Bulgarian Mortgages

Mortgages in Bulgaria were until recently virtually unheard of and becasue of Bularia's reputation for having a legal system that can make it difficult for purchasers to establish title over their chosen property, mortgage lenders weren't exactly queing up to hand out the finances.

Mortgage Shop have confirmed that through their exclusive connections they are able to offer Bulgarian Mortgages, this includes Bulgarian residential property. Like many opther European countries, Bulgarian funds are not available if the property is a flat or an apartment being currently built Bulgaria, until completion and the flat being legally registered in your name prior to the release of any funds. What this means, is that buyers have to source funds elsewhere for the initial staged payments.

This will also apply for a house or villa being built however if the land is already purchased and registered in either in your name or in a Bulgarian Companies name that you are a legal owner of then stage purchase payments may then be available on a drawdown basis to construct the property.

All loans are arranged with overseas lenders, mostly from Bulgaria itself, loans are available for the majority of nationalities for either House Purchase or re-financing / Remortgaging for purposes including Home Improvements / Renovations.

The minimum load amount £40,000, however there is no Maximum, the maximum loan amount is 70% of valuation or purchase price, or whichever is the lower of the two figures.

Mortgages in Bulgaria are only available on a Repayment / Capital & Interest basis.

Further details at European Mortgages

Buying Property in Bulgaria : How to Avoid Making A Bad Investment

Where is it possible to buy a property on your credit card? Bulgaria, of course! With thousands of potential property buyers seduced by Bulgaria’s bargain property prices, the temptation is to think that making a solid return is a no-brainer! Searching the Internet, dozens of articles and property websites boast about the 100% capital growth that can be achieved on Bulgarian property investments in the space of 12 months.

For first time investors with small budgets looking for a step onto the property ladder, this seems like an opportunity almost too good to be true! The result is that thousands of novice speculators and second homebuyers are flocking to Bulgaria to cash in on the investment opportunities it offers. But as the saying goes, if it’s too good to be true, well then, it probably isn’t.

Property prices are rising significantly but largely in the more established and more desirable tourist hotspots. Investing along the Black Sea coastline and areas within 10km of the two major ski resorts, Barovets and Pamporovo, is likely to yield a healthy 60-80% capital growth in one year. Buying a new apartment in these areas can cost as little as €30,000 and is likely to be solid investment, since they can be easily let to the increasing number of tourists coming to experience the delights of Bulgaria.

A quick trawl through the Bulgarian real estate portals and you’re likely to find 100’s of properties under €15,000. With prices like this, the temptation is to rush in and buy, sometimes without even seeing the property. It is wise not to be carried away by the prospect of a property at this price doubling its value in one year. The problem with many of these properties is that they tend to be located in Bulgaria’s most isolated and rural areas. These areas are often weak on infrastructure and services and may lag behind the rest of Bulgaria for many years to come.

Investing in Bulgaria’s more established locations, such as Varna, Sofia or Barovets, may seem more expensive for the budget investor. But when you consider the headaches and additional expenses that come with renovating an old property in rural Bulgaria, as well as the language difficulties, your budget buy could prove not to have been such a bargain after all! Also, these properties could very well be difficult to rent. Although Bulgaria is growing in popularity with eco-tourists, this tourist sector has not taken off to the same extent as the more traditional ski or sun holiday destinations.

Consequently, the likelihood of property prices rising as dramatically in isolated areas is very slim. Even if property prices take a huge leap upon Bulgaria’s entry to the EU in 2007, the chances are that they will increase in rural areas by 15-30% at most.

The situation is similar in Spain and makes a good example. Though Spain saw property prices increase by over 100% on joining to the EU, it is still possible even now to find properties in the most isolated, inland areas for as little as €35,000. These areas are only now gaining the interest of property buyers priced out of Spain’s more desirable locations.

The situation will be similar in Bulgaria. Tourists will flock to the ski resorts, the Black Sea coast and the more popular mountainous regions. Consequently, developers will continue to invest in these areas. New developments will attract more buyers and more tourists and the areas will see continued capital appreciation on investments. Isolated areas, lacking amenities and services will be overlooked and property prices in these areas will remain significantly lower than the rest of Bulgaria.

For intrepid investors willing to take a long-term view on their investment and wait 15 to 20 years to see significant returns, then cheap isolated properties may be worth considering. But the certainty of a return and the ability to approximate what that return will be is far more likely with properties in the more established Bulgarian destinations.

Copyright PropertyAuthors 2005. Free ebooks and articles at PropertyAuthors.com

Beware Cheap and Nasty Bulgarian Dream : A Response

A response to Rosie Murray-West's article : Beware Cheap and Nasty Bulgarian Dream : Daily Telegraph 26/03/2005

Rosie Murray-West might well have entitled her article in the Telegraph yesterday, “How Dare you Wealth [ier] Brits Take Advantage of Poor[er] Bulgarians”. The article takes exception to the large number of British planning to buy property in cheap Bulgaria, a country she claims potential buyers know little about … except of course that the property is cheap!

