Monthly payments

To be fair, our house renovation was done by a gang of "gypsy" builders over nearly 5 months of the first Pandemic Summer. It was a lot of work! I dread to think what that would have cost me in the UK.

Here's the before. You should note the plastic over the downstairs (= ground floor and basement) windows, and big empty space below the lounge (the main reason why upstairs was impossible to keep warm in winter, with the cold wind sucking the heat out). It doesn't look very big, but it's rather awkwardly divided into 3 zones (below lounge, ground floor below bedrooms, basement) on 3 slightly different levels, which add up to nearly 150 m2. Each zone needed new floors and new stairs to get between them.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/qd9jc3Xai3CdMhf79

This is the after, with new walls below the lounge, new terrace in front, new porch on the side. New UPVC windows in the ground and basement floors, new doors to the porch and basement, everything with external insulation and render.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/xg3MAk6Ghp717ztb9

https://photos.app.goo.gl/dJNvCU66sbJwsS9f7

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!