Flat Out, Part 3

One of my favourite photos!
Recently we have been spending quite a lot of time in our apartment in Veliko Tarnovo (VT), so I thought that I might perhaps give you a little tour. (This is also an excuse for me to include lots of old photos of VT.) 
Tsaravets across the river and the old wooden bridge
Our apartment is in Ulitsa Patriarch Evtimy, next to the old wooden bridge. This area of the city, Assenova, dates back to the 13th century and it is just across the River Yantra from Tsaravets, the huge castle that is up on the hill. From the wooden balcony and the dining room of our apartment, we have some great views of the wooden bridge and Tsaravets. 
The dining room
The dining room is probably my favourite room, but the sitting room is also nice. We bought the leather sofa and the chair from Malcom, who originally owned the apartment, and we said, "We will buy the apartment if you sell us the sofa too!"
Breakfast on the balcony
We were in VT because we are planning to sell our house in Kalotina and buy a house not too far from the city. Maybe that is why this post reads a bit like one of those property descriptions that estate agents write!
    

Comments

  1. Andrew Bailey20 July 2020 at 21:54

    Hello. My wife (who is Bulgarian) and I enjoy your blog. We also like VT and were thinking of buying an apartment in the town centre as an investment, but I'm a bit worried that the market might already have peaked there and properties could be overpriced. Grateful for any insight you can offer. Thanks, Andrew.

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    Replies
    1. Unknown21 July 2020 at 11:24

      Yes, VT is lovely (and quite a lot cheaper than Sofia). There are two or three universities in VT, so maybe you could consider letting to students. There are a lot of properties for sale and there is a not much demand, so my guess is that the prices might go down a bit over the next year or so. Therefore I would not be in a hurry to buy anything at the moment. On the whole, there is quite a big difference between the prices that you will see in estate agents' advertisements and the price that you finally pay after some haggling.

      Generally speaking, the population of Bulgaria is declining and VT is one of the few cities where the population has remained stable or even gone up a bit. On the other hand, maybe you would be wiser to think of buying something in Sofia, if you really want an investment rather than a home.

      I have written three or four posts about buying property in BG. We are buying our house in Daveri because it is a lovely place to live, not because we are interested in making money out of it.

      Delete
  2. Andrew Bailey25 July 2020 at 13:22

    Thank you for your in-depth reply, Simon. I didn't mean to give the impression that we're speculators - we also have a lovely house in a village here and are committed to living here in the long term. The property, if we buy one, would be a base for our young daughter in the future further along the line. All the best, Andrew.

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