Interview with new apartment owner in Sunset Resort - Priam.ru, 02.11.2012

http://prian.ru/pub/23526.html

Personal experience: Luxury apartments in Bulgaria. Pomorie
November 2, 2012

Bulgaria has traditionally been associated from the Russians with low-cost housing - an apartment at the local coast is quite possible to buy for about € 20,000 .But this is not our case. Natalia from Moscow purchased an expensive by Bulgarian standards apartments in a modern apartment complex, literally "stuffed" with all kinds of entertainment infrastructure.

FILE : PRIAN.RU
Buyer: Natalia, a housewife from Moscow
Realtor: Luxury Homes Bulgaria partnering Agent
Location: Bulgaria, Pomorie
Object: a two bedroom apartment at 120 sq.m. in the residential resort Sunset Resort
Price: € 185,000
Transaction: purchase on the secondary market in 2012

*Our nanny or grandmother, who could go in Pomorie with children for a month or two, do not speak in English. In Bulgaria you can live comfortably without any knowledge of foreign languages.
* Looked at number of giant apartment complex in Sunny Beach, but it was very noisy, as in Turkey. All the beaches and pools are full.
* In Bulgaria, all the prices are low. For example, a children's club, which is in our complex, we paid 10 leva or € 5 for all day.

- Natalia, what goals you set for yourself when choosing a property abroad? And why you have choosen Bulgaria?
- Our main goal - to find accommodation near the sea, so that children can stay there for a long time. Always wanted to send our children for a few months at the sea side. But on a regular holidays in hotels that is very expensive experience .
We have chosen Bulgaria for several reasons.
First: very convenient location to access . It can be reached by plane, train or car. In other holyday destinations and countries, such as Spain is possible to access just by plane. This is not always convenient, and many people are afraid to fly. With Bulgaria we can just jump in the car and come straigh in Pomorie.
Second: Bulgaria is way cheaper than other countries. This includes not only the purchase price of the property but also further cost of living . Prices for products and services are much lower than the average European . Apartment with the same quality like ours in Spain we were not able to find for this kind of money.
Third: there is no language barrier in Bulgaria. Our nanny, or grandmother, who could go in Pomorie with children for a month or two, do not speak English. In Bulgaria you can live comfortably without any knowledge of foreign languages.

 - You have just bought a flat ... but may have already noticed some drawbacks of living in Bulgaria?
- There everything is simple, the same like in our country back in the Soviet times. Although for me this is not a drawback. In contrary – nostalgia . In Bulgaria is the same like in Sochi ( russian coastline of Black sea ), only better. Russian resorts are terribly dirty, and there in Bulgaria is always clean and tidy. The local people are friendly, calm and have good attitude towards tourists. To anyone, not only to the Russian people. Overall, I am very happy so farfrom our home and the country.

- And why from all Bulgarian resort you have chosen Pomorie?
- It was by chance . It happened that when we began searching for real estate, we first studied in details the apartment complex Sunset Resort itself. At the end the one that we liked most was in Pomorie.
We had not even considered options for buying a private home in Bulgaria. After all we are going to use the property just for few months in the year and in our absence the house is much more difficult to manage and maintain .
Also very important for us was the complex infrastructure. We were insisting the resort to have several pools, including an indoor in case we decide to use it in the winter time get a rest , gym, spa, restaurants, few shops, pharmacies, and other urban very handy facilities are in a walking distance. Also we are planning to send the children there for a few months in the summer . Therefore we required the resort to have animation, children's club, holiday atmosphere so our kids are never bored. And of course the sea. The closer to home it is - the better.

 - It should be hard to find a place that meets all your needs? You must of checked lots of offers?
- Yes, at first place we monitored the market for a long time on the internet. Then we picked 10 resorts that we have looked at on the spot.
Some apartments were I thought very badly planed - small rooms with low ceilings. Others were located in a very beautiful place, but they did not have the infrastructure, and to live there would be boring.
Saw one resort with a great apartments, which however was just in the meddle of nowhere :outside of the gates there was nothing , even the beach was not developed. Also there was some construction going on around, may be in a few years there will be other properties and shops, but still for us to live in a place like this is not possible.
There was a reversed situation as well. Went to a giant apartment complex in Sunny Beach, but it was very noisy, as in Turkey. All the beaches and pools were full. We wanted to find the balance: that the surrounding is lively , but not too noisy.

 - Natalia, you were saying about the great facilities and infrastructure in your resort. But all these pools, gardens, security, receptions etc. somehow should be maintained ... How much maintenance you pay for this apartment?
- I can not answer that for sure, as in our family my husband is dealing with these matters. All I know is that the amount of the expenses depends on the area of the apartment. In any case I think that for us - the Russians that is not expensive. At least my husband is not complaining ...

 In Bulgaria all the prices are low. For example in the children's club which is in our resort we pay 10 leva or € 5 for the entire day. For comparison when we were on a holyday in Portugal, paid for a similar service € 6 per hour.
Restaurants in Bulgaria are also much cheaper than in Europe. Moreover the food they serve is delicious. Just a simple and homemade food ... We loved it.

 - Who monitors the apartment in your absence? Suddenly a water tab can be broken or something else to happen ...
- The keys of our apartment is with the management company of the resort. If something happens they will just get in the apartment and fix the problem. Their services includes managing our utilities.

 In general, it is very comfortable to live in a large resort. There are so many services available which makes our life much easier . For example we call them before we arrive, and when we come into the apartment and it was already perfectly cleaned. Just for 50 leva they prepare the apartment fully for our arrival, and after we leave they clean it again. They can rent a car for us If needed and will bring it straight to the airport. But the taxis , in Bulgaria in my opinion is expensive.

- Natalia, in your opinion with what the Bulgarians are different from the Russians?
- It is difficult to compare. I'm from Moscow and in Bulgaria we met with people from small towns. They have a very different perception. For example one woman complained that she could not find work in the town. I said to her : Go and try in the nearby towns as well. She does not want to because is a full 10 minutes drive by car to get there. For us it sounds funny. In general, they are relaxed and positive. Maybe in Russia by the seaside such people live too ...

 - What would you advise someone who is going to buy their first home in Bulgaria?
- Do not want to give general advice. It's all individual. For example I was talking before buying the apartment with a woman who few years ago bought an apartment in Bulgaria. She advised me not to buy an apartment but a house. She had a very unpleasant situation: neighbors from above flooded her apartment, could not find who is guilty for that , and in the end had to spend a huge sum of repair. According to her that would not happen in a house.
But now I realize that she probably bought an apartment in a building somewhere in the suburbs, for which no one is looking after and there is not a management company. If a leak occurs in our apartment, we will get helpfrom the management company quickly to resolve this issue. So her advice proved unnecessary.

Interviewed by Anastasia Faley

Prian.ru