If you are coming to Bulgaria.

Hi Ian,,,Awesome you offering help & assistance to people relocating here,,,like you,i have learned the hardway,,rip offs(crooks) & trust is a Big one for me,,,,only been here 10 months & i love the good stuff BG has to offer expats like me,& yourself,,,,,,,regards eddie

Hi,Iam visiting Veliko Tărnovo in March.would be great to have advice regarding buying a house..

Hi Andy,
Buying Property. The basics.
First of course, Common Sense. Try to get a feel for the area to see if it’s somewhere you can spend a lot of time. Likewise for the villages you will visit, does it look ok, are there a lot of Roma in the village, does it have a village shop and or a bar (always a bonus if it’s a nice one). How far from a town, if it is in the hills or in the mountains you may be stuck there for some time in the winter and a lot more mileage for food shops or builders merchants. Importantly does the building look sound, no big cracks etc. no surveys here so you have to go by what you can see.
There is no standard for property prices as no two villages are the same or two properties alike. Prices are what sellers think they can get and it’s highly possible the agent has inflated that price to make more profit.
The property has probably been on the market for a long time so make a silly offer and negotiate from there until you feel it’s right for you. If they don’t play ball walk away, half of Bulgaria is for sale so there are plenty out there.
When you find the right property get an independent Notary to do the transfer, not many speak good English but you will need an official translator anyway.

Please PM me for anything else.

Good luck

Hi Eddie,

Glad you survived the experience and enjoying it here. It can all seem like a big mistake when you first have to deal with all the new strange stuff. I was lucky in that I lived in France before the EU and it was all very similar bureaucracy, lots of papers, complicated system that even the people working it didn't understand properly and lots of ignorant, couldn't care less workers. In many ways Bulgaria has been a breeze.

I must say that I am pleased the snow has as good as gone, 60+cms was plenty for this year, kept us in for four days. Hopefully not much more.

Take care,
Ian

Just realised that I forgot to say that I live near Sevlievo. Also I have a big box of English magazines, lots of Sainsburys mags in there that is free to a good home if anyone is interested.

Hi Ian,a lot of useful advice there.No survey available?.anyways you are right about common sense.I think once you have had your own place for a while,you know what to look out for when looking for somewhere else.I am going to be looking at 20+ houses when I come over,all to the south of VT.so hopefully that will give me a broad look at the place.

Just to note- there are property surveyors available here. I am not sure how reliable/honest they are. But I know that if you go through a bank to get a loan on a property, you have to get it surveyed by an independent surveyor. Finding one to complete a survey and give you the market value even if you are paying cash shouldn't be impossible.

Hello,
Yes I know they can be done but as most people come to buy cash and let's say not expensive property finding one and the extra expense and possible dubious result I never found worthwhile. I only met one person who had one done and they still had to get the builders in to underpin part of the house.
Most old village houses have neither proper foundations or damp proof course but as long as there are no obvious defects there's not usually a problem.

Hi Ian
We are Les and Phil
We are coming to Bulgaria on 27th Feb
We have a rental while we look at houses in the VT region and Stara Zagora area
Any help regarding.. buying a vehicle, insurances...really everything 
We are retiring on a small amount of money so any advise will be appreciated

Look forward to speaking to you
Kind Regards
Phil

hi ian where are you living
pete
private chatting

Just a couple of thoughts that might be useful for you.

1: Don't buy a house in a village in a valley! As soon as it gets cold you will be living under a smog of wood smoke until the wind can clear it. I have driven past many such villages in the winter and all you can see is a dark cloud hovering above them. Can't be healthy.

2: Something else I found out the hard way. If you change your UK driving licence for a BG version make sure you get all of your categories back. The standard BG licence is only for the basic A, B and I think B1 or C. More than that is classed as commercial so you need a medical form from a certified Doctor.

tefpet wrote:

hi ian where are you living
pete
private chatting

Please use the PM system then