Monthly payments

I do agree with what EVTRA said. Except they aren't emptying and painting the houses, just selling them as is. That's a different British seller who empties and paints the houses then sells them on with an enormous mark-up. The houses are very much average unrenovated Bulgarian village houses, with all that entails. Some may have been empty for a while, and houses left empty inevitably deteriorate, especially village houses that are designed to be lived in, so many will have issues needing repair.

Paperwork wise - Bg Direct provide a contract that is in Bulgarian and English that lays all the terms out clearly, appears legally adequate, and covers most eventualities. That includes their rights to take possession of the property if payments are missed or bills like municipal taxes and utility bills aren't paid. The buyer gets full use of the property immediately, but the property belongs to Bg Direct until the final payment is made and the official notary transfer of ownership takes place. Copies of the contract were sent for me to sign, I sent then back, then they returned the final copies all signed by them and rubber stamped on every page in the correct Eastern European manner.

Proper invoices and receipts were done for the deposit, but not for the monthly payments. I make them by bank transfer and have screenshotted the transfers and saved them for my records. I also email the transfer screenshot to Dani, the admin person for the business. I don't get any sense they will do anything dodgy to keep my payments and reclaim the property. Hopefully I am not wrong to be trusting!

I'm pretty much taking the same approach as you, Colin. If the house is only worthy of demolishing and salvaging any useful materials to build a new house on the footprint, so be it. But I happen to like odd, quirky, vernacular houses that are hard to renovate to British standards. If I want British standards, I'll stay where I am. I want a Bulgarian village house, and this seems a useful way to get it.
-@janemulberry

Hi Jane, thank you and I am happy to have helped. Sending you Belated Easter wishes. And if you wish to celebrate Easter as a Bulgarian now, have a lovely Easter weekend!  Kind regards, Danislava (Bulgariadirect)   

Gwynj, thank you for your contributions to this forum and mostly accurate description of our long established business (coming up for 20 years in 2023!). We believe you were in touch a while back regarding a hotel for sale. Many thanks again for your interest.

Here in the thread other similar companies are mentioned, none of which we hold affiliation with. From mutual clients we understand our regular competitors today are also offering excellent service.

There are some differences though, besides operating in different regions some stride at a slower pace which may be more suitable for some. The main difference and what sets us aside from most, is the speed at which we reply and operate and the fact we only sell properties which are owned by our company. Just as the name suggest the sale is always direct without the usual chain.

As clearly stated (several times) in each listing, we generally work on a first come first served basis. Some people indeed do not have time to fly out and view. We believe, put bluntly as always, those people are simply not in a ready position to proceed - should they deem viewing essential (as many do).

Post-pandemic though, here at Bulgariadirect most sales now take place after viewing. There are plenty of house hunters on the ground right now who will always receive priority over distance buyers. Refreshingly, many already have experience and understand the sale process, some thanks to useful insights and shared wisdom here on this very forum.

Those wishing to work at a slow pace must always do so. Bulgaria is a land of estate agents, leaving buyers spoiled for choice. As you mention Rightmove hosts countless listings from some very efficient sellers, there's OK Bulgaria spidering 1000s of listings, and of course the big boys like Bulgarian Properties who always have a vast trove of properties to marvel at. For those who want to buy direct from the seller / owner, they can also try their luck on OLX and ALO (no hand holding or free dinners there though)

As we choose to work on a first come first served basis, missing out on a property has upset hundreds over the past two decades. Be it in the great old auction days when some got outbid at the last second, or today's Pay Monthly era which evidently waits for no man, and has even driven some from procrastination into hysterics. Put simply, call it bluntly, we do not understand the reason for concern when there are 1000s of properties available at any one time.

A recent example, was when someone else pipped a lady to a house (her and her friend who were emailing simultaneously all day). That someone who beat them to it was genuinely 100% in a ready position to proceed, so we naturally accepted their payment as opposed to continuing the 50+ email correspondence covering topics such as building swimming pools on a mountain slope. Three laws of gravity aside, we should point out we were talking of a £6k (what a huge markup!) shell of a property. The real BG budget No-Frills experience, i.e windows without extras like frames or glass.

From our perspective, and of much greater importance than a £300 deposit, is the fact ethics and consent come into play:

We cannot make other buyers wait.

We cannot be forced to enter into a purchase agreement with anyone who does not display understanding of what they are buying.

We cannot consent to devoting time descending into endless whatsapperies over gravity defying swimming pools, D Visas for parrots, or maybe starting to maybe think about maybe booking a flight maybe next week.

Whilst the vast majority of those shopping for properties at Bulgariadirect continue to be more than happy with our pre and after-sales service and support, the model offered will remain in place. We will never seek to change terms and should you choose our company, we must expect the same courtesy in return.

The above will hopefully help anyone who may not be familiar with how our company works within the popular Pay Monthly environment.

If we may live up to our "blunt" moniker once more, we'd like to point out that everyone is free to ask much the same BEFORE committing to purchase. If you're on the ground ready to look, do so! If you dont feel ready, hold off.

Once more, we do not speak for all the other companies and people mentioned in this thread. We wish everyone luck in their property search, with whomever they choose to buy from.

@Dani_Bulgariadirect I appreciate your help so much, and am very grateful. There's no way I could have done it without your adminstrative assistance! I am sure I will need your help again in the future, too. Честит Великден!

I don't have any hesitation recommending Bulgaria Direct, as long as buyers are aware what they are getting. It's been a little more of an adventure than I anticipated, but I have zero regrets with my choice to buy from the company.

