First topic message reminder :

I have just received the following email from Henry Rowlands of Novinite
I wish you good luck on December 23rd
The article [url=http:
//www.
novinite.
com/view_news.
php?id=110314:371pwafn][You must be registered and logged in to see this link.] has had a very good reception from both readers and people in high places, and that is all I can say at present, except to wish you good luck again
Best Wishes
Henry

No , neither have i ..as cowshed-sarah says..can you tell us more ...please ...

It doesn't really matter who or what so long as we are all careful and not stupid then all the pitfalls can be avoided, I sometimes think knowing stuff like this can blinker you and stop you using your own common sense

oh but it does ...you can be as sensible as you like but ,as many will tell you to their cost.....you dont always avoid the pitfalls and to say you can , is well ...?
there are hundreds of these type of stories out there that the average joe never hears..or cares to hear about !!

You are spot on Varnagirl ,
We could not have been more careful, and still not sorted after 4 years more courts and worry
But I am very happy here apart from that.

I think varnagirl has a point but I also see what Daisy is saying I think we must all learn to use our common sense and be vigilant but not to get ourselves tied up in what others have had done to them as we know these people don't always follow the same route

[size=55:9n0j263g]novinite 21 December 2010

Bulgaria Mulls Rescue Plan for Real Estate Mafia Helpless Victims

Bulgaria's Notary Chamber has proposed the introduction of a final power of attorney in a bid to reduce property fraud.

"
This is how the elderly and the sick, including alcohol and drug addicts, will be able to entitle only their closest people to manage their property,"
Dimitar Tanev, Chairman of the Notary Chamber said.

Data of the prosecutor's office shows that a total of 90% of the people who fall victims to the so-called real estate mafia are elderly or psychologically unstable.

New rules that envisage that all property transactions in Bulgaria must be carried out via bank transfer were approved at second reading by the parliament at the end of September as part of amendments to the Notary Act.

Whilst the change to buying and selling was first mentioned a year ago as part of a bigger plan to reduce corruption in the property sector, they have not come to fruition.

There is hope that the new rules will help to reduce property fraud and money laundering, as well as ensuring that all fees and taxes owing to the state are paid.

The legislative changes will require that both the vendor and the buyer specify their bank accounts for conducting a property deal. Alternatively, they could use the account of their notary public.

These legislative changes are seen as the first step to an all-out regulation of payment in purchase deals through a special law to be called Deposit Account Act.

There is also hope that the new laws may inspire more confidence from overseas property buyers.

But, there are risks to this new system, as sellers and buyers may want to avoid the new fee charged by the bank for servicing the transactions.

Thus, they may agree a lower price for the official transaction and then do a cash deal privately. This is common in France where the new system planned for Bulgaria is already in use.

Admin wrote:

[size=55:2gbf06xb]novinite 21 December 2010

Bulgaria Mulls Rescue Plan for Real Estate Mafia Helpless Victims

Bulgaria's Notary Chamber has proposed the introduction of a final power of attorney in a bid to reduce property fraud.

"
This is how the elderly and the sick, including alcohol and drug addicts, will be able to entitle only their closest people to manage their property,"
Dimitar Tanev, Chairman of the Notary Chamber said.

Data of the prosecutor's office shows that a total of 90% of the people who fall victims to the so-called real estate mafia are elderly or psychologically unstable.

New rules that envisage that all property transactions in Bulgaria must be carried out via bank transfer were approved at second reading by the parliament at the end of September as part of amendments to the Notary Act.

Whilst the change to buying and selling was first mentioned a year ago as part of a bigger plan to reduce corruption in the property sector, they have not come to fruition.

There is hope that the new rules will help to reduce property fraud and money laundering, as well as ensuring that all fees and taxes owing to the state are paid.

The legislative changes will require that both the vendor and the buyer specify their bank accounts for conducting a property deal. Alternatively, they could use the account of their notary public.

These legislative changes are seen as the first step to an all-out regulation of payment in purchase deals through a special law to be called Deposit Account Act.

There is also hope that the new laws may inspire more confidence from overseas property buyers.

But, there are risks to this new system, as sellers and buyers may want to avoid the new fee charged by the bank for servicing the transactions.

Thus, they may agree a lower price for the official transaction and then do a cash deal privately. This is common in France where the new system planned for Bulgaria is already in use.

This will solve the problem? I don't think so. Honesty will solve the problem and that's going to be a long time coming.

At least the Bulgarian authority accept that there has been problems and have come up with some form of legislature. Here in Turkey millions of pounds have been lost by honest Brits looking for their "
Place in the Sun"
- sadly hundreds, maybe thousands of Brits have lost their life savings.

Can't comment on Turkey, but Bulgarian authorities accepting what has happened so many years on? Don't believe it. What we need is a TV program dedicated to this and showing how problems have been resolved.

What we need is a TV program dedicated to this and showing how problems have NOT been resolved.

There is a six programme series entitled Homes from hell scheduled for sometime in the New year
It will go out on ITV1 and will certainly feature Bulgaria and the Bankso area

willowsend wrote:

Homes from hell

Will be specifically dedicated to you and with good reason

I see what your saying this should really highlite the problems that some have had including willowsends

itchyfeet wrote:

At least the Bulgarian authority accept that there has been problems and have come up with some form of legislature. Here in Turkey millions of pounds have been lost by honest Brits looking for their "
Place in the Sun"
- sadly hundreds, maybe thousands of Brits have lost their life savings.

Hi itchyfeet
I think you could say that Bulgaria would come a good runner-up to Turkey on that subject, :Very sad:but true

Having suffered from criminal activities in Bulgaria, the following text not only makes me sad but also makes me very angry, and anybody who has been there will fully understand the heartache that is bought about by being a victim

The Sofia Echo
[size=150:2qldpa7y]Bulgarian police smash criminal ring in Varna, two officers arrested

Bulgarian police has smashed an organised criminal ring involved in illegal banking activities, property fraud and embezzlement. The operation was carried out in the coast city of Varna and a total of 19 people have been arrested, the Interior Ministry said in a media statement on May 30 2011.

Two of the detained were police officers, the ministry said. One of them was a member of the serious crime unit and the other was with Varna's first police precinct. The two allegedly supplied the rest of the group with sensitive intelligence stolen from police sources.

According to the police report, the group carried out financial fraud, illegal lending activity, real estate and other forms of embezzlement, Varna district prosecutor Vladimir Chavdarov and police commissioner Dimitar Dimitrov, head of the Varna police directorate, said quoted by Focus news agency.

The group also conducted "
illegal property appraisals"
, as well as breaking and entering. During the course of the police operation, 14 addresses were searched that had been used by members of the group. Large quantities of documents stolen from police archives were found.

Of the 19 men arrested so far, only one has a criminal record, but the investigation was still under way, the Interior Ministry said

Hope you don't mind me adding this Brian but I'm sure you can see that its all in aid of stopping fraud

can I ask forum members who still have a postal address in the UK to please sign the on-line petition
[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]

Thank you for your help and can you please get your freinds to sign it