on a 60 sqm 2 room apartment at around 1,100 Euros/sqm. It then took at least 2 weeks for the agents to send out the contract and even then there were numerous mistakes in the contract. I had already agreed with the developer through Bulgarian Dreams that they would covert one bathroom into a kitchen and would fit this within the agreed price but this was not mentioned in the contract. There was no management contract at this stage either. But stupidly I handed over the 30% deposit. I then visited the development in October 2004 and found that it was much further away than the ski lift than stated, my kitchen was still a bathroom and my town view was of the next door block! 

I battled on for the next few months trying to get answers to queries, sort out figures to go on the notary deeds, get confirmation as to what was included...and got nowhere. I had by now started corresponding with a number of other buyers in the same development and we all had various concerns and unanswered queries. Then we were informed that despite paying an astronomical maintenance charge we would have to pay extra for use of the spa facilities when the development had been advertised as having 5 star facilities and many of us buying in the block felt we had been misled into believing the spa facilities were included. I was also told by the developer that if I wished to have the full purchase price on the notary deed, I would have to pay a further 20% in VAT. There were many unanswered concerns and the only response I could get from Bulgarian Dreams was that I should contact the developer. 

By this stage I knew I had made a huge mistake and that the apartment was not a good investment and there were far too many discrepancies and ignored emails and letters raising various questions. Eventually after much negotiation (or lack of it with the agent) it was agreed I could sell the apartment privately to cover my costs prior to completion. This proved harder than expected with the huge number of new build apartments in the ski resorts and coastal regions and high maintenance charges and added extras! 

Then it transpired that the developer was refusing to fit the kitchen (it would of course cost extra!) but the agent refused to take up my case or support me to get what I had agreed to purchase, despite the fact that I had proof in emails and writing that the agent had agreed with the developer that a kitchen would be fitted. In fact I was told that due to my behaviour Bulgarian Dreams would have nothing more to do with me and I was even threatened with legal action for discussing the purchase with other people also buying in the same development. Pure bullying tactics from a large agency.

But I refused to give in and eventually through direct correspondence with the developer and by visiting their offices in Sofia, I managed to get 2/3's of my deposit back, but Bulgarian Dreams refused to refund the additional 6000 euros they had made as commission.

They refused to answer emails or letters and I eventually wrote a letter before action requesting my money back or I would sue. This was ignored. I then made an official complaint to Trading Standards and was advised to write again, which I did to no avail. I then put the matter into the small claims court. The agent left it until the last possible day to file an acknowledgement and then said they intended to contest the court jurisdiction. Again they left it late to file their application and then refused to pay the fee required.  Eventually they paid the fee and the director of the company put in a statement requesting the case be moved to London because they were such a small firm he could not afford a day out the office! This is despite Trading Standards being told that all three directors of the company were out of the country so could not respond to queries and the agency having offices in London and Bulgaria and advertising extensively in large newspapers and at homebuyers shows. The judge dismissed their application and I received judgment against Bulgarian Dreams and shortly afterwards they sent me a cheque for the amount claimed. 

Trading Standards eventually decided not to prosecute. They said they gave the issue much thought and basically had really wanted to take it further but agents selling abroad fall into a loop hole in UK law where they are not caught by either the Property Misdescriptions Act, which does not cover property outside the UK, or the Trade Descriptions Act, which does not cover land and property. Therefore until the law changes agents can get away with totally mis-selling property with no real recourse. 

I have written an EBook about my experinces above which you can purchase here

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However, despite all this I still loved Bulgaria and wanted to invest in property here but had decided that buying cheaper old rural property was a much better bet. I visited the country a number of times and travelled more or less all over the country to see the sights and get to know different regions, as well as look at various property offers.

In my search for property here I experienced agents purely out just to rip you off, giving misleading property descriptions, poor service and so on....But I also came across others that gave a tremendous service and were really helpful and friendly.

