Britons living in Bulgaria. Guide to Bulgaria, Sofia and Varna

Bulgaria investment property for the discerning investor ...


A pint in Spain averages £1.56, the hotel room £80, meal £17.50, hamburger £2.25 and taxi £6.50.France is the second most popular country, according to the Association of British Travel Agents' figures, and Italy the fifth. A restaurant meal costs less than £6, and it can be washed down with a litre of beer for 35p or a bottle of wine for £3.50. A second widespread mistake is that people often choose their investment properties on the basis of emotion rather than research and insight. After several years of growth many property market experts are predicting a possible crash in Central and Eastern Europe in the tailwinds of the US subprime crisis. Ahead of Bulgaria are countries like Poland, Germany, Romania, and Russia. All loans are on a repayment basis but the lender may allow you to go interest-only for the first year. Alternatively, £32,000 can secure you an apartment in the four-star All Seasons development, due for completion next June, near the popular Bansko ski resort.An estimated 40,000 Britons now own property in Bulgaria, and there is still plenty of demand pushing up prices. An EIU report points out that Bulgaria is among the Top 10 countries listed in the chart for implemented new investment projects, funded by foreign capital in 2006. An increasing number of investors and buyers were drawn by the mineral springs regions. Analysis of a deal and its legal structure is vital for the success of its financing. And I am not only talking about the up trending real estate market. And there are the old bourgeois villas from the time when it was called Chamkoria.Read more... And this is the reason behind the heightened interest. As they continue to grow, the GoodLife Guys will remain focused on the things that have earned them the respect of their clients and peers. As with most mountain communities, the people of Bansko were “workoholics” before Wall Street coined the term and part of their earnings went out to bribe the local Pashas or to keep the bad guys at bay. Bansko, Borovets and Pamporovo are the three main choices for buying a ski property in Bulgaria and many potential buyers and skiers are scratching their heads to find out which one might be the best for them. Because of severe industrial pollution, swimming is strictly prohibited at almost 30 per cent of beaches in Athens. BEST OF BALCHIK AND KAVARNA- BEACH & GOLF PROPERTYYet to receive widespread media coverage, the area surrounding Balchik and Kavarna is set to experience a boom of property investing over the next few years.Read more... Both countries have their own advantages as well as disadvantages, but if one chooses Greece and not Bulgaria, this decision will certainly not be based on price. British house prices increased 9.7% y-o-y to Q3 2007, less than 2006's y-o-y increase of 10.5%. BULGARIA ENTERS TOP 10 IN INVESTMENTS17.09.2007 Standart NewsBulgaria has entered the Top 10 in foreign investments. Bulgaria is surrounded by strong competition in both the tourist and summer holiday homes sectors of Croatia, Turkey, Cyprus, and Greece. Bulgaria's economy 'continuing to grow' ready2invest.co.uk, Article Date: 25/09/2007 Bulgaria's economy has experienced continued growth in the last year, according to new data. But both are more expensive than Spain.A pint is £3.55 in France and £3.02 in Spain while the hotel rooms cost £100 and £95 and the meal £18.50 and £35 respectively. But brokers warn that there should no longer be any expectations of quick, easy returns.Don't attempt any overseas purchase without visiting the property at least once and double-checking every tax rule on rental income and capital gains. But it was taken into account by some real estate agencies and other related companies, which initiated one of the most successful PR and advertising campaigns in the history of the real estate business in Bulgaria. CLS)), Patra, and many other mainstream resorts. Coastal holiday home supply recorded 39 per cent growth which, in physical terms, amounts to 13 500 units, according to a Colliers' report.Investors remained interested in gated compounds. Consequently, rental demand is higher in Greece. EFC directly represents Israeli investors in real estate, infrastructure, and energy with OTP Bank in Eastern Europe. EFC represents OTP Bank in Bulgaria, Croatia, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, Slovakia, Russia and Ukraine.Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on October 23, 2007© Copyright of Globes Publisher Itonut (1983) Ltd. Every one has to choose according to his/hers taste, vacation dreams and property investment objectives. First, after Bulgaria joined the EU, it became much easier for Bulgarians to purchase properties in Greece, where the procedure for none-EU citizens is so difficult that it is almost impossible to obtain a state permit to buy real estate. For a comparison, the same number of projects for 2005 was barely 140. For example, if buyers wish to purchase a house in relatively good condition and in a comparable location, they will have to pay at least 2400 euro a sq m in Thasos and about 1200 euro in the new town of Nessebar. For example, you can pay £25,000 for a new flat (ready in November) in Platinum Residence III, an area close to the city centre in the Bulgarian capital of Sofia. For foreigners, the attraction is prestige and relatively good infrastructure, tolerable construction density, and peace and quiet. Generally, property prices have remained very competitive.Sofia is an excellent commuter base with budget airlines, such as Wizz air, servicing routes all across Europe. Habra’s strategy is not different from that in other countries in the region: investing in high quality office and commercial space such as shopping malls, and setting up a special company to deal with a portfolio of residential developments.Sofia's Vitosha Blvd. He has observed the same phenomenon in Poland and the Czech Republic. He said that the increased interest exhibited by buyers coming from countries like Russia, Poland, Romania, and the Baltic states and the increased number of purchases made by local Bulgarian buyers. Here is in a nutshell the rundown of the main features of Bansko and Borovets. Higher interest rates have dampened demand, and banks have become very careful in granting housing loans.A slow down was also evident in the UK, though less sharp than expected. However, prices in the metropolitan area of Oslo-Baerum fell 0.5% from Q2 to Q3 2007.Spain recorded 5.31% y-o-y house price growth to Q3 2007, the lowest rate of increase in nine years. However, properties on the luxurious Greek islands are not offered or even advertised on the Bulgarian market. However, when it comes to property prices, and traditions in the field of tourism, Greece is still leader in the region. However, while prices for luxurious holiday homes in top Bulgarian resorts did not exceed 2100 euro a sq m in 2007, similar or comparable properties in Greece were sold for up to 4200 euro a sq m. Huge interest for the £15 tickets has been created, with international fans taking advantage of a cut-price city break. In 2006, the number of projects realized in Bulgaria grew up by 104,3% to a total of 286. In Bulgaria, the same parameter starts from 25 per cent and reaches up to 40. In Estonia quarterly house prices increased by 23.4% y-o-y to Q3 2007, lower than the 28.6% growth to end-2006.Norway's housing markets are showing signs of nervousness, despite a strong performance this year. In fact, since 1936, Greece has lacked a comprehensive, synchronised policy of preserving important ecosystems, including the sea coast. In fact, there is no perfect place, as it’s often the case in the real estate business. In his view the Eastern European property market will rather benefit from the downturn in the USA because many investors are looking to invest here. In terms of the price-to-quality ratio of real estate properties and tourist services, or even climate, Bulgaria can easily compete with Turkey, Croatia, and Cyprus. In the 90ies, Greek tourists have also discovered Sandanski before the property boom. In the past two years, a few wealthy Bulgarians started investing in holiday homes in Greece. It pays for Brits to live in Bulgariametro.co.ukWednesday, September 19, 2007Unemployed Britons can now afford to live the high life, getting beer for 35p and a slap-up meal for less than £6 ... Lithuania's apartment prices have stagnated at LTL 12,500 (US$5,213 or €3,620) per sq. Moreover, the market started at very reasonable prices in 2007. Mortgages in these markets are predominantly based on variable interest rates.Although mortgages in Denmark, France and Germany are mostly based on fixed interest rates, their housing markets have nevertheless cooled. Nu Image has strategically snapped up the previously state-run film studio in Sofia for US$9.2 million in a bid to cut massive production costs that the company faces in the US.Rock legend Lenny Kravitz has also put Sofia firmly on the superstar map. Numerous new developments, apartment hotels and ski condos are going up as we speak but everything is more spread out and subdued. Of course, in upscale tourist destinations like Mikonos and Cycladic, island nature is still perfectly preserved. Part One - BanskoIt used to be an isolated typical Balkan village known to Bulgarians as the place of birth of many national figures and the Banski starets, a dry spicy sausage. Part Two - BorovetsUnlike Bansko, Borovets is not an old Bulgarian village exhibiting its new ski resort and property investment ambitions. Paul Misfood, co-ordinator of the United Nations Mediterranean Action Plan evaluates the quality of the coastal waters with five out of ten points. Pink is also due to hit the city in July along with Marilyn Manson, Michael Bolton, and Vanessa Mae.Sofia is home to the majority of the country's 200,000 millionaires with many ready to pay over €3,000 per sq. Prices for a newly built, four-room villa in Halkidiki start from 400 000 euro and go up to 900 000 euro, in case one wishes to purchase a small private beach area together with the villa. Sandanski is in Europe, one hour drive north of Salonika.Read more... Seventeen million foreign tourists visited Greece in 2007 and provided eight per cent out of the total GDP of the country, compared to the about three million visitors to Bulgarian sea resorts. Since January 2007, border hoping became even more popular precisely because there is no border