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

Although I follow what all has been said here it would be very difficult in a strange country to know who to trust? lets be honest here in the uk we look at a house and if we like it we instruct a Solicitor to do all the digging and checking and that's it we put all our trust in what he or she says, and rarely does anything go wrong, so I would say its a culture thing as we in the uk accept what we are told by the legal profession as being right then we also believe it elsewhere which is wrong I know as here in the uk we have some protection but in other countries we may not get the same protection so I don't think it would ever be easy to buy any property in any other country so there will always be a risk of something going wrong but I would say the risk will be high much higher than that in the UK

meandmine wrote:

Although I follow what all has been said here it would be very difficult in a strange country to know who to trust? lets be honest here in the uk we look at a house and if we like it we instruct a Solicitor to do all the digging and checking and that's it we put all our trust in what he or she says, and rarely does anything go wrong, so I would say its a culture thing as we in the uk accept what we are told by the legal profession as being right then we also believe it elsewhere which is wrong I know as here in the uk we have some protection but in other countries we may not get the same protection so I don't think it would ever be easy to buy any property in any other country so there will always be a risk of something going wrong but I would say the risk will be high much higher than that in the UK

What you say is absolutely right. We in the UK do accept what we are told by the legal profession and yes we do INSTRUCT our solicitor as to what information we want, and what the end product should be
Let me give you an example and this is from experience. In the UK I had a car accident and without going into to much detail after fighting my innocence for 6 years I was paid compensation of just over £10,000, and that was achieved by me asking my legal representative the questions and him giving me the answers
In the UK we have the protection of such things as Office of fair trading, The court of protection, The law society, The Ombudsman and so on and we pay for what we get and maybe even on a NO WIN, NO FEE basis
This is also from experience but this time in Bulgaria. Our Villa we had stolen from us in Dobrich by fraud and organised crime is being handled in a completely different manner. Firstly, I ask questions, but don't get any answers. There has been five court hearing so far and I was told that there was no need for me to attend court, but I took no notice of that advice and with my Interpreter went to everyone, and with the backing of a number of ex-pats and friends we were able to make sure that we were getting the best possible hearing. To anybody that does not know most of these lawyers representing us are all working out of the same or near buildings and are all friends [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
Another failing I have found along with many other Brit's (Foreigners) in Bulgaria is the total lack of respect for their clients. You can telephone them, you can email of fax them and if you get a reply you are very lucky
And finally, as I have already said in the UK you usually pay for what you get. In Bulgaria you get what you pay for if you are lucky
in other word's you have to pay up front, usually without any receipt or breakdown of costings
If that is due or considered to be due to the different cultures then so be it
And I would just like to remind fellow posters that these are my experiences and I agree that not everybody is tarred with the same brush

PS. This topic was aimed at the heading "
Can we trust what they say"
not anybody in particular

I'm sure your all right in your own way as said by Chris each person can tell a differant story about the same agent so I guess also it could be a case of suck it and see? no matter how much research you do it can still go wrong but its a chance you have to take just like crossing the road you look before you cross but that dosn't stop something dropping from the sky ????

Hello everyone!

Why do we keep on putting the blame on others - REA in particular? Do they put a ***** to us to buy? Do they take the money out of our pockets? We are the ones making our decisions. We should be clever enough to operate our investments :) We, who have bought or those who are about to buy props in Bulgaria, should be observant and be aware of what we are buying, from whom we are buying it....unless we do not care about our money... Do your research on time rather that doing a research of who can sort your mess out afterwards For me, what is important is to write to the agents, meet them, talk to them, ask your questions and do not miss to have at least a look at what you are buying and paying for. Think twice and be clever!!! As someone said - do not leave your brains at the airport - they would not help you standing there (if only you were not buying the airport LOL)

chrisss I think your right who o why do people always blame the estate agent well its quite simple no one want to admit they made a mistake but with all the will in the world nothing will ever run perfectly and according to plan unfortunately no one has yet found a cure for human error or greed, so as nu2bg has said along with others all different stories about the same estate agents but we can draw from this a wide range of opinions which can't be bad

Cure is not really needed. We need to think before we act. We should not expect the people in the new countries to be saints :)
Keep an eye on the mistakes the others have done and be aware of not following the proven wrong way

Good advice chrisss

Exactly - Where has common sense gone these days? People are always looking for a scapegoat. Good and bad REA everywhere.

