Thinking of buying a home in Bulgaria!

Hi, go for it. 

We bought an old house near Burgas, had it extended and the renovation is almost finished.

We haven't moved in yet but are eagerly waiting for the day, hopefully in June this year.

We are British too and all the British people we meet in Bulgaria tell us what a brilliant place it is to live and they wish they had done it years ago.

Good luck.

Thank you for replying, where do you live in England? Do you need planning permission, how easy is it to buy?
Shinina

Hi again Shinina, so it is Veliko district near svishtov are you flying in from Bucharest Romania it will be an easyier route?
I have a flight in August flying in to here, a new route opened last December Liverpool to Otepini then a taxi across the Danube down in to Byala, it is not too far from Svishtov, my advice from my own experiences would be to prepare for a very calm quiet setting you may drive through a few villages some crumbly some intact and or endless flat fields with crops and sunflowers in it will be a step backwards in time almost, but embrace it turn your UK head off, and take in the cultures, the food, the people, the rural area's as long as you have a local town you can get your provisions you can spruce up your base all in time I  have taken 2 1/2 years slowly renovating my house, but I agree with Rapbom's reply to go for it! (with little outlay there's little risk?)
Best wishes Steve.

Hi I am flying into Sofia and then a 3 hour train journey. I have been speaking to a lady in Ovcha Mogila, she is selling a house, renovated, 1/2 acre of land for thirty thousand pound.
Shinina

It is good Airport supposed to be the main one although it is not huge?
I have always hired cars in advance and armed with a sat nav headed out from Sofia I'm ok after about 5 mins calm down and breath again ha-ha! (I'll personal message you again ok)

Shinina-

Just to let you know, the journey to the byala area by train from sofia is more like 4:45-5 hours, not three. I, personally, like travelling by train, so the time is not an issue. But just so you know what to expect.

Also- you asked in another area about whether you will be accepted as someone with darker skin. A lot of Bulgarians are friendly towards foreigners of all types. Some will be curious (depending on how dark your skin tone is, they may have never seen anyone like you. I had a black friend living in a small village and everyone wanted to touch her hair because it was so different from theirs... it took about a year for things to calm down and for her to figure out how to deal with curious children) others, unfortunately, will be prejudice. You will have to feel out your area in particular and see if you will feel welcomed and safe.

As far as gay relatives, in Bulgaria it is more of a 'don't ask, don't tell' kind of thing. In the bigger cities (plovdiv, sofia) you will find gay culture and people will be more accepting. However, people will occasionally make jokes about homosexuality and I know living in a small village for a while I did not feel comfortable at all talking about my alternative sexuality. But as long as your family members are not on a crusade to have everyone around them be supportive of their sexuality, there shouldn't be an issue, or even a question of it.

Just to put in my two cents on the prices of property in Bulgaria, when you are foregn they magically seem to go up   with that said, I have no idea what the house you are buying looks like and to what quality and standard has it been built and renovated so deff check prices around and keep in mind that a regular salary for a person with a bachelor degree is about £400/mo so £30k is a lot of money for Bulgaria especially in a village.

Thank you for your comments, it is a 4 bedroom house, 1/2 acre of land, garden is enclosed by wall and fence's, tarmac drive to property, on the edge of a village, Ovcha Mogila Svishtov.
Shinina

Thank you for all your comments, very helpful.
Shinina