Archive for the 'Rural property' Category
Friday, November 2nd, 2007
The Property Market Changes Bulgaria’s Map
New settlements may appear, others will vanish due to the demographic collapse. There is reorientation in the demand from low-quality and cheap properties scattered around the countryside to gated communities with gardens and sometimes with private pools, brokers say. This trend is set by the clients who give prominence to the comforts and safety of the complexes. Moreover, these sites are sold key-ready which saves the buyer all the finishing works and the security guards guarantee the peace and quiet of the residents. Almost all such developments offer maintenance of the common parts as well.
Some of the developments are set among nature. The houses there range from 2 to over 100 depending on the area of the plot. However, if they are within the limits of a village or a town the optimal number of houses is from 2 to 5, brokers claim. Each house is sold with a private garden or with enough area that would guarantee the ‘breathing space’ of the residents. Such is the project near the village of Avren. Its first part, the so-called Lake House, has already been sold. In principle, the construction of the houses begins after a buyer shows up and lasts from 6 to 8 months. In the case of Avren the investor is a local entrepreneur and the clients are mostly Britons. The other type of development has 15-20 houses. They are built on large plots of land and resemble small holiday resorts. Such is the case with the project near the village of Lyahovo which is set 4 km from the Albena holiday resort and includes 134 houses. The main disadvantage of this type of development is the phased construction which turns the area into a construction site for quite a long time. This problem is overcome when the complex is offered for sale after being completely built. But such projects are a rarity because the entrepreneur plans to receive money from the already built sites and then continue constructing the others.
Prices of houses in gated communities range between 70,000 and 120,000 EUR for total built-up areas of 90 to 170 square meters, as they are set about 10-15 km from a well-known tourist region. The homes in very attractive areas, as is the Delta Hill development at the foot of the Vitosha Mountain, cost up to 250,000 - 300,000 EUR. Experts think that if the new holiday resort boom continues the developments may well appear on Bulgaria’s geographic map. On the other hand, some small villages nestled on the mountain slopes may vanish due to the lack of inhabitants.
City Market, 02.11.07
Tuesday, July 17th, 2007
Bulgaria and Russia have the highest taxation residential properties
Bulgaria and Russia rank among countries with highest rates of tax on residential property deals, says Global Property Guide research.
Research examined several types of expenditure including registration fees, real estate agency commissions, taxes for purchase and VAT, 24 Chasa daily reported.
Results for Bulgaria and Romania showed that purchase expenditures were nearly 25 per cent of the property value, the main reason being VAT.
VAT in Bulgaria is 20 per cent and 18 per cent in Russia. This is the factor ranking Romania and Bulgaria on the top positions concerning residential property taxation.
Out of old European Union (EU) countries, Belgium and Italy have the highest expenditures on property deals, the lowest feature Estonia, Slovakia, Litva and Danemark with less than five per cent of the property value.
Expenditures are higher in southern Europe and lower in UK and the Scandinavian countries.
The commission for the real estate agency is usually shared between the seller and the buyer. Research said that it usually ranges between 1.25 and 1.5 per cent for both sides. In Bulgaria the figure is 2.5 per cent to three per cent for both sides.
Sunday, May 27th, 2007
No mortgage required: Where to get a house for the price of a car
A property you can buy on your credit card? It is not as improbable as it sounds. Despite surging markets around the world, there are still places where you can pick up something habitable for the price of the average family car. Rural Bulgaria is a good place to start. There is a wide range of village houses from just £5,000. But be ready to do some work – and don’t expect an indoor lavatory.
Other former communist countries are slightly more expensive, but you can buy a country house in Prekmurje, the picturesque wine-growing region of northeast Slovenia, for example, for £17,000. Or look across the border in Slovakia or Hungary, where £50,000 would buy a house near Lake Balaton, a holiday spot for much of the former communist world.
Keen on a sea view or something in the mountains? You could get either in Bulgaria for as little as £20,000 – but take all those predictions of instant profit with a pinch of salt, as oversupply may keep a lid on future price rises. The Croatian coast is a more upmarket alternative: There are flats five minutes from the beach at Split for £52,444.
Up your credit limit and parts of France, Italy and Spain come within reach. “About a quarter of the properties on our books cost £75,000 or below, mostly in northern and central France,” says Cheryl Townend, of French Property Shop . “Most are two-bedroom semidetached houses, perhaps requiring a little work.”
