K
KayJay
Member
Owners Association
Raymond
Please PM me your email address and I'll ensure you're kept informed...
Raymond
Please PM me your email address and I'll ensure you're kept informed...
I
Investment
New Member
Hi,
I'd certainly support any groupings of apt owners, if for nothing else just to keep everyone updated but definitely opportunities to also work on things like maintenance fee negotiations, etc. I'll send on my em to address quoted. But this forum has already been a huge help in plugging the information gap.
Seems, the final hurdle is getting the utilities switched on which I just cannot believe is taking so long! But this project, as well as sending me into bankrupty! has also honed my patience skills so Im hopeful in next 2 weeks there will be light.
Agree with previous comments on rent yields. It will continue to be a real struggle competitively to get any rent in a new block, outside of centre, when apts empty in town and believe for a 1 bed anything over 200 euro will be excellent. And certainly the rent guarantee scheme will be under pressure for the developer. But also agree that in the long term this will come good with development to ski resort and also plans to build a metro station to service the industrial park. My concern is still the macro picture and Bulgarian economy - still ravaged by reputation of corruption and recent EU commissioner fiasco hasnt helped but hopefully the rising tide will lift our boat!
Not sure about everyone else but from end of Feb the funds (however small) have to start coming for me and then its a case of slowly working to increase yield over years. But, having seen what has gone on else in Bulgaria and World to have a finished furnished apt, albeit with candle light!, we are not doing too bad.
I'd certainly support any groupings of apt owners, if for nothing else just to keep everyone updated but definitely opportunities to also work on things like maintenance fee negotiations, etc. I'll send on my em to address quoted. But this forum has already been a huge help in plugging the information gap.
Seems, the final hurdle is getting the utilities switched on which I just cannot believe is taking so long! But this project, as well as sending me into bankrupty! has also honed my patience skills so Im hopeful in next 2 weeks there will be light.
Agree with previous comments on rent yields. It will continue to be a real struggle competitively to get any rent in a new block, outside of centre, when apts empty in town and believe for a 1 bed anything over 200 euro will be excellent. And certainly the rent guarantee scheme will be under pressure for the developer. But also agree that in the long term this will come good with development to ski resort and also plans to build a metro station to service the industrial park. My concern is still the macro picture and Bulgarian economy - still ravaged by reputation of corruption and recent EU commissioner fiasco hasnt helped but hopefully the rising tide will lift our boat!
Not sure about everyone else but from end of Feb the funds (however small) have to start coming for me and then its a case of slowly working to increase yield over years. But, having seen what has gone on else in Bulgaria and World to have a finished furnished apt, albeit with candle light!, we are not doing too bad.
V
Vpark
New Member
Owners Association
I think this is a very good idea as with all the dealings so far I've never been quite sure if we are all being given consistent information.
I will send my contact details via Kayjay's e mail
By the way, I understood that the electricity is actually on, the only problem is metering usage. Please let me know if you think otherwise as we have arranged with Simeonovo to use our apartment at the beginning of March.
Regards
Colin
I think this is a very good idea as with all the dealings so far I've never been quite sure if we are all being given consistent information.
I will send my contact details via Kayjay's e mail
By the way, I understood that the electricity is actually on, the only problem is metering usage. Please let me know if you think otherwise as we have arranged with Simeonovo to use our apartment at the beginning of March.
Regards
Colin
K
KayJay
Member
Colin
The water and electricity are functional, to the best of my knowledge - certainly there is water in my apartment - and the electricity meters were connected some weeks ago. I imagine the only "problem" would be getting the individual accounts into the respective owners' names. This is a fairly bureaucratic (and often time-consuming) process in Bulgaria, which no doubt explains why Simeonovo charge for doing it on behalf of owners.
Please do get in touch with me regarding the Owners Association - sadly there has been only ONE person who has made contact so far......
I will be in Sofia from February 9th so will be able to get an idea of exactly what the current state of play is. If any owner would like me to find out anything particularly relevant to their property, please contact me; I can't promise to work miracles but I will do what I can within the constraints of my own work- and time-commitments while I'm there.
The water and electricity are functional, to the best of my knowledge - certainly there is water in my apartment - and the electricity meters were connected some weeks ago. I imagine the only "problem" would be getting the individual accounts into the respective owners' names. This is a fairly bureaucratic (and often time-consuming) process in Bulgaria, which no doubt explains why Simeonovo charge for doing it on behalf of owners.
Please do get in touch with me regarding the Owners Association - sadly there has been only ONE person who has made contact so far......
