First topic message reminder :

Hiya folks I have just come across this [url=http:
//www.
nsni.
bg/en/index.
php?PHPSESSID=5ad4c64b95074787d58a84aeb7823624:2u98ism4]LINK[/url:2u98ism4] and I was wondering if they were any good? I know that in the UK there are so many of these organisations who people trust until something goes wrong and then they don't want to know [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] so my questions are, should we trust what they say ? about their members ? and is it a sign that means you can trust their members ? or is it a money making machine ?

ATB

I think people relie too much on the word and meaning of friend, this is from an REA in Yambol "
We are not just estate agents. We are your friends in Bulgaria."


Expats need fellow expats to survive let it be for work money or whatever and its the same in any country not just Bg.There is no such thing.Each person is there for themselves and no other and it is survival of the fittest.If you suit their requirments in their quest to survive then all the better.
Another typical point to prove this is property managers.While watching forums before they ever ''start'' their business they will watch for members posting in their catchment area.Out pops mr or mrs PM with ''helpful caring softly soft friendly'' posts.This is to set in the minds of these members that these ''lovely folks'' will make ''excellent friends'' which is what the PM wants and in doing so the 1st part of the spiders web is spun to lure in new clients.Then as if by magic out comes the shinny new website etc etc with the praise and good wishes from the unsuspecting clients.

Agents are the very same.I took the time to find and look at the website for the agent in yambol and indeed they profess to being your friends in Bg.An agent saying they are your friends when they do not even know or prob have never met you.

Based on that I am now deeming myself friends with all business people I know from the government down to the newsagent up the road whether they know me or not.

Goobuh, Very interesting comments, that would make it almost impossible for anyone that is in business to post on a forum. I for one am in Property Management so are you saying that everytime I post on a forum I am looking for work. Over the years we have lived here I posted on many forums and I hope that I have helped people, I do get annoyed when all British people working in Bulgaria get tarred with the same brush

Fletch
from what I have read of your postings one would never even guess you were in property management.You do not go out of your way to coat your postings in honey whereas some do and make it pretty obvious.
The same with finders.

But like all business folk there are good and bad and sadly with the level of horror stories there are more bad than good.

This recession depression will certainly do 2 things.It will weedle out the bad business tactics and their owners and in turn those further down their empire chain and make way for the decent ones that don't need clever usage of tricks of trade to get by.You are in BG a good number of years and have survived.That says something.It says you know how to run a business professionally and don't need to make clever ''im your new best friend '' postings on forums to get by so you should feel proud of your self!

Point 2.With such a down turn in the global economy it will or should make folk really do their homework and research.They will hopefully THINK TWICE before they hop on a plane with a bank draft stuck in the passport.....and remember to pack the wit brains and intelligence in the HAND LUGGAGE

Having read all the above and let me say I agree with whats been said to a point but tell me apart from the forums and word of mouth from those we may know ? is there any definitive answer ? I would say no, it's not until you live in BG that you will find out who is ok and who isn't as far as REA's are concerned anyway, what I mean is for example REA "
A"
maybe fine with buyer "
B"
but then comes along buyer "
C"
and they have a different story altogether so in some cases its a case of horses for course surely ?
I know that when I bought my house the REA I used bent over backwards and even after they had sold the house to me nothing was too much trouble and without cost to me, but I am sure that there will be those who will have used the same REA and had a completely different experience? I may have been lucky but I know of 14 other Brits who used the same REA as I did and they would tell you the same story, but again as I have said there will be those who had a negative experience for one reason or another so I don't believe its possible to know who is good and who is bad I think its more of a case of do as much research as you can and then do more and then its a case of suck it and see I'm afraid

Yes netswiper
there shall be good and bad in all.However I do think what some of the problem is greed and complete lack of experience and regulatory bodies.

In the instance of the yambol what background in property did either of the sets of owners have to set up an agency? What exams or studying of convancing law did or do they have.yet folks are expected to ''trust their friends in Bg'' the motto used by this same agency and that is very frightening indeed.

In the past I am sure folks like fletch had to work so hard.I doubt very much they even had internet then so folks like fletch just could not afford to take a single chance.Maybe fletch would give her say on this.

But then there would have been some who got too greedy and complacency set in with the sight of all those pound signs.

This i think gives a bad impression of all and wrongly tars all with the same brush

regulations and proof of exams taken in both bg and english is the way forward but sadly will never happen

I'm sure that this goes on in all types of business the owners getting their mates to say something good about them but I think word of mouth is always the best way so has anyone got any good REA's they could recommend anywhere in Bulgaria

BGTRAVELLER

prehaps you may be correct with that point.

I think REA,S manage to gleam a few more friends than others especially with the language barrier and they usually are the first rung of the Bg Ladder.

It does however begger belief how any agent can profess to be your friend in BG. I was always of the view one should NEVER mix buisness with pleasure.

Thanks for your reply Goohbur I have to agree here that business is one thing and pleasure is another and they should never meet

:: and business do not mix, yes when we started our company in Bulgaria there were no forums etc or even computers as such. We built our business through word of mouth. Also no Real Estate agents these only mushroomed when Bulgaria was found as a cheap property market. I am not going to go into any personal views on agents that are being discussed on this topic. Many people when they purchase in Bulgaria tend to rush into things without really taking the time to understand the country. One thing that I am totally against and is done by a lot of agents is to sell the property at one price and only give the seller a percentage of the sale as they have agreed a price with the seller before the property is sold. Also the buyer has to in some cases pay the real estate agent a fee for buying, yes they make a lot of money this way added on price to house and then again a fee for selling it to you. There are honest people out there in the real estate market, but there are only a few.

I think for us that know nothing of the ins and outs of Bulgaria and the way things work their we can perhaps learn by the mistakes that others have made and as Fletch says just look for the honest ones and maybe find those through word of mouth from someone you can trust

sarah

Sarah

there may lay the problem.How do you know who you can trust.As long as you have a pound in your pocket you are everyone's friend.Its when the pound is gone you find out who the real friends are but this sadly too late for many.

Its a game of chance and the risks are high and even more so given the economic downturn world wide.....only the fittest will survive!

I'm afraid its a sad fact of the world we live in and not limited to Bulagria or its real estate agents I think where ever you go you must always use common sense some of the things I read about you just wouldn't do in the uk so why do it in a strange country? in simple words stop and think and then stop and think again you will soon realise if someone is genuine or not [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I think your right krypton it does seem to be the way of the world I have visited several countries and found that REA's are your friends so long as they believe you are going to buy something but its not just the agents it applies to even restaurants if they think you will be eating there every day of your holiday they will make you feel like you are their long lost friend until your plane leaves and the next one arrives

sarah

I agree with all of you with regards to being ripped off!!!! However, not only are the Bulgarians responsible, so are the foreign companies!!! In 3 years I have heard horror stories and 8 out of 10 times I would blame the people/buyers who are buying the property.

The buyers trust the agents too quickly and I guess the agent sees an opportunity and grabs the moment. Who doesn't want to make fast money. Without any hassle.... Many people I know of have bought properties even without seeing them and to this date have not seen their properties!!!! They are now trying to sell it for profit even though they have never stepped into Bulgaria!!!!

If you are cautious and your questions are satisfactorily answered by the agents then go ahead and buy the house or property. As written earlier 'Research' is golden word......

Well put go go I have to agree with you it does seem that in a lot of cases its the buyer who is to blame, and I would guess this is usually ignorance and nothing more so as said Research and Research and then even more Research