Long Term Rentals Available
Renting for a few months is a great way of experiencing life in Bulgaria without committing yourself fully to a way of life that may not suit you or may not be as expected. If you are considering buying in Bulgaria with a view to moving there permanently, I would suggest renting for a minimum of 12 months so that you experience the hot summers and the cold winters and it gives you the chance to check your finances will be able to cope. I recently had tenants move out of one of my places without notice and leaving behind large bills because they found that Bulgaria was not the dirt cheap place many expect it to be. Over the winter they managed to wrack up enormous electric bills of around 300 Euros for January and then around 150 Euros for February.
So before you commit yourself and maybe your family to living in Bulgaria, try renting long term and make sure you can cope in the long run. If you decide Bulgaria is not for you, then at worst you have experienced a year living in another country and culture, and at best, you will have fallen in love with Bulgaria and know you are making the right decision.
And renting gives you far more time to check out different areas, view properties, make new friends and do renovations on somewhere if you buy during your rental period.
Available for long term rent:
2 apartments in a renovated villa, set in a securely fenced plot of 800sm with a barn. Rent of 200 E/mth per apartment plus utility bills or 350E/mth for both apartments.
Large 4 bedroom house, ideal to run a B&B. Downstairs contained ensuite bedroom, kitchen area and lounge, upstairs there are 3 bedrooms and bathroom. 1000sqm plot with BBQ house. Unfurnished - 350 E/mth plus bills.
2 bedroom house with separate guest annex, small garden and bbq area, furnished and ideal to run as B&B. 350 E/mth plus bills.
Visit TheRentalBug for more details.
Ready for a change? Why not exchange?
Are you struggling to sell your house?
Try Permanent Property Exchange - There are many people in a similar situation, wanting to move but are unable to do so because of the slow property market. A property exchange offers you the chance to find an alternative property in the area you want to move to and swap your property for that one. There is no need for values to be exactly the same as you can downgrade or upgrade and make or receive an appropriate cash settlement to make up the value difference.
By swapping your property you can save thousands on real estate agent fees and sales commissions. It is perfectly legal and once you have found a property to swap with and agreed the terms, the process is the same as buying and selling. You will still need a lawyer to draw up the paperwork and may still be liable to various taxes and duties.
Make your dream of living in the sun a reality, or maybe you always wanted a smallholding, or a place in France, Spain, Eastern Europe, Florida.....check out some of the listings below.
Partly renovated house close to Yambol, Bulgaria with 1090sqm of land and outbuildings to swap for something in Northern France - will swap for land or a ruin.
A large 11 room, 330sqm property built in 1997 and 10km north of Shabla, near the Bulgarian-Romanian border. Recently renovated and only 200 metres from the sea. To swap for any residential property in England or Wales.
Two bed open plan restored log farmhouse on one acre, private boat launch ,four dock spaces in fishing village in Florida. To swap for a house in Ireland.
Large house split into two one bed apartments, large plot and large barn to swap for something in Western Europe.
Visit
http://www.permanentpropertyexchange.com
New York Times Feature
An article about my forays into the Bulgarian property market has appeared on the New York Times 'Raising the Roof' Blog, title
One Woman's Bulgarian Nightmare.
The feature focuses mainly on my aborted purchase of an apartment in Bansko, Bulgaria some 5 years ago. Some of the figures and things in the article are not exactly true - can't say I ever remember saying 'I had made every mistake in the book' but still good publicity for my eBook and website.
With Property Prices Down Can You Still Profit?
With property prices right across Europe and further a field lower than they were a couple of years ago, (see Prices in Bulgaria down to 2007 level) does this mean that anyone needing to sell has to do so at a loss, or could you still break even or maybe manage a small profit from a sale, if you sell in today’s market.
Much depends on what you intend to do with the money received on a sale. And the currency used when you bought and when you sell.
So let’s look at an example. Say you purchased a property in Bulgaria for 15,000 Euros back in 2007 when you were maybe getting 1.40 Euros to the British Pound. The property therefore cost you around ₤10,700. And then if renovation costs were a further 20,000 Euros, or ₤14,200, making a total spend of around 35,000 Euros or ₤25,000.
If you intend to sell the property now and take the money back into the UK, converting it to pounds, then to break even, you could actually list the property for sale at 28,000 Euros, less than the total Euros you spent on it two years ago and not lose anything. List at 35,000 Euros and you stand to make a profit of around ₤7,000.
If you are trying to sell your property in Bulgaria, or another country where transactions tend to happen in Euros, then this is something to keep in mind. And it will allow you to list your property at a lower price and thus attract more potential buyers.
Of course, this scenario does not help the likes of Irish investors or people living outside the UK and not intending to convert the sales proceeds into British pounds. But for most investors, now struggling to off load properties to free up some cash, this is certainly a positive factor and an advantage of the strong Euro.
Labels: Bulgarian Property, Euro, Pound
Bulgarian Home Loans Goes Under
Another one bites the dust....I was just going to contact Bulgarian Home Loans about funding for prospective buyers for my Bulgarian property portfolio, but found a message on their website saying:
At 9am on the Friday 13th March the Director of BulgarianHomeLoans.Com Ltd gave instructions for the company to be liquidated.
At 10am BulgarianHomeLoans.Com Ltd ceased trading.
BHL creditors will be notified directly.
All staff have now left BulgarianHomeLoans.Com Ltd.
Bulgarian Home Loans was started in April 2005 and was the UK's first and only Bulgarian mortgage specialist. However, by 2008, Bulgarian banks were becoming more wary about lending to foreigners investing in resorts such as Bansko and Sunny Beach because of over-development. This was the main market for mortgage companies like Bulgarian Home Loans and coupled with the credit crunch has obviously meant that business was no longer there, leading to the mortgage company being liquidated.
Labels: Bulgarian Home Loans, Bulgarian Mortgages, Bulgarian Property
2 apartments in a renovated villa, set in a securely fenced plot of 800sm with a barn. Rent of 200 E/mth per apartment plus utility bills or 350E/mth for both apartments. 
Large 4 bedroom house, ideal to run a B&B. Downstairs contained ensuite bedroom, kitchen area and lounge, upstairs there are 3 bedrooms and bathroom. 1000sqm plot with BBQ house. Unfurnished - 350 E/mth plus bills. 
