Forgive me for having the temerity to start a new topic after only just being introduced, but I have been looking through the forum. and I can't see anywhere that answers my basic question about buying property in Bulgaria.

Where?

In Turkey, nobody ever seems to buy property anywhere other than the Med coast, or possibly in Istanbul, but on this forum people seem to be buying all over. Are any of you living in the coastal resorts, or what are the attractions of living inland, either in the country or in Sofia? Is it just because it is cheaper? There are also ski resorts, and there is property on offer there, but would you want to live in the mountains all the year round?

I'm really just looking for people's views on where and what to look for.

Wendy

Hi Wendy

Start as many topics as you wish ... that's what we're here for!

To be honest, this is a really difficult one to answer, as it depends on what you, as a family, want from your home.

We were lucky in that, we spent 4 years living in Sofia for business reasons, which gave us plenty of time to look around for the perfect place.

Our specification was:

• A large town with all facilities (shops, restaurants, bars, markets, doctors, hospital, bus station, schools, etc.)
• Pretty location with, if possible, fantastic views
• Something with Bulgarian culture (historical town with ancient buildings)
• Not isolated so great neighbours
• Walking distance to all town facilities
• Walking distance to forests and mountains
• Less than one and a half hours to an international airport
• Broadband internet and cable TV available
• Enclosed, walled gardens for the dog

Obviously we set ourselves a very tall order, and, it took us lots of visits over a period of time to find the ideal property.

We found it in the lovely mountain market town of Kotel in the Sliven region.

Unfortunately, due to work commitments, we now have the property on the market and are gutted as we are having to sell it at less than half what it cost us to buy and renovate.

If you want to see our house, and lots of photographs of Kotel town itself, then there's some info here:
[url:3vggs135]http:
//www.
ourbulgariaforum.
com/viewtopic.
php?f=76&
t=4667[/url:3vggs135]

Good luck with the house hunting and keep asking the questions!

Chris

Hi Wendy keep the questions coming.

As to answer your question this time is quite easy in that you would really need to come over here and look for yourself. To make a move to any Country other than the one you were brought up in is a massive decision. As to where, well BG has everything from big Cities to small Villages. We choose to live in a Village near Yambol, mainly because it was away from the Summer tourist industry on the coast and the winter tourist areas in the mountains. But one of our members has already said 'Bulgaria is like Marmite you either like it or hate it', and just how true is that statement . Maybe the best thing for you to do is to rent a place for a few months and see if you like it here. :: of ours are doing just that at the moment and is possibly the best advice that I can give to you. The winters here can be tough with temperatures down as low as -20 C. You can get snowed in as well. Summers are the complete opposite with temperatures up in the high 30's and sometimes higher with little or no rain or sometimes it rains so hard that you can get several inches of the stuff in a few minutes then bright sunshine the next. Then nothing for months. Strange;
yes very strange but that is part and parcel of living here.

I hope this helps you a little.

Tony

Good answers from both of you and I would also add that you may want somewhere tranquil and another may want the hustle and bustle of a city so its horses for courses.

There is a lot of things to consider. for example, if your a car owner the choice is greater with inland properties against those that are in central locations. If it's just for a holidays and no long term plan to move to Bulgaria then an apartment is possibly the way to go. Most properties in Bulgaria will need maintenance of some sort, I would compile a list that has all the criteria that fits in with your life style, then use that list to select properties your interested in along with the region. A good map is very useful to help you utilise the time you have better on viewing trips. But ultimately its a case of research research and more research .

Andy wrote:

There is a lot of things to consider. for example, if your a car owner the choice is greater with inland properties against those that are in central locations. If it's just for a holidays and no long term plan to move to Bulgaria then an apartment is possibly the way to go. Most properties in Bulgaria will need maintenance of some sort, I would compile a list that has all the criteria that fits in with your life style, then use that list to select properties your interested in along with the region. A good map is very useful to help you utilise the time you have better on viewing trips. But ultimately its a case of research research and more research .

Andy agree totally agree with you