Black Sea Property Investing - Bulgaria At Its Best?

Bulgaria has gained a great deal of press recently as being a location ideal for property investment. Much of the information relates to the rapidly growing Black Sea coastal resorts.

The Black Sea area, as a coastal holiday destination, is seen as among the best in Europe and possibly even in the world. Bulgaria is ideal for families, as the sea is renowned for being hospitable for swimmers and paddlers of all ages and abilities. The sea is calm and clean with gently sloping beaches, allowing for easy access and safe shallow bathing. As well as being particularly calm and inviting, the Black Sea is also half as saline as the Mediterranean.

Water temperatures in the area are extremely favourable. With more than 240 hours of sunshine during the months of May and September and an impressive 300 hours of sunshine in both July and August, it is hardly surprising that the temperatures rarely drop below 17 degrees Celsius and are often closer to 25 degrees Celsius.

Anyone looking to invest in a coastal property will not be short of choice, as the coastline extends for more than 378 kilometres and offers a wide range of property opportunities. The fastest growing areas are currently the luxury four and five star resorts with well-appointed apartments, although there is also no shortage of village- style properties for purchasers looking for something a little different.

Resorts

As a foreign purchaser, it is most likely that you will head towards the large resorts that offer financial benefits and excellent infrastructure. The most notable of the resorts are Golden Sands, Albena, Sunny Day, Sunny Beach and Dyuni Holiday Village. All of these offer the ideal holiday base and most include sports facilities, a wide selection of entertainments and family-friendly hotels and restaurants.

Other resorts that are well worth a visit include Kiten, Sinermorets and Shabla. These are smaller resorts that may not offer the same extensive facilities but nevertheless have the benefit of a relaxing, quiet stay away from the mainstream tourist trail. An advantage of purchasing a property in these resorts is that many of the holidaymakers will rent such properties for several weeks, thus reducing the costs of servicing your property.

Prices and Rental Prospects

You need to do some research and make a sound decision on what to invest even though your financial advisors might have already worked it out all for you.

Prices on the Black Sea coast have sky-rocketed, recently, and this is likely to continue when Bulgaria joins the EU in 2007. A one bedroom apartment in Golden Sands could cost anything from around 20,000 Euros upwards, depending on the facilities that the individual property offers.

One of the huge advantages of purchasing in this area is the structure that exists for the rental market. Many of the developers are acutely aware that most of their clients will be looking to rent their new apartments to tourists, during the peak months, in order to recover a healthy profit. With this in mind, there are a wide number of guaranteed rental schemes in place, which offer investors the security of knowing what their return will be for the first year or so. When looking at these schemes, it is important to conduct your own independent research, as the guaranteed return may not be similar to what you would achieve in the long run, when the guaranteed period ends.

Pay particular attention also to issues such as servicing costs. Amenities including pools and indoor entertainment areas are a wonderful selling point to tourists; however, they do come at a price. If you are planning on using the company from which you purchase to let and manage your property, you should be certain that you obtain exact details of communal expenses. A management company will invariably take a percentage cut on your rental income; find out if this cut is taken before or after such essential costs are paid.

As with all foreign purchases, it is vital that you obtain independent legal advice; this is particularly important when buying off-plan or using just the one company as vendor, rental agent and management company.

The Black Sea is tipped as the next Costa del Sol, which doesn't seem impossible; however, make sure that you do not get caught up with the holiday atmosphere and end up parting with more cash than you ever intended!

Providing essential information on buying Bulgarian property, Tem Pearson is dedicated to offering all the necessary information for people looking to buy property in Bulgaria. Visit www.buying-property-abroad.info/Bulgaria

7 Things You Need to Know Before You Start Investing... 

1. Know your current financial situation. Know you debts level. Calculate your income and expenses by taking into account the following:

Mortgage repayments Personal tax Loans and overdrafts Living expenses Emergency funds Car expenses Entertainment Holidays School fees Credit card debts Family commitments

Before you start investing your money on any investment products, you should know how much you could spare each month for investment. General rule is that, you should clear your debts first, then save and invest later. That is to say the more money you put aside now, the better it will be for your future. I would say put aside 10% of your income for rainny days. 10% is a small amount that you won't feel a pinch. Save it until you have managed to build a "dam management funds".

