|
|
Author | Message |
---|
oddball Moderator
Posts : 7312 Join date : 2009-10-20 Age : 65
| Subject: Decisions Decisions Thu Feb 13, 2014 2:53 pm | |
| Decisions, how do we know we make the right decisions! Yes indeed it all seems right at the time but then when it goes wrong we say, this was a wrong decision - For instance: we bought our house in Silistra a while ago. All went well for a number of years and we loved it, still do but if I had my time over again I would NOT buy a place I would rent it, but there again I would probably be moaning about throwing away good money, so yet another wrong decision. I have many friends in BG who through no fault of their own have had to move back to the UK, mainly lack of work or ill health, medical costs and even some who cannot cope with Bulgarian life after living there for several years. Yet they made the decision to leave their lovely homes in BG and come back to the UK. Basically many of them struggle every day as most of them put their life savings into the house in BG thinking this would be their new life and dream land.
They spent £1000's of pounds renovating their houses to a good standards and then they decide to move on, but of course they cannot sell the property hence left with a property they have to continue to maintain, bills and taxes to pay as well as trying to get themselves sorted back in the UK - Some are lucky and do eventually get rid of their pride and joy at stupidly ridiculous price. Before my brother in law passed away last year he did manage to get rid of his house but did not sell it - he gave it to his neighbours, they went to the solicitors and signed it all over to his neighbour but being a Bulgarian he does not need to buy the company so I am assuming my sister will still be responsible for the company taxes etc as they did not pay any large amount of money out to desolve the company. She is not sure as it was not in her name. However, that was a wrong decision too.
So now we are in the process of making yet another decision. We want to live in BG but there is nothing in our village as already said and we need to construct an outbuilding to give us some kind of storage and a garage so will have to spend yet more money on a property we will never get any returns on - in fact we would be lucky to get a 1/3 of the costs if we tried to sell our house in BG. Do we waste more money in construction or do we just carry on as normal. Do we sell our house here in the UK and live on a pension in BG. Do we rent our house here in the UK and after allowing for overheads accept a small amount for letting strangers live in our lovely home yet still have to worry about maintenance etc etc
So you see we all have decisions to make but are they the right one!!!!!!!!1 Oh how I hate decisions they give me a huge headache |
|
| |
davshaz Super user
Posts : 1250 Join date : 2009-12-28
| Subject: Re: Decisions Decisions Thu Feb 13, 2014 3:31 pm | |
| Give me a couple of years and I'll be back to try and answer this [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] Seriously you do need to think very carefully before you make any long term decisions, as far as investment is concerned its not going to happen in BG like it has in other places around the world so don't hold your breath, yes Bulgaria is a great place to live but you really have to be completely sold by it or don't even give it a thought. |
|
| |
paddy Senior user
Posts : 178 Join date : 2013-11-29
| Subject: Re: Decisions Decisions Thu Feb 13, 2014 9:21 pm | |
| i had my answer to your question nearly finished then my computer shut down, so rather than writing it all out again I am going to keep it short
all the a***holes that spent there time selling policies that after x amount of years will pay you this and when the time comes it does not so who can you blame? simply your house in Bulgaria I am sure is paid for, you do a great job over there for people who clearly need your help so you really need to be their, the problem you've got is your thinking of your sister and her problems and her late husband giving his house away. your looking at I've paid this but its worth that, they do say investments go up as well as down, so think of it as your home and not an investment, and think of your home in the UK as an investment and not a home, find a good estate agent and put your house up for rent, this way you get an income that helps you and the wife and you get to live in the place you like, this way if things go wrong you still have your home in the UK and then time permitting your house in Bulgaria might be rentable.
