Bulgarian property investment - Do it wisely

In the past few years a number of people from various parts of the world started to look at our pretty, small country in a different way; Some chose it for their place for recreation; others liked it better as their second home; yet others recognized it as an appropriate place for investment.

Bulgaria and its advantages have already been given their due on the various media and information sources.

I will try here, in a few lines, to provide, in a most summarized manner, certain practical advice to those intending to visit our country with the purpose of buying a real property.

My first advice to a potential buyer is to search the web; there has already had been published a lot of information on ‘PROPERTY IN BULGARIA'. All leading companies in the field, dealing with foreign citizens, maintain their web sites and pages where you could scroll through their portfolio of offers.

Get yourselves well-acquainted with the services offered, with promotional offers, commissions; generally speaking, DO ASK! After you have spent the right time to get yourself familiar with all and any details, you can move on to arranging your visit to the country. There are enough aviation companies offering airline tickets at a reasonable price; if only you could plan your visit a few months earlier, you could buy your ticket at a considerably lower price. Our company policy is to facilitate its clients by offering to provide them with airline tickets, meeting them at the airport, transporting them to the selected destinations and, in general, making the overall arrangements for their stay in Bulgaria. In my opinion, once arrived in the country, those who wish to acquire a real property should become familiar with the following:

1. Location - one of the most important factors, if you ask me. There are times where the lack of an asphalt road or any other factor should be neglected in favour of the incredible view to a bay or mountain, or the vicinity to a famous place, resort complex, capital city, whatever.

2. The characteristics of the property itself. Here there are a few things of primary importance. First, if it is a county house (these are generally mostly bought by private customers). We should, by all means, be duly informed on whether or not there are any peculiar circumstances relating to the place of residence - transport, communications, proximity thereto, weather conditions, etc. Second, we should get to know the condition of the particular house - roof, residential floors, foundations, (if possible) availability of drinkable water, electricity, bathroom, toilet, sewerage system, etc.

3. The next step is to get to know all the available house-related documentation, all and any expected problems (if any). On a number of occasions the owners say that the property area is such and such, and later, it proves to be a lot less; or, they have not paid their taxes for years, or, or, or. The availability or not of neighbours, too, is a factor that cannot be overlooked. When it is a purchase of a vacation apartment flat, or an apartment flat for permanent use (in the event of a seaside resort), it is important to know whether that is on the first line, which resort it is, the quality of the building itself, the degree of furnishing, the degree of the services offered (if that is a close-type complex). In the event of a mountain resort, the important issue is: mountain view, vicinity to ski facilities, shopping center, etc. Where it refers to parcels of land, it is crucial to know whether we just wish to build our home there or it is a part of investment we expect to bring us profits in the future. Things are clear, on the first occasion. We need a good construction expert and explanations whether construction is allowed on the particular land, what is the expected construction density, height, and a few other factors. In the event that we buy a parcel of land for construction, which parcel of land is agricultural land by category, we shall have to learn about the opportunities to change the land purpose as well as the proximity of the appropriate communications - electricity, water, sewerage system, roads, etc.

On the second occasion, when we buy for investment, apart from an extensive study of the particular area and location, we shall have to learn about whether the object of the future transaction is a regulated parcel, or it is agricultural land next to regulated plots and is subject to a change of purpose, or it is just agricultural land for agricultural purposes.

You can and should be provided with all that information by your personal consultant from the respective agency which will make your choice among the tough labyrinth of thousands of opportunities available on our market considerably easier. By following the above information the purchase of a property abroad will not seem such a complicated process any more.

Written by Mr. Miroslav Nenkovski / Manager of Best Bg Properties LTD