19.6.2007

Life-Changing Experience

Steve and Jan Harding were determined to invest in property and relocate to the Bulgarian countryside.
Names: Steve and Jan Harding
Budget: €68,000 (£45,800)


Steve and Jan Harding had long dreamed of living abroad, but after a series of devastating career and health setbacks, their ambition seemed totally unfeasible. Eventually, they managed to sell their house in the West Country, and after chancing upon one of our sister titles – Red Guide: Buying a Property in Eastern Europe – their ambition returned, stronger than ever.
“I can’t resist reflecting on how our lives have changed,” Steve told us. “Owing to a serious back injury I was unable to work. Jan, my wife, was made redundant and our six-year old daughter, Emma, became seriously ill with encephalitis. We were at our lowest ebb.

Miraculously, after two weeks in Bristol’s Frenchay hospital, Emma’s health improved and she eventually made a full recovery. Picking up the pieces of our shattered lives, we were gradually able to focus on the sale of our house, which finally went through. Then, one cold, damp, foggy December morning in Bath, we discovered your Eastern Europe Red Guide – it was just the catalyst we needed.”

After weighing up the pros and cons of all the countries they were interested in, Steve and Jan decided they’d like to know more about Bulgaria, so Steve telephoned the founder of Bulgarian Gateway, Ivan Bakaltchev, and arranged to visit him.

Arriving in the evening chill of mid-January, Steve was warmly greeted at Sofia airport by Ivan’s mother. “Sofia was still celebrating Christmas,” Steve recalls, “and this made for a very colourful journey to the hotel.
As soon as I settled I set about the task of trying to phone my wife. Being one of those difficult, unconventional people who don’t possess a mobile phone, I tried to buy a phonecard. My useless attempts at speaking Bulgarian resulted in my drawing pictures, until I was ushered by a friendly young man into a shop where someone spoke English. Thankfully, I eventually managed to phone my wife!”

“My taxi and train journey to Bourgas was already organised by Ivan’s mother,” Steve continues, “otherwise I’m sure I would have probably ended up in Budapest! The train is a great way to see Bulgaria. For most of the time I was captivated by the wonderful scenery blanketed in snow: towering mountains standing proud of tree-lined valleys with fast-flowing rivers of translucent water.
Unfortunately, the beauty is offset by the occasional ramshackle ruins and high-rise flats of the former communist era. There’s poverty that the western eye might find unacceptable, but Bulgaria is moving forward and will only improve as investment increases. The people are warm, friendly and receptive.”

Steve’s seven-and-a-half-hour train journey came to an end as he arrived at the Bourgas Lakes. His primary goal was to find a home for his family, but he also wanted to buy an additional property as an investment. After days of searching with the Bourgas property team, it slowly dawned on Steve that the task wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d anticipated.
“I was struggling to find a place that I considered suitable,” says Steve. “The property team’s patience and helpfulness was admirable as we clocked up the miles south and west of the city. At one point on our way to the village of Melica 120km southwest of Bourgas, we had to stop the car to allow stray wild boar to cross the road!

Fortunately, this journey was successful, as I decided to buy a countryside house as an investment property. In terms of location, it’s situated on high ground at the end of the village with beautiful views, 20m from a pine wood and 50m from a river. As far as a place to live was concerned, the final throw of the dice was a village called Zagortsi – 35km west of Bourgas.

Blinking through snowflakes as the light began to fade into early evening, I was shown a delightful renovation property. It was a lovely house in a great setting, but sadly too small for us. Next, another rebuild, where the builder suggested I design a house of my choice using his basic structure as a starting point. With this idea still new in my mind, I was finally shown a piece of land measuring approximately one acre. Through my interpreter, I discovered that the builder was intending to build four houses here. Thinking quickly, I said I was only interested in the purchase of all the land for a single house. In principle, this was approved, and the outline of the contract was agreed.”

Before leaving Bulgaria, Steve arranged to visit an architect to finalise the plans. The blueprint for a 130m2 three-bedroom bungalow was drawn up, and Steve left for England to await news of his two purchases from Bulgarian Gateway's solicitor, Alexander Krastev.

The investment property took less than two months to complete, but owing to planning permission considerations, the Zagortsi new-build project took a little longer. Building finally began at the end of July last year.
“Arriving on site was an amazing experience,” says Steve. “Where else could you buy an acre of land surrounded by beautiful countryside and have a three-bedroom house built for less than £50,000? The dream was now a reality and I must admit I had to pinch myself when looking at the half-finished building.
“The project building managers, Stefan and Grudimir, had given up their Sunday to show me the work in progress,” Steve continues, “and it quickly became apparent that there were many decisions to make before leaving for England. Appointments were arranged with the heating and electrical engineers, and after several site visits, we were able to finalise installation requirements.”

Towards the end of his stay Steve took one final trip to Zagortsi with Stefan to oversee a few seemingly insignificant decisions; so insignificant, Steve thought, that he decided not to bring
Grudimir, who had been his translator up until this point. It was a potentially costly oversight, saved only by the fortuitous appearance of a friendly neighbour.

“While studying the building I saw a black BMW disappear in a cloud of dust,” says Steve, ”and then I saw it hastily return! Who was this man I was about to be introduced to? Enter Bobby, who turned out to be a friendly Zagortsi farmer who spoke very good English! Acting on Stefan’s behalf, question upon question followed: ‘which way do you want the doors to open?’; ‘What door finish do you want?’; ‘Where is the boiler going to be situated?’ In terms of the build, the most significant decisions related to the windows. Believe it or not, the norm in Bulgaria is for the windows to open inwards, so my preference for all openings to travel outwards was met with some surprise. My expectation was that the architect would brief the builders on the design: how naive I was!"

