Buying a Bulgarian House on ebay

It is true - it really is still possible to buy cheap Bulgarian property on ebay.co.uk. Whilst properties on the coast and in the cities are almost all relatively expensive, inland village houses can still be picked up from around £3000, so it is a very good option if you have limited funds as long as you are careful. I bought my property "blind" because work and domestic commitments prevented me from travelling at that time. I was lucky; my Bulgarian estate agent was wonderful. I bought a low priced Bulgarian house on ebay - it cost me £3600

Take a look for yourself! Ebay UK live auction of houses in Bulgaria

I have been living in Bulgaria for 9 months and I have personally been approached by Bulgarians who want to sell their village house for prices ranging between £2000- £4000.

Lifestyle Choice

If you are looking for a short-term investment then buying a cheap village house may not be wise. It is a buyer's market at the moment and prices of this type of property don't appear to have increased significantly in the last 12 months. However they represent an excellent choice if you are looking for a particular lifestyle. There are many houses available in peaceful, beautiful locations and practically all of them come with large plots of land - usually upwards of 1000 sq metres. I chose to buy my house in Bulgaria because it offered the opportunity for me to do what I had always dreamed of at a price I could afford - buy a house with some land, settle down, grow my own veg, perhaps have a few chickens, a goat even. Mine came with 1700 sq metres of land

Considerations

Ideally you would visit Bulgaria to buy a property. Obvious advantages are being able to have a look at the surrounding area and ask local residents if there are any problems etc. (You might need an interpreter for this as there are not many English speakers outside of the cities). However as flights to Bulgaria aren't cheap, taking a viewing trip may work out to be expensive if you have to take the whole family or if you have to take unpaid leave from work. With the pound weakening against the Bulgarian leva and house prices generally rising you may feel, like I did that for £3000 - £4000 it is worth the gamble to buy without seeing the property.

Update - I have heard from a reliable source that EasyJet will be flying from the UK to and from Bulgaria from December and have some real introductory bargain prices. For anyone in the NorthWest of England - they are including Manchester Airport in their itinerary.

If you are not a Bulgarian Citizen then in order to buy a Bulgarian property with land you have to set up a Bulgarian company. (This is expected to change in 2014) If you buy your property without visiting Bulgaria you will need to set up your company remotely from the UK. If you do this your identity and signature(s) may* have to be notarised and validated at the Bulgarian Emabassy.

The notarised documents must then be sent to Bulgaria, postal insurance will not cover the notary costs. In other words if they go astray you will have to pay again for the notarisation and you will not be reimbursed. On the positive side - I don't know of anyone whose documents didn't arrive here.

Although it sounds complicated, buying and completing usually takes only 6 weeks. I have recently seen the company set up service offered for £700 by someone selling Bulgarian houses on ebay. I know a reliable English speaking Bulgarian solicitor here who will do it for £299 at the moment whether or not you are in the country.

* May. I know of people who weren't asked to have their passports notarised. My solicitor was cautious and wanted to cover all eventualities

Most of the additional costs I incurred when buying my house were related to setting up the Bulgarian company. We paid around £200 last year to have a Bulgarian company set up remotely. My partner and I had our company documents and signatures notarised for £200 in the UK. We also paid £150 to have our passports notarised. A trip to take the paperwork to the Bulgarian embassy in London cost us a total of £80 (for the fees plus travel costs). This comes to around £400 - maybe enough to pay for a trip for one person to view and arrange things in person in Bulgaria?

When we arrived in Bulgaria there were a few more costs. Notary and Government fees to finalise the purchase came to around £200. Staying in a hotel in Rousse for three weeks until the paperwork was completed cost two of us £400. (I now know of hotels that cost much less.)

Most houses in this price range will have an outdoor loo - usually a "turkish style" pit. Many do have mains electricity and water, an efficient electric boiler and a shower, some don't so make sure and ask.

Do your research

Most regions in Bulgaria have places of natural and historical interest. You can do online research to help you choose which area you would like to buy in. Read as many books as you can get your hands on and buy at least one guide and one phrase book to take with you. You can find information online about the requirements for driving in Bulgaria if you intend to hire a car. If you are going to travel here by car you need to check the regulations for each country you pass through. We were pulled over in Hungary and fined 50 euros as we were unaware that we should have bought road tax. When we got to Romania, the first thing we asked at the border is do we need to buy road tax (yes) and where do we buy it? It is available at the border and in petrol stations.To read more about my experiences, tips and information see my other hubs:

On Relocating to Bulgaria

What is it like to live in a Bulgarian Village? A description of the warm welcome received by my neighbours when I relocated to Bulgaria from the UK

Real Life in Bulgaria - Molly's story

My friend Molly is a professional author and has written this wonderful article which describes in detail the pros and cons of buying a village property in North Eastern Bulgaria and some of the issues relating to unsavoury practices by development companies . .