What's going on?

Hello again!

Well, I’m fresh out of new news about our area of interest in Bulgarian real estate.

I’ll tell you a little about what’s going on at home to give you an insight into how I works in other places…

This week is the week of the Strawberry Festival in the little village of San Biagio della Valle in Umbria (Italy), near Perugia. Why is it so interesting? Well, there are a couple of reasons. The most interesting thing (I think) is that just about every town and village in Italy has at least one Sagra per year, if not more. There was one that just finished down the road at another village last week – this one was cherries. There is one at another village for Nutella! Don’t know what Nutella is? It’s like peanut butter, except it’s made from hazel nuts and chocolate. Those are the unusual ones. The more common ones are things like wild pig, goat, cheese of one kind or another, sausage, etc.

What’s the purpose of these things? Beats me! I suppose that originally they were designed to push the best local products (but Nutella?), but that seems to have gotten lost over the years. I suppose that now it’s just another excuse to have a party! But why not?

Our Sagra della Fragola has been rained out the past two nights (it runs 11 nights, so two weekends included). A blessing in disguise? Well, it’s quieter. Sleep comes easier when the live band is not screaming in your ear until midnight every night. On the other hand, the lost sales cannot be recuperated, I expect.

If I remember, I’ll post a picture of the flyer and the web address as well (how’s your Italian? see the website at www.sagradellafragola.it ).

I guess that’s all for now,

Ciao…

Craig

Late spring dead season?

Hello again!

Well, there doesn't seem to be to much news about Bulgarian real estate these days, at least in our area of interest.

What is still active are the big players with things like large agricultural spreads, large (new) shopping centres, complete exclusive residential neighbourhoods, office buildings, and buying up excess government properties for the value of the land (like in downtown Plovdiv, etc.).

Also popular and apparently gaining in size and interest are the Bulgarian REITs (Real Estate Investment Trusts). This is a way to get into the real estate growth patterns without owning specific properties. It's similar to investment funds in the stock market, and many are traded on various exchanges (most of the Bulgarian ones in Sofia). It's also not a concept that is limited to Bulgaria.

If you have interest in any of these things, let me know, I'll try to round up some more information for you.

Ciao...

Craig

Bulgaria: What a Land of Opportunity!

Hello again...

Well, yes, I guess I'm plagerizing the title of the latest newspaper clipping on http://Good2004.biz/news.htm, but I happen to agree with what the writer has to say! Bulgaria has a tremendous potential for growth in the EU, and particularly in the area of real estate. The reasons are there to read: Bulgaria's recent entry into the EU is providing an increased sense of security for foreigners; the real estate market is still the least expensive in the EU; the growth in the real estate market has been nothing short of fantastic for the past 3 years (that is our own observation at Good 2004), and it doesn't appear that it will stop anytime soon.

When you read the article, don't forget to take the self-serving advertising included with the text with a grain of salt - caveat emptor as the saying goes - buyer beware! I'm not faulting the writer, in fact, I do it myself to a certain extent. As I said above, I like the article, and I agree with most of what it has to say. I just can't speak from the Maltese point of view.

Ciao for now...

Craig


P.S. "Ciao" and "merci" are two foreign words that have worked their way into the Bulgarian language. I'm told that the source of the French term "merci" ("thank you" in English) was a visitor from France in the 19th century who used the word consistently. The local people liked it and picked it up, and ultimatley made it a part of their own vocabulary. I'm sure the Italian greeting "ciao" in Bulgaria has the same sort of story - it's like "aloha" in Hawaiian, it means "hello" and "goodbye". In the past few years, of course a lot of English has made it's way into the language as well, particularly things like "OK" and technical and pseudo-technical terms like "4-by-4".

C.

The Finnish Point of View

Hello again!

There is an interesting mini-series in the Helsinki Hanomat newspaper (in print, and on-line in English, thank goodness) about some Finnish experiences in the real estate market in Bulgaria. I found them interesting, and you can read them on www.Good2004.biz/news.htm. If there are more, I will post those as well. I have the feeling that the experiences reported would also be reasonably accurate for other northern Europeans who are inclined to go according to their heads rather than their emotions.

The reason that I write about them here is exactly that: our credo at Good 2004 is "no surprises!" and these articles show some ways to avoid many.