2. Prepare funds for dam management. This goes in line with point 1. You need to keep at least 3 to 6 months ofyou income as dam management. After you have managed to do that then additional money that you saved can be used to invest.

3. Protect yourself and your family first. By this point, I mean you should have the basic life insurance that insure you and your family against terminal diseases and accident. This is very important as even though you might loose all your money through investment and if you or your family members need medical attention, it will be well taken care of.

4. Know your risk level. If you are not able to take big risks, short term investment and swing trading is notfor you. It's better to invest in mutual or trusts funds which will give a steady payout and have lower risk.If you are a high risk or medium risk taker, you can try invest in stocks, growth and hedge funds.

5. Diversify your investment. Expert would tell you it is a must to diversify your investment. Your investments needto have a steady mix of stocks, mutual funds and/or bonds. Beside that, your should invest in different industryand/or different regions. This will help you minimize your risk as fluctuations in the markets will not have a big impact on your investments. Your ideal mix will be 20-40% stock and the rest mutual funds and bonds.

6. Do your homework before you invest. It is good to seek expert advice. But, the money is ultimately yours. This is to make sure you know what you are investing and able to keep track of them. If your investments suffer loses you will be able to make a right decision whether to sell or hold if you know your stuff well.

7. Do stock take yearly if not frequently. Your investment might already be reaping in profits. But, it is good to know how well you fare at the end of the day. Reinvest the profits and celebrate if you have success. This will serve as motivations for you and will make you more determined to acheive your financial goals.

Jason Chew is an aspiring Infoprenuer and Investor.

He is web administrator of an online investing and success resources: http://www.investyourwaytosuccess.com

Power of Relationships for Real Estate Investing

Let's talk about relationships and how they affect your bottom line as a real estate investor.

You've heard it time and time again: build relationships. Well I hate to sound like a broken record, but I'm going tell you again - Relationships is a key component to your bottom line as an investor.

Let me tell you a story about a deal I did a couple of years ago to help emphasize my point.

There was this gorgeous property located in a fairly elaborate subdivision called Heathrow. Most of the homes are pretty new and are all brick with very nice amenities. The property was a large 3-bedroom brick 2-1/2 bath.

I saw the foreclosure notice in the newspaper, so I immediately start calling some of the family to make a deal on this property. I get in touch with a lady lets call Susan for the sake of privacy. Susan and her husband had built the home around five years earlier. The house was vacant and had been vacant for months. I discovered after talking with her, that Susan and her husband had a very rocky marriage and were now divorced. She was doing all she could as a single Mom to make ends meet. Her ex-husband had a medical discharge from the military from a rare disease that left him paralyzed. Susan was ready to move forward. She'd been through an ugly divorce, a bankruptcy, and now was going through a foreclosure. It was really tough on her. Now, her ex-husband had already moved to Washington and was re-married.

Here are the numbers on the deal:

Value: $165K Owed amount on mortgage: $100K Behind: $10K

I dealt with what seemed like every family member that could have had any possible interest in this deal and tried to get this deal sealed up, but to no avail. Susan, the ex-wife had already signed her interest over to me. However, the ex-husband that lived in Washington kept stonewalling my efforts and wasn't willing to deal. Then, I get this phone call two days before the auction. No kidding, it was 2 days away, and now all of a sudden the husband wants to deal. With only two days before the foreclosure auction, I can get a deal done if the people are in my area so that I can meet with them. I've done it numerous times before. But when you add the fact that this guy was on the other side of the country, it makes it almost impossible. That is, unless I happen to know someone in Washington....