@gwynj Wow! That is some before and after! What a huge amount of work you had done, to create a stunning home!

My parents are in BG and bought a new appartment in Vlas and a new house about 30mins from Burgas (in a very ‘local’ village with very few British) they were a little bit more money than has been discussed here but they have been faultless with no plumbing issues/electrical etc or roof issues in the last 10years. Obviously proves we’re different then compared to 2023 but the difference between an existing house and a new once wasn’t that much when you consider the ‘rectification costs and inconvenience’ etc.

what has been mentioned earlier on this or other threads is that if someone wants to buy a property and not live in it then the fortnight that they go to live there they can spend just tending to the Gardena d repainting it - not much of a holiday home - unless you can find a local to do that for you while you’re not there.

For a holiday home, yes, an apartment may be a better choice. OTOH, two solid weeks of gardening is some people's idea of a good holiday!

@janemulberry I may be incorrect but I think mowlem properties do this as well. I contacted them and asked about a property as I didn't want to pay monthly just up front. I'm wondering with the price mark up does the paperwork say the real property value or the one they sold it with the monthly payments.

Leanne, the contract should say what you actually paid. Same with the notary paperwork.

@janemulberry thanks for the information, I haven't purchased yet as I'm still researching areas and planning a visit but wasn't sure if the actual property value they buy it for would be shown instead of what it ends up as the pay monthly value.

Still very unsure what areas would be good for us as I do want to bring my young daughter on long holidays just worried about being broken in to!

The price shown on the site is the pay-monthly price. But if they agree to a buy-it-now for a lower price, that should be what's on the contract.

Unfortunately just like the UK break-ins are a risk everywhere. But some places are definitely safer than others. Maybe first decide what your budget is and what you hope for - apartment or house, close to the coast or the mountains, near a historic city, in a very rural area? Make sure unless you know for sure the house is completely renovated to leave some budget for unexpected repairs.

I haven't dealt with Mowlem, but people on the forum who've mentioned buying seem to have been happy with the service and the actual houses.

Happy house hunting!

@janemulberry

Have you now completed the process of buying your property and did it all go to plan if you could let me know Thanks

Just looking at property's at the moment.  What visa will I need to get and when's best to get it, before I purchase or after?  Thankyou

@neil76medley

Yes, all completed this time last year. It all went very smoothly. The post-sales assistance from Danislava at Bulgaria Direct has also been excellent.

The only hiccup was the property being in worse condition and needing more repairs than I expected, but that's the norm for almost all village houses! I do think it's wise to look at the house before paying too much out on it. Village houses are full of surprises, even for those who think they know what to expect. In most cases if you change your mind the deposit will be non-refundable, but depending on circumstances the pay-monthly sellers may allow you to transfer it to a different property.

I visited and stayed in our house very early in the pay-monthly process, when I could have backed out without losing too much. I decided to stick with it, and am very glad I did. We haven't moved in yet but each spend a week there most months. We love the village and the house, and hope to move as soon as I retire and can get a pensioner D visa. I don't have any regrets about any aspect of it.

Just looking at property's at the moment. What visa will I need to get and when's best to get it, before I purchase or after? Thankyou - @lewisdeb181

You don't need any special visa to buy a house, only to live in it! What is needed, for anyone who isn't an EU citizen which includes Brits post-Brexit, is a Bulgarian company as non-EU citizens aren't allowed to buy land, but companies are. That's necessary only if the place you want to buy includes land or a share of the land with an apartment. For properties like apartments that don't include any share of the land, a company isn't needed. That's just a formality, the estate agent should help you set that up for a reasonable fee.

For the visa question -- Brits can spend 90 days per180 in the Schengen zone without needing a visa. So if you want a holiday home or somewhere to spend the summer, you shouldn't need a visa at all as a British citizen. Where it gets a lot more complicated for non-EU citizens is if you want to move there full time. For that you need a D visa, and those can be tricky to get. This site isn't an official government site but gives one of the best explanations of the grounds to apply for a D visa and the process:  https://visaforbulgaria.com/bulgarian-d-visa

So to just look around or to buy a home to visit regularly, no visa at all is required for Brits and for citizens of many other countries (some do, so always check, based on your profile I am assuming you hold a UK passport). But if you find somewhere you love and decide you want to live there permanently, it could be a good idea to at least be aware of the D visa requirements and how you might meet them before committing to buy.

We have recently bought and are going to apply for the retirement Visa D but there is a reasonable amount of work and costs involved that you should be aware of. The Bulgarian Embassy does give a list and also you must open a Bulgarian bank account, not that straightforward, and get your pension paid into it. I wish it was easier 😃😃

I wish it was easier - @jeanmandredeix

Me too!

Find a mate who voted for Brexit - and ask them to help you with the paperwork as a penance... 😎

@JimJ Bulgaria or Europe in general are not the only ones with difficult bureaucracy.  I would not even be moving here if it wasn’t for the commie government we now have in UK.

Find a mate who voted for Brexit - and ask them to help you with the paperwork as a penance... 😎 - @JimJ

If they voted for Brexit, they are probably NOT my mate anymore!

@colinhill0912

I'm dealing with them at present

I've purchased 2 properties down south bulgaria they seem to be OK can't find fault with them,reply quickly to emails when asked.

@steve533

I hope all goes well with your purchases! I had a good overall experience buying from Bulgaria Direct on pay monthly, too.

But I'm not sure Colin will see your post as he hasn't been active in the forum for a while.