Buying/moving to Bulgaria

Welcome to Expat.com scottgray!

Hope that you will soon get some advice.

Good luck and all the best,
Harmonie.

Hi

My husband and I bought our house through IBG Realestate, and we have to say it was an excellent service and trouble free.

Good luck

Lynn and Adrian

Hi,

I'm also looking into buying property in Bulgaria, but haven't yet, and likely won't be able to for a while...

But off and on I have been in touch with Rachel, and her mission is to help you navigate the process so that you can avoid the horror stories she has already gone through on her own.

She doesn't have many offerings at any given time, but it's well worth reading about her experiences, and by now I'm sure she has a network of reliable people she can refer you to, as well as a list of people to avoid.

Good luck!

Hello ,

We can certainly recommend this company: (moderated: no free ad on the forum. Please recommend it in the business directory.)  They are profesional and extremely helpful. You hear many frightening stories of foreigners getting ripped off in Bulgaria by rogue agents and con men. The owners of this company could teach the English estate agents a lesson or two in customer care. Nothing is too much trouble to them. The whole buying experience went extremely smooothly. They took care of setting up bank accounts for us, both personal and the required buisness account. Registering the property and sorting utility bills. During our search for the right property in Bulgaria, we dealt with many different estate agents and without doubt these were the most helpful and friendly. Unlike UK estate agents where you get met at the house of your choice and ten minutes of their time, with Bulgarian House, you are driven around a range of houses within your given budget. We have now owned our house for just over a year and in that time we have turned to Bulgarian House for help and advice and they always act on our requests. We would certainly recommend paying them to project manage any work as they can be trusted and it is worth paying what we have found to be amazing value for money. In summary we trust them 100%. I would say try Bulgarian House first and you won\\\\\\\'t want or need to try another agent.


Hope this is helpful and you'll find easy your dream property in Bulgaria.

Crime is bad in the tourist resorts like Bourgas and Varna so you do have to be extremely careful. I would suggest you find an apartment to rent initially and stay a couple of months to see how you like living in Bulgaria. That way you will no doubt meet plenty of expats and pick up tips on places and firms to avoid etc.

Hi There
Currently there is a con man in the VT/Chirpin area he has a lot of aliases/names different email addresses, etc, and companies several British people have lost a lot of money due to this man and his is currently being investigated as he is known to the Police in London and also the police in BG ! if you want help with purchasing property we have lived here since the end of 2008 and have just sold one of our houses to a British man who is coming to live here next year 2012 May! we can show you pictures of all the renovation works we have done and we can take you there and show you our work, you can meet our builders too and see the work done on our own house! we Supervise closely all building works!!! but we are not in the region  you have chosen we are in the Vidin area, where the Crime Rate is LOW, the people are friendly and we have a British community here too feel free to contact me: [email protected]   Never give power of attorney to any Bulgarian estate agency. And Never give any money up front to any individual who is either British or Bulgarian, unless its a very small amount paid in stages for renovation works - to cover materials etc safe guard your money.....
Best wishes to you!

****

Can I ask why the Yambol area? Its very flat and not the nicest of areas in Bulgaria. Have a look at the Elena region which is beautiful with mountains and lakes etc...please ask if you need advice. We have lived there 4 years and have a good range of trusted contacts. I personally would rent before you buy and have a good look around the country. I see you mentioned renovating over xmas.This could be difficult due to the winters over here,We have heavy snow falls and very low temperatures up to minus 30c at night. This could be a problem if you need to mix plaster or concrete...All building work stops through the winter usually.

Hey Guys,

I got to read your post on buying a property/home in BG...

I have a summer home here in Veliko Turnovo (the medival capital) Bulgaria...Google Veliko Turnovo photos and you will get to see the landscape...

Here it is a lot safer than in the country side where the gypsies strip properties when the property is unattended during the weekend...fast and furious...

The sea is haunted in the winter and saturated with criminals in the summer...mountain and lake front/view places need attention in the winter...and the managing/sales realtor are all crooks...

If you need to buy here...come checkout the place over a 2-3 month period before you invest. PLEASE DO NOT give any deposit to ANY REALTOR before you are CONVINCED that you are definitely interested in a SPECIFIC PROPERTY.