“Returning to my rented apartment in Pomorie, there was now just one evening left to create scale drawings illustrating how I wanted the windows to look. I finished all the plans and copies with half-an-hour to spare before the taxi arrived for my return flight. Thankfully, the driver was briefed by the Bourgas office to collect my drawings. What a relief!”
Steve and Jan expect to move in to their Bulgarian home during the coming months. “Opting to live in Bulgaria has been one of the most profound decisions of our lives,” says Steve, “and it’s all thanks to the continued support, advice and expertise of the good people at Bulgarian Gateway. We can’t wait to begin our exciting new life!”

Top Tips For Buying In Bulgaria

• Bulgaria is one of Europe’s foremost emerging tourist and property markets. Its economical and political stability attracts property investors time and time again.
• Investors are attracted by the diversity of its seaside, mountains, ski resorts, and beautiful countryside.
• The vast majority of property investors buy for capital growth and rental income.
• More and more pensioners are relocating to Bulgaria because of its natural beauty, laid-back lifestyle and low cost of living.
• Sofia, Bulgaria’s capital city with a population of 1.2 million, is emerging as a hot tourist destination, with daily flights from London and regular flights from Manchester and other UK airports.
• Demand for renting residential properties and office space is high with a strong long-term rental market. Sofia at present offers some of the best property investment opportunities in Europe in terms of capital growth and long-term rental.
• The seaside remains one of the most favourable locations for the investor.
• Capital growth is steady at about 15% to 20% per year with a very strong rental market during the summer holiday season between June and September.
• The development of golf courses will further increase its attractiveness. The golf season stretching between April and November will create the opportunity for a nearly all-year-round tourist destination.
• Four golf courses are currently under construction in the area between Varna and Kavarna. This area is emerging as the golfing capital of Bulgaria. The combination of high-quality seaside resorts such as Albena, Golden Sands and Sveti Konstantin, and a range of golf courses is ideal for tourist and corporate letting.
• Ski resorts also attract huge interest from property investors.
• Pamporovo is currently undervalued in comparison to Bansko, but is expected to emerge as one of the favourites in the next couple of years. The decision to go ahead with the construction of another purpose-built ski resort in the area, Grate Perelik, will firmly put the area on the map as a winter sport destination. Between the resorts of Pamporovo, Perelik and Chepelare and the beautiful highland town of Smolyan, the area will be able to offer the winter sport enthusiast an enviable range of facilities and choice of locations. The area attracts many tourists from Bulgaria and abroad during the summer months. The Rhodope Mountains, where Pamporovo is situated, are considered one of the most beautiful and hospitable mountains in Bulgaria.
• Countryside properties continue to attract their fair share of interest, owing to their very low prices and the low cost of living in the country. An average house with a garden in good condition can be bought for about £20,000. Spend a little more on renovating and modernising the property, and you have an ideal retirement home.
Provided by Bulgarian Gateway, 0845 838 1438, www.bulgariangateway.com

How To Buy In Bulgaria

Foreign Restrictions
The current restrictions are due to change in the next few years as Bulgaria joins the EU. At present, foreigners are allowed to buy an apartment or part of a building, but they can’t buy a house because this is set on its own private land. The way to get around this is to set up a Bulgarian limited company. The majority of estate agents will be happy to organise this for you and it usually costs between £400 and £600.

Lawyers
Finding a good lawyer is paramount. For a list of Bulgarian lawyers, contact the British Embassy. Alternatively, post a recommendation request on one of the many website forums.

Opening a Bank Account
This can only be done while you’re in Bulgaria. To make transferring money simple, it’s a good idea to set up a sterling account, as well as an account in Bulgarian leva.

Airports:
• Bourgas Airport, 00359 0562 8651, email: interrel@bourgas-airport.bse.bg
• Gorna Oryahovica Airport, 00359 0618 60410/00359 0618 60031, email: goryahovitsaairport@abv.bg
• Plovdiv International Airport, 00359 03260 1122, email: pdv@mail.bg or plovdivair@hotmail.com
• Sofia International Airport, 00359 02937 2001, email: public@sofia-airport.bg
• Varna International Airport Ltd, 00359 052 50 08 40, email: manager@varna-
airport.bg

Airlines:
• British Airways, 0870 850 9850, www.britishairways.com
• Thomas Cook, 0870 243 0416, www.flythomascook.com
• Bulgaria Air, 020 7637 7637, www.bulgaria-air.co.uk
• Czech Airlines, 0870 444 3747, www.czechairlines.com

Bus:
• National Express offers a direct service to Bulgaria, 08705 808080, www.nationalexpress.com

Getting Around
There’s an extensive network of air, road and train services throughout Bulgaria, and most of the tourist sites are accessible by public transport. In addition to these, trams and trolley buses are typical in the bigger cities. There are, of course, taxis in all of the towns as well, although these are normally more expensive.

When To Go
If you want to avoid the crowds, Bulgaria is pleasant in spring. For those chasing the sun, July and August are the hottest months, with average daytime temperatures of 28°C. However, this is the busiest time of year for the summer tourist trade. Winter time in the mountains is also very popular and is ideal for skiing, with resorts often staying open until mid-April. Peak season here is Christmas to March.

Tourist Information
• Bulgaria Tourist Board: www.bulgariatravel.org
• Bulgarian Embassy in London: www.bulgarianembassy.org.uk

This article comes to you courtesy of Homes Worldwide Magazine