See, I happened to meet a guy named John at a seminar several months beforehand and we became friends. We emailed and talked on a regular basis about how to improve our businesses. So, I called him and asked him for a favor and told him I'd make it worth his while. And so, John agrees and gets the deed signed later that night and sends the docs overnight via FedEx to me. I reinstate their loan 1 hour before the foreclosure sale and the deal is complete. Whew.... Take a Deep Breath - right?

Now, after the deal closed I sent John $2K for his troubles. Anyway, my point is this deal would've never happened if I'd not built a friendship with John. And notice that I just didn't call him out of the blue asking for this favor. We were already friends and had already established this friendship months before. The moral to the story is to use the Golden Rule in all circumstances. I'd never thought in my wildest dreams that John could've helped me in Alabama. And the truth is that there've been more people to help me because I go out of my way to build relationships with others.

The simplest way to accomplish this is to treat everyone with the utmost respect even if there's no financial gain for you. Work to build win-win relationships with everyone you touch - the local locksmith, the banker, the moving company, the loss mitigation rep you called to get a short sale approved, and the local real estate agents. You never know when some of these professionals have the ability to direct you to the next hot deal for you to acquire

Derek Pierce, full time Real Estate Investor, shows
you the exact strategies to his success in his Free Book: "How I
Went From Corporate Guinea Pig To Real Estate Success". Get
your copy and Real Estate Investing Tips by going to http://www.thereisecrets.com

Real Estate Investing - Should You Ever Use Credit Cards?

Over-using credit cards can lead to financial disaster. Alternatively, careful use of credit cards can jump-start a successful real estate investment program. Under what circumstances should you use credit cards to fund real estate purchases? When should you leave your credit cards alone?

Perhaps I should tell you the story of my first home purchase. I purchased my first piece of real estate in Chicago during the late 1970s. At the time, the city was in the midst of a relatively new real estate phenomenon. Real estate developers and investors were feverishly purchasing large and mid-size apartment buildings, renovating them and converting them to condominiums. I had recently arrived in Chicago from college to start my first job. Arriving at the beginning of this condominium craze, I was immediately attracted to what appeared to be an excellent ground-floor opportunity. Houses in the Chicago area were well beyond my means, but the cheaper two-bedroom condos were within reach.

While I was otherwise qualified to purchase a very nice condominium in a turn-around Chicago neighborhood, what I did not have was money for a down-payment. I stayed awake at night trying to envision a way to pull together what was needed. An older buddy at work told me the story of how he purchased his first house using credit cards. This information was just what I needed to put together my first down payment. I used my only credit card and one that my parents had to put my plan into action.

The plan worked well for me because: my credit was very good at the time and drawing down the maximum under my card did not dissuade the mortgage lender; I had full access to my card and was able to tap my parents' card; I had a stable job and earned enough to service the credit card debt, the mortgage loan, and still be able to repay my parents within a year; and lastly, I am a bit of a risk taker, and fortunately the risk paid off.

Using credit cards as a tool to help finance real estate can be useful. Credit cards are convenient, versatile forms of financing. Usually, you can borrow and re-borrow up to the cash advance limit as needed. Finally, you have already been approved to use them.

There are, however, some big negatives.

The repayment requirements are fairly stiff. Most credit cards require repayment of the outstanding balance within as little as 42 months. This short time frame may not fit your cash flow circumstances.

Another negative is that high card balances will negatively impact your credit rating. If you have great credit and you can afford the credit card payments, it might be worth taking this risk to buy good real estate.

Using credit cards and other consumer credit can be addictive. If you have little self-discipline in this area, it is probably best not to use your cards for real estate. You might be better served by ridding yourself of credit cards altogether.

Lastly, the interest rates charged by the credit card companies are relatively high. Rates can range from 12% to well over 18% per year. These high rates will eat into your real estate gains.

Given the advantages and disadvantages, do credit cards make a good choice for financing real estate investments? This method certainly is not an ideal one because of its high risk. It would not be my first choice. I would tap other assets like life insurance cash value or money from a 401-K plan ahead of using credit card debt.

