Suggest you start by reading the very top of this forum,

Can be very hot in June.

Alcohol is cheap.

It is a very short season, don't be conned by people telling you different. The season is June, July, August & early September.

Bear in mind there has been a lot of over-development on the Black Sea Coast.

Patka

Hi lizziegp,

Welcome to the board!

I presume that you've read the reviews from the season before last on our Reviews Section?

There is a two-page thread about airport transfers HERE.

As the season hasn't started yet, accurate prices are not yet known & good places to eat last year may not be as good this year, may be under new ownership, etc., etc.

The temperature is usually good in mid-June but can you predict what it's going to be like in your home town that far ahead?

I have a village house in Bulgaria but my own opinion of resort properties, especially in Sunny Beach, is that there are far too many being 'thrown up' in an already hugely overdeveloped resort, where there are far too many beds for the realistically projected tourist numbers. I certainly wouldn't even look at Sunny Beach properties as an 'investment'.

Sorry to sound negative about your plans but I have no axe to grind/no vested interests and believe that I have made a realistic appraisal of the resort property 'boom' - it's a 'boom' for developers, estate agents and the like but may well lead to tears as far as their customers are concerned.

Baldur

Hi Baldur, I really appreciate your honest opinion, it sounded like a good prospect at the time, I was watching a TV programme outlining how up and coming Bulgaria is for property investments. I am so pleased I came to this site before wasting good holiday time looking at properties. We are in discussion with a few agents but not committed to any, and they all have offices in the UK which makes for no language barrier.
In your opinion is it just Sunny Beach which is not good for investment or is the rest of the country going to be in the same situation Do you have properties in other countries? I saw on one website that the number one destination for high return is Poland but who goes there No more sun than here.
I will keep my eye on this site for updates and will let you know how we got on when we return on 23rd June. Thanks again.

Hi Patka,
Thanks for taking the time to reply, I will still be going to Bulgaria in June on holiday but with a totally different view to buying than before I came to this site. I have had a couple of replies in the same vein as yours, basically it's not such a good idea. Maybe we will look elsewhere, any suggestions for a good return on letting? do you have properties in any other countries? I have to say that I thought the season was longer, May to October is what we were told by the agents we have arranged to meet, obviously they want to sell apartments, but thank you again for your views. I have read loads of messages on this site, but most of them are quite old, just needed an update.

Bulgaria is not a get rich quick plan, but long term 5-10 years I feel that you would see a large increase in your original investment. All the time i have been going I have seen the apartments rise from 8000 euro to what you are paying now which is in the region of 40000 euro. I have noticed that Fort Noks a very large developer is building a complex just outside SB and the prices are 60000 to 600 000 euro. These are well above the usual costs but the site looks amazing and it is only going to drive other developers to charge higher purchase rates. I believe that a good investment needs to be close to a resort centre so you are in close proximity to all the facilities and also the complex you buy on needs to be of a good size , built to a very high standard and make sure it has year round security for your piece of mind

Hi again,

I bought my place as a holiday home for myself & the family, with no intention of renting.

Over the years I've seen lots of people going out to Bulgaria, many having bought properties without having even visited to see if they like the country/area, on the basis of 'guaranteed rentals' & other offers.

After the 'guaranteed rental' period (which has obviously, in my opinion, been included in the purchase price by the developers/agents), ask yourself:

How do people rent those properties out? If via agents, how much does it cost?
For how much?
To whom?
What are the ongoing servicing, utilities, taxation and other costs?
What is the realistic season when you might be able to rent? (as Patka said, the 'real' season is mid-June to mid-September but has been 'stretched' to May-October by tour operators/resort owners)
What is the real price of property in Bulgaria, rather than the inflated prices being quoted to foreigners?
How do you sell a couple-of-year-old apartment, to even recoup your initial outlay, when there are so many empty new-builds available at similar or even lower prices, because of the glut of properties?

Sunny Beach is certainly the most overdeveloped summer resort, but properties are being thrown up all along the coast and in the ski resorts.

I'd suggest going & enjoying your holiday, seeing if you even like Bulgaria and doing a lot more research.

Hope this helps,

Baldur

built to a very high standard

Where, in Bulgaria?

We have been regular visitors since 1989, and recently a very good friend of ours who is Bulgarian but a consultant surgeon in Germany, (so he's loadsa money), had a villa built near St Konstantin to the highest possible specifications and standards available in Bulgaria. I have never seen such shoddy work in my life, especially the roof.

I'm sorry Bonski, but I do not agree with anything you are saying about property purchase in Bulgaria. There is gross over development in the resorts, and tourist numbers will continue to fall as prices rise. The UK market share is in free fall, hence all the flight cancellations and amalgamations.

There will be time-share soon to shift the unsold apartments, the future looks grim on the investment front.

But, this Forum is about holidays not property purchase, as Fiona has pointed out HERE.

I've just seen Baldur's post and agree with his analysis 100%.

Peter

Totally agree with Baldur's last posting, as for quality build, how about the delux hotel built on Balchik's Marina, millions spent, nobody has stayed in it yet and already it is subsuding, reason footings not good enough, when I saw this hotel being built last year, you could see the walkway between the hotel was one breeze block higher on one side than the other. Tonyt.

Not forgetting the Melia heritage in Golden Sands, saw that being built and saw the entire reception area flood because of lack of drainage.

moved to expats forum