Paying water bill in Bansko

@BanskoSJ

Have you paid the property taxes? That's definitely something to keep up with.

Water is not a big deal, you can leave it for a few years and catch up when you're in Bansko. Without the customer number/supplier name, you will have a challenge doing it before.

Alternatively, you could give your Bulgarian lawyer a POA to bring your bills up to date (and get your account numbers). With the appropriate account numbers, i reckon it's easy to keep up using Epay (dot bg). In theory, you can pay property taxes through them too, but I've never managed it. You'll probably need to get login credentials from Bansko municipality to use their website and pay online (with the POA he can get these too).

Bansko properties have gone up a fair bit (like everywhere in Bulgaria), so if you're not using the place you can easily sell it off. However, a lot of investment has gone into Bansko too over the last 25 years, and it's become a bit of a draw for the expat and Digital Nomad crowd. We have a holiday studio there, and it's a lovely, charming town and the Pirin National Park is spectacular. It's very livable all year round and very inexpensive compared to the UK.

@gwynj

Thank you!

It really is just the water now that I don't have under control, and thank you for your reassurance it can be left while. I think I'll just pay when next I am in Bansko, which may be this year or next LOL.

I have paid 2023 Bansko Municipality taxes and all the years before that. I was worried about those having heard the Municipality can in theory repossess if not paid for years. I paid last year's in person last summer, and before that there was a  block manager scheme and they have done it a few times. And the electricity I have set up to pay on Easypay, genuinely very easy!

The Bulgarian lawyer only handled the change of name/ownership and that was a few years ago and they charged a lot for simple job that if  jad had my head in the right place I'm sure I could have done myself, so not keen to pay them to do work I can do myself if only I knew the name of the water company! Have looked on the Internet and just can't see any clue to the name or office address.

Thank you for any help!

@gwynj

PS I thought Bansko was looking fantastic when I visited last summer. There were plenty of thoughtfully improved pavements and streets and excellent soft landscaping have been introduced and it was all being maintained.  Bansko really looks on the up! I definitely plan to visit more and I have more time to travel now.  Bansko is clearly aiming to be a year-round destination,  not just for the classic ski season. It is still very good value and friendly folk, ex pats as well as Bulgarians.

@BanskoSJ

The property taxes is the big deal, I think. And some kind of foreclosure is a real possibility if you never pay. But it's not like the UK where you get into trouble within a few months of not coughing up your Council Tax. LIke you, I started to get worried, so I caught up with my Bansko taxes two summers ago... for 10 years worth. :-)

For water, there really aren't a lot of options. Most folks probably have VIK. And they'll find your account (I think) if you show them your Notary Act. But a photo of the water meter (with reading and meter number) would be sensible too. For our purchases, we've usually received the customer numbers for electricity and water at the time of the sale.

I'd say the best option is to do it in person on your next visit. But, just FYI, last year I tracked down VIK for my district (Stara Zagora) and found their customer service email. I sent them a nice email (in Bulgarian translated from English by Google) explaining that I didn't know how to pay the bill, and apologizing for the long delay. I included property location info, and attached photos of the meter reading and meter number. I was shocked when I got a very helpful email back a week later telling me my current debt, and how to pay it online. :-) Unfortunately, I can't see an email for VIK in Blagoevgrad, phone numbers only (so you'd need a Bulgarian or a translator to call for you).

As to Bansko, you're absolutely right. The place has scrubbed up nicely! :-) There's even a fancy new path/stream that joins the Old Town with the ski resort part, a new downtown Billa, and they've given the central park a facelift too (fancy outdoor gym and lake/fountain). The roads are far better, as they've improved access to the top of the mountain, and put a "ring road" on both sides. I love Bansko, and I'd be very happy living there year-round. And Bansko property prices are a fraction of what you'd pay to get something similar in another European ski/mountain resort. Even within Bulgaria, Bansko is pretty much unbeatable in terms of price/quality of life. As in, there are better cities like Sofia and Plovdiv, but you'd pay MUCH more... and there are similarly cheap places, but I'd be shocked if any expat would want to live there. :-)