Property for sale in all regions of Bulgaria
Property for
sale in Bulgaria News
News 01 June 2006
Carving out his own niche
Harrie Niemeijer from Friesland, The NetherlandsHarrie Niemeijer came to
Bulgaria a year and half ago, to set up a furniture factory for the Dutch
company Bylsma in Lovech, under the name Belsma furniture EOOD. Having expanded
as far as possible within the Netherlands, the company (which produces tables,
chairs and cabinets) set its sights to Eastern Europe. They asked Niemeijer,
who had previous experience working in countries in the region with his
industrial IT company, to take part in the venture and he accepted the challenge.
Initially, Romania was chosen as the location for the new factory, but,
says Niemeijer, they ran across problems trying to set up a business there.
The move to Bulgaria came about by chance. Some colleagues were in Croatia
at the time and they decided to meet up and visit Bulgaria. “We travelled
around by car, and I thought: ‘hey, why not Bulgaria?’”.
It offered the “opportunity”, the “place”, and the
“people”. They found a suitable property and bought it from
the old Balkan company. “I knew that I had about six months building
time – that’s not a lot.” Then there were considerations
such as licences, which are “very difficult to get here”, but
Niemeijer was aware of this fact when he made the decision to locate the
factory in Bulgaria, and remained undeterred.”I had a good feeling;
it was just a feeling about the municipality Lovech which I was dealing
with”.
Of the move into Eastern Europe, Niemeijer says that one of their biggest
competitors in the future will be China: “For me it is a challenging
start to beat the Chinese in the future and keep the factory in Holland
through Bulgaria. So, the automation grade is high and our target is organisation
by efficiency and logistics.”
As with the setting up of any new business venture, the initial organisation
was challenging. “Imagine: you are a stranger and you are sitting
in your hotel and organising everything from your hotel room or a terrace.”
But, things progressed quickly. Construction started in October 2004. In
January, they installed the equipment, and production started in March 2005.
A year later, they had employed 80 people, which will grow at the end of
the year to 120, and after that to more than 200.
The factory in Lovech produces cabinets and they have also started a special
line producing designer furniture for Rietveld by Rietveld, family of the
famous designer and architect Egbert Rietveld. “The family decided
to introduce small quantities of licensed furniture onto the market. And
I’m very pleased that we can do this here in Bulgaria.”
Belsma is still the only foreign investor in Lovech, where, he says, there
are only two or three other big companies. “We are a small enterprise,
we are not a huge company, or a big American company with 2000 people or
whatever, and we also don’t want to be that. The nice thing is that
I think they are happy with this and we are happy with them,” he says
of their workforce. At the beginning, it was difficult to find experienced
personnel, so they invested in intensive training programmes. Now, he says,
this has paid off and things are running smoothly because people have more
and more expertise, and rather than going to work abroad they stay –
not just because of the salaries, but because of the work culture: “We
are paying in the European way of paying – with taxes, sickness leave,
only a maximum of 40 hours a week and holiday time.”
Niemeijer came to live in Lovech on a permanent basis a year ago. Before
that, during the six-month construction period at the factory, he had been
commuting between Bulgaria and Holland, spending 10 days in Lovech and four
in Holland. This was heavy going – the travelling, the fact that he
wanted to spend time with his three children – so they decided to
move to Bulgaria permanently.
He even met his wife here, and they have been together for more than a year
now.
Niemeijer is happy with his decision and has no intention of going to live
back in Holland at the moment.
He says Bulgaria is somewhat of a “forgotten country”, in Holland.
People go on holiday to Turkey or Greece, but the typical perception is
that Bulgaria is very far away. When there is news about Bulgaria, in general
it is negative, “about corruption, prostitution, criminals, you name
it, and that’s a pity – so that’s the image, they think
I’m only here in Sofia to party and that’s it”. But now,
more and more of Niemeijer’s friends and colleagues are coming to
visit and are pleasantly surprised.
Comparing the work ethics of the two countries, he comments how, under the
old regime in Bulgaria, people would have jobs arranged depending on who
they knew and that most important thing was to be present at the job, what
you did was secondary. “And you see, after the changes, in a lot of
Bulgarian companies, the people are still there and they don’t work
eight hours a day, they work 12, 14, 16 , 18 hours a day, just doing nothing.
I say, ‘yeah, if I had to work 16 hours a day every week, I also wouldn’t
do anything anymore because it’s impossible!’ Let’s work
eight hours a day – hard – and actually do something.”
The most challenging thing about life in Bulgaria is lack of communication
in the business environment. “It’s really difficult to build
up something. People have not learnt to communicate with each other, they
are all kings and queens in their own area of specialty. With a project
like ours you have 40 or 50 specialists not communicating and I think this
is one of the biggest problems in Bulgaria. It is not at the high level,
it is not at the working level, it is the level between,” he says.
