The house hunting trip to end all house hunting trips

We went back to Bulgaria in March 2013 with a packed schedule of house viewings for both the full days we were there. I had bought a surveyors wheel so that I could take measurements and sketch out rough diagrams of each property as one of the challenges I had experienced after the last trip was remembering exactly what the layout of the Mountain Houses had been and where each building sat in the land and in relation to each other.

I also had my phone so that a video could be taken of every property. This is a fantastic idea and I would recommend everyone does it; it is amazing how much you can forget and just taking pictures (though I took loads of these obviously) does not actually help as much as a good shaky-cam video.

So we had a busy schedule planned, viewing lots of houses in a slightly different location on the Sunday, and then meeting up with Investment Link to be shown around some places more in our target location and finally heading to the school to see this to fill up the day.

House 1.

House number 1, showing extent of garden

The sketched plan for House 1

The notes for House 1

The first house was up in the mountains and, while it was not ideal, it still set the day off well; at least we were being shown houses which were relatively suitable. It was not one we had seen online however it showed the agent was listening to our requirements.

House 2.

Walking up towards House 2, with agents in shot

Sketched plan for house 2

The notes for House 2

House number 2 was just across the valley from the first one and once again was a suggestion from the agents.I preferred this one as it had a bit more land but it was still not ideal due to a really difficult access road (we had to walk the last couple of hundred yards as a tree had come down across the track and the driving required by the agent to reverse back down was amazingly skilled).

House 3.

House number 3 from it's land

A view from inside House 3 across the valley

Sketched plan for House 3

Notes for House 3

The third house we saw was the first one from the list that had been picked from the website. It was arrived at by a sharp turn off the main road and this was not the most encouraging of approaches but as we walked around it became clear that this was a gem; a real possibility. The house had a flat roof which would make it easy to add a floor if we wanted, and the only negative was slightly small land (but the possibility of renting a stretch of land next to it from the local council). The views (as you can see from the window picture above) were outstanding and the only side was that of a waterfall cascading into the valley below.

House 4.

Looking down onto House 4

Looking back up to House 4

Sketched plan for House 4

Notes for House 4

From the third house we had a drive along the valley and then back up the other side, off road a bit and pulling up by this lovely place. It was another house from the list that had been sent to the agents and was just as spot on as House 3. It was not perfect; the access was a bit bad and the land was very steep indeed, but the location was amazing with gorgeous views and no close neighbours.

House 5.

House number 5

Sketch plan for house 5

Notes for house 5

The fifth house was my favourite on the list I had given to the agent so I was quite excited about viewing it. As is often the case it was a disappointment. The house was small and the land, which on the advert was extensive and looked fruitful, had been effected by the fact that the owner (the local Kmet) had decided to keep the best bit for himself and remove it from the sale. Lesson learned; VIEW A HOUSE! From the listing this looked perfect.

House 6.

One of the agents unlocking House 6

Sketch plan for house 6

Notes for house 6

The sixth house was another which was suggested by the agents; it was just on a rise above the main road (when I say main road, it probably got one or two cars an hour max so not very busy) but the main issue was an overlooking (and very nosy) neighbour. I loved one thing about this house; it had a huge fir tree right at the entrance to the land however the proximity of the neighbour, and the fact the land was very small, made this not an option.

House 7.

Front view of House 7

Looking up the land towards House 7

Sketch plan for house 7

Notes for house 7

House number 7 was up a little track past a couple of barking dogs and then up a track where we had to leave the car as a wall had fallen into the road; it was another option suggested by the agents and with this one they had really managed to find something perfect. It had a good sized building, another fallen down wreck, and loads of flat land with trees and a good solid fence. This went straight onto our list to consider. The issue was the price; it was more than the budget allowed but then it was perfect too.

House 8.

House 8 barely clinging to the side of the valley

Notes for house 8

The next house was one which I had picked out on the internet so the agents took us past it but, as we parked, looked embarrassed and said "it's not very good, this is not a good one for you". It had almost no land, and was very close to collapsing and sliding into the valley below. The honesty shown by the agents (compare and contrast with the positive spin from the agent on Monday) was heartening.

House 9.

Looking up towards House 9

Sketch plan for house 9

Notes for house 9

The last house of the day was another not very good option; to get to it you had to walk through another person's back yard and the land was quite sloping and overlooked. It did have two wrecks included, with the standing house, which could have been cleared.

After this viewing there were discussions about another couple of houses but exhaustion had set in so the decision was made to abandon that, and possibly phone them the day after if we had any time to view any more.

The next day we met up with Investment Link, who were showing us houses they had picked.

House 10.

Looking at House 10 from behind

House number 10 from the road showing the view

Sketch plan for house 10

Notes for house 10

The first house of the Monday was very close to a house we had seen on eBay that I was very close to just buying without viewing it. The description online made that house sound perfect but, having seen this one, I can be very happy I didn't. The location was stunning; as you can see from the second picture the views down the valley (and it is one of my favourite valleys in the region) and if a decision was based purely on that this would be perfect however the access to the property was right through the middle of a load of buildings, down some steep steps and with no chance of getting any kind of vehicle within a hundred yards of the building.

House 11.

House 11 from the precipitous cliff pretending to be a path

Notes for house 11

The second house on Monday was awful. We had to struggle down a cliff to get to it, and when we pointed this out the agents said "ahh it is ok, just use donkeys, or set up a sled and slide it down with stuff on it...." There was a nice stream just behind the house, though, which could have been damned and used for power but this was the only positive about this house.

House 12.

Looking from the back of House 12

Sketch plan of house 12

Notes for house 12

Unfortunately the day didn't get much better with the next house. It was very close to the perfect house we couldn't find the owners of but that was as good as it got. There was little land, it was centrally located in amongst the village houses and as such did not offer the solitude that we were looking for.

House 13.

Viewing House 13 from the back, a property I saw with George (the Mountain Top House)

Next we were taken to a house up a mountain and as we got closer, I started to recognise it more and more and yes, it was one which I had been shown by George during the August trip. Interestingly the description of the land which came with the house was different this time; it does show just why it is important to get the Skitza which shows you the official extent of land you are buying.

That was the end of our viewings with Investment Link and sadly, despite being very pleased indeed with their communication and the service received from the office, none of the houses they showed us were suitable in the slightest.

We picked up E and headed towards the school.

House 14. (The School)

The back of House 14 (the school)

Sketch plan for house 14

Notes for house 14

We met Georgi and co in a layby and followed them across a very narrow bridge (so narrow the wing mirrors on the cars had to be folded in) and up and through a village and then there it was; the school. It was huge, about 16 rooms, all massive, with high ceilings and 2.3 acres of land. Set on the very edge of the village it had neighbours on two sides, but not close, and the other two were not over looked at all. As we all walked around this place I started to get excited; it was more expensive again but the damage appeared mainly superficial and, while it needed a new roof, it did not appear to need much more in the way of structural repairs. This property was for sale through an auction and apparently the price for the property was going to be decided again at a meeting of the Obshtina which was to take place a week or two in the future.

House 15.

House 15 - a lovely little cottage ready to move into

Notes for house 15

Finally, for our mammoth house hunting trip, we met up again with the people from Sunday and they took us to this little cottage which was ready to move in. E actually knew the previous owners and it was just a little small but someone who was not looking to homestead would have found this perfect.

So, there you are... a super long update and I will be back again in the next post.