And whilst all of the above has been an expensive and time consuming and at times very stressful learning experience, it has taught me a lot about property purchases in Bulgaria and on various trips to different areas, I have made some great friends and seen some great places. I have now travelled extensively in Bulgaria including along most of the coast (never seen so much development as there is around Sunny Beach - a concrete jungle!), around Veliko Turnovo (nice pretty area although now fairly expensive with so many Brits buying in), Bansko (lovely old town but again massive over development is spoiling surrounding areas) and all around the Central region of Stara Zagora and down to Plovdiv and across the Rhodope Mountains and towards Turkish border. There are pictures and video clips of various places I have visited on the page called 'Other areas in Bulgaria' - see link on left.

On one trip over to Bulgaria in May 2005, I met up with Dimo Jordanov, who ran his own small real estate agency in the Stara Zagora region called Teomatproperties. I ended up buying a small old house through him for 5000 Euros [First Purchase]. He was looking for someone to help in expand his business to the British market. I was working as a lawyer in a small high street firm in Cumbria at the time as well as running an online farming business with my ex-partner. I was bored with a desk job and so I handed in my notice and began working in partnership with this small agency to promote and sell properties in the Stara Zagora area. For the next 18 months to 2 years, we formed a good partnership and I brought a decent number of clients to Teomatproperties to purchase rural houses.

I started taking clients out to the Stara Zagora area and also arranging to travel around Bulgaria with them. On each visit I would end up buying another one or two houses around Stara Zagora until I had a collection of 8 rural houses. The first three cost me less than 20,000 euros altogether including legal fees and commissions. The second three included two larger more modern villas and totalled around 35,000 Euros. I still spent less on the first 6 properties, than I would have done on a one bed roomed apartment in Bansko. The next two properties included the plot next door to another one I owned and small cheap house with huge plot. I have since bought further property. Use the links on the left to view the properties I have purchased and follow my progress as I renovate them.

Early 2006 due to various issues back in the UK, my partner at the time and myself decided to leave Britain and set up home somewhere else. Bulgaria seemed the obvious choice as I already had property here and the property selling business and website had started to develop well. We planned our new house and started planning for the move. However a couple of months before we were due to travel out, the relationship broke down and so I ended moving out on my own (read about my trip over on my Blog - 5 days in a white transit van). The original plan had been to stay in the villa that was being renovated at the time and should have been more or less completed by the time I arrived at the end of October 2006. The new house was supposed to be finished around November/December 2006. However, when I arrived, the villa was little more than a building site but at least the shower room was done so I had hot water and a toilet, if no kitchen, doors and no furniture!

I continued working in partnership with Teomatproperties, as well as forging new contacts. However, as time progressed it became obvious Mr Jordanov of Teomatproperties expected more from the relationship and basically subjected me to unwanted attention, bordering on sexual harassment. This led to severe tensions in our working relationship. His attitude to clients also deteriorated and he was unhelpful and failed to respond to emails and concerns that client's raised. Eventually in around April 2007, after a number of clients had expressed how unhappy they were with Mr Jordanov, and tensions had become unbearable, I found my own office (as I had been sharing the office of Teomatproperties) and set up totally independently, working with a few different agents and builders in the Stara Zagora region. However, Mr Jordanov did not take kindly to me working on my own and since then has made it extremely difficult to finish off things for clients that bought houses through his company and he has made a number of threats against me, including standing as witness against me for my court case with the original builders of my house, reporting both me AND my father to the Inland Revenue in the UK for fraud. I found out that he has kept money due to be paid to the builders for renovation works, and at one point he opted to keep 4,990 levs he withdrew from a client's company account and was meant to give to me to pay for others things and to send rest back to her so basically he sunk as low as to steal from clients. Eventually after threats of legal action and approaches to Bulgarian Embassy, this money was paid back to client at the end of 2007, but he kept the client's Power of Attorney, as he has a weird notion that Powers of Attorney belong to him. He has now finally handed this over to be given back to the client. I no longer have anything to do with him at all.

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The new house build was another story and turned into another nightmare with one problem after another (read all about it here and for full details here) and in March 2007 I terminated the contract with the original builders, DreamHome.bg and am in the process of suing them, while new builders have tried to put right all the botch jobs and finish the project.

I eventually moved into my new home in late August 2007, around 7 or 8 months after I was supposed to. Once living there I discovered further problems such as a bad smell from the septic tank in the bathrooms and kitchen sink, shower cubicles leaked, terrace doors let in massive drafts and fire place smoked as chimney not high enough. But living here is fantastic - weather on the whole is much better (hot summers, lovely spring, cold but snowy and sunny winters), everybody (except for one or two individuals) is friendly and helpful, skiing close by, beaches within a couple of hours drive, beautiful scenery and so on.

