rabarbaro

Boring explanation, if someone wants to read the story

Dear Mr so and so,


I try to explain the situation and I kindly ask you to tell me if there is something I can do considering Bulgarian laws.

The situation is really mad and I’m really upset about it.

I try to explain. I’ve bought an apartment in Saint Thomas Resort, Sozopol, trhough an English real estate agent, reserved in 2006. We had so many problems, I could write a book….now the problem is regarding the rental contract.
When I first booked the apartment and decided to buy there was an option in order to have a 5 % of guaranteed rental for 2 years. I signed a rental agreement .( I can send it to you if you need to have a look at it )
It’s also signed by GBS but there is no stamp or official papers, only a signature.

At the beginning of this year I received a proposal from GBS to buy furniture they proposed. I thought it was expensive and not nice so I’ve decided not to buy those things.

I’ve looked around and found something else.

Beginning of may 2008 I received a letter ( via email ) from GBS saying that all the apartment were ready and that the furniture would have been installed not later than May 25.

After that date nobody could enter in the apartment and work in it, in order to avoid noise during the summer season.

I did everything in the rush, I pushed the furniture sellers and paid higher to have things done quickly.

I’ve booked a flight to Bourgas to be there when furniture had to be installed, I should have been there from the 23rd may till the 25th may.

I called a society for a snagging of the apartment before putting the furniture as it was impossible to understand if the apartment had been cleaned or not, so to avoid problems I sent someone to check.

They found out that in my apartment even the floor was still missing !! So it was impossible to install the furniture.

In the meantime GBS kept writing email and making daily phone calls as they wanted a signature from my side saying that if the apartment was not ready within the 25th may 2008 our previous rental management contract was NULL and VOID.

They wanted me to send 2 signed copies to them. I refused and asked them to do the opposite, at least to send me the signed copies so that I could keep 1 signed copy in my file.

After few days I received the appendix I attached, signed and stamped by GBS. I signed and sent one of the original back. ( I have also this , I can send it to you )

The furniture was installed on the 10th June 2008, 15 days after the deadline. I coulnd-t be there as I had other things to do .

I was sure that our agreement was void ( and I’m still sure of it as I have official paper saying it ) so I sent a lady, twice, to clean it well. She did it, they gave her my keys and she cleaned. She also stayed there to check everything when the furniture was installed.

I then paid a photographer to take pictures of the internal rooms as I supposed that I had to market it by myself. This man was there on the 20th june and could enter and take pictures.

I kept asking to GBS ( and to Dreamresort, the real estate agent ) who has my keys, who is responsible for what’s inside, who was responsible for the maintenance and so on.

I NEVER had an answer. NEVER.



I can send you an attachment with the appendix I was obliged to sign, and the copy of the letter I’ve received saying that the furniture
have been installed on the 10th June.


I was sure ( and I’m still sure ) my agreement was NULL and VOID as they wrote and signed.

I wrote in July to Mrs Krasteva, the person I have to refer to, working for GBS asking for this thing of the property, possession, check and so on. No answer.
I wrote on the 12th august, saying that, being the fact that our previous agreement was not valid I had planned my trip to Saint Thomas for the 18th august asking who had my keys . NO answer.

I then wrote to the hotel directly only to be sure that they had my keys at the reception and the time of opening of it ( I had the address from my friend Vania, nobody else had given it to me ) and they answered that my agreement was valid and I coulnd-t enter in my apartment. This is what you already know as I-ve wrote you.
I had already booked flights and car, obviously and paid for them, around 450 euros per ticket plus 300 euro the rental car.

Due to their answer my friend Vania kindly has given permission to me to stay in her apartment if there were problems with mine.
I left from home Monday 18th at 9 am.

At 14 am, during a transit at Fiumicino airport I received a call from a lady, I suppose Mrs XXXXXX, that kept saying that I had no right to enter in my apartment. I told her that I already was at the airport, that I had an appendix signed by them and they I would have talked about it at the arrival in saint Thomas.

I arrived in saint Thomas on the 19th. I had to stay in my friend ’s apartment as they told me my apartment was rented.
It was not true, I’ve checked several times a day and it was empty, curtains always in the same positions, chairs for the terrace inside the apartment.

I showed my papers to a lady, responsible only for a short period of the hotel ( she is normally in Bansko, in saint Thomas only to substitute her collegue ) and I had the feeling she fully understood the situation but had the order of letting me out. I also asked at least to visit it as I was there I they didn t let me in, not even for 10 minutes .

On the 20th I received a phone call from mrs XXXXX ( I suppose ) kindly asking, as nothing was happened, how I found the complex, if I liked it and so on. It’s so unbelievable that it-s difficult to explain in written. Verbally I would use words that you don t find in the dictionary….

She simply told me : “ hi mrs Cremonini, what do you think about saint Thomas ? do you like it ?

I told her that I liked it but that I had to thank the friend that gave me her keys ( I’ve lived in an apartment in the same resort, it’s an apartment of a friend of mine ) for that, otherwise I could have stayed under a bridge and she kept saying that I have the rental agreement, that she had a copy of the appendix but still that I couldn t enter in my apartment and they I had to decide what to do. If keep the rental or not.

I told her that I was there, 10 mts from my apartment and that I wanted at least to have a look at it and clarify the situation later when I could have access to all my documents.
She answered “ come back in October and you can see it”. And “ I’m sure that your apartment is perfect and in execellent conditions , trust me”

When I began, kindly but firmly, to explain to her that I don t leave in sozopol, that Italy is far away from there and that I had a property, 100 % paid, furniture, 100 % paid, maintenance, 100 % paid and that to me and to the documents they were doing something against the law, they were using my property without my permission , that they never answered to my emails and if there was a misunderstanding, or a mistake she could at least let the staff show me my property , , she said “ I call you on Monday when you ll be at home so you can decide what to do with the contract” and hang up…

I would probably have accepted her apologies….but in the end it was like I was the mad lady arrived in August without prior notice….
And they were right and I was mad, a lady that had not yet decided what to do with her property.

