Property
in Bulgaria: The EU’s Newest Member State
By Penka
Atanasova
April 2007
Two months
after joining the European Union, Bulgaria attracts increasing interest
in local real estate. Its strategic geographic location and the membership
of the EU and NATO turn it into an attractive destination for property
buyers. It is a naturally beautiful country and the prices are low compared
to the rest of Europe, but of course you need to have more information
before making any sort of investment.
The low
prices.. One of the
Bulgaria’s main attractions in the global real estate market is that despite
its European location, its property prices are not European.
At least not
yet. They have been rising continuously in recent years thus rewarding
early buyers. You can get a nice apartment in one of the best quarters
in the capital - Sofia - for about 1 000 Euro per sq.m.
-
4Escape is a search engine that searches our network of websites each of
which shares a common theme: International relocation, living ? investing
overseas, overseas jobs, embassies, maps, international real estate, asset
protection, articles about how to live ? invest overseas, Caribbean properties
and lifestyles, overseas retirement, offshore investments, our yacht broker
portal, our house swap portal, articles on overseas employment, international
vacation rentals, international vacation packages, travel resources,
every embassy in the world, maps of the world, our three very popular eZines
. . . and, as they are fond to say, a great deal more.
The cost of
agricultural land starts from about 80 Euro per 1 000 sq.m. For the Bulgarian
(average salary 250 - 300 Euro per month) these prices are not affordable
at all, but compared to the prices in other European countries, it is a
lucky bargain.
In order for
at least some locals to buy into the property market, the prices will need
to stay relatively low, and thus attractive to foreign investors.
The desired
properties
In the early
years of foreign expansion into the local market, investors were mainly
interested in buying buildings and apartments. Later they saw the potential
in new developments and clear plots became the most attractive segment
for such investors. Foreigners just wanting holiday homes prefer flats,
studios and houses in the mountain and seaside resorts.
Old properties
for connoisseurs Bulgaria is a country rich in history. During its 1300
year existence, it has been subjected to many different cultural influences.
The old parts
of the Bulgarian towns still retain awesome specimens of architectural
styles typical for the 1920s, 30s. And it is not impossible to buy a very
old house (for example more than 100 years old) at a quite reasonable price.
Foreign connoisseurs
are well acquainted with this fact and know how to profit from it - they
come to Bulgaria, buy an old apartment/house in need of repair, renovate
and sell on at greatly inflated prices. Usually the construction of the
old buildings is solid - there are no termites and fungus to ruin the trimmer
joists, so if your old property is well preserved it lasts for centuries.
New properties
for holiday-makers
One of the
hits in the local market is the residential complexes. The reason is that
foreign buyers are well acquainted with Bulgarian resorts, because they
have already visited them as tourists. Bulgaria has been a desired tourist
destination attracting visitors from Europe and Russia for more than 50
years. So new developments have been built in most of the ski and sea resorts,
combining beautiful nature with modern amenities.
And competing
for buyers' interest, developers offer more and more extras to the properties
- limited access, swimming pools, transportations, management, furnishing,
leisure activities and so on.
One important
feature to note, is that properties like this are offered for sale at Euros
per square metre and in these complexes the area generally includes the
share of the common parts of the apartment block as well as the actual
area of the individual apartment.
Something that
should be carefully checked before purchase.
Bulgarian
houses
Bulgarian houses
have two major advantages - the beautiful and still unspoiled Bulgarian
architecture and the low cost of living.
- Began Summer
1998 - Now with almost a half million subscribers, out eZine is the resource
that expats, and wantabe expats turn to for information. Our archives
now have thousands of articles and each month we publish another issue
to a growing audience of international readers. Over 100 people a
day subscribe to our eZine. We've been interviewed and referenced
by the Wall Street Journal, CNN, The Washington Post, London Talk Show
Radio, C-Span, BBC Click Online, Yahoo Magazine, the New York Times, and
countless other media sources. Featuring International Lifestyles
~ Overseas Jobs ~ Expat Resources ~ Offshore Investments ~ Overseas
Retirement - Second Passports ~ Disappearing Acts ~ Offshore eCommerce
~ Unique Travel ~ Iconoclastic Views ~ Personal Accounts ~ Views From Afar
~ Two things have ushered us into a world without borders... the end of
the cold war and the advent of the world wide web of global communications
? commerce. Ten years and over one hundred issues! We're just
getting started - Gilly Rich - Editor
These are
the reasons why many retired British, German, Russian and Japanese citizens
buy a rural house here (you can still get a countryside house in a village
with private yard for 15,000 – 20,000 Euros) and enjoy living
in Bulgaria with their foreign pensions, which are more than sufficient
for local economic conditions.
Bulgarian people
are hospitable and friendly and quickly make friends of their new foreign
neighbors.
The other interesting
fact is that due to the demographic crises here, with young people moving
to the towns to look for work, many villages become abandoned and people
who live there tend to sell their houses at extremely low prices - so it's
not unusual to find little foreign communities within the village fabric.
Buyers should also keep in mind that many village properties are offered
for sale with sizeable tracts of land included.
Land and
plots
Natura 2000
is a project that has designated large parts of the Bulgarian countryside
as nature preserve; areas in order to prevent large scale building. This
is a new departure for Bulgaria and has led to much argument and discussion.
It is prudent therefore, to check whether property/land has been so designated,
prior to purchase.
What does
a foreigner need to buy a property in Bulgaria
First of all
- the money. If he doesn't have the cash, the local mortgage market is
fast developing, offering a wide range of services to foreign customers.
The second
typical feature of real estate sales is that according to Bulgarian legislation,
foreign citizens are not allowed to acquire land in Bulgaria. In order
to do so they have to establish a local company and buy the land on that
company's behalf. This is a legal and routine procedure; no matter whether
you are about to buy a house with yard, a piece of land, or an apartment
with adjoining land you will have to go through this procedure. As a whole,
the Bulgarian property market offers attractive possibilities to both business
and residential buyers. The key though, (as everywhere else in such a buoyant
market) to a successful purchase, is accurate information and advice.
For more
information on Bulgarian Real Estate contact Penka Atanasova at Morada
Real Estate and visit www.moradabg.com
Copyright 1996 -
EscapeArtist.com
Inc. All Rights Reserved