Buying in Bulgaria: travelling to Bulgaria next w/e for an inspection trip in Bansko.

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MoiMoi

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Hi,

I will be travelling to Bulgaria next w/e for an inspection trip in Bansko. This is my first time doing this, any tips for things to watch out? i am thinking getting an independant lawyer, mortgage broker and accountant for further advice, appreciate for recommendation, eventually would like to hear good and bad experience investing in Bulgaria.

Thanks
 
Re: Buying in Bulgaria

I was in Bansko before and hated the place. There's massive over construction and tons and tons of property for sale. This year there was very little snow so lots of hotels put up their places for sale. Rental income will be poor, your chances of making any money is extremely low. Sales in property in Bulgaria have gone down a lot since interest rates globally have gone up. They are now relying on the Russians coming in to buy property and they are buying some property but there is so much for sale it will be a long while before the glut of properties are sold.

So if I were you I would cancel your trip as you will end up loosing money.

Sorry for being negative but I just want to ensure that you don't waste your money.
 
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Re: Buying in Bulgaria

Hi MoiMoi

If you search the forum you should find a lot of posts discussing this subject. The most informative involved debate between Auto320, a late and very knowledgeable member here, and Travelbug, also very knowledgeable and informative. Travelbug has a website www.thetravelbug.org/ which is very interesting. Much of the posting to date supports Doberden's view.

However, if you go ahead with the trip, you will at least have visited Bulgaria, which is more than most of us here have done.

Slim
 
Re: Buying in Bulgaria

All I have to say is dont believe everything you read on the internet, or everything the sales agents tell you either.
 
Re: Buying in Bulgaria

declining snow levels and rising interest rates as well as the low average wage of the Bulgarians makes it a red herring.
I would bet if you took half the money the agent is asking for the property your viewing to spend, there are people who would take hand and all just to be able to exit the place.
 
Re: Buying in Bulgaria

I bought off plan near Razlog two years ago and want to flip it now for the reasons given by other posters on this thread. Agents not nearly so keen. Was told that they only sold to other investors, who would not want my property!

If I were MoiMoi, I would ask the agents about resales. I did that two years ago and was told that everyone was holding on to their property as the gains were so good. There are now enough people such as myself around to make nonsense of that response. I should be interested to hear what MoiMoi is told.

Will keep the forum informed of developments in my case.
 
Re: Buying in Bulgaria

doberden said:
So if I were you I would cancel your trip as you will end up loosing money.
Click to expand...

Or bring your swimming togs instead of your chequebook. Any investment in any emerging markets is of very high risk for very uncertain returns.
 
Re: Buying in Bulgaria

Please put the word Bansko in the search facility here and read all of the other threads.
There does not seem to be anyone who has anything positive to say about it.
 
MoiMoi said:
Hi,

I will be travelling to Bulgaria next w/e for an inspection trip in Bansko. This is my first time doing this, any tips for things to watch out? i am thinking getting an independant lawyer, mortgage broker and accountant for further advice, appreciate for recommendation, eventually would like to hear good and bad experience investing in Bulgaria.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Yes further advice would be dont buy there.

Bulgaria Ski/ Coastal are not investment locations, i.e. you wont make any money from them. More likely lose from it.

Fine if it is somewhere you want to buy to visit regularly or to live but as you havent been there I doubt this is the case.

The only place to make money in central/ eastern europe are the cities. Warsaw, Prague, Brno, Sofia, Bucharest, etc. These are where people are moving to and where there is a local resale market.

There is no resale market in Bulgaria ski/coastal at all. Avoid it like the plague.

Please don't go signing a cheque on your first inspection trip and don't believe a word of b******* from any agent. Get everything verified by independent sources - i.e. rental potential, average price per m2 etc.
 
I got a phone call yesterday from one of the agent saying the area of bansko/razlog will be develop with 6 new gold courses and a new airport near bansko, have anyone heard about this or it is just a pure b.....
 