I will be in Sofia from February 9th so will be able to get an idea of exactly what the current state of play is. If any owner would like me to find out anything particularly relevant to their property, please contact me; I can't promise to work miracles but I will do what I can within the constraints of my own work- and time-commitments while I'm there.
J
jamarit
New Member
Dear KayJay
I spent in Sofia 4 days in January and I spent them in my apartment. Simeonovo connected me water and electricity, they asked me 20 eur/day for the consumption!!!!, of course I didnt pay.
I can inform you water and electricity is all connected and all the meters and gauges also. The only thing to be made is to assing the contract to the owners name and pay Simeonovo 450 eur.....
We've found out the usual fee is around 70lv for the electricity meter and 0lv for the contract of electriciy, about water is also very low fee.... some people informed me 450 eur is the price to install water and electricity on an isolated house but not for an apartment and they informed me they have never seen something like this in other promotions.
They are trying with a PoA to open the accounts, Simeonovo always inform us that we can do it by ourselves but the process will delay 6 months.... our people thinks maximum 2 months,we're waiting news from them,we'll see.
Many people is answering they are interested in joining the association.
If you need any information about VP I can tell you because I spend 4 days in Sofia and I checked everything.
Best Regards
Juan Antonio Mari
I spent in Sofia 4 days in January and I spent them in my apartment. Simeonovo connected me water and electricity, they asked me 20 eur/day for the consumption!!!!, of course I didnt pay.
I can inform you water and electricity is all connected and all the meters and gauges also. The only thing to be made is to assing the contract to the owners name and pay Simeonovo 450 eur.....
We've found out the usual fee is around 70lv for the electricity meter and 0lv for the contract of electriciy, about water is also very low fee.... some people informed me 450 eur is the price to install water and electricity on an isolated house but not for an apartment and they informed me they have never seen something like this in other promotions.
They are trying with a PoA to open the accounts, Simeonovo always inform us that we can do it by ourselves but the process will delay 6 months.... our people thinks maximum 2 months,we're waiting news from them,we'll see.
Many people is answering they are interested in joining the association.
If you need any information about VP I can tell you because I spend 4 days in Sofia and I checked everything.
Best Regards
Juan Antonio Mari
K
KayJay
Member
Hi, Juan
Twenty euros a day!!?! For that I'd expect whiskey coming out of the tap instead of water... :wink:
It seems to me that this just underlines the need for both an Owners Association and for somewhere where these detailed issues can be discussed openly but away from a completely public stage.
For anyone who would like to participate, a group has been formed for this purpose (just click on the link below):
Vitosha Park Owners
Membership is currently restricted, which simply means that we can be reasonably sure that our discussions are kept as private as possible. If anyone experiences any difficulties in trying to join, please email me.
Twenty euros a day!!?! For that I'd expect whiskey coming out of the tap instead of water... :wink:
It seems to me that this just underlines the need for both an Owners Association and for somewhere where these detailed issues can be discussed openly but away from a completely public stage.
For anyone who would like to participate, a group has been formed for this purpose (just click on the link below):
Vitosha Park Owners
Membership is currently restricted, which simply means that we can be reasonably sure that our discussions are kept as private as possible. If anyone experiences any difficulties in trying to join, please email me.
Attachments
D
Diz
New Member
Has there been any news on the progress of pool and tennis court which was promised does anyone know !?...
K
KayJay
Member
The pool certainly appears to exist. I say "appears" because it was covered by a snow-covered tarpaulin when I was last there. It's pretty small and is right outside the entrance to Lilia.
I don't know about the tennis-court but I'll be over there in 10 days time, so will report back on what I see and hear.
I don't know about the tennis-court but I'll be over there in 10 days time, so will report back on what I see and hear.
D
Diz
New Member
Thanks KayJay good luck with your trip
K
KayJay
Member
Diz
Do drop me a PM or email if the Owners Association is of interest to you, unless you already have... :wink:
Do drop me a PM or email if the Owners Association is of interest to you, unless you already have... :wink:
K
KayJay
Member
Vitosha Park Complex Owners Group
Just to let everyone know, the Vitosha Park Owners Group is now well-established on Yahoo Groups :wavey:
Its address is VitPark : Vitosha Park (groups.yahoo.com/group/VitPark)
Just to let everyone know, the Vitosha Park Owners Group is now well-established on Yahoo Groups :wavey:
Its address is VitPark : Vitosha Park (groups.yahoo.com/group/VitPark)
Attachments
K
KayJay
Member
Interestingly, a couple of the blocks in the complex have 100% occupancy (not through SofiaLettings) and other companies are getting new tenants in.