The shock waves running through Spain’s market are moderating prices there, too. In Andalusia, you can buy a rare inland finca needing renovation for £30,000, or a distinctive cave home near Granada for £55,000. Parts of Italy are also surprisingly cheap.
And don’t forget America: thanks to the weak dollar and the wobbling property market, you can pick up a one- or two-bedroom flat in Florida for less than £70,000. “With price falls of 10% or 15%, there’s now a more realistic chance of rents covering mortgage costs,” says Charles Weston-Baker, head of international sales at Savills. “It’s an unexpectedly good result of a market that has corrected its prices.” Turkey has hundreds of miles of coast and low property prices. And Morocco is emerging as a cut-price alternative to the Costa del Sol. King Mohammed VI’s multi-billion-dollar tourism initiative, 2010 Vision, has earmarked six resorts, five on the Atlantic coast and one on the Mediterranean, for significant development. There are plenty of choices for less than £50,000 in both countries.
Also worth considering is the Egyptian resort of Sharm el Sheikh, which has lots of sun, fairly cheap flights and flats at just £25,000 – although you should watch out for poor build quality.
Not exotic enough? What about a holiday villa on Margarita Island, off Venezuela, for £55,000, or a flat in the Philippines for just £20,000?
Time to start flexing that plastic.
Times Online
Tuesday, May 8th, 2007
Karlovo on the Bulgarian property market map
Prices of agricultural land in Karlovo vary from 0,50 euro to 10 euro per sq m, expert.bg reports. Investors interested in agricultural land intend to change the land status and use it for residential or commercial developments.
Plots outside regulation situated on the main road Soifa-Burgas are offered from 8 to 22 euro per sq m. The most expensive plots in Karlovo are those in regulation. Their prices vary from 22 to 35 euro per sq m.
Houses in Karlovo are offered for 300-450 euro a sq m. Apartments are offered for 350 to 500 euro a sq m, depending on the type of construction.
Retired people from Japan, UK and Israel are buying houses in Karlovo and the surrounding villages. Investors from USA are negotiating for the purchase of plots and the construction of holiday villages of kit houses, local agents told expert.bg.
Monday, April 23rd, 2007
Bulgarian defence ministry to place 250 properties on the market
The Bulgarian defence ministry plans to execute swap and sale transactions involving 250 properties around the country in 2007. A total of 108 properties will be swapped for apartments to meet the ministry’s department housing needs. A decision is yet to be taken whether to sell or swap another 80 of the properties.
The list of properties slated for disposal includes the 55.9 ha airstrip in the village of Musachevo some 30 km from Sofia. The ministry is also offering 3 sites with a combined area of 156 ha near the Straklevo airport in the Ruse area and 175 ha in the vicinity of the former military air field in the village of Kondofrei, in the Radomir area.
Some 300 ha of arable land and properties in Sofia’s Bozhurishte residential district will be exchanged for housing units. The list of properties earmarked or sell/swap includes 1.13 ha of land in the village of Enemona, near coastal town Nesebar, and 5 ha in another coastal town, Pomorie.
The defence ministry will swap a 17.2 ha parcel in Razlog and three buildings in the Betolovoto, an area with 2 golf resorts and a number of holiday villages under development.
dnevnik.bg
Saturday, March 3rd, 2007
Little Known Ways to Profit from Bulgarian Property
When you’re in the pub talking to the local barman about life, the universe and what’s what and you discover that they’ve just gone and invested in an off plan ski apartment in Bansko you really know you’ve missed the boat – no offence to the theoretical barman in question, but if everyone and his cat knows that property in Bulgaria is the place to invest money, chances are all the big opportunities have been sold out.
However, Bulgaria is still an attractive, well packaged, accessible location that has room for growth for a few years yet – but what you really need to know are the little known ways to profit from Bulgarian property that will set your investment approach apart from the rest and ensure that your real estate ambitions are realised when other areas of the investment marketplace are saturated…
For example – if you’re thinking of buying an apartment in Sunny Beach or a condo in Bansko think first about the concepts of saturation and oversupply. If on the other hand you’re thinking of a way to promote Bulgaria to the UK baby boomers in search of a safe overseas country with a relatively temperate climate where their pension will take them far further then you’re about to begin to see potential – hint hint!