“For instance when I need maintenance on my power supply, I have to
write a letter to everyone that we are turning off the electricity, but
when one of these guys decides he wants do it himself, he just turns it
off twice a week with no warning!”
Finally, there is the issue of corruption. “When we came to Bulgaria,
we promised ourselves one thing: not to deal in corruption. If you do it
one time, you are lost,” says Niemeijer. “And we are not doing
it, I think that it is good for the country that there are many more companies
that don’t give in to bribing, etc.” He says that they are lucky
because they have a good working relationship with the municipality, which
can provide backup and is not corrupt. However, “sometimes it’s
very hard, we have had a situation two or three times where I really thought:
‘this is the end of the company because we are not going to pay, we
have everything official and legal now’. I think everybody has to
deal with it, but you don’t have to give in to it, “ he says.
However, this aside, Niemeijer enjoys the challenges involved with running
a business in Bulgaria. “You are really an entrepreneur, you can really
build up a company. Of course, there are a lot of rules and so on, and the
law is changing every day, bureaucracy is enormous, but on the other hand
it’s also a challenge to fight against it, to fight with it. In countries
like ours, it’s already arranged and we have had all the experience,
and you can see in Bulgaria they don’t, so they are looking, trying
this, trying that. It’s nice to be in a system in which you have to
be innovative, you must have strong nerves. In a positive way, it’s
a struggle, a battle.”
The Rise And Rise Of Bulgarian Property
Anyone who has bought property
in Bulgaria will tell you that the prices are so low, it is impossible
to lose. Prices will continue to rise. The only uncertainty is by how much.
And how long.
The Balkan country already has had 12 years of increases. And the National
Statistical Institute reported in January that the average sales price per
square meter for residential properties in Bulgarian cities had gone up
36.6 percent in the previous year.
But residential prices in Sofia still average only EUR 600, or USD717, per
square meter, or USD66 per square foot. That is much less than the EUR 750
average per square meter in Bratislava, Slovakia; EUR 850 in Bucharest and
EUR 1,500 in Prague, according to the National Real Property Association
of Bulgaria.
Those numbers have pushed Bulgaria squarely into the real estate spotlight,
attracting West Europeans lured by the current hot place for vacation homes
and, to a lesser extent, for investment. And real estate agencies from small
European countries like Ireland and Malta have opened offices in Bulgaria
in an effort to expand their businesses.
Foreigners were involved in 23 percent of the 220,000 property deals registered
in Bulgaria in 2005, transactions that totaled more than EUR 4 billion,
according to the property association. The year before they generated 18
percent of all sales, or EUR 3.36 billion.
Overall, real estate is one of the fastest growing sectors in the national
economy, which grew by 5.2 percent in 2005. Observers say that while the
foreign interest certainly has not hurt, the country itself is producing
much of the change.
"I don't think this kind of growth can be supported by international
investors," said Milan Khatri, chief economist at the Royal Institution
of Chartered Surveyors in London. "It must be driven by organic, domestic
growth."
Much of the interest is linked to the country's expected entry into the
European Union. Bulgaria and its northern neighbor, Romania - the two poorest
of the former Soviet bloc countries in Europe - are on track to join the
European Union on Jan. 1, 2007.
Construction costs, sales prices and incomes are all expected to jump after
membership, fueling a "now or never" air of urgency among citizens
and foreigners alike.
"If the prices are so low, people assume the prices must go up a lot,
which means that the GDP and incomes will catch up with the EU average,"
Khatri said. However, he cautioned, "they may never take off."
At the end of World War II, 85 percent of Bulgaria's population lived in
villages. Communism brought industrialization and blocks of Soviet-style
housing, most of it concrete and all of it drab.
In the years after the collapse of communism, Bulgaria adopted a post-Communist
style common to much of Eastern Europe: garish construction done quickly
and cheaply, unmistakably meant to impress. But things are changing.
Deyan Kavrakov, a partner with Equest Investments Bulgaria and a specialist
in luxury properties, says about two-thirds of the better properties being
sold now are new construction, partly because renovations can easily be
one and a half times as expensive as new builds.
Isolde Pringiers, an interior designer from Belgium who moved to Sofia with
her husband and two children in 1998, said, "Some of the best work
is now being done by interior decorators who are going into building."
"They are traveling, they subscribe to the international magazines,
they are very well informed," Pringiers said. "They go to the
Milan Fair to see what's going on. They have much more of a sense of space
and how you live."
When she bought her house in 1999, there was far less to choose from than
there is now. She searched for months before finding what she described
as a house "with a spirit." It was built in 1939 by a German architect,
and she fell in love with it and renovated it.
