Taking Out a Bulgarian Mortgage

Until recently, Bulgarian banks would only lend to Bulgarian citizens, but recently these restrictions have been relaxed. Not all Bulgarian banks will lend to foreign citizens, however, so you will have to shop around. Bulgarian Mortgages are not generally available if you are buying land alone. You might decide to use the services of a local mortgage broker, who can assist with the process of applying for and finalizing of the mortgage.


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Raising Finance to Buy a Property in Bulgaria

In these days of low interest rates, many more people take out a mortgage in order to buy a property abroad. If the property is viewed simply as an investment, a mortgage allows you to increase your benefit from the capital growth of property by leveraging the property investment. If you buy a house for €200,000 and it increases in value by €50,000, it has yielded a 25 per cent return on your investment. If you had only put in €50,000 of your own money and borrowed the other €150,000, then the increase in value represents a return of 100 percent on your investment. As long as the rate of increase in the value of the property is more than the mortgage rate or costs, you have gained.


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Issues when building a property in Bulgaria

Building Swimming Pool in your Bulgarian property

Swimming pools are popular in Bulgaria, providing relief from the long, hot summers and increasing the desirability of a property for letting. Before you decide to invest in one, however, it might be worth checking out if there is one nearby that you can use instead. Many restaurant complexes have a pool and the admission price is often very low (and in some instances free).


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The Cost of Building Works in Bulgaria

As mentioned previously, the cost of building works in Bulgaria is higher than people initially expect, and prices are set to increase further. What follows is a breakdown of some of the current costs to carry out works in the VelikoTurnovo region. You will find that in other regions, such as Sofia and along the coast, prices will be higher. These prices have been provided by Best Bulgarian Properties Ltd.


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Building a property in Bulgaria from scratch

Perhaps you have bought a plot of land in Bulgaria without a dwelling on it or the property requires so much work as to make Bulgarian property renovation impracticable. In this instance a new build property will often be a better solution than messing with an existing building – and sometimes cheaper. If this scenario might apply, try to take the decision early – possibly by inviting a qualified Bulgarian surveyor, or at least some experienced Bulgarian builders, to assess the structure – rather than after a month of hacking out rotten supporting beams!


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Applications for building permission in Bulgaria

Types of land in Bulgaria

There are a few types of plots that you can buy in Bulgaria :

1. Regulated land in Bulgaria – this is a plot of land located within the boundaries of a village or a town. Such plots could be allocated for building a residential building, sport and recreation buildings, industrial buildings or green areas. In order to draw architect plans and start building on such plot all you need to have is a visa from the municipality. In the visa the architect will see the limitations for the specific plot which were given by the municipality.


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Bulgarian property building contracts

Whether you decide to use a Bulgarian project management company to act as your representative or approach building contractors in Bulgaria directly, you will have to sign a contract with a Bulgarian builder. The contract should describe the obligations of both parties and the payment scheme. There should also be penalty clauses for delays in construction (although it should be pointed out that the normal penalties are not much of a deterrent for delayed work).


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Bulgarian property building works

Property in Bulgaria in need of minor building works

You should be able to find many individuals in Bulgaria willing to do minor building works for you. Indeed, in each Bulgarian village there is always someone or a small team of builders who are handy at doing basic building works such as plumbing or plastering (although you should always aim to use a qualified electrician and plumber). Many Bulgarians are practised in DIY, since there was neither spare money nor many builders to hire professionally during the Communist era. Many of the Bulgarian houses in the villages in Bulgaria were actually built by the residents themselves.


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Building a house from scratch and Bulgarian property renovation

Browsing through Bulgarian estate agents’ property listings in Bulgaria, one cannot help but notice that a large majority of the properties for sale in Bulgaria require renovation work. Especially where rural properties in Bulgaria are concerned, you will often see the phrase suitable for renovation or in need of modernisation, with so many Bulgarians trading […]


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Renting a property in Bulgaria before buying

If you intend to settle in Bulgaria, it is good to stay in Bulgaria for some time then finding the right house is especially important. Consider whether it might be a good idea to rent for a while in the region you are interested in, before rushing to buy a property in Bulgaria. There are plenty of places available to rent in all regions of Bulgaria – both apartments in Bulgarian town and houses in the Bulgarian countryside.


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