Hi everyone,

My name is Tim. I first visited Bulgaria three and a half years ago. It quite honestly stood out from other places in Europe due to its beautiful countryside and lovely people.

I new I wanted to invest but the question was where?? This was the difficult bit. I drove the length and breath of the country, I found many picturesque places and places that were booming commercially (Sunny Beach, Bansko, and of course the bigger cities.etc) I did not however have faith that the market would be sustainable simply because the building was out pacing demand. Quite simply I believed the bubble would burst and it has!

Where then do you invest??:-
The country side where you can buy a property for 5000 euros?? Not really a great investment @ 20% a year you would only make 1000 euros and for all the time and hassle - is it worth it?

The hot spots Bansko, Balchik, sunny beach? As I said production is outstripping demand, the figures sound good presented by desperate real estate businesses but if you can't sell whats the point??

I was looking for something really special, a place with breath-taking beautiful views, close to activities offering the highest excitement but offering peace and tranquility. A place that could be enjoyed during all seasons too and the icing on the cake close to the beautiful Greek coast and not overpriced.

This place does exist, it took me a many visits to find but I found it in the beautiful mountains; it boasts natural springs, caves, climbing, horse riding. skiing snow boarding. This is not the over priced Bansko this has far more potential and much cheaper.

The place is the stunning Rhodope mountains. If any one would like to chat about my first hand experience with building here please contact me. For now I wish you all the best of luck with your plans.

Tim

Well Tim, you really wrote something poetic here

Where exactly in the Rhodopes did you buy and what did you buy - a house, a apartment or something else?
Did you buy something near Smolyan or you went down to the so called "the lowland of the baggy trousers"?

Regards.

Sorry for this late response and thank you for the compliment. I actually bought some land in a beautiful little village close to the Pamporovo resort. It is truely lovely there. The village has about 500 people living there so its "alive" all year round. There are many new houses built mostly by better off Bulgarians. I am building now myself, I am lucky enough to have some land south facing with beautiful views. There is also a ski lify being built from the village to Pamporovo resort. It is very much an undiscovered jewel at the moment!

Having your own opinion is one thing, but who are you to slate people as desperate 'salesmen', implying that we are all a breed of liars.

I have lived in Bulgaria for quite a few year's, and own property in the Razlog Valley, and in Sofia. I have done very well because I paid what I perceived to be the right price, and bought in the right locations.

I own my own real estate company, and only yesterday turned down a gentleman who wanted to come on a 'Property Tour' because I felt it would stretch his finances too much.

If you buy in the right location, then you can not go wrong. It really is all about that. In Bansko, it is quite developed, but no more so than where many Brits and Irish buy in Spain and Portugal. It's a building site because it has to be developed. Yes, Bansko has gone about it in slightly the wrong way, but the end product will be special.

These rumours that many people (many of whom have never visited Bulgaria, never mind bought here), just annoy me no end.

People should not simply look at the sqm price, but go out and see what they are buying, invest in a lawyer that will do the due diligence on the developer for them, compare like for like, and make educated decisions.

Believe me when I tell you that there are still exceptional deals in Bansko, and in Sofia.

Thank you

Duncan Monro