St. James’ Park » Property in Bulgaria

An Alternative Campsite and Hostel in Bulgaria

Property in Bulgaria

Also in this section:
Questions that people having been asking me:
Charges and Important Things

Voditsa - alternative living in Bulgaria

Yes we sell property in Bulgaria but this is no ordinary agency - we do all of the things that you would expect as services from an agency -

advertise houses
arrange viewing trips
arrange car hire
answer your questions
arrange all the legalities etc

and we do it in a professional manner but we’re also a bit of an alternative agency perhaps becasue we also care. Thats not just meant to be a trite, marketing remark - we care about this village and are keen to encourage people to come and live here. So when you come and look at property, you can stay in a house in the village. We’ll sit down with you in my lovely garden, with a bottle of rakia and some delicious Bulgarian food and we’ll tell you what life is like here. We’ll show you our alternative life in this lovely place with shops, including the secret supermarket, the secret hardware shop (or maybe we’ll let you find that on your own), we’ll introduce you to the neighbours, we’ll show you nice places to walk and we’ll talk about the opportunities and potential in Voditsa.

We also care about not cheating you. The way many agencies work is that they agree a price that the owner will receive, for example, 10,000leva, and then the property is is advterised and sold for 10,000euros. The buyer is actually paying half of the price to the agency as well as paying agency fees. The person selling the house has no idea what is happening and doesn’t have many other options to sell their property. The buyer, of course doesn’t speak Bulgarian and thinks that 10,000euros is cheap anyway.

We will tell you exactly how much the seller is receiving- we take a commision of course, but we have no secrets about what it is. We also wont charge you ridiculous fees for translation. Documents are standard legal document and are only translated once. Only personal details are changed each time, so a tranlsation fee of 300pounds, which one agency charges, is a bit hard to justify.

Anyway, enough of other agencies - lets be positive about us and about Voditsa.

I remember reading once that when Spike Milligan called the Irsih Embassy to ask if he could have an Irish passport, the answer was ’sure, you’re very welcome, we’re awfully short of people’. I would now give the same response to anyone wanting to come and live in Voditsa.

We are short of people but we’re not short of houses, opportunity or quality of life. The growing numbers of people seeking an alternative way of living here, is proof of that.

Around 25 years ago, the population of this village was over 3000, now its about 600 and falling. But that doesn’t mean that this is an empty or dead village - far from it. There’s lots going on here but rural depopulation is a sad fact in most developing countries as young people move to the cities or other countries for employment. Its difficult for them to see the opportunities that are here, for example:

there is an outdoor swimming pool fed by mineral springs that is just waiting for someone to turn it into a great little business
there’s an endless amount of beautiful wood - oak, pear, mulberry, walnut, acacia and more, waiting for someone to produce plates, bowls and furniture
hemp grows wild here - there is a huge worldwide market for organic hemp
there is a growing demand for organic meat - especially beef
the whole alternative therapy scene is just taking off
there is a huge gap in the market when it comes to cheese-feta is lovely but something else as a change would be nice!
there are 2 empty school buildings in Voditsa and a threat that the school could close completely in a few years if the population drops more - an opportunity to open a new school - an international school? a Steiner school? no idea what the legal situation is about funding a school but…….
and so on……

This is a lovely place to live and a great place for children - no polution, no traffic, wonderful countryside and of course, Bulgaria is an Objective 1 area as a new EU member. OK, Bulgarian politicians are pretty useless and most of them dont appear to be able to keep out of the well of corruption, but things are changing.

In the last 3 years, 8 people have bought houses here with the intention of living in the village. We’re all interested in living in a more sustainable way and the combination of local knowledge and traditional skills plus knowledge of alternative technology and new ideas, has so much potential.

Plenty opportunity and plenty of houses, We need more people. Back to the houses and the agency.

Generally speaking, there are two types of houses here - those older ones built of natural materials and those built in the last 30 years - usually of brick with cob mortar. Dont be put of by the work ‘cob’ - yes, its soil and grass, but looked after, it can last hundreds of years - consider the old Tudor houses in England. And what Bulgarians call the garden, is what other people would usually refer to as a field!

Houses mostly face south; they usually have a compound around the house and often wonderful barns and outhouses + they usually have between 1 and 3 decre of land - a decre is 1000 square metres.

What you need to think about:

how much work do you want to do - eg do you want a ruin, a place with a roof or somewhere thats liveable
how much are you willing to spend on the property and on repairs
how much land do you want and what will you do with it

If you want to come and live in Voditsa, we’ll help you find the right house. In the next few weeks, photos and info will be on this page but if you’re interested right now or you want something thats not shown, contact Kathy
mobile 00359884595174
landline 0035960386286
or email mcgowankathy@gmail.com

ref:1011
price: 16,500euros
size: 1500sq metres

This is a really interesting old house. The original carved wooded balcony is an immediatly attractive feature and you could sleep on that space in the summer. There are 3 large bedrooms upstairs, two od them share a wood stove build into the wall.
Downstairs are two rooms which would be the winter kitchen - including a lovely old tiled woodstove. there is also a summer kitchen and a space for a bathrooom.
This house needs a lot of work although it is actually liveable. The room and floors need attention plus a lot of replastering.
Outside is a great house garden with a range of well kept and spacious barns, all enclosed. the field behind the house is also enclosed by a wall and is about 1000sq metres. There are the usual range of fruit trees- walnut, apple, pear, plum etc.
This house has loads of character and is situated 10 minutes from the centre of the village on a very quite, secluded street.

