How much did you pay for your unit(s) in Bansko!

[mickthepropertyguru]

For future reference, never trust a mortgage company that is nearly hand in hand with the property company. Especially if they appear at an exhibition(s) and even worse if the exhibition is hosted by only one big company. Would you believe that there was a impartial independant mortgage company working side by side in the same office as the Property company in Spain in an effort just to close the clients.

Some would say that some mortgage companies are actually owned by the (big) property company. The mortgage company, the currency exchange company are all tools of the big property companies to close the client.
After all if you get all the mortgage advise, currency advise and legal under one roof then you are informed and you should have no reason not to sign on the dotted line. Again not all property companies are the same and some are great and genuine. But read between the lines please !

 

[melanie123456]

Latest releases for cystal peaks can be found on offplanpropertyexchange, do you think its a good investment?

 

[Lysos]

So, Melanie

You have done your research comparing all the different developments, facilities, locations, prices, rental demands, resales.

You will have discovered:

A vast oversupply of properties.

No resale market

Very few sales of new property in recent months

A very short ski season (getting shorter - global warming)

Poor standards of construction

Need to be near the ski lifts/gondola to have any chance of rentals

This development is described as being 'near' Bansko !!!

What more do you need to know ?.

Of course, it's a fantastic opportunity !. Doh !.

 

[Jain and Chris]

Hi Lysos (and indeed everyone)

Please, when mentioning agents' names, be very precise. There is more than one agency using the name of ***** and I received a complaint from one of them some time ago, quite rightly so as it was not clear which ******* was being discussed and it was damaging their bueinss.

If you are not sure of any facts or the full name of the company, then please don't put it on the board.

Many thanks in advance for your understanding.

All best wishes

 

[alison ford]

Hi, Have just bought in Perun Lodge. Was over there recently and compared to all the french resorts I've been to, I thought Bansko was first class. Yes, there's a gezillion builds going on over there, though I thought the quality fo the finished projects I saw was of good standards. Obviously any investment is a risk, though even with this saturation of new property's, I think Bansko could work up to being a great all year round resort!

 

[rich25]

Hi Ive bought 2 studios in perun lodge for 67 and 69k euros. Have been told by several developers and agents that this will be on par with kempinski (5 star). I also saw the show room for perun lodge in the hotel opposite (which the developer of perun lodge also built) which is 4 star and is great quailty. My furniture packs were included free, as the developer was worried about people buying their own packs and they not being of 5 star quality to reflect the resort. I think this reflects the developers visions for the hotel to be 5 star quality and nothing less, hence going to to stand out against other developments.
Another thing for people who have purchased perun lodge, I had a clause edited in the prelim contracts, to give me written notice to any changes in the resorts facilities, as it states in the contract by default that they can remove the swimming pool for example without our consent. Although clauses like these are usually normal, I think its always a good idea to be aware of what could happen as this could affect rental prospects and resale oppurtunities.
I think Bansko is a first class town, and only getting better. Though investers will have to wait longer for a return than some might think.

 

[reynolds]

hi as anybody heard of mountain view, near the kemplinski hotel, we bought a studio there just wondered if anybody else as and are they happy with what they bought

 

[Flyerman]

I did not see a reply to your question, but of course there are many places to choose from. Dont want to be too specific on areas but you can pm for some thoughts but you may want to consider easy access from Sofia airport if you are thinking of building. I like areas about an hour to the North of Sofia and to the South in the Rila Mountain areas. In the areas to the North, s far as I could tell, UK buyers have not arrived according to a local Bulgarian friend of mine. To the more expensive south foreign buyers have arrived and its generally a little to a lot more expensive (nearby ski resorts / golf courses)

As I have been screwed by a Bulgarian seller of land (the old last minute trick of increasing price from levs to euros) I would be happy to give you this tip to avoid my mistake:

It is, in my view, often essential that a buyer does not see you are English and that if you buy, you should do it through a non local lawyer (larger Sofia firm) who does not reveal your identity. Remember that although your non BG name as manager of the company you (your lawyer) would have had to set up to buy the house or land has to be revealed in the Notary on completion date).


If you are concerned about this risk do not agree to Preliminary contract before (typically 10% deposit) before completion. Go straight to completion. If buying unregulated land be very careful and take advice. Regulations and permissions to build can easily take two years and in no way are certain to be granted. Hope this helps a little.

