Assessing the Bulgarian Property Rental Market
It is fair to say that the rental market in Bulgaria is currently still in its infancy. Obviously there are properties available for rental, particularly in the major cities, but the market itself is relatively immature.
In the capital, Sofia, you are likely to find more companies that provide property management services - but even these companies are still in the early stages of development - and many would say, some way off the standards we have come to expect in Western Europe, North America etc.
If you intend to rent your home out then you should conduct some research into the rental market within your area.
You also need to decide what type of rental you want to provide:
- Short-term rental (targeting holidaymakers, for example)
- Medium-term rental (6 month - 1 year lets, for businessmen)
- Long-term rental (for locals, long-term business lets etc.)
When planning to rent out your property, it's a good idea to consider whether you are aiming for a short, medium or long-term rental market. If, for example, you plan to stay in your property for several months a year, it would be more sensible to aim for the short-term rental market - perhaps in the summer season.
If you only plan to stay between 1 week and 4 weeks in a year yourself, then you may be better advised to consider short to medium-term rentals.
Assuming you may have purchased solely for investment, you may opt for a secure monthly income and therefore aim towards a long-term rental; perhaps yearly rentals with an option to renew. The clear benefit of a longer term rental is the security it provides you with for a guaranteed income.
A long-term rental would almost always have a fixed monthly rental for the term - which needs to reflect the type of property, the amenities, the location and the quality of the property. One potential drawback of a long-term rental is that the monthly incomes, whilst more secure, tend to be lower than short-term rentals. You also need to think about who is going to rent your property long-term. Within Bulgaria, a large proportion of people own their homes, so the concept of local people renting properties is not as high as you may find in other parts of Europe. Therefore, take some time to research the kind of people you are likely to attract.
Based within a few miles radius of Sofia's city centre it may be easy to attract foreign businessmen who want to be within easy travelling distance of their place of work. It may also be more reasonable to expect a higher monthly rental if you are marketing to foreign clients. If, on the other hand, you have opted for the short-term rental market, you are probably focussing more on tourists.
