First topic message reminder :

Hi Folks

We are selling our house ... unfortunately, in the current financial climate, this will be at a big loss after the renovation work we've had done. The house purchase and renovation cost us over 90,000 euros in total but we're now prepared to accept just 45,000 euros for a quick sale.

UPDATE: we have now reduced the property even further to just 15,000 euros or £13,000. The house will stay on the market at this price for another six weeks.

Description and pictures below.

NOTE: the photographs below are over three years old (they are the only ones I have). The house no longer has any furniture in it, and has been standing empty for three years. Therefore, it will not look like it does in these photographs and you should expect to have a major cleaning up operation on your hands.

Anyone interested, or know anyone that may be interested then please PM me with any further questions, etc. Or, for another viewpoint, feel free to send a PM to TonyB, one of our Moderators here who has visited us at the house!

Thanks
Chris

--

Description:
Authentic 200 year old part-renovated, detached property with south facing courtyard garden set in a market town with all facilities within walking distance and open countryside within two minutes on foot.

Interior renovated to western european standards but in keeping with the syle of the architecturally preserved ancient quarter of the town of Kotel, surrounded by properties of the same architecture. Edge of village, with all amenities (shops, restaurants, bars, hospital, schools, doctors, banks, post office, police station, bus station, etc.) and fantastic parks and forests within 2 minutes on foot from the front door of the property.

Location:
1 hour drive from Sliven and Yambol
1 hour 25 mins from Black Sea Coast and Bourgas (with international airport)
1 hour 25 mins from Veliko Turnovo

The Property:
A historic 'monument of culture' of about 110 sq.m. living space and over 200 years old set in the ancient quarter of Kotel, museum town and architectural reserve. The property comprises a fully renovated authentic Bulgarian National Revival detached town house with south facing walled courtyard garden.

The house was internally renovated in 2008, including new wiring, plumbing, roof, insulation, double glazing, kitchen, bathroom, reversible air conditioning for cool/heat, log burner, floors, security system, etc. whilst maintaining the original features.

Approach:
In the preserved old quarter of this beautiful town, accessible all year through tarmac roads, the property is approached via a quiet residential cobbled lane, wide enough for all vehicles, to a private parking space in front of the wooden gates to the property.

Ground Floor:
Two wide semi-circular stone steps, made from old millstones, lead inside the house to:
A spacious Entrance Hall with original wood-carved panelling and flooring.
Living Room - Large airy room with solid wood flooring, new log burner and double windows, views to the garden.
Dining Room - Very light and bright room with solid wood floor and double windows with view to the garden. Reversible air-conditioning unit.
Kitchen - Fully fitted with high quality German-made kitchen including all appliances (fridge, freezer, integral dishwasher, oven, ceramic hob, extractor, etc.). Tiled floor and window to side.
WC with wash basin and tiled floor.

Very wide solid wood original turning staircase to:

First floor:

Large bright landing with original wooden panelling and floor with wonderful views over the rooftops of the old quarter to the mountains beyond.
Master Bedroom - spacious bedroom with solid wood flooring, decorative wood and separate dressing room, wardrobes and storage units. Three large double windows with views to the mountains.
2nd Bedroom - with original wooden panelling and decorative ceiling. Solid wood floor and with two large double windows offering views to mountains.
Family Bathroom - large with deep, claw-foot bath, his and hers sinks, towel radiator, wc, new stacking washing machine and tumble drier. Tiled floor and part tiled walls. Double windows.

Underneath the main part of the house is a cellar which is currently used for storage but could be used as a "
mehana"
.

Outside:
Log store with sink and outdoor tap.
Two detached outbuildings with summer dining area and stone built bbq.
Walled south facing courtyard garden, easily maintained.

NOTE: the front of the property has not been renovated and the wooden facade will need replacing at some point. We had a quotation from a specialist in Kotel to do this which worked out at 4,000 leva (2,000 euros) so you should include this cost in your calculations.


Other:
The house is on mains drains.
Wireless ADSL Broadband wi-fi internet available in the property.
Bulsat television with English channels available.
Weekly bin collections!

This is a great area with nice neighbours and beautiful houses. You are set on the edge of the town so all facilities with many shops and everything open all year, yet countryside at hand too. The town is upmarket and well established. Many locals speak English (the chemist, English language teacher at the folklore school, a Dutch family and more).

