ARTICLE

Fly To Buy in Bulgaria

An increasing number of Brits are looking to invest in Bulgaria, one of Eastern Europe's least densely populated countries. Dominated by mountains, it also has 80 miles of sandy beaches along the Black Sea coast and is rich in history. The capital, Sofia, has just over a million inhabitants and it is here that our Fly To Buy couple, Barrington Brown and Juliet Hicks, were looking to buy an apartment to rent out to Europeans working in the city.

Fly To Buy in Bulgaria

Tips for buying

  • Make sure you research your location thoroughly and seek out those high-growth, 'up and coming' areas.
  • Get yourself a good consultant who speaks English and can take care of things for you.
  • Consider the option of buying land and building on it. Under Bulgarian law, foreigners can buy buildings, but not land so the most common way of buying property is to set up a limited company which owns the land. This is standard business procedure in Bulgaria and not a difficult process. It costs around £350 to do and takes about four weeks to register.
  • The house buying process in Bulgaria usually takes six to eight weeks.
  • You will need an English-speaking lawyer and a notary must be involved for registration of the house deeds.
  • You should allow an additional 7 to 8% on top of the cost of the property for government expenses.

Why Bulgaria?
Bulgaria is hoping to join the European Union in 2007 and this will increase the value of property in the country. Added investment will also improve infrastructure and property prices look set to rise.

Buy a new build property and you stand to make a decent profit. The cost of construction in Bulgaria is very low and, as long as you are happy to hang onto it for up to five years, you should make a good return on your investment.

Where to buy:
The best locations for providing a good return on your property investment are the Black Sea coastline, the newly-developed ski resorts and the capital, Sofia.

However, if you are looking for high rental yields from your property the Black Sea will only give you a short rental season - just three or four months a year - and the ski resorts only slightly longer. For your best chance of securing long-term rental, Sofia is the best bet.

More and more international companies are moving to the capital city, which is making it increasingly attractive to Western Europeans living and working in the city.

Related sections: Fly To Buy

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