The author appears to be most irked by the fact that foreigners are driving up property prices. Ok, ethically, this has implications. Those living in Bulgaria on low wages will be priced out of the property market in their own country, particularly if they live in the areas more popular with tourists. But this type of gentrification is happening all over the world, not only in Bulgaria. It’s the consequence of the ‘pension-in-a-property’ boom. One of the consequences of this is quite often renewed interest in rural areas, 20-50 km outside larger cities, areas that otherwise would remain neglected.

The situation was the same for Spain two or three decades ago. With the rise of the foreign holiday as a luxury the masses could afford, Brits began to flock to sun soaked Spain. Their interest promoted an influx of developers who took advantage of Spain’s popularity with tourists and built affordable holiday homes. This encouraged many of the tourists to invest in their own little piece of paradise, with the advantage of being able to extend their own stay and encourage others in by letting their proeprty. The result over the years was a continuing rise in property prices but also a strengthening tourist economy, a well-developed infrastructure and growing opportunities and financial benefits for native Spaniards.

Property prices in Spain are now so high that Brits are forced to look for cheaper alternatives. In turning to Bulgaria, the cycle will begin again. In fifteen to twenty year’s time, the Bulgarian property market may well be over-priced for second home buyers and once again the search will begin for new and cheap destinations. In the mean time Bulgaria will have grown on the strength of its EU membership. It will have pumped millions of Euros into improving infrastructure. Tourism will have generated huge amounts of wealth for the economy and the poverty that characterises the country now may well be very much a thing of the past!

Should all investors and second-home buyers follow Rosie Murray-West’s logic and choose not to invest in Bulgaria because it is ‘tasteless’ to take advantage of the poverty there, Bulgaria may well remain a neglected and overlooked economy, characterised by deprivation and stunted economic growth.

Tracey Meagher
PropertyAuthors.com

Apolon Complex : Desired Piece of Heaven on the Black Sea Coast

Apartment for Sale Nessbar €50,464 

Apolon Complex: Desired Piece of Heaven on the Black Sea Coast

The Apolon complex is an enchanting new complex and remarkable project of one-, two-bedroom apartments and studios, which will be situated in the Nessebar summer resort, only 80 m from the awesome white-sand beach and blue sea waves.

The first type of apartments we provide in the complex are two-bedroom apartments. They have two separate bedrooms, bathroom + WC, living room, kitchen and balcony. The average size of such kind of apartment is 70÷90 sq. m.
We offer as well one-bedroom apartments, which consist of living room with small kitchen and separate bedroom with bathroom + WC. They are of size 45÷65 sq. m.
Third kind is “Studio” type, which is a room of about 30÷38 sq. m, with a balcony, kitchenette and bathroom + WC.

PAYMENT PLAN
The Apolon complex apartment prices will be due in four instalments as follows:
- minimum 30% of the asking price when reserving your apartment and signing of preliminary contract;
- 30% when the complex is on further stage /percentage and date – negotiable/;
- 30% when the complex is on further stage /percentage and date – negotiable/;
- 10% when the apartment ownership right is transferred to the buyer.

Visit ICBPROPERTIES for more details or contact by email

Bulgaria Offers Very Attractive Property Investment Opportunities

Since its escape from the yoke of communism, Bulgaria has struggled to join the modern world. It became a member of NATO in 2004 and is due to join the European Union in 2007. With the Black Sea to the east, Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, and Greece and Turkey to the south, it's a country that retains a charming mixture of the old and the new.

The capital of Bulgaria is Sofia. Almost completely rebuilt after the bombings of World War II, its city centre has a weird and wonderful mix of architecture; right down to a yellow-brick boulevard. North of Sofia is the Balkan range, Bulgaria's longest mountain chain, which flows down to the Danube. For the sun and sea, the Black Sea coast offers some of the best in rest and relaxation at affordable prices. The southern section of the coast is home to picturesque bays, spacious beaches, dunes and a warm sea.

There are no words to describe the phenomenal rise in property prices taking place in Bulgaria's tourist areas. Some developers have seen their tourist property complexes rise in value in excess of a colossal 100% in a year! Even if spread across the board, it still averages out to a sizeable capital growth of 35%. But why this discovery after all these years?

Since the collapse of communism in 1989, Bulgaria has been opening itself to the West, and its natural attractions have not gone unnoticed. This is hardly surprising given that Bulgaria offers long sandy beaches, summers of clear blue skies and a warm Mediterranean style sea only two hours flight from the UK. This, coupled with a phenomenally low cost of living, and its transition to a fully functioning market economy has made Bulgaria one of the major hotspots within Eastern Europe. Where else would you get a delicious three-course meal for two with a bottle of good local wine for £8?