I will be happy to reflect on my experience, but I cannot recommend anyone who is ethical or honest.

At the age of 65 we thought it would be nice to retire and have an apartment in Bulgaria. We chose a building 50% built and with British Investors we felt happy things would be completed on time the following year!  It was not to be! And almost 5 years on from the start of build the complex has much to be completed! My advice to others is to only buy completed apartments and always use a Bulgarian solicitor, one who is not tied into the same complex retail estate agents or investors.  Good Luck as you will need it!

Video showing 5 years of anguish!

youtu.be/SmcBHPyufc0

ChrisMaleUK...

Thanks for sharing your experience on this forum. This is a wake-up call for investors of off-plan, not-completed as well as newly completed projects.

Some 6 years back when the real estate market was hot (EUR 1,500.00 per sqm), with many off-plan projects that realtors were hot and heavy on sales while MANY MANY apartment projects stood unoccupied BUT "SOLD"...I questioned myself...is this REAL or a SCAM. When I questioned realtors and friends they were taken aback.

I abstained from going any further and shutting-off to the realtor's hype of renting to embassy, United Nations and MNC personnel.

Instead, I moved away from Sofia and looked for a ready to move-in resale. After viewing many derelict homes, I purchased an apartment that was ready to move-in. I was lucky, but I paid through my nose. Essentially, after 6 years I cannot resell for the purchase price. In hind-sight, I discovered everyone...I MEAN EVERYONE...had betrayed my trust...but this is BG.

At least, I have a home that I can enjoy when I am here...

As far as ethical, honest and truthful professionals are concerned...there are few and far in between in a country which is emerging into the EU while it takes many generations to adjust to the reality of democratic and lawful society.

What amazes me most that some of the expats are also into the same unethical and dishonest conduct...so who do you trust???

HappyRon wrote:

ChrisMaleUK...

Thanks for sharing your experience on this forum. This is a wake-up call for investors of off-plan, not-completed as well as newly completed projects.

Some 6 years back when the real estate market was hot (EUR 1,500.00 per sqm), with many off-plan projects that realtors were hot and heavy on sales while MANY MANY apartment projects stood unoccupied BUT "SOLD"...I questioned myself...is this REAL or a SCAM. When I questioned realtors and friends they were taken aback.

I abstained from going any further and shutting-off to the realtor's hype of renting to embassy, United Nations and MNC personnel.

Instead, I moved away from Sofia and looked for a ready to move-in resale. After viewing many derelict homes, I purchased an apartment that was ready to move-in. I was lucky, but I paid through my nose. Essentially, after 6 years I cannot resell for the purchase price. In hind-sight, I discovered everyone...I MEAN EVERYONE...had betrayed my trust...but this is BG.

At least, I have a home that I can enjoy when I am here...

As far as ethical, honest and truthful professionals are concerned...there are few and far in between in a country which is emerging into the EU while it takes many generations to adjust to the reality of democratic and lawful society.

What amazes me most that some of the expats are also into the same unethical and dishonest conduct...so who do you trust???

I think it is another good point that you share this. Unfortunately many people and yes even EXPATS are dishonest. It is nice that we share these things as this is the only way to help each other. I for example can attest to it personally, as I have not made my investment in BG yet and will probably make less mistakes this way.

Thanks

Hi to all nice people in this forum.
There are many problems that you will meet during looking to invest in Bulgaria. I will recommend you to take a lawyer to assist you with all the documents you need to present and to sign. Not only for that but when investing money and time for a good property you have to understand the whole procedure, to know that your money are safe and that all the documents are prepared in the best interest of yours, so that it won't be necessary to travel a lot or to initiate and lead  a lawsuit later.
There are many colleagues (lawyers)  that can assist you through this process but I recommend you to stay away from big law firms because those are willing to take the case just for the big fees , which are probably twice as much as they should be, the same applies and for establishing a company. If there are any questions or problems that you meet do not hesitate to write me at personal message.