I would only recommend this financing method as a short-term arrangement, if you have run out of other alternatives. Additionally, it probably makes little sense unless: you have a stable job; you can afford to service the credit card debt; you can afford the real estate mortgage and can manage the related real estate expenses; and you will still have money left over to live fairly comfortably.

Notwithstanding the benefits and risks, the credit card option is one worth noting

George Parker is a Director and Executive Vice President of Leasing Technologies International, Inc. ("LTI"). Headquartered in Wilton, CT, LTI is a leasing firm specializing nationally in equipment financing prog

Property Investing In Bulgaria's Capital Sofia

Sofia, as Bulgaria's capital, offers foreign purchasers a wonderful investment opportunity. Many foreigners actually miss the idea of investing in Sofia, in favour of the faster growing costal resorts such as Sunny Beach and the ski resort of Bansko.

Last year, however, Sofia saw the greatest property value growth in Bulgaria, showing that there is a great deal of potential in the capital. Sofia is approximately 550 metres above sea level, situated at the bottom of Mount Vitosha. Interestingly, Sofia is actually the highest capital in Eastern Europe and has a population of around one million.

Sofia has had a relatively troublesome history and has only recently become fully free from communism. Since its liberation, Sofia has developed itself as the financial, political and cultural centre of Bulgaria.

As well as being historically important, Sofia is also culturally and geographically significant. Throughout Sofia, there is an enormous selection of pavement cafes, restaurants and large parks. One of the great plus points of Sofia is its wonderful location; within half an hour of the city is the Vitosha National Park as well as the superb skiing in Vitosha. Bulgaria has started a campaign to host the 2014 Winter Olympics; if it is successful, Sofia is likely to see even greater growth.

A leading Bulgarian lawyer has commented that 'as far as the smaller investor is concerned, there is an over saturation at the Black Sea, so Sofia offers an attractive alternative'. He also stated that between the years of 2002 and 2005, property prices in Sofia have doubled.

Prices of Property in Different Parts of Sofia

One-bed apartments in Sofia can be bought for around 50,000 Euros. Although these are considerably smaller on average than the one-bed apartments on the coast and in seaside resorts, which are typically around the 50 to 60 square metre-sized apartments.

As with most large cities, central apartments of a reasonable size are in huge demand, with a two-bedroom apartment of approximately 100 square meters setting you back in excess of 75,000 Euros.

Slightly out of the centre of the city, there are more bargains to be found, with larger properties of four or five bedrooms costing around 70,000 to 90,000 Euros. One of the exceptions to this is the up-market Lozenets, where prices are often higher than the very central areas. A two bedroom apartment of 120 square metres could cost as much as 160,000 Euros, in this area.

Central apartments will always be in reasonable demand for both locals and tourists. Most of the nightlife, bars and restaurants are around the central areas, making such apartments popular, if a little noisy!

Further outside the centre, towards the National Park and ski resorts, the entertainment is not quite as lively. However, the scenery becomes truly spectacular, attracting locals seeking a quieter life, whilst still being close to the city centre.

Lozenents, as one of the most salubrious areas of Sofia, attracts the high earning locals, as well as visitors who want to feel that they are staying in the lap of luxury.

Rental Market in Sofia

Renting a property in Sofia is relatively easy, with several market options available. More foreign companies are now starting to open up offices and branches in Bulgaria where the workforce is qualified, but a great deal cheaper than in the UK. As a result, there is an increasing demand for good quality apartment accommodation for the wealthier employees, in the capital.

Sofia is also a popular tourist destination, due to its wonderful location combining cultural excellence with much historical significance.

Sofia offers a wealth of opportunities for any investor, regardless of their target market. As well as already being a fascinating place to stay, Sofia is also a city that is on the up, both as a tourist destination and an economic powerhouse.

Ignore Sofia at your own peril!

Providing essential information on buying Bulgarian property, Tem Pearson is dedicated to offering all the necessary information for people looking to buy property in Bulgaria. Visit www.buying-property-abroad.info/Bulgaria

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