The town has a twice-weekly open air market all year round.

Photos:

The Bathroom:
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Master Bedroom:
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Dining Room:
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Entrance Hall:
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Kitchen:
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Lounge:
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Detail of interior doors:
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General Outside and Garden:
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View from the Landing Window:
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General Views of Kotel Town:
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beautifulangel wrote:

Have you considered ebaying your house. you could put a high reserve on so it doesnt go for less than you want.

I did mention this to the wife last week, but I've never bought or sold a thing on eBay so am a bit unsure how to go about it.

However, my Brother has bought / sold lots of things and has a high 'trust' rating or some such, so I could maybe ask him to set it up for me.

Chris wrote:

beautifulangel wrote:

Have you considered ebaying your house. you could put a high reserve on so it doesnt go for less than you want.

I did mention this to the wife last week, but I've never bought or sold a thing on eBay so am a bit unsure how to go about it.

However, my Brother has bought / sold lots of things and has a high 'trust' rating or some such, so I could maybe ask him to set it up for me.

let me know how it goes if you advertise it on ebay Chris and good luck

Grrrrrrr ... I've just wasted the best part of two weeks with a chap that wanted everything in detail (lots of large photos, room measurements, floor plans, town plans, complete list of facilities, distances to all major airports and towns, etc., etc.), he said it was "
just what they had been looking for the last few years"
and the "
flights were booked to turn up with the money'"
.

Guess what ... they didn't turn up at all

I phoned to ask why and they informed me "
it was all just a dream, we've decided not to bother buying abroad"


So, our lovely, renovated house is now for sale at:

45,000 euros (just less than £40,000)

All serious offers considered, and we could also be prepared to offer owner financing (we could loan part of the purchase fee over a few years at less interest than a bank would charge)

Anyone interested, please drop me a PM.

So sorry to hear this news Chris. You must be gutted. What a time waster.
Your house is beautiful, hope things improve for you soon.

Sorry to hear about your "
pie in the sky"
buyer Chris most of us have had something similar at one time in our lives. Our parrot didn't help the sale of our house in the UK very much, on the third visit by the estate agent he uttered the words "
for f..king sake"
as the agent entered the lounge and then shouted out "
what's going on then"
as the proposed buyers walked up the stairs with him. This was uttered all in my voice by him of course, don't know where he got those words from, couldn't have been from me!!!
What a great parrot he was and fondly missed by us.

lovely house

vulcho wrote:

lovely house

Thank You!

Good luck Chris it looks like a bargain.

Unfortunately for you Chris, and others who have a really good renovated property for sale, many still think they can buy under 10,000euros off Ebay and do it up themselves. I find this so hard to understand after all the posts on forums saying what a big mistake this can be and that you will end up paying just as much with all the hassle that Bulgaria has to offer. This is not like Britain, or any other developed country, this is Bulgaria with all its upsides and downsides completely different to anything you have previously known. People will end up saying 'why don't they do this, have that, don't do it properly' etc etc. We've all heard it and got the T-shirt.
Very good luck to you Chris. Your property looks an absolute bargain and in a nice area so where are you buyers????? 'Pay peanuts and you will get peanuts.'
If you can only afford 10,000euros for the pretty picture on the internet then don't bother to come. No doubt someone will pop up and say they did it but they will be the minority or maybe their requirements are limited to something a little more primitive than what Chris is offering. Good luck to them too. Unfortunately, I am probably preaching to the converted here and people will still use less trusted forums or Ebay!

Update: Although the property cost us 97,000 euros to purchase and have the renovation work done, we're now open to offers around 35,000 euros.

If any of you know anybody looking for a fabulous historic property, in a lovely town with all facilities and surrounded by amazing mountains, please ask them to get in touch!

Thanks
Chris

Fingers crossed for you Chris. I'm sure it will happen when you least expect it.

Hi Chris

I was wondering how you are getting on with the sale of this wonderful property. Would you have any objection to me putting it on ourbulgaria facebook? here [You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] also how do members contact you?

Thanks Oddy

Thanks Bernie

Members can e-mail or PM me here if they have any questions about the house!

I think she is thinking more of none members?