Kavrakov said he finds affluent professional Bulgarians in their 30s - the
first generation to reach adulthood after communism - are developing a taste
for modern minimalist interiors with integrated high-tech systems: blinds,
air- conditioning, audio systems, security and lighting. "There are
excellent examples in the area of contemporary modern style with more space,"
he said.
While Bulgaria is stable politically and economically, with protection for
the rights of property owners, the regulation of the public space outside
a home is chaotic. Urban planning is very much a new concept. "You
don't know what's going to be next to you next year," Pringiers said.
"That's the scary part."
Also, the rental market is in its infancy. The rate of home ownership is
one of the highest in the world - more than 90 percent - so few Bulgarians
rent. Foreigners who are thinking of investment, or who are planning to
help finance the purchase of a vacation home by renting it when they are
not using it, should first think about how to find tenants.
The property market is linked to tourism, one of Bulgaria's largest industries
even during the Communist era, when attracting Westerners was seen as an
effective way of getting hard currency into the country. Much of the current
growth along the Black Sea, for example, has its roots in those times.
But now, according to Orlin Vladikov, chairman of the national property
association, green spaces are being preserved and the country's policy makers
have learned "not just from bad experience but also from best international
practices."
"It's not easy," Vladikov said. "But it's happening."
Property for sale in Pamporovo Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - House
Location: Pamporovo
Ref: 15599
Price: £34,483 - €50,000
Details: Beds: 0 | Baths: 0 | Built M2 500 | Plot: M2 600 | Pool: No | Garage: Yes
Property for sale in Pamporovo Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - House
Location: Pamporovo
Ref: 15597
Price: £30,966 - €44,900
Details: Beds: 3 | Baths: 2 | Built M2 180 | Plot: M2 1000 | Pool: No | Garage: Yes
Property for sale in Pamporovo Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - House
Location: Pamporovo
Ref: 15603
Price: £26,897 - €39,000
Details: Beds: 6 | Baths: 2 | Built M2 240 | Plot: M2 560 | Pool: No | Garage: Yes
Property for sale in Pamporovo Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - House
Location: Pamporovo
Ref: 15602
Price: £25,862 - €37,500
Details: Beds:6 | Baths: 3 | Built M2 200 | Plot: M2 - | Pool: No | Garage: Yes
Property for sale in Pamporovo Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - House
Location: Pamporovo
Ref: 15601
Price: £21,379 - €31,000
Details: Beds:2 | Baths: 1 | Built M2 100 | Plot: M2 - | Pool: No | Garage: No
Property for sale in Pamporovo Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - House
Location: Pamporovo
Ref: 15595
Price: £17,931 - €26,000
Details: Beds:3 | Baths: 1 | Built M2 200 | Plot: M2 4000 | Pool: No | Garage: Yes
Property for sale in Pamporovo Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - House
Location: Pamporovo
Ref: 15595
Price: £17,931 - €26,000
Details: Beds:3 | Baths: 1 | Built M2 200 | Plot: M2 4000 | Pool: No | Garage: Yes
Property for sale in Borovets Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - Ski resort apartment
Location: Borovets
Ref: 16896
Prices from: £48,490 - €71,280
Details: Beds: 1 | Baths: 1 | Built M2 72 | Plot: M2 - | Pool: No | Garage: No
Property for sale in Borovets bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - Ski resort apartment
Location: Borovets
Ref: 16897
Prices from: £48,490 - €71,280
Details: Beds: 1 | Baths: 1 | Built M2 72 | Plot: M2 - | Pool: No | Garage: No
Property for sale in Bansko Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - Ski resort apartment
Location: Bansko
Ref: 16542
Prices from: £58,231 - €85,599
Details: Beds: 1 | Baths: 1 | Built M2 80.94 | Plot: M2 - | Pool: No | Garage: Parking
Property for sale in Bansko Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - Ski resort apartment
Location: Bansko
Ref: 16895
Prices from: £56,667 - €83,300
Details: Beds: 1 | Baths: 1 | Built M2 70 | Plot: M2 - | Pool: No | Garage: No
Property for sale in Bansko Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - House
Location: Bansko
Ref: 15445
Price: £19,728 - €29,000
Details: Beds:4 | Baths: 1 | Built M2 150 | Plot: M2 500 | Pool: No | Garage: No
Property for sale in Varna Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - House
Location: Varna
Ref: 14275
Price: £88,435 - €130,000
Details: Beds:4 | Baths: 2 | Built M2 150 | Plot: M2 1200 | Pool: No | Garage: Parking
Property for sale in Varna Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - House
Location: Varna
Ref: 16613
Price: £64,626 - €95,000
Details: Beds:3 | Baths: 2 | Built M2 300 | Plot: M2 1000 | Pool: No | Garage: Yes
