I am Mariana Pavlova, and if you want to find a home or make a property investment in Bulgaria, I can help you. I am based in the UK and travel frequently to Bulgaria to find the best properties available. I have a wide selection in the city of Veliko Turnovo and in the neighbouring villages. I also have many partners throughout Bulgaria and can assist you buying anywhere in the country. I can inform you about availability, provide more detailed information and organise viewings for any property in any area at no additional cost. I can also help you: register a company; obtain legal advice; check any property and its paperwork; with accountancy, book keeping and tax services; with builders, interior design, furnishing, and architectural services; with garden and property management and maintenance; to find accommodation; rent a car; get a resident status in Bulgaria; with banking and transfer of funds and finally with all types of advice in general. Today Bulgaria enjoys a stable market oriented government and the economy is growing at a rapid pace. Towns are a hotbed of development, new roads are being built and existing ones improved everywhere, and signs of new prosperity are to be seen wherever you look. The European Union accession took place in January 2007 and low cost airfares are becoming available. However, for the time being, property is still very affordable. Like France twenty years ago, or Spain fifteen years ago, many properties, usually requiring some renovation to bring them up to modern standards, are available at prices last seen in the UK forty years ago. With Bulgaria consistently appearing as one of the top three property overseas investment opportunities in media reports, now surely is the time to buy.
The real bargains are to be had in the countryside. South of Veliko Turnovo, in the foothills of the Balkan mountains are many villages in pretty wooded hillsides. The houses are generally detached, standing in plots of about a quarter to half an acre. Northwards towards the Danubian plain, the land is flatter and the villages tend to be a little larger. Younger Bulgarians prefer to move to the towns, and consequently a proportion of the properties in most of the villages stand empty. With a territory almost half of the size of the UK, and only 8,000,000 population, you will be spoiled by the choice on offer! The prices of the properties, while moving steadily upwards, are still very low. While fully converted large modern villas can be found in the countryside for £25000 to £75000, expect to pay between £3000 and £12000 for an un-modernised house. Nearly all of these village houses have mains electricity and most mains water, although some use wells or boreholes. Sewage disposal in most of the villages is by septic tank. There is no mains gas outside of the large towns. Building plots, with various levels of planning approval, are also available from around £2000.
Planning issues are usually not a problem, but obviously this is something to sort out prior to purchase. The concerns are similar to those in the UK, but because pressure on land use is so light, generally much less trouble. Within the perimeter of the villages, it is unlikely that any reasonable infilling development will be refused permission. Applications in certain particularly picturesque villages, such as Bojentsi and Arbanassi, will attract a lot more scrutiny. For extensions to existing village properties, things are fairly relaxed. For new houses, permission from the municipality is required, which will involve architects plans, and some fees. Obviously, within towns, particularly in historic and picturesque areas, more attention will be paid by the authorities to development plans. I can help with planning, if you wish. Generally, inward investment and development is popular with the local residents and officials.
Houses in the towns are more sought after and, particularly in Veliko Turnovo, more expensive, although still very cheap when compared to UK property.