 

[Jain and Chris]

Hello Flyerman

Thanks for your post. I do find it strange that for a first post you are asking people to pm you for information; also not least because you seem unwilling to share your information on open forum. Why not?

Going straight to final deeds also has it's risks.

Mind you I agree about unregulated land - it can take absolutely ages to get regulation and of course is not guaranteed.

Where have you bought and what?



Topcat, there are many many great places to buy in Bulgaria apart from south or north of Sofia. If you are looking for quite remote villages, well they are ten a penny here and many of them are totally beautiful.

You may have paid over the odds, who knows... but don't worry and give it a bit of time and you'll find it has been a good investment.

My recommendations when looking for a village property would be :
1. Location, location, location - easy access to airports if you need this and good roads plus facilities within walking distance or at least nearby (food shops, doctors, chemist, bars, restos)
2. Position - what kind of village is it? Does it have any facilities? What are the surrounding properties like? (Tip : take a look at museum towns - although called towns, they really are no more than villages - such as Jeravna, Kotel, Arbanassi - they are not making any more of these kind of authentic houses these days)
3. Get an independent lawyer

If there is anything else you'd like to ask, just let me know.


All the best, Jain

Enjoy the opportunity and the property - Bulgaria is a marvellous place and still a real good investment.

 

[reynolds]

Hi we bought in mountain view resort in bansko, near the kemplinski hotel just wondered if anybody else as bought there, or if people think it is a good investment. We paid 37.000 euros 2 years ago for a 37 sq studio

 

[diga]

Travel bugg

I looked to buy an apartment


If you are higher than the Kempinski, up the road from the Gondola I mean, check that your apartment block is not in breach of planning as there was initially supposed to be no building higher than the gondola as this went into national park and forest. Now there are hundreds of blocks above this line.


Rachel

I know Asanita region is way beyond the Kempinski on the right and I believe that is earmarked for development by the town planners. Have they done away with this ruling not above the kempinski, or has it fallen on the way side ?because thats the first time I've heard that mentioned. Are you just warning to check if the building plans are legal or what?
Is this only on the left of the Glazne?

I myself bought land in said region awhile back and am wondering if it's going to be possible to sell at all now!
I didn't pay much for it and now wish I'd sold it a couple of years ago, although the plan was to build a chalet on it I don't know what will be built in front of it. In this moment it has the best views in Bansko but who knows eh?

 

[peter crowe]

Hi ady123 i own a ski chalet in bansko you can visit our forum as a guest at Redenka.co.uk this may help you. Yes the market is dead in bansko no resale value but if you can afford to stick with it all future building has been stopped, but it will take time to recover. Also try checking out the web someone may have set up an forum for your apartment block.
Pete

 

[Bansko MGM]

Topcat,

Sorry to hear about your plight.

The problem is quite simple.

They have to apply for a mortgage based on the evaluation of the unit you bought. The payment terms are typically 30/70. If a company over values it's own properties, or those it sells for other developers, then it is ONLY the client that stands to lose.

Eg. Property offered at Euros 1,000 sqm and is 50sqm = Euros 50,000.
You pay 30% = Euros 15,000 so balance is Euros 35,000
Normal mortgage company will offer a 70% LTV (Loan to Value) = Euros 35,000. In this cae the mortgage would be covered.

However, at the time of the valuation, the bank say's the property is only worth Euros 700 sqm or Euros 35,000 in total, and will only give a 70% LTV of that figure being Euros 24,500

You need Euros 35,000 and now have a shortfall of Euros 10,500. BAD DEAL all around.

Financial advisers will keep 'shopping' around (if they can be bothered) to try and find the elusive deal, and you will not get what you were promised. Please note that this is not the case with all FA's. Some are very helpful, and will work very hard for you.

The crying shame is that there are many instances of people selling their properties at prices they know are inflated. Again, some developers and agents work to high ethical standards, and do their utmost to maintain a credible operation.

I saw Perun Lodge today, and it looks as though it may be finished in Nov/Dec.

Take a close look at your contract and see if gives you room for recourse.