Don't know about the new Bansko airport, but the rumours about the gold courses are probably true!
If you go to any field near Bankso, this is what you gonna see...
[broken link removed]
 
Did you ask him what type of airport...Got his from a posting on [broken link removed]: (p.s. please assume that whatever the agent is saying is not true.....)

Take anything you hear about these sorts of things in Bansko with a pinch of salt - the mayor is more PR savvy than the mayor of Kavarna. The airport is on the town plans, its true. Various people claim at various times to be building on it but it will, if anything, be for light planes and helicopters. They can't even cut new ski slopes, so I wouldn't be waiting under water for an airport.

Its only 2.5 hours from a major new international airport and so the justification for an airfield to handle passenger jets would not stand up to the most cursory of economic evaluations.
 
Lots of developments out here, lots of apartments for sale as well, there is a huge potential for price increased when they join the euro in 2009 however i am a bit concern on the rental side, it is very quiet at the moment, ski seasons kick off around mid dec to april/may. According to the locals they had a bad ski season last year and never heard of any new airport planned. I had been pushed to sign, lots of hard selling tactics, the agent got really annoyed because i didn't give in, beware if you are going out here...i think i am going to invest in Sofia instead. L
 
What makes you think Bulgaria is going to join the Euro in 2009?
Given that more "advanced" economies like Poland, Czech Republic and Hungary aren't expected to join the Euro in the next few years, I highly doubt that Bulgaria is in such a position
 
Re: Buying in Bulgaria: travelling to Bulgaria next w/e for an inspection trip in Ban

MoiMoi said:
there is a huge potential for price increased when they join the euro in 2009
Click to expand...

what are you basing this assertion on?

btw: glad to hear you didn't invest, but don't think you should be expecting any better in Sofia
 
MoiMoi said:
Lots of developments out here, lots of apartments for sale as well, there is a huge potential for price increased when they join the euro in 2009 however i am a bit concern on the rental side, it is very quiet at the moment, ski seasons kick off around mid dec to april/may. According to the locals they had a bad ski season last year and never heard of any new airport planned. I had been pushed to sign, lots of hard selling tactics, the agent got really annoyed because i didn't give in, beware if you are going out here...i think i am going to invest in Sofia instead. L
Click to expand...

Tell the agent to **** off. Its your money.

Sofia is definately the better option. It has a local resale market and hasn't had a great deal of overseas buyers yet. Just get a good agent there!

If I was you I would look at the cities in Poland and the Czech Rep first. These are in my opinion the best growth areas in CEE.

Stay away from ski and beach resorts, they may make nice holiday homes but are lousy investments.
 
MoiMoi,

I have been doing due diligence recently for an buyer who was thinking of purchasing in Pamporovo and Bansko. I would advise you not to go near it for some of the reasons above and because a lot of the property is overprices and does not have the potential that is being talked. Supply there is huge and there are not the tourist numbers renting apartments to get the yields you'll need. There are also a lot of very good hotels being built there that will further soak up potential renters. If you go onto the Sofia Echo website www.sofiaecho.com you can read lots of reports about the lack of snow there last year, such as the resorts opening in December without snow, very little snow being around in January and the resort closing a month early due to, you guessed it, lack of snow. Of course this last year could be a blip, but you'd be a brave man to bet against it. You'd think that as a result of this there would be some really good bargains about, but there aren't and agents and developers who themselves have overpaid are hoping that this season is a succcess.

Geordie
 
I was in Sofia and seeing lots of road works, new buildings new appartments. There are quite a number of foreign investment banks and big companies, Bulgarians speak good english and eager to work in private sectors, i saw high class cars, lamborghini etc...not bad after all! Sofia will get better oneway, I also talk to young bulgarians they too see lots of things have improved, they can't wait to join the Euro one day.....BTW i just bought an off plan appartment, won't be ready until feb 2009...i predict by 2009 things will be much better...that is my instinct.
 
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