I hope oddball you do not take offence with the above but I've seen this this so many times people say its worth nothing and you agree you sell it for next to nothing only to find the person who has bought it sells it for well? |
|
| |
oddball Moderator
Posts : 7312 Join date : 2009-10-20 Age : 65
| Subject: Re: Decisions Decisions Thu Feb 13, 2014 9:56 pm | |
| - paddy wrote:
- i had my answer to your question nearly finished then my computer shut down, so rather than writing it all out again I am going to keep it short
all the a***holes that spent there time selling policies that after x amount of years will pay you this and when the time comes it does not so who can you blame? simply your house in Bulgaria I am sure is paid for, you do a great job over there for people who clearly need your help so you really need to be their, the problem you've got is your thinking of your sister and her problems and her late husband giving his house away. your looking at I've paid this but its worth that, they do say investments go up as well as down, so think of it as your home and not an investment, and think of your home in the UK as an investment and not a home, find a good estate agent and put your house up for rent, this way you get an income that helps you and the wife and you get to live in the place you like, this way if things go wrong you still have your home in the UK and then time permitting your house in Bulgaria might be rentable.
I hope oddball you do not take offence with the above but I've seen this this so many times people say its worth nothing and you agree you sell it for next to nothing only to find the person who has bought it sells it for well? Thanks Paddy some good points there what you are really saying is get your ass in gear woman - No, not at all no offense taken, I appreciate your input. Will have a good think about things over the weekend for sure. |
|
| |
Scunnered Moderator
Posts : 792 Join date : 2009-09-29 Age : 62
| Subject: Re: Decisions Decisions Fri Feb 14, 2014 5:34 am | |
| We understand your predicament, Berni. After living out here permanently for three years, we made the decision to rent out our home in the UK. Not an easy decision to make, but there was no point leaving it empty! After an extremely manic two weeks clearing it out, with a lot of help from family and friends, the house was ready. We now have tenants in, and, after a few hiccups, all seems well. We used an estate agent to fully manage it. Not cheap, but it gives us peace of mind. It just seemed too final to sell it! At the moment we have no plans to return, but you never know what's round the corner. |
|
| |
speedgunner Senior user
Posts : 267 Join date : 2011-07-25
| Subject: Re: Decisions Decisions Fri Feb 14, 2014 7:11 am | |
| We rent a house in Felixstowe in Suffolk which we bought renovated and lived in for 17 years after coming out of the Army.We tried to sell it before coming to Bulgaria but it was when the housing market was flat.So we took some advice and decided to rent using a Estate Agent who's business is mainly renting out properties and taking care of both the landlord and the tennant and he is very good.It is advisable to use a reputable agency as your rent gets collected every month and the proprty is inspected every 3 months for the first year of tenancy and 6 monthly after that if the agent is worth their salt.Do not try to do this without an agent as problems could arise like rent arears and property maintance being ignored.These agents normally charge 10% of the rental income for their services which is worth it for peice of mind if you have a good agent.The other thing is you must fill out a tax return every year declaring your profit and loss on the property which is easy.If you go for this option and need a hand with your tax return I'm your man. |
|
| |
paddy Senior user
Posts : 178 Join date : 2013-11-29
| Subject: Re: Decisions Decisions Fri Feb 14, 2014 8:22 am | |
| their was me thinking " oh" what have i said, but again i've said what other people are thinking great news all round and i am sure you will come to my way of thinking and so far the rest of your A team agree too. these people who advised you and me in the 80's have ran away and our investments are worth less than we may have paid for them, but if we live in them rent free with a small amount of maintenance what is the real cost, (please no accountants respond to that question) life is to short to worry over mistakes. |
|
| |
oddball Moderator
Posts : 7312 Join date : 2009-10-20 Age : 65
| |
| |
Edna Bira Senior user
Posts : 170 Join date : 2013-01-23
| Subject: Re: Decisions Decisions Fri Feb 14, 2014 11:53 am | |
| - oddball wrote:
- EVERYONE really appreciate your comments... Will give it some serious thought over the weekend and please God I will reach an amicable decision......