All of this brings up a point that my wife made recently about visiting Bulgaria in general. My experiences in many countries on 6 continents tells me that Bulgaria is certainly no worse than the average of these countries. I also have found that the Bulgarians are -- for the most part -- nice folks and generally fun to be with. It is one of only a few European countries that I have found where the local culture is still alive and well. One indication of this is that nights out in a club that has dancing will have a mixture of western European/North American popular music (= MTV etc.), plus the local derivatives, plus modern Bulgarian and other Balkan and Greek folk music, plus traditional Bulgarian and other Balkan and Greek folk music. And the people dance to all of these! They also sometimes sing along with the music, particularly if there is a live band (yes, Virginia, there are still live bands in Bulgaria). Also, the food is often mixed in the same way, but this tends to be more western European ("Continental?") at more expensive places and more traditional Bulgarian in less expensive places. Also, you can eat and drink all night and not worry that you need to clear the table for the next seating.

Maybe this will give you an idea why I like Bulgaria as much as I do.

Ciao for now...

Craig

News from the World Tourist Organisation

Hello again!

I found some interesting news in the latest version of The Sofia Weekly, a weekly electronic newspaper eminating from Sofia. The article was about the potential for Bulgaria to become a hot golfing location, but the last sentence in the article was the real grabber for me: "By 2020 nearly every third visitor to Europe will choose a central or Eastern European destination, according to the World Tourism Organisation."

Wow!

If you are in, or want to get into the tourist business, guess where I would recommend you go! In the same direction, there was another article in the same Sofia Weekly edition about the 10'000 Romanian tourists who took a long (4-day) weekend last weekend at the beach. Where? In Bulgaria! Why? Firstly, apparently almost all of the Romanian hotels were closed, but also, the Romanians reported that a 4-star hotel on the beach in Bulgaria was less expensive than an equivalent Romanian hotel! Mmm...

Take a look at the complete articles at Good2004.biz/news.htm.

Ciao for now...

Craig

Bad Press in the UK

Hello again!

There was some bad press about Bulgarian real estate from one of the UK tabloids this past week. You may have heard about it - maybe not. In any case, it was complaining about the assumed horrid fate of some British investors in Bulgaria who (apparently) bought a house without the ownership of the land it stands on. A few questions ...

- Who is stupid or ignorant enough to buy a house without the land it stands on?

- What were the arrangements about land?

- What realtor would do this to somebody?

Well, I guess the answer to the first question is relatively clear - at least a "few dozen" Brits according to the tabloid report. (LOL) But think, how many Brits own houses in the UK without owning the land they stand on? Quite a few in the major cities, I think. They live in houses on land with a long-term lease (typically 100 years or more). Furthermore, at least according to a Bulgarian real estate lawyer, the house owners are fully protected under Bulgarian law - they have full control of the land for as long as the house stands unless the contract states otherwise.

As a matter of fact, probably a large majority of apartment owners find themselves in the same boat! Some own an indivisible portion of the land and the public areas of the building their apartment lies in, but that certainly does not give them "control" of the land, only a vote with their voting rights based on the percentage their apartment is of the total ownership. Hmm. Probably the building the newspaper is printed in is not owned by the newspaper. What about that, "Daily Express"?

I expect that this was a reaction to the Bulgarian legal situation where only Bulgarian citizens are allowed to own land. The realtor(s) involved in the cases above found a novel (and maybe less expensive) way around the problem - the house-owner does not own the land, ergo no problem! It also retains the appreciation of the land value for the land owner, who presumably can sell the land or retain it, but cannot control it. Depending on the agreement and local zoning regulations, he might also be able to build a second house on the land and sell that as well! The "standard" solution for non-Bulgarian citizens who want to own a house is to form a small Bulgarian company, and use this company to buy the land and maybe the house as well. On the technical side, I suppose their company then could sell the house to its owners if the people really wanted the house (maybe for a less expensive mortgage or for tax reasons?)

As for the third question, the answer has to be "almost any realtor in Bulgaria or the UK!" Standing practices are accepted pretty much everywhere. Certainly, my company would do this, assuming certain protection was provided for the buyer.

References: see the news clippings at http://good2004.biz/news.htm.

Ciao for now...

Craig