HappyRon, the sale of so called "off-plan" properties is absolutely legit - the holder of the right to built could transfer it to third persons at any time till the building is finished in rough construction (after that the building is considered complete and the title over newly built objects could be transferred). Normally, the builders do that at the beginning of the building works to fund their project. The building agreements signed most of the cases provide realistic and feasible terms. The problem is that the risk of something going wrong is very likely and the builders are always in delay. Per example the builder could go bankrupt or do not have enough funds to complete the building works, as well he could wait a lot till the building is commissioned by the authorities (certificate of habitation, commissioning), etc. etc.

I was in the process of buying an older property in Doborvan Bulgaria through an ebay auction, which I actually won.The full amount had to be paid within seven days, but the seller would not accept payment by pay pal or credit card, it had to be a direct transfer into their Iban bank account. I really wanted to trust them, but something at the back of my mind kept pulling me back from sending the money. Needless to say I pulled out, not a good reputation with ebay, but I think I made the right decision. The best thing is to see before you buy. We plan to go there in March
and have a good look around.

Sylvia12 wrote:

I was in the process of buying an older property in Doborvan Bulgaria through an ebay auction, which I actually won.The full amount had to be paid within seven days, but the seller would not accept payment by pay pal or credit card, it had to be a direct transfer into their Iban bank account. I really wanted to trust them, but something at the back of my mind kept pulling me back from sending the money. Needless to say I pulled out, not a good reputation with ebay, but I think I made the right decision. The best thing is to see before you buy. We plan to go there in March
and have a good look around.

Well done you did the right thing ! this sounds very suspect, that seller should be reported to Ebay !  Regards from me... We are in the Vidin region of BG have been here since the end of 2008, if you want to visit us we could show you around... best luck and happy new year!

I do not find the method of payment disturbing, the parties could agree on bank transfer, Paypal, cheque, cash, etc. The issue is in paying before viewing and in the commitment to pay within 7 days after the auction, i.e. the full payment in advance. The ebay auctions are neither a valid contract for purchase of property in Bulgaria, nor a preliminary one within the meaning of the Bulgarian Property Law. Therefore, in my opinion, the ebay property auctions are not legally binding. To pay the full price for the property in advance one should trust the seller to the highest extent. If something goes wrong I think the buyer could only take an action through Ebay Dispute Resolution Centre to claim back the money paid.

Sylvia12 wrote:

I was in the process of buying an older property in Doborvan Bulgaria through an ebay auction, which I actually won.The full amount had to be paid within seven days, but the seller would not accept payment by pay pal or credit card, it had to be a direct transfer into their Iban bank account. I really wanted to trust them, but something at the back of my mind kept pulling me back from sending the money. Needless to say I pulled out, not a good reputation with ebay, but I think I made the right decision. The best thing is to see before you buy. We plan to go there in March
and have a good look around.

Hi, There a British friend of our has a property for sale, it is a big house with large garden and its situated near to Veliko Turnovo.  If you would like my friends email and skype details I will happily put you both in touch.  There will be No commissions to pay at all, just trying to help you, Best Regards,

Sandra. You can email me: [email protected]

Hi Sylvia ,

Weldone dont never buy if you did not see the property by yourself
I am living in the north near Lom close to the Donau river .
It's a beautiful natural region . I can send you some pictures if you like . Be carrefull with real estates and before buying something take information by other EU or UK citizen Who already have a house in Bulgaria.
                               Sincerely yours

                               Axinia Milanova

I am in the process of buying and just formed my company and it is being registered...do you live in vidin region. I was told this was the poorest region and not to invest there but from the comments I see that there is a big expat community is that the case. Thank you

thanks for asking...first and foremost, if you are an eu national, you do not need a company to purchase a home or land. a company will commit you to file timely annual accounts and tax returns as well as drain your resources every year with accountants fees, various taxes, etc. next, buy in a village only if you will live there full time, because a village home is an easy target for gypsies who will strip your home, including the electrical wires, when you are away from your home over a weekend. also, a village home isolates you from friends and neighbors, despite their presence, when you purchase. also, consider medical care for which you will need to reach a major city for quality care. if i were you and attracted to any home purchase...go rent it for 6 months or so...feel out the place before you commit your hard earned resources in a country saturated with very questionable characters...but do not pay any deposits, none whatsoever. just read on the banks that soaked up life time savings of expats who were living on interest returns on life time savings in deposits earning a handsome interest. please be cautious of your every move because the realtors are sharks in waiting...

