"On arrival in Varna DAO looked after us very well, sorted out any problems in regards to property, laws. They are extremely kind helpful. A personnel note, I had been robbed in Hungary, lost my cash, they ensured I had more than enough cash to see me through. This was after they had no reason to, as I had paid everything so they did not have to. The people are very friendly and helpful. I would recommend them very highly. They have now become our friends and help in everway. I have felt very welcome and have no complaints."
Brian and Judy said:"Hello All, We arrived in Bulgaria in May, interested in buying a property as a holiday home , investment and perhaps later a retirement home. We are complete novices and needed a lot of advice and help . We were picked up at our hotel by Gregorie (the office manager ) who could not have been more pleasant and helpful. He took us to the office and after a chat and some very good coffee we went to see the properties we chose, we felt that he was totally honest about the houses (good and bad). The next day we returned to the office and told him we had decided to buy one. He helped us with the procedures of sale and when we returned to England we transferred the deposit and other costs to the firm. This is the stage we are at so far . We feel that we can trust the firm totally. Watch this space and we will let you know how things go or you can e mail us!!!"
"p.s. Anna you make the best coffee in Varna"
Corinne(London, UK) said:"My property research went through France, UK, Spain, Croatia and then Bulgaria, having a swift look into Budapest, Turkey and Cyprus. Compared tax rules, growth, quality, quantity, price, difficulty of maintenance, potential of renting and capital growth. I ended up to choose between Paris and Bulgaria, choosing Bulgaria, simply because I have no need for a mortgage, while in Paris I would. The choice was for many factual and personal reasons and I would never advise that this is the best opportunity for everybody. Next stage I looked into different real estate sites on properties in Bulgaria, attended seminars in London about the Bulgarian property market and gathered anything I could find.
Daoreal was one of the few agents that actually did respond to some questions by mail, so I decided that that was a good starting point for my trip. If you consider buying here, you have to go and see, it is very different than trying to get answers and good ideas from a distance. Depending on what you look for of course.
I have planned a trip of one week (14/06/2004) packaged holiday with my brother in Albena, one of the big resorts in the north. It ended up being nearly 3 weeks, of which we have seen Daoreal at least every second day. We have seen a lot of properties, my budget being small it is harder to find something good. There is enough, but the quality is often poor. Daoreal has been very helpful during this time, setting up the company, explaining rules, driving around to properties and always a smile and a coffee when you enter the office again!
We have even spent a lot of time with the employees, Anna, Greg, Krasi, Iasen and friends out of office hours, having beers, beautiful Bulgarian wine and very nice food on spots that you would never find yourself, absolutely stunning. They have given us a very good insight of the Bulgarian lifestyle and culture, for as much a you can learn in 3 weeks and we love it!
I ended up having seen 2 'perfect properties', but unfortunately neither one of them worked out, so I went home more experienced, knowing what I wanted, but without property at the time. It was good though, because I could imagine where properties were, what the environment looked like and knowing some characteristics of areas. I have been looking at properties from London, which is a lot more difficult, communication is harder, you are not always sure what to expect etc.
But I have made my mind up and decided to go for a property I have not seen. The finalization is being done now, it should not take very long anymore until I am the happy owner of a small holiday house in Bulgaria. On one hand I feel a bit silly buying something you have never seen, at the same time, I have seen so much there, seen some photos and I can imagine quite lively what it looks like and I trust Daoreal that they have found me something nice and will help me to fix it!
In short, I have found a beautiful country with some great friends and trustworthy agent that will take care of my property! If you would like any personal feedback or if you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me on corinne "at" corinneprovoost.com"
Marc Faber said:"Inzwischen habe ich schon 2 Grundstucke und eine Wohnung in Varna uber DaoReal gekauft. Ich war bisher sehr zufrieden. Alle Vereinbarungen wurden punktgenau eingehalten. Auch die erforderliche Firmengrundung und Baugenehmigungen wurden von DaoReal vorbereitet und durchgefuhrt. Inzwischen habe ich auch einen guten Preisvergleich zu anderen Anbietern: DaoReal bietet preislich gunstig aber serioes an. Deshalb kann ich aus meiner Erfahrung DaoReal empfehlen, obwohl ich anfangs sehr skeptisch war."
Rodriguez and Orlanda said:"Dear Dao-Team, thanks for your help! I am very happy with my new "DAO-house" . I love it very much! The Black Sea and the Varna-aerea ist wonderful, the people are friendly, food is fine and the sun !!! :-) Greetings from Orlanda & Peter"
Andy Lockey said:"Just a thankyou to all at Daoreal for all the help and hard work they have put in to making my purchase of my home in Bulgaria such a worry free experience.
From the very start there has never been any confusion with the language barriers(everyone speaking perfect English and nothing to do with my bad Bulgarian) and everything was discussed clearly and plainly by both parties. after just 2 days i found the house that i wanted (big thanks to Boris and Sirma) and then in just 30 days it was legally mine.
While i was back in England and all the legal process was on-going for those 3-4 weeks Daoreal were in constant contact by e-mail to keep me up to speed with how things were going which is of course very re-assuring when you are some distance away and large sums of money are involved.
Now that the house is mine i have also instructed Daoreal to carry out a list of the repairs i would like to be seen to having already seen some of there work on there website. its good to know that aswell as the legal purchase of the house the repairs can be kept within one company aswell with which you have built up a relationship and a trust with. again very important, i think, when you are far away at the time and again they are in constant contact with me on these issues.
Just a word of warning to those expecting to be able to withdraw 5,000-10,000 euros as deposits from Bulgarian banks. there are plenty of cashpoints where you can withdraw small sums of money but it is very difficult at the moment for large sums to be withdrawn from inside the bank and even if you manage it they will charge you for doing so. (i wanted 4000 euros for which they were going to charge me 100 euros !!!). better off taking personal cheques. Again Daoreal were o.k for me to leave a token sum and wire the remaining deposit to them as soon as i got home. Trust!! also dont always feel it has to be golden sands or sunny beach. they have some great properties just away from the beaches in beautiful areas actually in Bulgarian villages which is exactly what i wanted and got. there is plenty of choice and they will soon know what you want if you talk to them!! once again big thanks to all the gang at Daoreal and i,m looking forward to my first summer holiday in my own home in Bulgaria very much indeed!"
Marry Jameson said:"My first impressions of the country were - Uau! What a nature! The country is with lovely nature - woods and meadows, lawns and rivers, little bays and capes and wonderful sea! That is exactly where I was going to - the city of Varna. It looks like time has stopped there - it is so different and in the same time so nice. All kinds of pubs, restaurants, clubs, cafe bars with excellent service, just excellent! I do not have words - I have never seen such a high class! People - very friendly and open-hearted. And there i felt more I am at home than anywhere else! So, me and my husband decided to buy a home there and move to live permanently. We found that lovely company with working professionalists, really working people. And the thing is that they work for you! They helped us do all our papers, legally, through a solicitor, they showed us around the area and helped us find the best home. And the best is that all the crew speaks perfect Ennglish! Isn't it awesome. Now with their help I fell really good living in the country, in my new home. And I know that whatever i need I have a through friend behind my back that will never let me go! I am safe here in Bulgaria with DAO REAL !"
