THE hype about buying property in Bulgaria is louder than ever now that the country has the green light to join the EU in January. With prices in France and Spain rising, the former eastern bloc country remains affordable for second-home owners.

But what do you actually get for £100,000 or less? As well as value, Bulgaria offers extraordinary variety. Buying there falls into four basic categories: new apartments in ski resorts, new holiday apartments or villas by the Black Sea, old inland country houses with smallholdings, and new-build apartments in the capital, Sofia.

Bansko, an ancient village at the foot of the Pirin Mountains, is one of the fastest-growing ski resorts in the world. In the past two years it has added a huge number of apartment developments geared to the winter season, providing a lively rental market. “Every skier who comes here is impressed with the facilities,” says Gary Brierley, of Bulgarian Developments. “But the countryside is great in summer, too. People come out here intending to buy an apartment as an investment, but they fall in love with the area and use it as a holiday home.”

Prices for a typical two-bedroom, new-build apartment at Bansko are £71,000, with the mouth-watering prospect of a rise in values of about 8 per cent a year. Off-plan, one-bedroom apartments at the St George Ski and Spa development, which is due for completion in 2008, are starting at £32,000. An airport is planned and a golf course is under construction.

It was new-build apartments on the Black Sea that triggered the initial rush to Bulgaria. Experts say that even those seemingly rock-bottom bargains were too costly and prices have stabilised. Emerging Real Estate is offering a studio flat at £47,442, a one-bedroom apartment at £53,844, and two bedrooms at £86,224 at Helios Beach Apartments in Pomorie, which is due for completion in June. Burgas airport, with direct flights to the UK, is just five miles away. Farther up the coast at Levski, near Varna, you can buy a new, three-bedroom house with great views and a quarter acre of land for £70,000. It is 27km (17 miles) from the international airport, where BA is now operating direct flights.

Iliana Yordanova, of Home Cottage Bulgaria, says: “There is a huge variety on offer and British people frequently come here to look at property for investment and end up using it themselves. Whatever your motive, the investment potential in Varna and the surrounds is fantastic.”

Neil Deighton and Sarah Torrington bought a two-bedroom beach-front apartment near St Vlas on the Black Sea. They bought the apartment off-plan in 2004 for about £100,000, and the development was completed in March this year. They were going to let it out for about four years and then sell it on. But their plans changed after they realised the fun they could have as a family and the money they could save on holidays. They are now just letting it to friends and family with the intention of keeping it as a long-term investment while still having an income.

But if you’re prepared to buy inland and off the beaten track, there are some astounding bargains. Bulgaria is unusual in having just as many houses as inhabitants, now that older people are deserting their country homes to live with their children in city apartments. Vast swaths of gorgeous countryside are dotted with small farms selling for as little as £10,000.

In Katunets, a traditional Bulgarian village, an old two-bedroom house with 1,450 sq m (a third of an acre) of walled land, garage and outbuildings, is selling for £14,000. It’s in good condition and, after a spot of redecorating, could be ready for a new owner. The house comes with furniture and views of the Balkan mountains. In Belogradets, Home Cottage Bulgaria is selling another two-bedroom house, with a plot of 1,000 sq m, brick oven and cellar, for £13,900.

So what’s the catch? Well, the prices are real but the route to owning a house with land involves setting up a Bulgarian company. The process costs £500 in lawyer’s fees and is something that foreigners — at the moment — need to do, but with EU accession imminent the laws are changing all the time. The costs of buying are greater than in Britain but because the initial price is in a different realm it hardly matters. An honest agent and lawyer, both of whom speak good English, are essential.

Sofia is now being targeted by foreign investment as blue-chip financial institutions, embassies and companies move in. Thousands of foreign staff are needing good housing, so there are buy-to-let investment opportunities to be had.

Lance Nelson, of the agent Jet2Let, says: “Sofia offers buyers fantastic opportunity to maximise their investment, not only receiving regular rental income but also significant capital appreciation. As a major economic centre it will have a positive impact on the local property market.”

Apartment prices in Sofia per square metre are the highest in Bulgaria, but the average price of €700 (£472) is much less than in Warsaw, Prague, Budapest or even Bucharest.

At the Diplomatic Gardens development, in the fashionable Dragalevtzy district, new one-bedroom flats, complete with a 7 per cent rental guarantee, are going for £54,000. At Vitosha Park, a gated complex with 24-hour security, there are one-bedroom apartments for £51,500. That’s a lot of bricks and mortar for your money.

www.homecottagebulgaria.com, 00359 52655641,
www.emergingrealestate.com, 0845 6017293,
www.jet2letproperty.com, 0870 4283567, www.bulgariandevelopments.co.uk, 0870 4281952

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