 I am experiencing Bulgaria first hand - the frustrations, the struggles, the ups, the downs...I hope to be able to post regular updates on my blog and useful information in the forum.

 I do not profess to be an expert in property development or Bulgaria but I have now had plenty of experience and have many friends out in Bulgaria who can always help. 

I set up this website to let people know about my experiences and so hopefully they could benefit from my advice and avoid the pitfalls I had fallen into. It has certainly been a roller coaster of a ride and one that continues with new highs and lows.

 I have my own office in Stara Zagora and am building up a good list of contacts and business partners to help anyone coming over to invest in property. I have contacts with a number of agencies, mostly in the Stara Zagora region but also around Chirpan, Gabrovo and Veliko Turnovo region and Vidin. I also have a few properties for sale in the Karnobat region, about 60km inland from Burgas. I can help you arrange an enjoyable trip over here, help with car hire, B&B's and hotels, arrange viewings, source property for you if you have exact requirements (hotels, business premises, development land etc) and help you in all aspects of buying here. I can arrange for you to set up your company here (still required for foreigners to buy a house/land), have a lawyer check all the property paperwork, arrange preliminary contracts and final notary deals. I can help you with good (but very busy with my projects at the moment) builders, arrange quotes for work, over see and project manage for you, arrange furniture purchase, decorating, property management and cleaning, gardening and landscaping services and much more (only Stara Zagora region).

Please visit the Viewing Trips & Services page for details and costs for these services. Currently I work in conjunction with my boyfriend, who is Bulgarian and owns a small agency here in Stara Zagora, a friend near Chirpan who sources property there for me and then directly with various locals that have houses and land for sale and approach me directly. Instead of having hundreds of properties for sale scattered all over, I prefer to deal with a select number of houses I know personally and can therefore match client requirements to properties much easier. I aim to give a personal and friendly, tailored property buying experience.

I wish to build up the rental side of my business now I have 2 or 3 houses renovated. There is so much to do and discover in this area and being right in the heart of Bulgaria, it is an ideal base to go off for the day and explore places such as Plovdiv, Sliven and the 'Blue Stones' reserve, Karnobat and Kalofer areas, various Mineral Spa resorts, even Veliko Turnovo.

I have also helped a number of people with legal problems arising from their purchases or from undertaking building work in Bulgaria and I also offer a service for individuals to advertise their property for sale or rent. See private sales & rentals for details.

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Contact Details

Email: rachel@thetravelbug.org

Landline - 00359 42 643154

Mobile - 00359 887 690950 (from outside Bulgaria)

Skype - computerincome

MSN/Windows Messenger - rachel@thetravelbug.org

Please also considering registering at the forum on the left and the discussion group to learn more about investing in Bulgaria, to share recommendations and get to know others who have or who are interested in purchasing in Bulgaria. 

To be kept updated on available properties, website updates, news about the area and other information that maybe of use to you when considering buying in Bulgaria, please consider filling in the form below to join my mailing list. I only send updates once a week if that, so you will not be inundated with lots of emails and advertisements.

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My 'Family'

Since arriving here in October I have managed to acquire 7 dogs and 2 cats. Unfortunately I had to have the older dog put down as she was constantly fighting with other dogs and after a particularly nasty fight in which she lost an eye and was badly beaten, I decided enough was enough.

R.I.P - Katia

Clio (puppy I adopted from friend after we found her on New Year's eve near Varna. She was skin and bone but recovered to become a complete terror and their cat hated her so she came to live with me) and Boris, one of the cats that adopted me!

Clio on New Year's Day 2007 - a very weak skinny thing.

Boris and Bessy enjoying life indoors! Unfortunately Boris got run over so there is just Bessy.

Three of my four puppies sleeping in the sun (2 have now gone to a rescue centre near Burgas for re-homing as 6 dogs was far too many)

Molly Jeffrey

Jeffrey and Molly in Snow (December 2007)

Bobby who I found starving and cold on side of road in January 2008

Making friends with Clio