Land investment

[welshmatt983]

Hi guys looking to invest a small amount of money into some property or land UK or oversea's.

I dont class myself as a big investor, just own my own home and also own a buy-to-let property in UK.

I have had an email with brochure about land investments in Bulgaria, saying they guarantee you 12% on investment and also likely to get large capital growth something to do with Bulgaria switching to the euro and current land under-priced.

Has anyone on here made any investments like this, anything I should be aware of as it seems a bit to good to be true, Im sure there are things which they hide from you which arent so great?!

 

[KayJay]

Sounds like complete BS, frankly. The situation here is very quiet right now and it's definitely a buyer's market; NO-ONE can offer you any guarantees about what you're likely to make and anyone who claims to is either delusional or a liar.

If you want a holiday home, then Bulgaria is a good place to buy right now - otherwise don't let anyone fool you into plowing money into get-rich-quick schemes, you WILL regret it if you do.

You can get a good return by doing no more than putting money on deposit in a BG bank - expect around 5.5% after tax. There are also plenty of good deals on houses on eBay but do your homework VERY carefully.

Current land is cheap where it should be and over-priced in certain areas; the lev has been tied to the euros for quite a time now and it's very debatable whether switching to the euro will make any/much difference (or even if it will actually happen). If people offer you sure-fire ways to get rich, just ask yourself why they would be so kind to you instead of just getting even richer themselves - there are plenty of people who did ask this question but unfortunately for them not until it was too late....

 

[welshmatt983]

Just noticed this from another site, have to copy and paste as Im unable to post link...

Ethos sells an £11,900 package of land and legal formalities. There is no choice of land – you get what Ethos reckons will soar in value. After all, there is a “highly experienced team with a vast network of international legal resources, marketing resources and routes of research which allow us to take a reasonably complicated process and make it a turn-key investment for yourself.”

In a second call, Richie excitedly tells me again about Global Property Guide. But it turns out Ethos sponsored the special Bulgaria supplement – rarely a sign of impartiality.

I want to know how much land my £11,900 will get. After much persuasion, Richie says it is “around 28,000 sq ft.” Land usually comes in acres or hectares – square feet are for residential dwellings.

In Bulgaria, however, land is priced by the square metre – the figure equates to 2,600 sq m. Farmland starts at €0.20 a square metre – so the land could be worth €650 (about £550). Top prices for areas near resorts are around €1.00 a square metre but, far from increasing in price, many pieces of land have recently been cut by up to 40% to attract buyers.

Now, assuming the land, over which Ethos investors have no say, is top quality, it should cost about £2,200. Adding in a generous £1,000 for legals, leaves Richie and James with £8,600. The three year return will cost £4,284 so they still stand to gain some £4,400 – not bad for a couple of phone calls.

^^^ Phew, I am glad I am one of those people who don't jump into things without doing plenty of homework first!

Thank you for your reply anyway, I guess the rule of the thumb is if it sounds too good to be true, it usually is!

It's a real headache trying to work out where is best to make a nice investment return but I guess if it was easy we'd all be millionaires!

 

[KayJay]

The quote you found is from a "scam exposure" web site but the guy who runs it doesn't do much in the way of research, so I wouldn't take everything there as Gospel, especially when he starts waffling on about agricultural land in a country he's probably never been to!

In Bulgaria, agricultural land is normally priced by the decare and the price is dependent on the Category; this is a sliding scale dependent on the quality of the land, its location (usually in terms of accessibility),availability of water etc. Needless to say, the category also depends on whether you're buying or selling :wink:

You need to think in terms of around the 250-300 leva mark for a decare (1000 m2) of Category 2 land (Category 1 is the best but it not easy to decide whether a plot really DOES fall into this description, so it's best to play safe and consider everything as 2 or less). Despite Mark Twain's advice (Buy land - they're not making it any more!) there's no shortage of agricultural land here but there IS a dearth of buyers for it - unless you intend to farm the land yourself then you'll certainly find yourself with a very long-term "investment". In any event, €0.2 a square metre isn't where agricultural land starts but nearer where high-quality farmland finishes!

Most Bulgarians who live in rural areas grow their own fruit and vegetables, and bottle/can much of it for the winter months; indeed most pensioners here are delighted to have a village house as they really can't survive on their pitifully-low pensions. Those who live in the cities usually have parents or relatives who live in a village and go on regular visits which involve returning laden with fruit, veg, eggs, lutenitsa (similar to tomato passata),jams, potted/frozen meat etc. This means that what people regard as "real" agriculture is comparatively under-developed here, apart from a few big agri-businesses.

So - in a nut-shell: low demand, low prices and over-supply make an "investment" in farm-land here a very bad proposition!

 

[Property hunter]

Hello Matt,

I know a developer in Bulgaria who works with foreign investors - they have all switched now to land purchase - he can GUARANTEE you 7% annual return( not 8-9 but 7 he can) he could set up a mortgage if you are keen to join the group with funds so that you feel secure that each year you will be getting some of your money back. There is a great profitability rate option due to several factors( the possible euro switch is not among them). If you are intersted in looking at this I can give you his contact and he can further explain why there are now many SPV companies here that buy land everyday and why they invest millions in that. Of course he is not that big to be listed on the stock market but he would perfectly fit into your criteria for small investments.

Regards,
Kevin

 

[KayJay]

I know a developer in Bulgaria who works with foreign investors - they have all switched now to land purchase - he can GUARANTEE you 7% annual return( not 8-9 but 7 he can) he could set up a mortgage if you are keen to join the group with funds so that you feel secure that each year you will be getting some of your money back. There is a great profitability rate option due to several factors( the possible euro switch is not among them). If you are intersted in looking at this I can give you his contact and he can further explain why there are now many SPV companies here that buy land everyday and why they invest millions in that. Of course he is not that big to be listed on the stock market but he would perfectly fit into your criteria for small investments.

Sounds like a great opportunity.....

Mind you, so did the deals on offer from a whole slew of developers in the not-so-distant past; guaranteed incomes, 100% water-tight increases in values, foreign executives beating a path to your door in their haste to rent etc, etc. :wink:

You MIGHT indeed be looking at an excellent investment - or it might be yet another scam-merchant looking for suckers.

 

[ladybird2011]

Anything that can guarantee you a return is likely a scam unless it is a bank in a fixed deposit account.

 

[tomas]

Hi guys looking to invest a small amount of money into some property or land UK or oversea's.

I dont class myself as a big investor, just own my own home and also own a buy-to-let property in UK.

I have had an email with brochure about land investments in Bulgaria, saying they guarantee you 12% on investment and also likely to get large capital growth something to do with Bulgaria switching to the euro and current land under-priced.

Has anyone on here made any investments like this, anything I should be aware of as it seems a bit to good to be true, Im sure there are things which they hide from you which arent so great?!

I think you sould stay away from this investment oppotunity with a 12 % guarantee. I have received this as well. I don't believe in this, and I have some experience with representatives from this company. STAY AWAY!