OK. Thanks for the heads up. I am a US  citizen....right now i am looking at houses online  in VT and have not committed to a realtor just yet

Agreed, you are in a fabulous area. I fail to understand why so many Brits want to buy in non-descript places near VT, only because there are a lot of other Brits there.

WHY VT area? Anyway, hope you are happy w/yr choice.

VT is conveniently located, equidistant to Sofia & Varna. It is the medieval capital of BG, where local and foreign tourists are attracted. The railways from/to Bucharest and Istanbul stops in VT. VT is close to Gorno Oriahovitca, a regional commercial hub as well as to Elena and Arbanasi, two attractive localities. Most coaches from Sofia to Varna stop/transit thru VT. VT is gradually developing as a major tourist attraction. VT has some 5 star hotels and many restaurants. VT also hosts a university. These features make VT an attractive destination.

I invested close to EUR 50k in an apartment that enjoyed a great location, views and conveniences. I ended up maintaining the complete building as the other 2 owners abstained from sharing any maintenance costs. After owing it for over 7 years, I attempted to sell it, but there are no buyers for quality properties in great locations like my apartment between two 5 star hotels. It was tough and very tough to dispose the apartment while real estate sharks offered EUR 18k to grab the attractive property. Finally, after 10 years, I took a loss of EUR 10k, after investing EUR 10k over 10 years....essentially a loss of over EUR 20k.

In finality, I will never invest in BG, **** including law enforcement, poor and very poor and degrading infrastructure. Just walk the steps from the VT South coach terminal to uphill town center to see what I mean. Local residents and ladies with prams find it impossible to walk the walkways on disintegrated cement tiles. In comparison, just cross into Turkey to feel the difference from one hour to another. Despite everything un-European about it, Turkey is a great destination with excellent infrastructure, property market, cultured people, arts & crafts, cuisine, fruits and the list goes on.

If you are attracted to cheap booze and smoke only, BG is the destination for likes of those Brits who love BG for the derelict property shells that they turn into castles, which are stripped overnight by the gypsies who propagates towns and villages, including in/around VT.

Frankly, I was out of my mind to invest in BG at the height of easy credit and second mortgages in EU, that attracted investments in BG in 2006. When the financial crisis occurred, all realtors vanished from VT streets in 2008, and that is how it remains today, as banks such as Commerce & Credit Bank have disappeared with life-time savings of British expats who were attracted to the higher interest rates than back in Britain.

Please do not feel that I am subjecting you to my trash. My reflections are an objective to avoid misleading any prospective expat in BG.

Hi all, interesting reading all yr posts. Does anyone know if gypsy activity is bad in and around vratsa? We are looking to purchase maybe north of here  and do it up on holidays before moving permanently on tmretirement but on reading about gypsies stripping properties sounds very worrying when we might not be around to keep it safe. Any help would be appreciated. Thk u Lorraine x

Lorraine,
Invest in Bulgaria has the potential for all sorts of heart burns...gypsy, notary, realtors, neighbors, dentists, doctors and the list goes on. Investing your life long savings in Bulgaria will bring you unprecedented heart burns. It is a nation of poor and deceitful people, including the gypsy population and lifestyle that no one can control or avoid.
I invested over EUR 44,000 plus 15,000 overtime, and had the most unpleasant experiences right from the purchase realtors thru potential sales realtors in Veliko Tarnovo, a touristy destination, where I had an apartment among 5 star hotel, yet the crooks and criminals prevailed and prospered. In an attempt to sell my property, realtors  attempted to downgrade the property value to secure it for themselves and then market it for a fat profit. Neighbors had gypsies repair their roof to step on my roof tiles to break them and I had to get others to fix my roof at inflated costs. British expats in town offered home maintenance services at London rates as well as realtor services with demanding and commanding contracts not worth debating. I finally sold my assets at a significant loss, but I am happy to get away from low life and deceitful people, let alone gypsies.
There are many other countries to retire for a pleasant and enjoyable life style. My best suggestions is to rent for a year plus to feel out the location and demographics...DO NOT INVEST UPFRONT. Realtors and notaries will put up their best performance for a successful purchase, after which you will get to realize the facts of life in Bulgaria.

