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New legislation to be introduced from 1st January 2010 in Bulgaria means that anyone buying property in the country must send all monies through a bank transfer. This means that UK residents who are looking to buy a home in Bulgaria must use a foreign money transfer service.
The law is being introduced in Bulgaria in an attempt to tackle corruption and money laundering. Prospective Bulgarian property purchasers based in the UK should be aware that the requirement to purchase a house through overseas bank transfer will apply to all purchases
Overseas bank transfers will be the only method of payment in Bulgaria for UK property buyers from 2010, so the Post Office suggests that prospective buyers shop around to find the Overseas Money Transfer service which offers the best deal when they need to make a foreign money transfer to purchase their home.
For example, the Post Office's Overseas Money Transfer service offers competitive exchange rates and zero per cent commission on foreign money transfer transactions. It can also reimburse customers for any charges the destination bank may impose, and allows customers to fix overseas bank transfers at a set exchange rate for up to a year, offering the opportunity to protect against currency fluctuations when sending money abroad. The process can also be set up on a monthly basis, which makes sending money abroad for mortgage payments even easier.
The Post Office's Overseas Money Transfer also offers added convenience, of being able to arrange payments via phone or online.

Source: earthtimes.org

According to reports there has been a major increase in activity in the Bulgarian property market, as Russian's enter to pick up bargains on properties in popular tourist locations.
Bulgaria property has always been famed for being among the cheapest in the world, and as such reports suggested that it would fail to benefit from the bargain buyers currently active in the market.
However, Bulgaria's property market suffered badly from over-supply and sellers outnumbering buyers in the latter half of 2008. Now that almost every European property market has some problems with oversupply or stunted demand, the playing field has been levelled and Bulgaria property has a chance of coming out of the crunch in better shape than it went in.
Bankso has become somewhat of a dirty word in overseas property investors minds, but there are currently a lot of good opportunities on off plan properties in Pamporovo, and other new emerging markets. The coast at Sunny Beach has retained its popularity as a bargain holiday home destination among eastern Europeans.
There are also literally thousands of fixer-uppers in Dobrich, Yambol, Kavarna and throughout the country, priced from Ј7,000 upwards. These could easily be done up into very rewarding residential buy-to-lets. However, these are very time costly investments and not for the faint-hearted armchair investor.

Source: property-abroad.com

Britons are generally having a positive experience when they move to Bulgaria, the UK ambassador to the country has remarked.
Steve Williams, who is Britain's chief representative in Sofia, told Standart News that those who have moved to Bulgaria revealed in a British Embassy poll that things were tending to go well for them.
He said the survey found that "in general those British nationals that had bought properties in Bulgaria in order to live here permanently or semi-permanently had integrated well with the local community".
In turn, most Bulgarians had welcomed the British there and Mr Williams noted that this anecdotal evidence tallied with his own experience.
Those keen on buying property in Bulgaria may look to do so soon after an economist tipped the market to bottom out in 2010.
Head of economic research at UniCredit Bulbank Kristofor Pavlov predicted there will be three more quarters of price decline before the sector starts to turn, emportal reported earlier this month.

Source: Propertyshowrooms.com

Bulgaria is ranked the eighth best-value tourist destination globally by travel guide firm Lonely Planet.
Iceland, London, and Thailand are the top three in the ranking in Lonely Planet’s 'Best In Travel 2010' guide, which contains 'the world's hottest travel trends, destinations, journeys and experiences for the year ahead.'
South Africa, India, Malaysia, Mexico, Bulgaria, Kenya and Las Vegas in Nevada are the other destinations in the top 10. Bulgaria is the only mainland European country in the best-value ranking.
According to the Lonely Planet guidebook, the top 10 countries overall for travelers are El Salvador, Germany, Greece, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, New Zealand, Portugal, Suriname and the United States.
The top 10 cities are Abu Dhabi, Charleston (South Carolina), Cork (Ireland), Cuenca (Ecuador), Istanbul, Kyoto (Japan), Lecce (Italy), Sarajevo, Singapore and Vancouver (Canada).

Source: Novinite.com

Real estate property in Bulgaria is the most sought after by Russian buyers, according to data of the Russian company MIEL’ Distant Property Management.
The company, whose portfolio includes real estate offers in 20 countries, has released data saying that in the third quarter of 2009 25% of all inquiries it received were for properties in Bulgaria, Interfax reported.
This ranks Bulgaria first as an investment destination for Russian buyers, followed by Turkey with 17% and Spain with 13%.
What is more, the company says all of its Russian clients who considered buying real estate property in Bulgaria actually bought it.
MIEL’ DPM explains that Bulgaria is attracting buyers with the affordable prices, the decent quality of real estate, the variety of offers, and the simplified purchase procedure.
70% of those Russians looking for property in Spain have also managed to find what they want which places Spain second after Bulgaria on that criteria.

Source: novinite.com

For anyone thinking of buying property in Bulgaria, help is at hand with the publication of the AIPP’s annual guide. As with anywhere, real estate in Bulgaria is becoming more and more attractive as the country’s infrastructure grows and improves, and prices slides in the market continue to provide further value for money. However, anyone looking for investment property in Bulgaria, or anywhere else for that matter, needs to do so with a cautious eye and a realistic expectation of what they can afford to buy and just how far their finances will carry them. The publication, released annually by the Association of International Property Professionals, steadies the way for the foreign investor, with sound advice on who to talk to, questions to ask, with the props and pitfalls of particular markets. All of this is great news for the buyer who maybe looking at property for sale in Sunny Beach for example, with warm views of a comfortable investment.

