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After a few days' house-hunting, Annie settled on a property comprising a handsome, early 20th-century main house with a tiled roof, plus a back house and three barns. After the fall of communism in 1989, they were badly depopulated as the young fled rural cooperatives to seek work in towns and cities, and now only the old folk are left. Already, warnings of over-development are being sounded. Among the pioneers up in the mountains were Annie Thomas and Tom Davies, who bought three years ago in the village of Mindya, near the medieval capital, Veliko Turnovo. And that will lead to even more foreign homebuyers seeking bargains in the former communist state. Are British bargain-home hunters welcome there? Besides, Bulgaria still offers a remarkable range of properties, and new frontiers are opening up fast. But again - as with builders - it pays to talk to buyers who have been down the same road. But as a cheap and pleasant, long-term holiday-home location, Bulgaria has a lot going for it. But she predicts a rush of buyers, thanks to Bulgaria joining the EU. But the villages, while attractive, lack a certain quaintness. But what about the tide flowing in the opposite direction? Even Bulgaria's tourism ministry has complained that a glut of planning approvals for new hotels and apartment blocks in the mountains and on the coast risks damaging not only the environment but the tourist trade itself. Eventually, however, EU membership is expected to bring multinationals and corporations with expatriate staff requiring good accommodation. Every year in mid-December, the local men ask Tom to assist with killing a pig or two - most households keep one, which is slaughtered to provide meat throughout winter. For those looking at Bulgaria purely as a rental investment, agents are warning against over-optimism. Foreigners are buying to let in the capital, Sofia, and grabbing old houses in central mountain villages, mostly as holiday homes which they also let. He attends but keeps a polite distance at the crucial moment. In a country with an average wage of 150 pounds per month, the local buyers just aren't there, warns Natasha Copeman, of Asta Bridge International, which specialises in off-plan developments. In both locations, patience, preparation and realistic expectations will be well rewarded. In short, it isn't Tuscany, though at those prices it willn't be. It is an easy enough process with the right lawyer, who can be found through the British consulate and is often recommended by an agent. Julian Georgiev, of Homes in Bulgaria, observes: "The drift is towards the city centres as the next fashionable development concepts are towards shopping malls, offices and modern, city-apartment living. Like many others, they were motivated first by the staggering cheapness of property advertisement. Most buyers in Bulgaria are first-timers and have little or no knowledge and experience." The rental market is still too immature to regard it as a safe banker, he says. None of this bothers Annie Thomas and Tom Davies. Now, the country's status as part of the expanded, 27-strong EU is likely to attract shoals of purchasers who will feel more comfortable about buying in a country they know little about. Over the past couple of years, British buyers have led the rush to Bulgaria, snapping up apartments on the Black Sea coast and in ski resorts such as Bansko. Since they took up residence in early 2004, 10 to 15 other Britons have bought in the village, which has only about 600-800 homes. That is leaving aside the Irish pubs, fish-and-chip shops and cheap souvenir stores. That said, however, those aiming to make quick money from a resale or a handsome rental profit need to think twice. The British find the level of acceptance here very high: the Bulgarians are easy people to live with." By their own admission, Annie and Tom do things differently to most expats. The builder they found locally dug them a cesspit. The EU has already helped with regulation. The first put a new lavatory in the middle of a room. The lavatory was in an outside shed and simply drained into the land. The population of Bulgaria continues to fall and there will be an immediate exodus from the country upon EU entry, depriving the rental market of middle income lessees, at least in the short term. Then they got rather carried away, sold their house in Bristol, gave up their jobs as a logistics manager and boss of a car valeting company respectively, and put all their eggs in to a rather obscure Bulgarian basket. There are few of the charming cafes, taverns or bakeries that make other southern European countries so desirable. There is a good mayor and - I have to be careful here - no gipsies, who can cause problems. They are confident that they will double their money on their property if they chose to sell. They consider themselves lucky that the house was habitable when they bought it. They had lived and run a cafe on the Greek island of Paxos for years but found homes there unaffordable. They have become ad hoc advisers to later arrivals. They live in Mindya all year round, grow many of their own vegetables and struggle nobly with the language. They originally bought a 1,500 square metre farmhouse - with outhouses and barns - for 22,000 pounds as a holiday home, which they planned to rent out. They paid 9,300 pounds (14,000 euro) and spent about 11,000 pounds on renovations, which left them with seven rooms, including bathrooms, a cellar converted into a study, and a loft over the barns. They should know: they went through two in a few weeks because their work was substandard. This has started to attract the more investment-conscious UK buyer. This week it became not just cheap but also a member of the European Union. Tourism is growing in the area, and the landscape is undeniably impressive: even in winter, it has an austere beauty that, in warmer seasons, becomes splendid and radiant. Two or three years ago, they didn't have build guarantees - now, they are required by law." Even after accession, foreigners will still have to jump the bureaucratic hurdle of forming a local company to buy land surrounding their property. Two villages up the road, in Cerova Koria, Bill and Jane Watson strongly advise hiring an architect and taking extra care in choosing your builder. Unlike some British buyers, they wisely stayed on site while their house was renovated. We met on the building site that will be their guesthouse.