any more. Smaller villas of 50 to 80 built up square meters together with a yard can be purchased for 150 000 to 250 000 euro, but having in mind that Halkidiki is definitely not among the most luxurious locations, these prices are high for a holiday home. So far, this is not a stable trend, but it is interesting to see why these Bulgarians, who can make an excellent investment in holiday properties in their own country, go for properties twice as expensive Greece. Spa tourism is also on the up and steering the market further towards the more upmarket investors and holidaymakers."Since Bulgaria's EU accession foreign buyers' confidence in the country has grown immensely. SPAS AND AFFORDABLE PROPERTIES IN SUNNY SANDANSKISandanski is hot. Supply there is lower than demand, meaning higher prices than in the southern coast front-runners, Sunny Beach, Sozopol, and Nessebur.Sunny Beach currently accounts for 37 per cent of the coastal supply. That was partly due to the inactive state policy of promoting the country as an attractive real estate destination, partly due to the difficult and slow purchasing procedure, and partly because of the sometimes poor condition of the properties. The "Get on the Bus with the Love Revolution" tour will descend on Sofia's Akademik Stadium on 27th July 2008. The burger is £2.25 in each country and the cab fare is £7.80 and £4.86 respectively.Researchers found Bulgaria to have the cheapest pint, the Czech Republic the cheapest three-course meal at £6 and Egypt the best value Big Mac at 65p. The campaign conveyed three messages: 1.Prices for real estate properties are pretty much the same in both countries, but it is more prestigious and profitable to own a holiday home in Greece. The director of Greenpeace for Greece, Nikos Haralambidis, honestly confesses that these new sea resort projects need more careful assessment, since they will significantly increase the pollution of the coastal region. The GoodLife Guys is a real estate investment consultant firm that caters to success-oriented families and individuals to help them create sustainable wealth through real estate investment so they can live a life they love now and in the future. The history of Bansko goes back ages as one can tell by the high stone fences built to defend houses and households from the Ottomans. The house price index for the entire country increased 11.6% y-o-y to Q3 2007 (11.9% in real terms due to slight deflation). The low building density gives a completely different face to the Greek sea resorts---one can rarely if ever see one of those concrete giants they call "hotels" in Bulgaria. The maximum term is 25 years and you must be no older than 65 when the term of the mortgage expires."Loans are only available in euros, she adds, and interest on variable-rate deals starts at 7.25 per cent.Bulgarian ski real estate- Bansko, Borovets or Pamporovo? The rich list is prepared to buy an entire floor for 2000 sq. The same holds true for Solon ((QUERY - SHOULD THIS BE THESSALONIKI. The Sandanski area has already seen the launch of its first projects.Taken as a whole, summer resorts enjoyed a rise in sales, compared to 2006 when the market experienced stagnation, according to Bulgarian Properties CEO Mihail Chobanov. The seismic particularities of the country require specific earthquake building precautions, and real estate agents joke that they sell houses with earthquake resilience certificates, but the certificates are more resilient than the houses themselves. The truth is that prices for summer holiday homes in Greece are about twice as high as those in Bulgaria. There weren’t any “magnificent seven” peasant lovers to protect them; they had to rely on themselves. These are two of the distinctions of the strategic approach taken by The GoodLife Guys. These prices are valid for small, isolated, and unknown villages like Iraklica, located somewhere in the region of Kavala.In 2006, the average price for lower- to middle-class holiday homes in mass resorts was about 2400 euro a sq m in Greece and 1100 in Bulgaria. They believe that strategies that might have worked 12 months ago can be tougher today. They say that, while the Bulgarian Black Sea coast has already turned into a concrete jungle, nature in Greece is still pristine. This charming town has been known for a long time by Bulgarians for its hot, dry, sunny weather and the therapeutic virtues of its air and mineral water. Thus, on worldwide-scale, this country holds a 2.42 % of all projects implemented last year. We made our move a couple of years before because we were sure that was in the cards” says Habra. What is more, since 2006 the Greek government has encouraged the building of several thousand holiday villages with the aim to engage in the active European market of summer holiday homes. When adjusted for inflation, the drop is more pronounced at 9.1%. When adjusted for inflation, the house price increase in Q3 2007 was 7.5%, slightly higher than the 7.3% rise in 2006.House prices in Italy and Greece have also cooled. Whether it's off-plan, new-build or old urban, the billboards, posters and flyers paint a picture of instant riches – and there's no shortage of interested parties.For British investors, it's becoming harder to make money in the buy-to-let market at home.