Couldn't agree more. Fortunately, one of the good sides of the global recession and financial crisis, is that many of the worst cowboys have gone to the wall. Leaving mostly those who have good financial backing and operate more ethically. Nonetheless, don't leave your brain on the plane!

Well said FlorryB but as you may know there may not be a plane to leave it on

Its true I read all the time that so many Brits buy a property and then when something goes wrong they blame the REA which is barmy I use to visit another forum until I found this one and on there they are like a linch mob as soon as something goes wrong with someones purchase they all come crawling from under their stones with no thought for the REA and always ready to accept whatever they are told bu the buyer says a lot for their integrity the thing I have found is that we are never ready to accept the blame ourselves even when we know we are at fault, lets be honest you would never do anything like this in the uk ? or would you [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Got to agree here this is probably the biggest purchase that most of us will ever make so check everything and then check it again and don't always blame others it’s no big deal to admit you’ve mad a mistake

Your all right in some ways but as said here so often its so easy to blame others and again many of us seem to leave our brains at the airport but think about what you are doing and if needed think again your not in any rush and if you feel your being pushed then just back off and wait and do a lot more thinking its very simple really but I also agree that mistakes can happen with the best will in the world no one can guarantee that nothing will go wrong not even in the uk although I hear you say well you have protection in the uk we yest that's true which is why we need to do our homework and check everything over as may times as we fell and then and only then if your happy then go for it in the knowledge that you have done all you can for a smooth transaction

And remember if it sounds to good? then it probably is

Hello Everybody

I thought I would share three paragraphs from the the following letter I received from the Foreign & Commonwealth Office on December 21st, so here goes

The UK Government is unable to intervene in legal proceedings in respect of individual property deals, however, we are able to take steps to address the wider concerns surrounding the Bulgarian Real Estate sector. In April, our Ambassador in Sofia met with the then Bulgarian Deputy Foreign Minister to emphasise the need to raise standards and tighten controls in the Real Estate sector and also sought assurances that the problems encountered by British Nationals purchasing property in Bulgaria would be taken seriously at Government level

Following the parliamentary elections in Bulgaria and a new Government being sworn in on 27th July, our Ambassador again raised these issues in his introductory calls on relavent new Ministers and we are greatly encouraged by the new Government's subsequent commitment to promoting more transparent and effective overall public administration, and to tackling corruption much more vigorously than in the past

I hope that the efforts of our Embassy, and the stated commitment of the Bulgarian Government, will help to raise regulatory and professional standards in the Bulgarian Real Estate sector and ensure that people like you and your family who purchased property in Bulgaria have better protection and access to advice in the future

Signed by Natalie Luscombe
Europe Directorate

On a personal note I would like to add that this letter had nothing to do with our purchase of Villa Lorna. Our transactions with the agent, Switch-homes, Varna went as perfect as it possibly could have. It was one year later when fraud and organised crime hit us that it hurt

willowsend

Hi willowsend, thank you for the item above, its real interesting to realise that although Bulgaria is suppose to be part of the big family they call the EU when it comes down to problems basically the UK government don't want to know, which is basically what they are saying in your letter I guess it's a case of passing the buck But I wonder??? when a matter that is wrong and is a domestic matter when does it becomes part of a so called EU family matter? it would be interesting to know exactly what part the EU plays in matters like this, or do they just turn a blind eye when it suits them ? or act when its too late ?