Buying With The Mayor's Help?

[OldHolborn]

Sell Overseas Property

I'm over in four weeks to buy. I'll hire a translator and go and see the mayor. If he doesn't know what houses are for sale, no one does. Sure, he might add on his margin but if it all goes pear shaped, he won't be elected again. He knows this. I know this.

Perfect.

[bigbulg]

Sell Overseas Property

Why anyone would buy from a bloke called Keith they met on the Internet is beyond me.

And you automatically assume the mayor got his position by being Mr nice guy? Tread very carefully my friend

[ashlar]

Sell Overseas Property

I'm over in four weeks to buy. I'll hire a translator and go and see the mayor. If he doesn't know what houses are for sale, no one does. Sure, he might add on his margin but if it all goes pear shaped, he won't be elected again. He knows this. I know this.

Perfect.

Why anyone would buy from a bloke called Keith they met on the Internet is beyond me.

I guess you don't speak Bulgarian, so when it all goes pear shaped who will be to blame.
Sounds like a recipe for disaster

[B52]

Sell Overseas Property

OldHolborn said…

I’ll …. go and see the mayor. If he doesn't know what houses are for sale, no one does.

You’ve fallen into the generalisation/exaggeration/overstatement trap that is forums.

[OldHolborn]

Sell Overseas Property

I guess you don't speak Bulgarian, so when it all goes pear shaped who will be to blame.
Sounds like a recipe for disaster

No, I don't speak Bulgarian, just English, German and French. Hence I will hire a translator, not the bloke who speaks a little bit of German or English and owes the Mayor money.

I am well aware how Mayors become elected and how much "influence" they can exert when required to. Let's just say he will know it is in his interest to keep the deal clean

Suffice to say that I would rather trust a local than "Keith" from Ebay who burned his bridges to the UK, has nowhere else to run to and will do anything to anyone to raise the necessary funds to eat this winter. Just from these forums alone, it would appear there are plenty like Keith, ready to sell their grandmothers to niaive Brits. I may be wrong of course, but Bulgaria does have a reputation of being a "last chance saloon" for those who could not hack legitimate business in the UK or are *cough* "unwelcome" on the Costa Brava.

I'll say no more

[Charliechech]

Sell Overseas Property

I’ll …. go and see the mayor. If he doesn't know what houses are for sale, no one does.

And you automatically assume the mayor got his position by being Mr nice guy? Tread very carefully my friend

I'm with Bigbulg on this one, please, don't go in all guns blazing, you rip me off and you wont get elected again ...... not the best attitude.
Just curious, but how would you stop him from being re-elected? Do you know the locals in the village where you're looking to buy?

Not all mayors know all the houses that are for sale in the village, many people have the internet now, so will advertise privately/through internet, etc. Don't just stick with the mayor, ask the locals.

Not all mayors are the same, not all real estate agents are the same, not all teachers are the same, not all dentists are the same, etc etc etc. Don't put ALL in one pot!

Slightly off topic, I remember a story on BTV a couple of years back, the local mayor goes out, every day, on his bike, goes around helping the locals in the fields, checking livestock for the older folk, etc, an incredible hands on mayor. The story I believe was reported by the locals who were so proud of their mayor ..... we wanted him to be our mayor too!!

[ciuccati]

Sell Overseas Property

I'll hire a translator and go and see the mayor. If he doesn't know what houses are for sale, no one does. Sure, he might add on his margin but if it all goes pear shaped, he won't be elected again. He knows this. I know this.

Perfect.

Why anyone would buy from a bloke called Keith they met on the Internet is beyond me.

Regarding mayors and this will not apply everywhere. I know sellers who actively DONT want the local mayor to know they are selling.

[jadamwilliams]

Sell Overseas Property

The mayor of a village will not necessarily know of all properties for sale..
Its not in the mayors juristiction to help foreigners or anyone find property.
just googled "Mayors property fraud" in Bulgarian and got a lot of relevent hits.
If the mayor is involved in a property scam/ inflating prices he/she will probably not be bothered if re-elected or not..
Bulgarian village politics are very complicated and deep rooted - people still talking about incidents in the 1950's...
Dont assume the mayor is honest or a good person -
dont put all your eggs in one basket - hiring a translator and going to village is a good idea to find good value property - but ask everyone and also be prepared for a few wild goose chases such as one sibling showing you a house the other doesnt want to sell and properties with no documents that can take ages/money to sort out.
wish you the best of luck - admire your approach just be aware of the potential pitfalls and if anything seems too good to be true - it probably is...

[meg2508]

Sell Overseas Property

Amazing how many Mayors live in the best house in the village

[owain]

Sell Overseas Property

Amazing how many Mayors live in the best house in the village

As public servants, they're paid a pittance so it's not too difficult to understand how they amass such wealth

There are plenty of ways to skin a cat and many Mayors will rub their hands with glee if they see an over confident foreigner wandering into their village.
I'm not saying all Mayors are the same but be careful when approaching a property purchase this way, nothing is for free, especially in Bulgaria.
And don't think you'll have any say in whether or not a Mayor is re-elected. Most villagers are very poor and will vote for the highest payer You'll also see alot of power cuts in many villages on polling day as the polling station is plunged into darkness and a few extra votes are popped into the 'correct' box.

Just be careful, don't think this is any safer than using an agent as it's not. Instead of an agent being the middleman, the Mayor will be and they can get away with a lot more.
If you're going to do it this way then ask around and find which villages have positive feedback regarding their Mayors. It's also worth noting that a new law has been brought in this year and the very small villages will not have a Mayor anymore.
Leave your over confidence at home and bring a cautious head when coming to Bulgaria whoever your dealing with.