Bulgaria/Sunny Beach

[Boo]

[/quote]Dear all,
As this is my first post i will try to be as brief as possible.
Myself and three colleagues purchased a property in the Sunny beach area of Bulgaria 3 years ago purely as an investment.We had hoped to cover the annual costs of the property through rentals until,as planned,the property would be sold on in 5 years time.Although the purchase went fairly smooth,we did have a number of issues,our main concerns arose when appointing a management company.Initially we heeded the advice of the company from whom we purchased the property,UK based,and duly set up a short term contract with them to look after the property,pay bills,take on rentals etc.In our 1st full year,2006,in which we expected a reasonable return in rental revenue,family and friends aside,non materialised.We later discovered that various apartments within our complex were being rented out(on the Quiet)so to speak.These apartments were being looked after by the same MC as ours.Although we had no proof that the same had happened with our apartment,we terminated our agreement with them,changed locks and bank accounts then agreed a contract with another well known MC in the Sunny Beach area.So to this year.Expecting a better year than last,and again apart from 3 weeks of the year booked for family,no other bookings!
Two weeks ago one of my colleagues received an e-mail from a tenant who went over on spec for a weeks holiday only to find a family of Russians staying in his place without his knowledge.He too is with the MC that we are now with.Again,we have no proof that our apartment is being used but it seems we now have to start the process all over again.Not being able to monitor the situation as closely as we would like any advice or possible contacts would be greatly appreciated.

Kind Regards

[vthills]

duno what to say, one of the many victims of frauds...
my advice is to go for english-based MC not bulgarian if it's possible of course.

[deedee1]

Hi,

All I can say is a few surprise inspection trips might be in order!! But then again this will work out expensive!!

Another option that I would use is to look at utility bills- analyse the costs on a monthly basis to keep an eye on fluctuations - this could be a tail tale sign!!
Ask MC for copies of utility bills- its your right to have copies as its your property, money and bills- isnt it...????
For example - if your apartment is being used then if in bulgaria they charge you based on units i.e-water and electric then you will be able to tell!!
As if it is not being used then there shouldnt be any movements on your water and electric!! And your monthly bills should work out the same every month if it constantly empty!!!!

Hope I helped a little bit!! GOOD LUCK!!

See ya D

P.S- Does your place in bulgaria have a telephone????
If it does then whats to stop you from doing a few phone calls every now and then to see if anyone picks the phone up...?? TRY IT SEE WHAT HAPPENS!!

Hope this helped

[vthills]

hahaha, yeeahhh, I like that with the phone, could be a simple but effective decision to all your concerns. And don't you request any utility bills on a regular basis? It's stupid if you don't...just be smarter than them
Good luck!

[keiamand]

Boo
sent you private message can you let me know if you have got it amanda

[vthills]

[Boo]

Hi Amanda,Got your message,will consult with my associates and get back to you.Would it be possible for you to send me a PM with your management rates etc.

Regards Boo

[Jain and Chris]

Hi Boo and Amanda

It would be really lovely if you could please post on the board, rather than sending pm's.

After all that is what a forum is about - sharing of information.

Hope you'll put the information up on here to assist everyone.

Many thanks
Jain

[keiamand]

did not think it was ok to put property management details on here thats why i Pm amanda

[Jain and Chris]

Of course it is alright to put details on here as long as you are not doing so for advertising purposes. There is a fine line between advertising and giving information, so if you have any doubts, please ask questions and I'll let you know.

We are all for sharing of information but at the same time do not want the board filled up with spam and agents and other businesses just trying to make money out of ordinary folk who really need good advice.

Hope this helps... if you need any info or want to ask anything to make sure, just let me know.

Cheers