Sep 07, 2010
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Aug 14, 2006: The new Spanish Costas f?r Britons?
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Aug 14, 2006:
The new Spanish Costas f?r Britons?
Views and Records: 28 September 2006, Thursday.
Clare Babbidge
BBC News
After years ?f talks, Bulgaria and Romania will join th? EU in January under strict conditions. f?r Britons, among th? many areas ?f life which will undoubtedly b? changed b? this, is th? property market.
Thousands ?f Britons have already bought homes in these countries - but will many more now join them?
Bulgaria and Romania have "gone through ? remarkable transformation", said European Commission President Jose Manuel Barroso announcing their EU accession. th? two countries, which were th? poorest ?f th? former Soviet satellite states ?f Central and Eastern Europe, made changes such ?s tackling organised crime and corruption, and introducing farming reforms.
And while this has been happening, British investors, property speculators and those just wanting ? holiday home have been buying up houses.
Paul Owen, chief executive ?f th? Association ?f International Property Professionals (AIPP), said ?f Bulgaria: "A lot ?f people have already brought there. f?r ?n emerging market, it's quite ? well established emerging market."
Some ?f th? buyers were agents, while others were individuals, he said.
Jain Goodall, wh? runs property magazine Quest Bulgaria with her husband Chris, estimated more than 3,000 Britons lived in Bulgaria, and ?t least five times th?t figure had holiday homes there.
'Taking ? risk' th? British couple, in their 40s, left th? UK f?r France 10 years ago. They moved t? Bulgaria's capital, Sofia, with their dog Peluche in 2004.
Mrs Goodall said they intend staying.
"Bulgarian people ?r? generous and very kind," she said.
"It is like turning th? clock back 50 years ?t least in England, t? wh?n you could leave th? door open and th? car unlocked. It's th? quality ?f life."
She said many ?f those wh? had bought there had "taken ? risk hoping f?r extremely high returns" ?n their investment.
Mrs Goodall said many ?f th? magazine's readers lived in Ireland.
"The Irish market did extremely well out ?f joining Europe and people have learned fr?m this," she said.
She believes th? numerous reasons why Britons would seek ? second home in Bulgaria include high UK property prices and worries over affording retirement.
"We have ? large number ?f young readers, wh? may have no pension in place," she said.
"They might b? in their 30s and 40s basically looking f?r places elsewhere and thinking ?f their retirement."
She added: "There's ? certain freedom th?t th? people have here, compared t? Britain in particular, you don't feel like you ?r? being controlled b? ? nanny state, saying wh?n you can have ? cigarette ?r ? drink."
Pension worries
Mr Owen said: "People may think my pension is not doing well, my savings ?r? not very interesting and I think these factors come together.
"There's ? lot ?f confidence in property - th? concept th?t if you invest in property you can't go wrong, but ?f course you can go wrong because property prices can go up and down too."
He said there w?s also much more information out there, and "the Ryanair effect", accessible cheap flights, had "opened up places" all over th? world. ?s th? countries take ?n th? rights and obligations ?f EU membership, it is expected t? boost th? number ?f Britons.
Mrs Goodall said: "It means security. It means th?t some ?f th? laws here will b? th? same ?s home and there's ? lot ?f comfort in th?t ."
She said her magazine received ?n average 70 new requests per month but ?n th? day ?f Bulgaria's EU approval it w?s around th?t in one day.
"I think th?t speaks f?r itself," she said.
"People feel they can come here now. It w?s ? risk before, but not now."
However, she said living in Bulgaria had not been without problems.
"In Sofia, th? pavements ?r? so bad you want t? walk ?n th? roads, and there's ? lot ?f bureaucracy, which feels worse wh?n you can't speak th? language fluently."
But she added th? infrastructure w?s improving, especially in th? past two years.
'Greater confidence'
Mr Owen said accession gave ? "greater confidence" f?r th? business and consumer world, but th?t it w?s just th? next stage in ? long development f?r both countries.
"In Bulgaria ? lot still needs t? happen in terms ?f th? infrastructure, it is still ? long way off fr?m wh?t Western people would b? used t? ."
He said Romania w?s "significantly more advanced" in this area.
Graham Robinson, ? media consultant f?r Romanian Business Connection, said there had been "a lot ?f progress" in Romania ?s it had tackled its problems.
He said ? motorway between Budapest and Bucharest looked set t? b? completed, providing ? key link f?r business and tourism.
Mr Robinson, wh? has invested in spa development in Transylvania, said "more and more" Britons had bought property.
But complicated laws deterred buyers - foreign nationals needed t? form ? Romanian company t? buy land and were not able t? get mortgages.
"It's definitely ?n th? up," he said.
"But up t? now it has been mainly f?r th? pioneers wh? have gone out there with ready cash."
Caution advised
In March, th? regulatory body th? Federation ?f Overseas Property Developers, advised caution ?b?ut buying in Romania, after it w?s portrayed ?s ? "bargain" place t? make money in th? media.
It warned indications th?t properties were available f?r ?s little ?s ?5,000 were misleading and advised people t? seek professional advice.
Mr Robinson backed this call and said it w?s ? difficult market t? negotiate.
However, he felt th?t Romania's EU accession w?s ? still great opportunity and would cause ?n "explosion" in property sales.
He believes it will attract Britons, but develop in ? different way than Spain ?r France.
He predicted Bucharest would b? ? "tourist hotspot" and Romania would develop ?s ? winter sports destination and attract people wh? enjoyed th? quiet life ?r watching wildlife.
"It is absolutely stunning. I w?s gobsmacked wh?n I first went there," he added.
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