Rental Option in Bulgaria

The rental market

Most Bulgarian people own their own homes and local income is very low, therefore rental is not an option to most Bulgarian people. This leaves the rental market to holidaymakers or to business people in the cities as an alternative to hotels.

Size of property Demand exists for all apartment sizes. However, the largest demand is for studios and one-bedroom apartments. It is anticipated that two-bedroom and three-bedroom apartments will be in great demand where developments are part-hotel:part-apartment.

Rental yields are better for apartments in complexes than for resale properties, as there is more likely to be managed property letting from the apartment developments.

Furnishings

All apartments should be fully furnished including towels and duvets. Apartments will need to be cleaned regularly to high standards and any breakages should be replaced immediately.

We do not recommend you organise this yourself - get a professional company to do this for you. We at Abel Interiors provide a special service to furnish your property in Bulgaria.

Rental via websites

For the next few years, it is estimated that Bulgaria will predominantly attract holiday-makers who want a cheap holiday, including young people such as students. This group are computer literate and do purchase on the web.

The web market is currently in its infancy, however, the best rental yields will be achieved this way. Sites such as www.Bulgarianholidayrentals.co.uk  will allow property to be put up onto the site for free.

Rental via tour operators

Tour operator contracts will give the apartments better visibility (most holiday-makers still book after looking at a holiday brochure) so the apartments will have higher occupancy in the earlier years but margins will be reduced.

A tour operator's contract will not guarantee you rental and, if your apartment is not let within 7 -14 days of the trip, it will be returned to the rental agency or for your own use. Tour operators will only take a development, not an individual apartment, so it is important to rent via a rental agency if you want a tour operator contract.

Rental via investors

The summer resorts such as Sunny Beach and Golden Sands close out of season, so holiday rental possibilities exist only in the summer except for the occasional investor wanting to view properties.

The mountain resorts offer a ski season between mid-December and mid-April (with tour operators ending their season at the end of March).

The summer season in the mountains is still in its infancy. Walking and niche activities such as mountain biking, hunting, shooting, fishing, paragliding and pony trekking, currently generate only 1/10th the winter level of tourists. Rental yields are often better for mountain properties than for coastal properties because, the ski season is longer than the summer season, and because there are two tourist seasons in the mountain resorts (ski season and summer season).