Property for sale in Varna Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - House
Location: Varna
Ref: 14283
Price: £47,619 - €70,000
Details: Beds:2 | Baths: 1 | Built M2 120 | Plot: M2 1200 | Pool: No | Garage: Yes
Property for sale in Varna Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - House
Location: Varna
Ref: 15036
Price: £37,415 - €55,000
Details: Beds:2 | Baths: 1 | Built M2 150 | Plot: M2 2000 | Pool: No | Garage: No
Property for sale in Varna Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - House
Location: Varna
Ref: 15364
Price: £19,048 - €28,000
Details: Beds:3 | Baths: 2 | Built M2 100 | Plot: M2 1500 | Pool: No | Garage: Yes
Property for sale in Varna Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - House
Location: Varna
Ref: 15037
Price: £17,687 - €26,000
Details: Beds:3 | Baths: 1 | Built M2 120 | Plot: M2 700 | Pool: No | Garage: Yes
property for sale in Borovets Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - House
Location: Borovets
Ref: 15590
Price: £56,463 - €83,000
Details: Beds:2 | Baths: 1 | Built: M2 90 | Plot: M2 800 | Pool: No | Garage: Yes
Property for sale in Borovets Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - House
Location: Borovets
Ref: 15591
Price: £55,034 - €80,900
Details: Beds:5 | Baths: 3 | Built: M2 1000 | Plot: M2 4000 | Pool: Yes | Garage: No
Property for sale in Borovets Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - House
Location: Borovets
Ref: 15585
Price: £44,218 - €65,000
Details: Beds:4 | Baths: 2 | Built: M2 190 | Plot: M2 32 | Pool: No | Garage: Yes
Property for sale in Borovets Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - House
Location: Borovets
Ref: 15588
Price: £44,218 - €65,000
Details: Beds:5 | Baths: 2 | Built: M2 250 | Plot: M2 800 | Pool: No | Garage: Yes
Property for sale in Bansko Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - Ski resort property villa
Location: Bansko
Ref: 15444
Price: £29,932 - €44,000
Details: Beds: 1 | Baths: 1 | Built M2 150 | Plot: M2 1500 | Pool: No | Garage: No
Property for sale in Borovets Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - House
Location: Borovets
Ref: 15584
Price: £24,490 - €36,000
Details: Beds:3 | Baths: 2 | Built: M2 180 | Plot: M2 600 | Pool: No | Garage: Yes
Property for sale in Borovets Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - House
Location: Borovets
Ref: 15586
Price: £17,007 - €25,000
Details: Beds:1 | Baths: 1 | Built: M2 90 | Plot: M2 1000 | Pool: No | Garage: Yes
Property for sale in Borovets Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - House
Location: Borovets
Ref: 15589
Price: £15,646 - €23,000
Details: Beds:2 | Baths: 1 | Built M2 80 | Plot: M2 - | Pool: No | Garage: Yes
Property for sale in Bansko Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - Ski resort property apartment
Location: Bansko
Ref: 15630
Price: £44,322 - €65,153
Completion: November 2005
Details: Beds: 1 | Baths: 1 | Built M2 59 | Plot: M2 -- | Pool: No | Garage: Parking
Property for sale in Bansko Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - Ski resort property off plan apartment
Location: Bansko
Ref: 16546
Price: £39,185 - €57,602
Completion: August 2006
Details: Beds: 1 | Baths: 1 | Built M2 -- | Plot: M2 -- | Pool: No | Garage: --
Property for sale in Bansko Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - Ski resort property apartment
Location: Bansko
Ref: 15630
Price: £44,322 - €65,153
Completion: November 2005
Details: Beds: 1 | Baths: 1 | Built M2 59 | Plot: M2 -- | Pool: No | Garage: Parking
Property for sale in Bansko Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - Ski resort property apartment
Location: Bansko
Ref: 15960
Price: £38,027 - €55,900
Details: Beds: 1 | Baths: 1 | Built M2 43 | Plot: M2 -- | Pool: No | Garage: Secure Parking
Property for sale in Bansko Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - Ski resort property Villa
Location: Bansko
Ref: 16549
Price: £29,932 - €44,000
Details: Beds: 1 | Baths: 1 | Built M2 150 | Plot: M2 1500 | Pool: No | Garage: No
Property for sale in Bansko Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - Ski resort property apartment
Location: Bansko
Ref: 16766
Price: £27,211 - €40,000
Details: Beds:-- | Baths:-- | Built M2 -| Plot: M2 - | Pool: Heated | Garage: Parking
Property for sale in Bansko Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - Ski resort property villa
Location: Bansko
Ref: 16610
Price: £26,993 - €39,680
Details: Beds:1 | Baths:1 | Built M2 -| Plot: M2 - | Pool: No | Garage: Parking
Property for sale in Bansko Bulgaria
Property for sale in Bulgaria - Ski resort property villa
Location: Bansko
Ref: 15444
Price: £29,932 - €44,000
Details: Beds: 1 | Baths: 1 | Built M2 150 | Plot: M2 1500 | Pool: No | Garage: No
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