Lorraine,

I can only speak from my own experience. We bought a house in 2008 near Yambol and initially used it as a holiday home ( posh camping at best! 😅) We did little bits to it while we were here, but the project was vast, and the real renovations didn't really begin until we moved out in 2012. During the months that the house was unoccupied, which was the majority of the year, we had no issues with gypsies or the like stripping anything from the house. We have bought where there are virtually no gypsies, and we have very good Bulgarian neighbours, who have to pass our house to get to theirs, and I think this is a very good deterrent. My advice would be to check out the village that you wish to buy in, and befriend your Bulgarian neighbours, they will be your best allies.

I bought a house part renovated fully furnished all electrical goods etc.
I knew I could not move into same for 5 to 6 weeks but the outgoing owners were moving out immediately job start in Canada.
I approached my closest neighbour and told them the house would be empty for 6 weeks and requested them to keep an eye on the house.
They did and on moving over have been so welcoming and friendly. Inviting me to meals gardening advice and help joining in when they killed pigs (all day affair beer and rakia at 8.30am bbq all day)
The only thing I have had stolen is an old wheel barrow which neighbours blamed on gypsies that visit the village like the old rag and bone man in the UK.
So I would whole heartedley agree with Jules999.
I live in Opan, Stara Zagora.

Hi Lorraine, just to say that we are also interested in the Vratsa area and also Montana. We are renting in Sofia for the winter whilst we check out properties.
We have only been here a week and are just about to move into our rented house. The estate agent and landlady that we have already dealt with have been kind and very helpful.
We are trying not to feel daunted by the negative information about untrustworthy people.
We are studying the language and hope that being able to communicate with our neighbours will help us feel more secure and integrated.
I will post on here any information that we learn about gypsy activity in the Vratsa and Montana areas and anything else that seems relevant. Let's pool our information to our mutual benefit!

Hi, we just came back from vratsa and bought a property. Waiting for it finalise. Already starting to learn language but wil be a year or so before we move there properly. Will be doing it up. Estate agents excellent and looking forward to hopefully speandi g all next summer out there. Can't wait, excited x

Hi everyone, ive just joined but i have also just bought a place in BG, and i thought id share my thoughts as well.

first the basics - it is next to a village called Glushka south of VT 5 minutes from Tryavna - it is a wreck and cost me 9500 pounds. but for that i get half an acre fully detached with 172sqm of house and another 170sqm of barn roofed area.

its unlivable in its current state - BUT it is not an investment, it is a bit of fun and a project for me in my older age, the money to buy it has not been borrowed it was saved and is only about a 3rd of our cash savings to date. Its a project for me to play with and i will never sell it, it will be passed on to one of my Nieces to either sell or carry on with. I would probably never buy in this country as a serious investment because of the lacking infrastructure, in time i am sure that it will improve at a glacial speed no doubt but in the mean time id never spend more than - well 10,000 on anything there. we still have our house in the UK and we have not exposed ourselves financially, if it falls down i will have a campsite. no problem.

to always buy for an investment is sometimes the issue, these old houses are fun and they have land and barns where some people can have alot of fun playing with ideas theyd never be able to afford in there own country, our UK house is in Derby, if i was to try and buy a house of this size in the derbyshire countryside it would be impossible, Luckly for me i can work on the house for 6 months a year and we hope to use it as a retirement home in 10 years time...unless the gypsies move in.

during the purchase all paperwork was printed and copied for me to keep in pdf and hard copy formats (my request) and it was all done in a week (owners were a couple and local so that helped ) all bills were transferred into my name and paid with documents to confirm it, a bank account was opened in a day and my visa card arrived two days later, all documents were completed at expense and the deed as well as all other documentation was completed and provided as said in a week. even a quick pre contract was done with a 500 lev deposit  to satisfy me and a few concerns  and then full payment made thereafter.