Will your "statistics and information" be reliable or just a review of how well/badly your own business is going - and how you might hype it up a bit? :wink:
Will your "statistics and information" be reliable or just a review of how well/badly your own business is going - and how you might hype it up a bit? :wink:
C
Chris BG
New Member
I couldn't agree more. The information that Sofia Lettings have been pushing out over the past 18 months has been grossly misleading. Vitosha Park owners, please do your research thoroughly, read all the articles / comments / forums posts on the internet about the rental / lettings / furniture company that you might consider using before proceeding.
J
JonathanHargreaves
New Member
Chris BG - Maybe you could give some examples of "grossly misleading" information, instead of posting statements without substance.
A
Avia
New Member
Looking for appart to rent.
Regards.
I would like to rent an appart in your complex for one month as from jan 15.
Regards.
K
KayJay
Member
Avia - if you email me at the address on this page: http://www.propertyforum.com/forum/bulgaria-property/11592-vitosha-park-complex-sofia-8.html#post120766 and give me an idea of just what you want, I'm happy to ask our Owners' Group if anyone has anything suitable for you....you'll save on any agent's fees for a start! :laugh:
A
Avia
New Member
Hi, KayJey!
Thank you for quick аnswer! I emailed you and hope the Owner's Group will find anything for me.
Thank you for quick аnswer! I emailed you and hope the Owner's Group will find anything for me.
J
JonathanHargreaves
New Member
Just to give some information on the rental prices in Vitosha Park over the past year.
1 Bedroom Furnished Apartments have achieved a rental price of €255 - €260, with
2 Bedroom Furnished Apartments commanding €310 - €360 per month. Some agents are renting the properties out for 10 - 20% less than this in the complex in order to get very quick deals and not realize the true rental value of the property. Hope this is of use to all you owners in VP.
1 Bedroom Furnished Apartments have achieved a rental price of €255 - €260, with
2 Bedroom Furnished Apartments commanding €310 - €360 per month. Some agents are renting the properties out for 10 - 20% less than this in the complex in order to get very quick deals and not realize the true rental value of the property. Hope this is of use to all you owners in VP.
K
KayJay
Member
That's very useful information, Jonathan. 
However, I wonder if you might expand on it a little?
How easy is it to rent an unfurnished apartment and what are the comparative rates? How long on average does it take to rent an apartment - and how long to re-rent when a tenant leaves/does a moonlight flit? How well do you check out prospective tenants? Are some of your tenants among those who park on pavements/have noisy all-night parties/vandalise vehicles/scrawl graffiti on walls and in lifts/disappear leaving damaged fixtures and fittings, unpaid rent, electricity and water bills/steal bicycles and tools from the basement storage areas? Do you charge owners for a re-rental when a tenant disappears owing money? Do you take legal action against such tenants when you supplied them or do you just shrug your shoulders?
What effect do you feel the new parking restrictions in the complex will have on rental potential when the majority of tenants are no longer able to park inside the complex? Will the previously-abandoned complexes suddenly being completed all around Vistosha Park adversely affect rents?
Since you're so familiar with the complex I'd be interested in your take on those points and on what owners looking to rent might expect both now and in the future.... :wink:
However, I wonder if you might expand on it a little?How easy is it to rent an unfurnished apartment and what are the comparative rates? How long on average does it take to rent an apartment - and how long to re-rent when a tenant leaves/does a moonlight flit? How well do you check out prospective tenants? Are some of your tenants among those who park on pavements/have noisy all-night parties/vandalise vehicles/scrawl graffiti on walls and in lifts/disappear leaving damaged fixtures and fittings, unpaid rent, electricity and water bills/steal bicycles and tools from the basement storage areas? Do you charge owners for a re-rental when a tenant disappears owing money? Do you take legal action against such tenants when you supplied them or do you just shrug your shoulders?
What effect do you feel the new parking restrictions in the complex will have on rental potential when the majority of tenants are no longer able to park inside the complex? Will the previously-abandoned complexes suddenly being completed all around Vistosha Park adversely affect rents?
Since you're so familiar with the complex I'd be interested in your take on those points and on what owners looking to rent might expect both now and in the future.... :wink:
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J
JonathanHargreaves
New Member
KayJay I understand that you are an owner in VP, so your comments are very interesting as to the problems you and the other residents are encountering. I see from your previous posts that you are not a big fan of estate agents or maybe you are an agent yourself and don't like competition, could you confirm?
From my business side, I like competition and transparency, it is good for customer and good for innovation and improvement in standards of practice. With regard to placing tenants, we have an application process, and where possible we try and get references from previous landlords and other sources before placing a tenant. Currently in Bulgaria there is no credit check facility, probably due to the large grey economy the country has. So where possible we do take references but there is still an obvious risk. Even in the UK tenants are not always what they seem to be, and this was experienced with our UK Property Management Company, even with such stringent checks availble.