In these 2 months I ve contacted several agents to manage it, I prepared an internet ad in my site, I found someone to clean it, I did promotions, I paid you for the tax declaration, I paid a photographer to take pictures, I ve organized a visit to settle everything, paid a lot of money for this “tour”….

I don’t know what to do.

For sure I don t trust these people and even if they are “big” they work really bad.

And, at this point, I wonder if I hadn-t planned to go now they probably would have said, in October or November that I our rental agreement was not valid and that the apartment had been empty since the very beginning.

In addition to this here there are some consideration about the rental agreement, which I still consider NULL and VOID while this GBS Tour is abusing of power and using my property without my consent.

Even if I wanted to stay calm , not think about money and time lost during this period, not think about the 3 hours flight one way, the 4/5 hours driving, the week of my work, the fact that after all I’ve paid I had no place to stay when I read this contract I still think it’s not a good one, full of “holes” that make things not clear. Here are some considerations:

Parts of the rental contract:


Art.3. Principal has the right to:
.
(3) receive information concerning Representative’s activity due to this contract;

III. RIGHTS AND OBLIGATIONS OF THE REPRESENTATIVE

Art. 4 Representative is obliged to:
receives and reports to the Principal about the incomes collected from the activity;
- accomplishing all the required activities in completion of contracts, including their annulment.
Art. 6. Representative is not responsible in case of non-feasance of the obligations taken by person and/or persons using the property.

It means that any problems, broken object, water leakeage and so on it who\s know who fault ?

He is only liable to do all the necessary for the implementing and limiting the damages that might occur for the Principal.

(2) The remuneration has to be paid at two installments – as from 15.04 and as from 15.10 in term of 15 working days for each year of the present contract.
WHEN ? first payment in april 2009, second in October 2009 talking about 2008 summer, one year after ?
(3) The remuneration has to be paid after certify from the Principal, that all the fees and taxes due have been paid
I ve not yet received my receipt of maintenance fees paid in march

V. TERMINATION OF THE CONTRACT

Art.8. The term of the present contract is 24 (twenty four months), starting as from the date of transfer of the possession of the apartment from Principle to Representative. What it means ? Not talking about me and my problem, talking in general, when their obligation begins ? What is date of transfer ?


In case of termination of the present contract caused by non-feasance as well as non-execution of the notification and/ or breach of the obligations undertaken towards third parties, inaccurate party owes a forfeit amounting to 3000 Euros (three thousand Euros).

Who has broken the obligation in my case ?

Trying to summarize I don t what to do. If I consider my “ gut” I would suit them forever…..
In anycase I don t trust them and I don t want this GBS Tour take care of my property as I don t trust them, they don t reply, they consider me as a crazy lady and as they are the owner of my property. I have the feeling that I’m considered like a cow that gave them her milk and they can do what they like with it. I have to pay for everything, eventual damages, electricity, maintenance and have, may be, in the future, a 5 % gross of something. The amount is not even mentioned, so they could, in the end, give me 5 % excluded the amount for the basement and for the terrace, for instance. Is not clear.
The rental contract has a signature, has no stamps, no official papers and so on….It could me a simple piece of paper done by a kid that had nothing to do…..
My appendix has at least a stamp on it.
I’ve now, after months and my visit understood that:

GBS Invest is the building society and they take care of the maintenance
GBS hotel management is the society that takes care of the cleaning
GBS tour should take care of the marketing and tourist rental side.

I know that I have only 1 referral person, which never answers, that should take care of all these 3 sides. And does nothing. And this is MRs XXXXXX.

I don’t want GBS tour takes care of my property. They did without my consent since the day of act 16 till now, letting me loose the summer season, letting me fly to Bulgaria, take a week off my work, spend a lot of money without even have a single look at my property.
If it was for them I could have spent the week in their hotel, paying 300 euro per night for the apartment I-ve stayed in, spent 1000 euro in flights, 300 euro in rental car, just to have a look at their swimming pool…..and wait, maybe, for a first trance of payment in april 2009.
And I should be quiet, let this goes quietly to get what-s written in the rental agreement ? What would have happened if I hadn t planned my trip to Bulgaria now ? I would have discovered next year that, as written, they considered it null and void ?
Consider that, up to now, I received NOTHING in written from their side, only 2 phone calls.

What would you do if you were in my shoes ? I would spit on them, from now till the end of the time….this is what I feel…and let this pass without showing my teeth would allow them to do whatever they want with my money and my property…this is what I feel and think…

Now that you know the story, and saw the papers I have…what do you think ? I would be crazy if I would want to consider this sheety agreement null and void as written, signed and stamped and ask for a compensation due to the problems I had to face and due to the fact they used my own property without my permission as from the day of act 16 ( 13 june 2008 ) ?

I’m sure you can be “colder” than me in taking a decision but at the same time knowing all the story from the beginning understand how I feel….

Please give me your opinion and tell me if you think it’s possible to do something and how much wold you charge me to be my lawyer in this thing.

One last but not least thing….I’ve paid also for a basement, a 14 sqm of basement. The basement is smaller, 11.62 but the worst thing is that I’s useless. It’s so humid and wet that you can’t even breath when you re inside. Not only mine, all of them are like that. I paid 300 euro per sqm for one thing useless, totally useless. Even the lady of the hotel told me she was shocked when she saw it !!

And now it’s new, I can imagine in one year time.

Let me know,


Thank you very much

Daniela Cremonini