it was a breeze and fast really but i paid a little more to get it done right....not lots more just a little more.

i also read tonnes of bad write ups about the country and went over a did a work away with a guy in village south of VT (i liked VT it has all that you need and more if you dig deep enough) Then i approached the agencies and i demanded answers to all the terrible stories id heard - they were all delightful, no hard sell, free trips and views and very honest simple advice but id done my research way ahead of them and could not get caught out (possible i know) - in the end i went with Century homes in VT, now they are not cheap and there fees are upfront but slightly more than other agencies but i got alot for my money, i sucked the agents brain dry he told me everything about BG and all its failings as well, there was not a rock un-turned because i demanded it of him to tell me everything warts and all and he told me of all the scams how they work and he backed it up with facts.

i choose the location to live within 30 minutes of VT 10 minutes of Drayavno, 15 min from Gabrovo (dont know how to spell these ) an in the hills 500 meters up, possible a cooler summer?  - i want isolation and peace and quite and i want a project im in a small hamlet. last time i saw the haouse i bought 5 big paddlocks and went around and locked all doors, dont get me worng theyd have those off in a flash if they really wanted to get in .... but ahh so what...

so dont fear it all so much i think they (not all} have cleaned up there act a little and i think now is a good time to buy with a more honest a measured approach with plenty of realism thrown in, backed by some good research and question firing and dont sigh a thing until you absolutely have to.

feel free to ask away, and for sure when i go back in the spring it could have all been nicked...but what the hell there is nothing i can do about it is there ha ha...

BG is for investing in with spare money....money that doesn't expose you to financial risk.

regards  - anyone got a van they want to sell.

Hi again, we've found our house, in the village of Manastirishte. I'm not sure if it's in the Vratsa or Montana municipality - it's about an hour's drive from both. We're hoping to have the keys by the end of January.

I'm wondering if anyone who lives in this region can recommend the best place(s) to get wood and coal in big loads?

I'd love to make some expat contacts in the region. I'm going to be looking for advice about gardening, and probably lots of other things!

Looking forward to hearing from you.

axinia milanova wrote:

Hi Sylvia ,

Weldone dont never buy if you did not see the property by yourself
I am living in the north near Lom close to the Donau river .
It's a beautiful natural region . I can send you some pictures if you like . Be carrefull with real estates and before buying something take information by other EU or UK citizen Who already have a house in Bulgaria.
                               Sincerely yours

                               Axinia Milanova

Hello,

Is your property in front of the Danau river ? Are there such properties that you know of  for sale ?

Hi Axinia, no it's not on the Danube, it's right by the river Ogosta.

We used an estate agent called Viktor Mihaylov from Vratzata Estate Agency, and he is excellent and could probably help you with information about properties near the Danube.

Best wishes, Caroline

There are lots of things to be aware of when thinking of buying here.
One of course is never buy just relying on pictures from the agents. A lot of agents have never seen the properties they advertise. Many properties have been on the market for more than a few years and the original pictures have never been updated so what looks good could actually be a wreck in a jungle of a garden.
I came to Bulgaria over 12 years ago and worked with a few different agents just for the experience and information. I've seen the good the bad and the ugly and seen  the scams and rip offs but wild horses wouldn't drag me back to the UK.
If my experience can help you and save you time, worry and sleepless nights just ask.
Good luck and Happy New Year to all.

Hello,

Sure but it's not easy to go to Bulgaria just to see a place. So you have to really be sure that you are interested first. So photos are essentials.
I also see it's not easy to get informations from agencies.
It's not a problem if the house is in bad shape for me. The problem is to pay for a house in good conditions and to get a house in bad conditions.
But I ain't naive and I shall never trust an agent, photos or a price. I am looking for a low price house with land. I will organise personnally renovation.
For a property of 20.000 EUR sold by an agency, what would you (in general) think the correct price is ? 7.000 eur, 10.000 eur , 15.000 eur ?

In general wise to not trust an agent but can't tar them all with the same brush. However they have to make money so yes the prices are somewhat more.
There are other ways to find property for less.
PM me or see my profile.
All the best,
Ian