The World Tourism Organisation placed Bulgaria near the top in terms of tourism growth. In 2003 growth increased by 23% compared to 2002 and the proceeds comprised 13% of the country's GDP. Bulgaria's rising property prices have been greatly influenced by the European Union which has had a tremendous impact already. This will be even greater after the country joins the EU in 2007, if as is expected, it follows the pattern demonstrated by Ireland.

Investors Provident is one of the few companies offering attractive investment opportunities in Bulgaria along the Sunny Beach (Black Sea Coast), Bansko (ski resorts), city centre Sofia, towns of Burgas and Varna, and other growth areas. Properties can be bought for as little as £20,000 on the beach front for studios and one beds up to £120,000 for 3 beds / 2 bath apartments.

Investors who have never considered Eastern Europe as part of their strategies are now rethinking their moves. 20% to 30% capital growth in a space of just 6 months is a return that will attract novices and professionals alike, and this is just the beginning.

For further information, please visit Investorsprovident

MyBulgaria launches Property Rental Section

The Leading Online Information Portal for and about Bulgaria mybulgaria.info has Recently Launched New Services for Those Interested in Property in Bulgaria

Apart from the existing sections where people can browse nearly 3,000 currently available Bulgarian properties for sale there is now also a Bulgarian Property Rental section with more than 100 available properties and an Off Plan section where users can view nearly 400 new Bulgarian property developments for either investment or holiday home purposes.

In addition to this there are comprehensive directories of Bulgarian Real Estate Agents and Lettings agencies and a guide to Bulgarian businesses based in Varna. This service is due to be expanded to other major regions of Bulgaria in due course.

There is no doubt that My Bulgaria now has more property for sale or to let available in its pages than any other site on the internet in addition to comprehensive advice about Bulgaria as a country, its traditions and its culture.

The Bulgarian property market has already witnessed some dramatic price increases in the last two years but even now property values remain lower than in neighboring countries and certainly much lower than the traditional hot spots of Spain and Portugal for example.

The market is still in its early days and it is likely that further attractive gains will be made leading up to the envisaged accession of Bulgaria into the EU in 2007 and also at a more moderate pace following as the infrastructure of the country slowly improves.

There is exceptional value in particular to be had away (if only slightly away) from these areas where both newly built or pre-existing housing stock can be purchased for substantially less and for as little as EUR 10,000. These types of property are tending to be purchased by families either for retirement or full time living purposes or by holidaymakers who are not so particular about having to be on top of the beach or ski slopes.

Another bargain property from Stara-Planina for only £8300 

Being only 20 km from the beautiful University town of Veliko Turnovo, this property is a steal! Three bedrooms, two stories, 1800 sq m of land and set within a village. This one has plenty of potential but like most of the rural homes in Bulgaria, it doesn't have a bathroom ... priority number 1 for whoever buys it!

View more properties at stara-planina.com

Why are Bulgarian Property Prices Increasing?

Excerpt from an article at imotibg.com

The Bulgarian real estate market is yet another free, unregulated market, where the mechanisms of supply and demand command the movement of prices up- or down-wards.At the same time, the real estate market has some specific characteristics, which make it a unique market: lack of sufficient information; a reaction lag as compared to the other sectors of the economy; non-standardised product; lack of mobility of properties, as well as, buyers and sellers; limited number of transactions in one’s lifetime.Therefore the smooth mechanisms of the free market economy would be influenced by all of these factors and should be taken into consideration when analysing the property market.

Any student in economics would tell you that prices rise when either supply shrinks or demand increases.What has happened on the Bulgarian real estate market this year?Both supply and demand have grown significantly with demand outpacing supply and therefore leading to higher sales prices.

What is more interesting is what has caused demand to grow at such pace and incur such media coverage? The size of the population, disposable income of the population, availability of mortgage credits and government actions can influence demand for residential properties.

The overall population of Bulgaria has been decreasing slowly in recent years, but at the same time the poor economic conditions in the countryside have forced many Bulgarians to move to the bigger cities and especially to the capital.This has led to an increase in the number of potential buyers of real estate in Sofia and the bigger cities. As a result the real estate market has been most active in these markets and is expected to continue to be in the short and medium term.

To read the full article visit Imotibg.com

Bulgaria lifts ban on land sales to foreigners

Bulgaria, looking ahead to its hoped-for admission to the European Union in 2007, lifted a ban Friday that prevents foreigners from buying land in the former communist country. In parliament Friday MPs from all political parties voted for the amendments on land sales in Bulgaria's constitution, bringing it into compliance with EU legislation.