Also be advised that you are not required by law to pay the remaining 70% until ACT 16 is obtained. It is only a 'normal practice' for the balance to be demanded after ACT 14 or ACT 15, but not law.

 

[Flyerman]

Hello Flyerman

Thanks for your post. I do find it strange that for a first post you are asking people to pm you for information; also not least because you seem unwilling to share your information on open forum. Why not?

Going straight to final deeds also has it's risks.

Mind you I agree about unregulated land - it can take absolutely ages to get regulation and of course is not guaranteed.

Where have you bought and what?



Topcat, there are many many great places to buy in Bulgaria apart from south or north of Sofia. If you are looking for quite remote villages, well they are ten a penny here and many of them are totally beautiful.

You may have paid over the odds, who knows... but don't worry and give it a bit of time and you'll find it has been a good investment.

My recommendations when looking for a village property would be :
1. Location, location, location - easy access to airports if you need this and good roads plus facilities within walking distance or at least nearby (food shops, doctors, chemist, bars, restos)
2. Position - what kind of village is it? Does it have any facilities? What are the surrounding properties like? (Tip : take a look at museum towns - although called towns, they really are no more than villages - such as Jeravna, Kotel, Arbanassi - they are not making any more of these kind of authentic houses these days)
3. Get an independent lawyer

If there is anything else you'd like to ask, just let me know.


All the best, Jain

Enjoy the opportunity and the property - Bulgaria is a marvellous place and still a real good investment.

Hi Jain,

The reason I put pm was that i do not like to talk about areas i dont know that well and get flamed for misinforming. as i said just thoughts on general regions as I said and you agreed be close to communications can be a good idea (especially an all year round airport). My process of getting final regulation is not over yet and a mysterious neighbour objection as popped out last minute (literally). Until i know who has objected and whether it was at the proper time and manner and its all resolved then I hope you can agree its sensible to refrain on identifying exact place of land.

Agreed there are risks on going straight to completion for rural land and houses but if anyone else on the forum has had last minute messing around by sellers then their views would be welcome. Its just that we know locals usually can get better deals than foreigners, so use a local, if the seller is a local Bulgarian, for these type of investments is my best advice.

 

[Jain and Chris]

Hmm, not sure I agree with all you say, and that is as an expat dealing with Bulgaria for the last 15 years plus.

Flames for misinforming is not the way of this forum, neither is the way of asking for pm's from the very first post.

Open discussion is the way to go, for both buyer, seller and everyone else...

Sometimes, it is actually better to go direct to final completion than have a "prelim contract" in place, particularly for rural houses and land. Why are you interested in anyone else's opinion on this?????

You are wrong, locals do not always sell to foreigners at a price above agents prices - indeed, you wil find this is against the grain - as agents sell at inflat'ed prices only because they are usually taking the bigggest profit of all.

Hope this helps, JandC

 

[Jain and Chris]

Hmm, not sure I agree with all you say, and that is as an expat dealing with Bulgaria for the last 15 years plus.

Flames for misinforming is not the way of this forum, neither is the way of asking for pm's from the very first post.

Open discussion is the way to go, for both buyer, seller and everyone else...

Sometimes, it is actually better to go direct to final completion than have a "prelim contract" in place, particularly for rural houses and land. Why are you interested in anyone else's opinion on this?????

You are wrong, locals do not always sell to foreigners at a price above agents prices - indeed, you wil find this is against the grain - as agents sell at inflat'ed prices only because they are usually taking the bigggest profit of all.

Hope this helps, JandC

 

[Flyerman]

Hmm, not sure I agree with all you say, and that is as an expat dealing with Bulgaria for the last 15 years plus.

Flames for misinforming is not the way of this forum, neither is the way of asking for pm's from the very first post.

Open discussion is the way to go, for both buyer, seller and everyone else...

Sometimes, it is actually better to go direct to final completion than have a "prelim contract" in place, particularly for rural houses and land. Why are you interested in anyone else's opinion on this?????

You are wrong, locals do not always sell to foreigners at a price above agents prices - indeed, you wil find this is against the grain - as agents sell at inflat'ed prices only because they are usually taking the bigggest profit of all.