Source: Propertyworld.com

Two seasons best suit the publishing of a new book: early autumn, and mid-spring. Or so explains Lubomir Popiordanov, a founder and the current chairman of the Bulgarian Association for Alternative Tourism, and the publisher of BAAT’s rural tourism guide, now in its fifth edition.
But why these two times of year? Popiordanov says that that is when people start planning ahead for their holidays (though one might also think that with such an alluring handbook, one would want to browse through it daily, if only to take a mental holiday to the countryside from the bustle of the city).
This edition of the B&B and Adventure Guidebook, released on September 24 2009, is a change from the previous volumes in that it includes more background and descriptions of the different regions of the country, and in that the format is smaller: the current size is perfect to slip into a purse, or to tuck into a cargo pocket.
Along with providing maps and contact information for small family hotels, beds and breakfasts, and guesthouses, the book now includes details on sights and places of interest, nature parks, activities like horseback riding and rock climbing, and, a special initiative of BAAT, places of accommodation that fulfil Green Lodge (Зелена къща) criteria.
Green Lodge was created in 2008 as a means to recognise and certify lodgings in Bulgaria that meet ECEAT (European Centre for Ecological and Agricultural Tourism) criteria for responsible use of water and electricity, waste management, providing guests with information about the region and what they can do to help preserve its inherent cultural and natural state, contribution to local economy, respect for the environment, and level of security and comfort of the place of accommodation.
At a press conference on September 24 at Bulgarian news agency BTA, Popiordanov presented the fruits of more than one year’s work by BAAT. The bilingual Bulgarian-English guidebook, which, along with being a useful tool to travellers from here and abroad, also has the goal of helping the locals in a given location to realise that "their lives, culture and traditions are meaningful", he said. "It is a continuation of our organisation’s 20 years of existence."
An overwhelming advocate for the successful future of Bulgaria being founded in tourism opportunities that will benefit – as opposed to destroy – the country in the years to come, Popiordanov said that "the message of the guidebook is to travel in a responsible manner, to try to respect nature and local and national heritage. This is something that our clients must recognise, and that our hosts can help further by teaching our clients to travel responsibly".
While Bulgaria possessed "all the beauties of Europe", its resources were not endless, something Popiordanov highlighted with the examples of recent over-construction on the Black Sea coast, with numerous half-completed and half-empty mountain resorts.
"We want to create a new way in which Bulgarians travel well," he said.
And this is being seen. Particularly as concerns the Green Lodge, BAAT has found that people support the initiative all around the country – and not only in typical tourist destinations like Rila Mountain or the Rhodopes. In fact, the top awardee of the 2008 recognition was in a guesthouse in Sliven, a smaller city with nothing remarkable about, it in south-eastern Bulgaria.
The current picture of village tourism in Bulgaria is like a 1960s snapshot of a family picnic – lively, colourful, a bit chaotic and in places unfocused. This, again, is something which BAAT is working to improve, in part through the Green Lodge programme, which puts in place a standard to attain. "We saw, in our Green Lodge journeys (for evaluation of each site), that in Bulgaria there are places that surpass, or at least are at the level of, what is offered in Europe," Popiordanov said.
On the other hand, of the what he estimates to be 800 to 1000 guesthouses in the country, only 21 received official recognition for sustainable, comfortable tourism amenities.
The benefit of village tourism, he said, was that it was not limited by season or location, something particularly favourable for limiting carbon emissions caused by transport: there is no need to go from Sofia all the way across the country to Strandja or Sakar to get that real village experience. Popiordanov also encouraged travellers to use, where possible, train or bike.
"Bulgarian tourism must first be about the people, not beds and sheets," he said, in response to the current state of the country’s tourism industry. "We need real management of Bulgarian tourism, and in a sustainable way. We must win the confidence of tourists."
For further information about BAAT and the B&B and Adventure Guidebook, please visit baatbg.org.

Source: The Sofia echo

The Bulgarian hotel and restaurant business association (BHRA) nominated Veliko Tarnovo for a capital of culture tourism of the Balkans. This was announced yesterday by Blagoi Ragin, chairman of BHRA.
The nomination was discussed yesterday by the mayor dr. Rumen Rashev and billionaire Gasan Aidi, president of the International hotel and restaurant business association.
6% is the growth of tourism in Veliko Tarnovo for the first half of 2009 compared to the same period in 2008, explained Daniel Panov, manager of the municipality tourism agency “Tsarevgrad Tarnov”. The overall growth for last year was 20%, and the data for this year is optimistic in the face of the international crisis, explained Panov.

Source: bulgariagazette.com

Many global experts are foreseeing an end to the economic gloom of the past couple of years, and with the value of real estate in Bulgaria at an all time low, now seems to be the time to consider buying property in Bulgaria.
In addition to this, traditional properties appear to be favourite. Many property developers within the country have gone to the wall leaving a mass of incomplete off plan projects and investors with the subsequent headaches. Newly completed property has seen its value plummet, whereas older more traditional properties, those built around the 1920's & 30's are in abundance and represent great value for money.
For those looking for a property in Bulgaria, these older properties may not necessarily represent the most exquisite and idyllic locations, offering unbounded long term gains. Instead they are seen as a real and affordable solution for the more grounded, risk-averse investor looking to get a foothold in the market.

Source: Propertyworld.com

Potential investors continue to assess Bulgaria as a key destination despite the global crisis.
Bulgaria still has good potential for foreign investments, ensure American, German and Greek businessmen in the country. The vice president of the American Chamber of Commerce Directors’ Board reports that interest on the part of investors is still high. American companies are still investing in a wide range of industries including energy, technology and telecommunications. The German-Bulgarian Chamber of Commerce and Industry has no data of investors having pulled out, but some German companies have suspended their projects in Bulgaria, informed general manager Mitko Vassilev.
Source: frognews.bg