There will be however a seven-year transition period before foreigners who are not permanent residents of Bulgaria at the time can buy land. "Foreigners and their legal representatives can acquire the right of property over land, under the conditions following Bulgaria's EU accession, under an international agreement entering into force for Bulgaria, or through inheriting it," read the text of the amendment that finally legalized lands sale to foreign citizens.

Read the rest of this article at ProeprtyBG

Buying A Dream Home in Bulgaria

Dream Homes in Bulgaria 

We're right in the middle of preparing a bumper CD Magazine all about buying a house in Bulgaria.

Dream Homes in Bulgaria is annual CD publication packed with features and reports to help you with your investment in Bulgarian property. The magazine showcases hundreds of properties starting from below €5000. We profile all the major property hotspots, from the Black Sea Coast, to the beautiful mountain regions to the ever popular ski resorts. We also provide abundant legal, financial and cultural advice relevant to those investing and those seeking a new life in this spectacular country. Dream Homes in Bulgaria is the number on publication for property in Bulgaria.

Watch out for news of Dream Homes in Bulgaria on the blog here in May. If you want to be informed when Dream Homes in Bulgaria comes into stock, register your details at our free ebook website here

Issues to consider when buying a property in Bulgaria.

The Property may be cheap, so cheap that "Even My Cabbie's' Got One'! So ran the headline in the financial times property special at the end of last year.

Sure enough the property is cheap but getting there is not. Bulgaria isn't yet serviced by budget airlines, so you can't take advantage of cheap flights to get to your cheap property. In fact, flying over a few times a year, along with the family could prove prohibitively expensive. The cost of flights is a seriuos consideration for the low-budget investor.

Nor does Bulgaria have a completely open property market when it comes to foreign investment. Buying a property in Bulgaria involves eastablishing a limited company. This is more of an inconvenience than anything else since it is not very expensive to set up the company. There are efforts in motion to change this but it hasn't happened yet!

Just a couple of issues to consider when buying in Bulgaria!

Cheap Property in Bulgaria. How Cheap?

How about €3900 

I found this house while browsing on stara-planin.com for an amazing €3,900. Okay, so it's rural but it doesn't need too much work and as well as having three rooms in the house, one of them very big, it's got a big basement and outbuilding. And the price includes the furniture, though I suspect you might want to replace it!

I'm still amazed when I find properties as cheap as this! Visit this one here

Capital Appreciation - Doing the figures

Just as an appendage to my previous post, I found this piece of information on Balkanskichalet.com

"Property prices on the Coast and in the ski resorts have increased by 40% in the 12 months to April 2004. Forecasters expect prices will continue to increase at 20% to 30% annually until 2007 at least (the year of EU accession for Bulgaria)"

Doing the figures on a house bought for €35000...your investment after three years averageing 25% capital appreciation each year would be worth close to €68,500. That amounts to more than 95% capital appreciation over three years! It's no wonder canny investors are flocking to Bulgaria.

Bulgarian Property Prices - How low can the stay?

It seems inevitable that with the current amount of interest in proeprty in Bulgaria that the bubble will have to burst soon, bringing prices on par with some of its closer neighbours. Not necessarily so! Set to join the EU in 2007, Bulgaria will reap the benefits of EU coffers but it will be some time before the Bulgarian infrastructure reaches Western standards. Unitl it does, prices will remain very competitive. Like other Eastern European countries such as Latvia and Estonia, it could take up to ten years for property prices to rise on par with the rest of Europe. So it seems, the window of opportunity in Bulgaria is still open for those interested in buying a home there. It is likely to remain open for some years to come.

Change in Land Law expected

As is stand person not resident in Bulgaria need to set up a company before being able to buy property in Bulgaria. Although its not a difficult or expensive thing to do, it's a bit of a headache and extra piece of paperwork that everybody could do without. Change, however, may be on the horizon. Bulgaria is yet again making efforts to remove the ban on land being sold directly to foreigners, all in the interest of attracting foreign investment! The parlimentary commission on the amendments to the Bulgarian Constitution decided to recommend that the ban be removed from the constitution. Good news for foreign investors! A vote is expected in April so fingers crossed!

Welcome to the Property Newsdesk Bulgaria

Hello everybody,

The Property Newsdesk Bulgaria is one of many property newsdesks maintained by Propertyauthors.com, a fast growing property investment e-publishing company. What we hope to do here is keep everybody who is interested in buying a house in Bulgaria up to date with all the latest new and developments.

If anything shakes in the Bulgarian property investment market, we'll know about it and you'll hear about it here. PropertyAuthors has editorial partnerships with a growing number of proeprty agents and experts in Bulgaria. We will share their knowledge with you so that you can gaurantee making a success of your investment in Bulgaria's spectacular property market.

We will also showcase new and interesting properties and investment opportunities that come on the market. In Bulgaria, there is always an interesting property adn plenty of bargains too! So add us to your favourites right now and visit often!