Hope this helps, JandC

as you ask me, I am interested in other peoples opinion who have bought via prelim contracts for land/houses as this is a forum and, you are right, there are certainly pros and cons for this approach - namely you can invest much effort and money in a purchase and reasons and the seller decides not to sell or unfairly changes the terms on completion day.

However, you have misread my comment on non bg nationals buying. My point was that for land and houses most locals have told me that the minute they see someone from UK or Ireland etc they think they can get more money. This is what happened to me, and I urge people to avoid the same mistake as I made. Agreed, that local agents may be better better as, in my case of using a local BG agent, there was no sign of inflating the price. However my advice is that you may not want to approach seller direct as a foreigner (just try and make sure your agent doesn't disclose you identity).

After my price was increased last minute by the seller my agent 100% agreed with me that its best not to reveal your UK nationality. They also advised, too late in my case, that this "tricking" in deals is quite a common practice by sellers. They also told me the story of a bg buyer they dealt with who had cut them out of a big land deal and the buyer went direct to seller (they had revealed to the buyer the seller's name on the ownership plan "skitsa") thereby saving themselves 2.5% commission to agent. So the bg agent's view is that some bg buyers are happy to trick their own native sellers! Jain, as i see i'm off topic now is there a thread that discusses land buying issues?

 

[Topcat1961]

Valuing property for a mortgage in Bansko

Hi there##

Has anyone had their property valued by a mortgage provider only to find it is valued at much less than the purchase price? Any guidance or advice on this? The Florimont Spa (Z Properties) has just been finished but the banks are valuing it at 18,000 euros less (it was furnished and apparently they don't take that into account, is it true that they also take off the 20% VAT as well?). I have put a 30% deposit and hadn't really expected this extra cost! Naive, I know but now I need to sort it. I'm assuming that the banks are doing this for all the appartments so the developer must be aware of this. Please don't reply with all the negative comments about Bansko, I loved the place! And am investing for the long term. Just some sound advice and any useful links would be appreciated.

ASAP please!!!!

 

[Godfather6]

Hi there##

Has anyone had their property valued by a mortgage provider only to find it is valued at much less than the purchase price? Any guidance or advice on this? The Florimont Spa (Z Properties) has just been finished but the banks are valuing it at 18,000 euros less (it was furnished and apparently they don't take that into account, is it true that they also take off the 20% VAT as well?). I have put a 30% deposit and hadn't really expected this extra cost! Naive, I know but now I need to sort it. I'm assuming that the banks are doing this for all the appartments so the developer must be aware of this. Please don't reply with all the negative comments about Bansko, I loved the place! And am investing for the long term. Just some sound advice and any useful links would be appreciated.

ASAP please!!!!

Hi There

We have just joined this forum, and have today received the same news that our apartment in Florimont has been valued at about 18,000 euros less than we were expecting as well. I had also heard that maybe the 20% VAT had been taken off, along with the furniture that we have already paid for.

I have read some stories on here about the price per square metre, and think that we may have paid full whack for our apartment. I am not too concerned about this, but would appreciate some honest opinions as to what a sensible price psm is at the moment.

If anyone else has had this problem, and/or can shed any light on what we can do, I am all ears. For all those who have fallen foul, we saw the light just in time, there are some better operators out there!

Thanks in advance!

 

[ady1231]

Hi there##

Has anyone had their property valued by a mortgage provider only to find it is valued at much less than the purchase price? Any guidance or advice on this? The Florimont Spa (Z Properties) has just been finished but the banks are valuing it at 18,000 euros less (it was furnished and apparently they don't take that into account, is it true that they also take off the 20% VAT as well?). I have put a 30% deposit and hadn't really expected this extra cost! Naive, I know but now I need to sort it. I'm assuming that the banks are doing this for all the appartments so the developer must be aware of this. Please don't reply with all the negative comments about Bansko, I loved the place! And am investing for the long term. Just some sound advice and any useful links would be appreciated.

ASAP please!!!!

Hi Topcat;

this is wierd! does that 18000 include the 20% VAT? and how much did you pay? Last year when i bouht in perun lodge, flarimont used to sell for about 50k Euros for a studio.

I will need to check, definetly, this is NOT what i am expecting, and i am about to complete in Perun lodge in October, so this is surprising.

They are more less the same as the others, the best rate they gave me for a Mortgage is 6.2% what about u?

Cheers