It's a big life changing decision, please take a little longer than this weekend! If your reasonably happy with the status quo (not the band) leave it for a while, i'm sure the answer/solution will reveal itself, don't pressurize yourselves into what could be a mistake later on. What and how does your family/relatives/friends feel about it, do they have any input? |
|
| |
paddy Senior user
Posts : 178 Join date : 2013-11-29
| Subject: Re: Decisions Decisions Fri Feb 14, 2014 7:11 pm | |
| just got home and started thinking again on the decisions decisions and thought I want to put a swimming pool at my house in Bulgaria covered off course that way if it snows who cares I can always have a swim. now if I worked on the bases that the house was not worth it and any value would be wasted then I would say no quite clearly, but if I was retiring or working part time and flying back or driving over every few months then the swimming pool would be a great investment for me not the house? you go on holiday in my case when I can, but after you've done your trip you have nothing to show for it except a few pictures maybe a sun tan and an empty ish bank balance, what do YOU get from your home in Bulgaria, a few pictures and maybe a sun tan? I hope you understand the riddle,
if I get sometime I will try and help if I can with building your shed and do you want it brick and or timber also do you have any plans or measurements or at the very least a size and height and type of door you would like and I will ask my architect to come up with some plans as he will be over in April doing some work for me.
just remember this will help you make your mind up. best of luck oddball
if I can help I will paddy |
|
| |
willowsend Mega user
Posts : 2271 Join date : 2009-11-10 Age : 84 Location : Dobrich
| Subject: Re: Decisions Decisions Fri Feb 14, 2014 7:26 pm | |
| - oddball wrote:
- EVERYONE really appreciate your comments... Will give it some serious thought over the weekend and please God I will reach an amicable decision......
< Berni and Dougie Everybody who know's you two lovely people will know where your hearts are. I can see both of you sitting in your armchairs in front of a roaring fire with gale force winds and floods outside discussing this topic. I know Dougie wanted to stay out there in your house in Bulgaria and who could have blamed him with the weather we are having here and 14c in Bulgaria today Anyway, we all have to make decisions in life and I am well versed to making the wrong decision to buy in Bulgaria, but against all odds we have struggled through with all the elements against us and we are still here to tell the story, even though we have lost thousands of pounds You both have children and grand-children in the UK, you both have adopted children in Bulgaria (Silistra Orphanage) but the most important thing is your gut feeling in what you want in life and most important of all, your health, so what ever decision you both make, I hope it is the right one and you both live happily ever after : : |
|
| |
oddball Moderator
Posts : 7312 Join date : 2009-10-20 Age : 65
| Subject: Re: Decisions Decisions Mon Feb 17, 2014 3:47 pm | |
| Thanks everyone for your comments really good to get feedback! Today I rang the letting agency so will await her visit and see where we go from there. |
|
| |
paddy Senior user
Posts : 178 Join date : 2013-11-29
| Subject: Re: Decisions Decisions Mon Feb 17, 2014 4:00 pm | |
| that is great news oddball, as the last thing we all need including us newbies is you not being there and supporting the comunitys that need you most, also like i have been told your money goes further in Bulgaria. |
|
| |
oddball Moderator
Posts : 7312 Join date : 2009-10-20 Age : 65
| Subject: Re: Decisions Decisions Mon Feb 17, 2014 5:00 pm | |
| |
|
| |
Phil-H Super user
Posts : 381 Join date : 2013-01-26 Age : 75 Location : West Midlands, UK
| Subject: Re: Decisions Decisions Mon Feb 17, 2014 8:07 pm | |
| Without getting engrossed in the do's or don't of gambling, but one of my first gambling conversations was to never play with anything that I wasn't prepared to lose! Basically only play with what I was prepared to lose, that way I could get my enjoyment playing and any winnings was therefore a bonus.
As for what we read concerning, concerning anything I suppose, if you go in with a open mind without expecting to either make money or even to be able to re-coup any initial outlay then when the time comes to move on then anything that is returned is a bonus. |
|
| |
Sponsored content
| Subject: Re: Decisions Decisions | |
| |
|
| |
|