Sunday, January 30, 2011 A Cautionary Tale This little story is aimed at all UK & Irish would-be investors in the Bulgarian property market. When you buy property in either the UK or Ireland as an investment the main considerations are price, value -present & future, future saleability, & possibly present let-ability. To some extent as well, the possibility of vandalism may be in your mind. With these considerations in mind, please read on:- Some 3/4 years ago, A person I know very well bought a property in Bulgaria, near to Belogradchik, in a village called Cerno Pole. In the course of my visits to that part of the world I visited the property regularly, in order to keep an eye on things. All was well until my last visit in Nov. 2010. The property consisted of a substantial 2 storey house with a good piece of land, on which were built strongly constructed barns & outbuildings, including a summerhouse attached to the end of the house itself. As I walked down the path to the property I couldn't believe my eyes! The barns, the outbuildings, & the summerhouse had disappeared! All that was left was the foundations where they had been & a neat pile of stones that represented a small fraction of the original; & which for all the world looked as if they had been stacked ready for later movement. Yes folks, the buildings had been STOLEN! I reported this to the lawyer involved in the original purchase &, of course, the present owner. The said owner made hasty representations to the said lawyer who said that the matter would be looked into & reported to the authorities. This was before christmas 2010, & to this date nothing has been done about the matter. The name of the person who committed this act of theft, on such a large scale, I may add, is known to the authorities, including the lawyer aforementioned, & the mayor of the village, & yet nothing has been done about it. &, to my knowledge, no arrests have been made, or prosecutions pending! So, beware! The owner contacted the Bulgarian Embassy in London, who replied that this happens quite often, & in other countries also??? I am 68 & have been involved in property in a small way for years. I have heard of goods being stolen from houses; & goods being stolen from off houses; but never a house, or even a substantial part of ot being stolen! Now I don't want to put anyone off investing in Bulgaria; there are plenty of good investment opportunities in that beautiful country. But if you do, make sure your place is well overseen, by a trustworthy native of the area. I will keep this story updated as & when further developements take place. & I hope that eventually I can report a happy outcome. & I must say, to the perpetrators of the dastardly deed: You do neither yourselves nor your country any good by this sad action; which brings a good people into disrepute. Let us hope the authorities & others involved in this, or who have knowledge of this whilst standing by & doing nothing, bring this sorry tale to a sensible conclusion, speedily. REPOSTED FROM LAST YEAR AS A REMINDER TO ALL & SUNDRY INVOLVED WITH THIS MATTER