Away from the madding crowds on the beaches and in the ski resorts, a few investors have begun buying up attractive village properties in communities such as Hotnitza and Rujitza for example where there are already at least a few Brits and they are renovating these properties with a view to selling the ‘lifestyle’ as well as reselling the renovated and pristine property to those hungry for an affordable, attractive retirement retreat.
Targeting a particular buying sector of society such as those Brits approaching retirement age where there is strong demand to own a property as well as a certain amount of affordability and then really getting to grips with understanding that demographic group and what they want from a home is an excellent approach to profiting from Bulgarian property.
Another approach is considering the student market – there are for example at least seven colleges and universities in Varna Bulgaria, very few of which provide accommodation and all of which are actively working to attract and retain greater student numbers – these students need affordable bed-sits, apartments and shared houses and buying such property is currently affordable, it can return a decent and reliable income and be a good long term capital appreciating asset.
Or what about speculatively investing in parcels of land? Or developing commercial premises in developing locations popular with the wealthier overseas buyers? Or what about buying large but more remote properties and developing them as guesthouses and reselling them as a going concern having marketed them to those who enjoy outdoor pursuits…come on, get your thinking caps on, look past the obvious and discover all the little known ways to profit from property in Bulgaria and make your move.
ShelterOffshore.com
Thursday, March 1st, 2007
British Family Find Better and Safer Life in Bulgaria
FED-UP of a life fraught with Britain’s escalating violence, one Yorkshire family knew they had to make a life-changing move. Sheryl and Del Trott quit Hull for Bulgaria – and in the former communist country they have found a better place for their three children to grow up. Three-bedroomed detached house also costs on average £56,000 and a supermarket shop half the price of here. A decent three-course meal out for two with wine is just £12.50.
The couple also feared Britain’s violent streets. In Hull their eldest son Karl, 18, had been the victim of school bullying, which culminated with him having a knife held to his throat on one of the city’s buses. They put their house, in Holderness Road, east Hull, on the market for £82,000 and began looking for their perfect home in Bulgaria. They found the right place in Bulgaria with a price tag of just £24,000. They then spent £6,000 renovating the 13-year-old property.
After just four months Mrs Trott, a 37-year-old former care home worker, said she and her husband would now never return, mainly because life was more relaxed and also because pressures on family finances were considerably less.
The kids are becoming more violent,” said Mrs Trott, who is originally from Armley, Leeds. Even if the young lads are not out on the streets causing trouble, I still wouldn’t have liked my little ones to be out playing. This is definitely a better place to bring up kids.”
As well as Karl, Mr and Mrs Trott have two younger children, 18-month-old Ellesh and Spencer, three. According to their mother, the children, who don’t start school until the age of seven in Bulgaria, are already picking up the language.
She said: “They already know the basics like how to say hello, thank you and goodbye. We aren’t so good though. We have a phrase book we take everywhere…”
Mr Trott, also 37, has not worked since the move, but is setting up a gardening business serving other English ex-pats. Back home, gardening was just a hobby for the former steel erector.
“One of the best things about living here is that you do not feel vulnerable, as I did in the UK,” said Mr Trott, who was born and brought up in Hull. “Here there is no violence and no threat of violence. There is nobody hanging around on street corners and it is all very family-orientated.
“The only strange thing I saw was last December, when the locals brought their pigs out on the streets to slaughter them. Apparently it is some kind of Christmas tradition.
“The other good thing is the cost of living. We couldn’t live in the UK on the amount of money we spend here, our bills alone there were around £800 a month. I wouldn’t want to move back to England for all the money in the world.”
Yorkshire Post Today
Wednesday, February 21st, 2007
Thirty Thousand Subjects of the British Queen Live in Bulgaria
The official statistics for 2006 reads that some 30,000 British citizens have bought real estates in Bulgaria. The Englishmen prefer village houses at the seashore or in the mountains. The places where the Britons settle undergo a real revival.
The Britons are quite conservative and don’t like risks and surprises. It’s a well proved fact that countries where there are many British settlers, like Cyprus, Kenya and Spain, for example, enjoy political and economic stability. If they decide to leave a country this means that they distrust the political regime (Hong Kong, South Africa). After the USA, Canada, Australia and Spain, Bulgaria is one of the Englishmen’s preferred places to live in.
Standartnews Daily