Semi-Modernised Villa with small Orchard - first completed renovation!

Original  villa. Photo looking to front of house and taken from veranda. 

I initially viewed this house in October 2005 and was quite taken with it, especially by the lovely orchard in front of the house but the village was on the opposite side of Stara Zagora to my other houses and so decided against buying it. 

It is a 2-storey house with 4 rooms, all facing to the south. On the first level there was initially a kitchen and living room, bathroom and WC. On the second level there were a further 2 rooms one with a fireplace. There was also a further bathroom and WC.

The house already had indoor bathrooms and toilets although these were just old wet rooms and needed totally ripping out and new fittings and tiles. There was only an old rusty external metal staircase leading to the second floor.

The garden is around 850 square metres and contains many fruit trees including peaches and apples. At the bottom of the garden is a small barn,  which was used for rearing rabbits. 

Here is a short video clip of the property taken prior to me buying the place and before any renovations carried out.

In March 2006 it was still for sale and I visited it again. This time I viewed it purely as an investment property and for rental. It needed no real structural work doing to it and could just be turned into two one bed roomed self contained apartments, each level having a large bedroom, a kitchen/sitting area and a shower room/WC. The bathrooms and thus septic tank were already in but needed updating and the property would need new external stairs to reach the second level and the balcony tiding up and making safer. 

So I decided to put in an offer of 14,000 Euros, a thousand less than the original asking price and we agreed on splitting the difference. 

 I visited the property again in June 2006 following completion of the sale and noted that now all the furniture was out, it was maybe not in quite as good a state as I had remembered. The windows upstairs were not properly fitted and some needed new glass and there was a fair amount of internal plastering to be done such as around doorways where bricks were just left exposed and there was a small leak in the roof. 

I decided on the work to be done and for just short of 8,000 Euros I was to have new PVC windows fitted, two new bathrooms installed, all wiring checked and sockets and switches replaced, loft boarded out and insulated, roof tiles checked, new external metal stair case, balcony rendering and new hand rail, internal wall moved and rebuilt to make one shower room room slightly bigger and touch up plastering work done. 

The former owners also left their dog and cat but both looked reasonably well fed when we went to the house.

UPDATES

July 06: Dog is fine and being fed by the builders as work as started on the renovations.

August/September 06: Renovations well underway. Old bathrooms and kitchen ripped out, all plastered ready for tiling and fitting appliances. New windows in. Wiring all checked and new circuits put in to cope with extra required power, roof tiles mended where needed. Roof insulation in. 

As with any renovation there are unforeseen costs. The window in the downstairs bathroom has had to be replaced with a smaller one to fit in shower cubicle and the roof needs some additional wooden cladding so insulation not poking out as beams not level. 

I have chosen my bathroom tiles and kitchen tiles and also ordered the kitchens. I ended up paying slightly more for these than originally envisaged but felt cheaper kitchens would not stand wear and tear and wanted something stylish and robust. So both kitchens (one small, one large but no ovens in either) will cost just short of £2,000. 

Also looking to replace all internal doors as ones in are horrid ply board ones. Replacing with good quality MDF doors will be another £500.

I am also having outside of house painted whilst wooden cladding being done as scaffolding will already be in place. This has added an additional £1,000 for work, scaffolding, transport of stuff to village, wooden cladding and varnishing. 

There have been a number of extra costs due to not being able to be there and decide on things quicker - for example I really needed to have gone out and had kitchen designed and chosen before wiring and plumbing was done as some now having to be moved to fit with kitchen. And replacing doors at late stage means more plastering work. But all experience to take to next one. 

And lastly but most importantly dog, called Katia, is fine and very well fed by builders.

October 06: I arrived in Bulgaria with a van load of stuff to find that there was still a fair amount of work to be done on the villa. Despite the fact that the work was meant to be completed by end of September, this being Bulgaria, numerous delays arose - instead of 5 new internal doors being delivered, only 3 turned up and we have had a hard time sourcing the remaining 2. The metal work for the stairs and balcony railings was meant to be completed by end of October but no sign of it. But the bathrooms were finished so I had hot water and a good shower. No signs of kitchens!

November 06: Downstairs kitchen eventually delivered mid November but then fitters would not plumb in sink or wire in hob so had to wait a further week to get someone to do this! Got one more door fitted and decorated downstairs. Two weeks later upstairs kitchen fitted and some furniture for downstairs. Slowly getting there but need garden fencing more securely to keep neighbourhood dogs out. Everything takes forever!!!

December 06: Downstairs apartment all decorated, upstairs also painted. Final door arrived and to be fitted shortly. Just small bits and pieces to do inside and also stairs and balcony railings to be fitted by end of year. Also agreed on quote to securely fence garden and put down gravel around entrances and make brick stand for outdoor tap and cover and insulate water meter properly. So with any luck apartments will be finished and ready to rent out by mid January.

And now it is looking a little cleaner I have taken some photos to show the work done.

Here is villa now it is all painted on outside and with new windows:

And here are some photos of the downstairs shower room, kitchen and new door in bedroom:

And my two cats that adopted me and have made themselves very at home, both now neutered:

Three of my four puppies sleeping in the sun

Molly Jeffrey

January 2007: New stairs and balcony railings now fitted. Upstairs apartment finished except for funiture. Work has started to securely fence the plot and the outside area is to be tidied up. I have made a start clearing the garden, although much to do.

February 2007: All finished and ready for guests (except for a lot of gardening)! Plot now securely fenced, outside tap all done, balcony railings now painted dark grey and gravel all down. Looks much tidier!

Outside

(New stairs)

Finished Villa

Villa (and my Lada Niva!)

Downstairs Apartment (available to rent!)

And Upstairs Apartment (ready for guests!)

Bedroom Wetroom

Lounge, dining area and kitchen)

And balcony!

June 2007: Have had gardener in to cut down large dead tree and strim worst of weeds. Now slowly digging over garden and tidying up.

August 2007: I moved out into my new house so downstairs apartment now available to rent also.

September 2007: Gardener has dug over all garden and cut down a few small dead trees so looks much neater. In spring I will sow grass seed and plant some bushes etc.

January 2008: Well after all the snow and very cold weather, I went to check villa and clean after New Year guests only to discover all pipes had completely frozen, even down to water in toilet bowl. The toilet block had cracked. Knowing that the taps and toilet would leak when the water melted, I turned off the water at the mains and hoped for the best. Unfortunately when the weather warmed up a little and everything defrosted it was clear most of the taps, as well as the toilet would need replacing.

April 2008: Leaking taps replaced and broken toilet fixed. Chimney lengthened so hopefully fire draws better. Garden strimmed and sprayed with 'Round Up' again as weeds getting out of control. Vines all trimmed back and fruit trees 'varred' and sprayed for bugs.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Total renovation costs for taking out old bathrooms and kitchen, new bathrooms, new windows, new doors, plaster patchwork, new wiring, tiling and plumbing for kitchen, new stairs and balcony railings, roof repairs, roof insulation, plastering chimney, new casing and varnishing of casing, painting outside of house, building outside tap, new secure fencing and gate, gravel and couple of new beams in barn and getting rid of debris and rubbish = 14,000 Euros.

AVAILABLE FOR RENT: Long term rental available at 250 Euros per apartment including utility bills or 350 Euros a month for whole villa. Alternatively available for weekly rent at 85 Euros per apartment with bedding and towels. I am also open to offers for people wanting the apartments on a cheaper rent in return for sorting out the garden.

FOR RENTAL see http://www.therentalbug.com