Buy & Sell Bulgaria Insight Newsletter

By Christopher Violaris, BSc, MSc, PhD ( Econ)
Chairman of Eurolink Investment Group

IS IT A BOOM, FASHION OR MADNESS?

Very often we are asked to explain the Bulgarian “boom”, make predictions and justify the ever increasing investor’s interest in Bulgaria! Naturally people want to be re-assured that their wish to invest in Bulgaria is correct and their investment is safe, as much as an investment can be. The answer is not always easy, especially when, what people hear is not what they want to hear! Strange as it may sound, but very often investors who have already made up their mind based on false information and facts, feel that we are trying to put them off and prevent them from taking their share of the loot!

The international press very often makes reference and covers the stories of people who were disappointed with their investment, who were mislead or even cheated and lost their money while trying to buy property in Bulgaria. Nothing new of course, considering that you hear the same stories in Spain, the occupied part of Cyprus, Turkey, Romania, etc. Why is it that all this is happening and why investor’s dreams are turned into a nightmare? The answer is very simple! IGNORANCE of the market and naivety on the side of the investor! Statements made by specific Developers, like the famous “as seen on TV” or “Guaranteed rental income” etc, should not be taken for granted and surely should not be taken as facts! What are the facts?

WHAT DRIVES THE MARKET? IS IT GOING TO LAST? FOR HOW LONG?

In order to give a reliable and substantiated answer to these questions, somebody has to analyze the motives of all these people who are buying and will be buying in Bulgaria. We have been monitoring this subject for years now and we can safely make the following statements:

MOTIVES

• QUALITY OF LIFE/COST OF LIVING

We have to agree that though Bulgaria is a fantastic country, with natural beauty, endless lakes, mountains and beaches with a great culture and wonderful people, is not the number one destination for somebody to enjoy the sun and the luxuries of life! There are much more attractive holiday destinations both in Europe and in Northern Africa. What Bulgaria offers though is the unbeatable advantage of being the number ONE alternative to all these destinations, most of which is pricing themselves out of the market! This advantage is not limited only to tourists, on the contrary it applies to a huge number of Europeans, mainly, citizens, who have come to realize that their own home countries do not offer them anymore the QUALITY OF LIFE they deserve at a price they can afford! When you think that a two bedroom flat in London, will absorb your lifetime savings and dining out is to most people an unthinkable luxury, you can then understand why people are looking for an alternative!

Bulgaria is this alternative! A nice three bedroom house, with its own yard and gardens, with a swimming pool, brand new in a nice area, will cost half of what an apartment in the UK, Germany or Denmark will do. It doesn’t stop here, the cost of living in a normal town or a village in Bulgaria, is 3 times lower than anywhere in Europe. Talking about quality of life, besides offering unspoiled nature and naturally grown food, with a monthly income of £ 1000, a couple with two kids, can live in Bulgaria like kings, in a safe, friendly and natural environment! How many of you can do this in your country?

Those of you who are coming up to retirement, have you asked yourselves for how long you will be able to maintain your standard of living if you remain in your home country? How far do you think, the equity you have on your home, will take you if you consider that your pensions are already under attack by the State? Statistics show that 80% of the European Union citizens will have their pensions reduced by 36% in the next 4-6 years! Will you manage to make ends meet? Again Bulgaria offers a very attractive alternative, that will not only allow you to maintain but greatly improve your standard of living, in a way that retirement will not be a nightmare, but a new lease of happy life! How, you may ask! We will give you a very simple example based on real facts:

Let us assume that you have equity on your home of £ 250.000 and you are coming up to retirement, with an expected monthly pension of £ 1250. If you decide to stay in your country and “fight on”, you will not be able to release any of your equity, simply because you will need your home to live in, you will therefore have to manage with your pension! If today this pension can not see you through the month, what will happen in 2 or three years when the prices will go up and your pension down?

You may decide to sell your house and move to a smaller one. Is this though a solution? How far will the money you will have left take you after paying your capital gains, solicitors, estate agents, etc? Not far!

If you choose the Bulgarian alternative, your £250.000 equity and £ 1250 monthly pension can change your life and give you the comfort you deserve! How? A top class, 2-3 bedrooms, detached house, built on an independent plot, with a huge garden and yard, covered parking and swimming pool, free hold and fully paid and fully furnished, will cost you maximum £ 125.000, a nice car will cost you £ 3000-4000! You will be left with £120.000 and with that you can buy a second house to rent, which will bring you a minimum of £ 400 monthly ( € 600 is a very reasonable rent for a new 2-3 bedroom house in Bulgaria), or you can buy a plot of 4000 square meters of land, that within less than 4 years will double its value! Your gains from your investment and your pension, roughly about £ 1650 per month, will offer you the most comfortable life, you ever dreamed of!

To be continued…