I cannot state whether or not any of our tenants are the culprits of such actions you have levied against them. What I can say is that we have had no complaints from any of the neighbours or the facility management company in Vitosha Park. Should we have in the future we will follow the process and policies we have in place.
Should a tenant leave a property without fulfilling the obligations, then we will refund the property owner the tenant find fee on a pro-rata basis dependent on the number of months the tenant has stayed in the property. Or the other option we provide is to find the next tenant free of charge.
With regard to legal action for non-fulfillment of obligations we have and will continue to work with property owners to ensure that they obtain their legal entitlement. So in answer to your question, no we don't shrug our shoulders. Put it this way since 2008 we have lost very few customers who signed Property Management Contract with us, which is the complete opposite compared to the number of referrals we receive and the number of Customers coming from our competitors.
The parking restrictions will naturally cause problems for all people living in the complex whether they are tenants or owners. If someone has a right to live in the complex and there is access to parking then this can't be restricted. What will happen is that the price of properties with parking in VP will become more favorable. But then those that don't have parking will probably struggle to rent, therefore reducing the occupancy levels of the complex, and with that should such a decision be made by the Residents Committee, then I'm sure this will have an adverse effect on collecting fees from such owners. A suggestion would be to have the security police the parking better.
The new apartments surrounding the complex will add competition, but whether some Property Owners or other agents come in a under value the properties to drive tenants away from VP and into the surrounding buildings is a risk that must be understood. <snip> I think its exciting times for this area of Sofia, with IKEA built and operational, the new mall under construction, new road infrastructure and more buildings being built. I envisage in time that it will become more popular to live in this area than it is already.
With new buildings it always takes time to get the occupancy levels up, but once they are, and the apartments and the complex are managed well, then people will want to live in them, which will allow rental prices to stabilise and increase over periods. We have found small increases in some of our portfolio of managed properties over the past 6 months, which I believe is good news for everyone, including myself as a property owner in Bulgaria.
<snip>
Hope this is of help and I didn't break any advertising forum laws!!!!!
From my business side, I like competition and transparency, it is good for customer and good for innovation and improvement in standards of practice. With regard to placing tenants, we have an application process, and where possible we try and get references from previous landlords and other sources before placing a tenant. Currently in Bulgaria there is no credit check facility, probably due to the large grey economy the country has. So where possible we do take references but there is still an obvious risk. Even in the UK tenants are not always what they seem to be, and this was experienced with our UK Property Management Company, even with such stringent checks availble.
I cannot state whether or not any of our tenants are the culprits of such actions you have levied against them. What I can say is that we have had no complaints from any of the neighbours or the facility management company in Vitosha Park. Should we have in the future we will follow the process and policies we have in place.
Should a tenant leave a property without fulfilling the obligations, then we will refund the property owner the tenant find fee on a pro-rata basis dependent on the number of months the tenant has stayed in the property. Or the other option we provide is to find the next tenant free of charge.
With regard to legal action for non-fulfillment of obligations we have and will continue to work with property owners to ensure that they obtain their legal entitlement. So in answer to your question, no we don't shrug our shoulders. Put it this way since 2008 we have lost very few customers who signed Property Management Contract with us, which is the complete opposite compared to the number of referrals we receive and the number of Customers coming from our competitors.
The parking restrictions will naturally cause problems for all people living in the complex whether they are tenants or owners. If someone has a right to live in the complex and there is access to parking then this can't be restricted. What will happen is that the price of properties with parking in VP will become more favorable. But then those that don't have parking will probably struggle to rent, therefore reducing the occupancy levels of the complex, and with that should such a decision be made by the Residents Committee, then I'm sure this will have an adverse effect on collecting fees from such owners. A suggestion would be to have the security police the parking better.
The new apartments surrounding the complex will add competition, but whether some Property Owners or other agents come in a under value the properties to drive tenants away from VP and into the surrounding buildings is a risk that must be understood. <snip> I think its exciting times for this area of Sofia, with IKEA built and operational, the new mall under construction, new road infrastructure and more buildings being built. I envisage in time that it will become more popular to live in this area than it is already.
With new buildings it always takes time to get the occupancy levels up, but once they are, and the apartments and the complex are managed well, then people will want to live in them, which will allow rental prices to stabilise and increase over periods. We have found small increases in some of our portfolio of managed properties over the past 6 months, which I believe is good news for everyone, including myself as a property owner in Bulgaria.
<snip>
Hope this is of help and I didn't break any advertising forum laws!!!!!
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