The really lovely Jungle.
ref:1015
size: 30,000 square metres (not a mis print)
price: 11,000 euros
SORRY BUT THIS HAS NOW BEEN SOLD

We have the most amazing piece of property on our books. Its not actually in Voditsa, its in a little village 9k from here but its so exceptional that we decided to include it. Its a huge pice of land, in two sections. 16,500sq metres in one and 13,000 sq metres in the other. Thats almost 30,000sq metres - thats a lot of land and it contains 5 ruined or almost ruined houses.

But lets come back to the word ‘jungle’.

The bigger plot is on a hillside and is a little forest. On our first visit there, we initially couldn’t see any houses but then, after an hour doing an Indiana Jones thing through the trees, we found 3 houses. On the next visit, we found the others,

This land hasn’t been lived on for about 30 years. The forest is suffering from not being managed - parts are overgrown with a particualr pernicious creeper and there are geminated plums and walnuts everywhere - and its realy gorgeous. Its mainly oak, walnut, hawthorn and plum with lots of other lovely trees and bushes. Its not all sloping - there is a field -it was hidden and we found it with great surprise. Its about 1000sq metres and each house will have once had a house garden. There are two lovely paths through the woodland and a fresh water spring just at the edge of the boundary. It needs a lot of work, obviously as the houses are mostly falling down - once of them is repairable - but if you are into trees and want to get involved in sustainable woodland management, this is the place for you. By the time you’ve cleared the dross from the forest, you’d have enough firewood for a few years and some amazing wood to work with.

The other plot is on the other side of the village and in a similar state and very attractive but not quite so beautiful. You could sell this plot on as a seperate unit or it could be planted as a long term walnut and plum orchard.

You’re probably wondering why there are not photos of this lovely place - i did take some but its just trees, trees and trees. It was impossible to get a feel for it on the camera - you just have to believe me -its quite magical. And one of the best bargains you’ll come across - yes you read that correctly - 11,000euros for 30,000 sq metres and 5 (ruined) houses.

ref:1012
price: 21,000euros
size:1500 square metres

This is a really great house - it is currently occupied by 3 very houseproud women and is in excellent condition. It has a wide, airy hall way with 4 rooms leading off. 3 are currently bedrooms but one of them, with two windows, would make a great livingroom. There is a kitchen with a modern woodstove and a bathroom! There’s also a summer kitchen and a cellar.
The walls and ceilings need no work, the paintwork and windows have been well maintained and under the lino are wooden floors just waiting to be sanded.
there are flowers in the side garden and a well organised compound with places for hens etc and a number of barns.
The field is currently full of tomatoes and corn. The land is flat, well tended and irrigated by the run-off from the natural spring opposite
The house comes fully furnished so you could actually move straight in and start eating the tomatoes. This is ideal for someone who wants to work the land and not begin with a big clearance job.
Its 5 minutes from the village centre and 5 minutes from some lovely walks in the forest.

ref: 1013
price: 10.500euros
size: 1500sq metres

This is a really neat little house - its best feature is the very 70’s style living room/chill out room downstairs complete with underfloor electric heating. This room is actually big and would eb a lovely space to live in. There is half a bathroom and agreat cellar. Upstairs is one very large room and 2 small bedrooms plus a potential bathroom space.
It has a range of very good barns and a garage and interestingly, has what could be a swimming pool (think 70s). The field behind is flat and is just asking to be turned into a garden. There is a water source (could feed the pool).
Its on a quiet street and has views all round of forests and trees.
It could do with some decorating but you could move in - its very liveable.

ref:1014
price: 11,000euros
size: .75dec

This house is on the west side of Voditsa, a bit up the hill from the school. It’s quite small and compact. There is a cute little front garden leading into a light summer kitchen with 2 windows facing south. There is a good petchka in this room. The external staircase leads to 3 big rooms and their best feature is the lovely woodenn floors. All the room are light and sunny. Around the side, a path through the vines leads to a compound with a range of very good barns. The land out the back is about 500sq metres and would make a really great garden for someone who didn’t want to be a farmer -its manageable and of course there’s the usual range of fruit trees. The field is a forest of weeds right now- more photos when its been cut.

ref:1016
price: 35,000euros
size: 1.5 dec

This lovely house isn’t actually in Voditsa but its been so interestingly renovated that we wanted to include it. The propery has 4 large bedrooms, a dinning room and a lovely summer kitchen with a brick floor. There is a large cellar that hasn’t been renovated - some room for creativity there. The whole property has been renovated as a blank page - the floors have been sanded, the walls replastered and painted white and the paintwork is a tasteful blue.
But maybe the most interestign thing about this house are the barns. They are huge and in great condition. If you were looking studio space or somewhere to run courses or retreats, this could be perfect.
There is also a well and a couple of additonal outbuildings that could be converted to more living space.
There garden and field area are also well maintained and there is a very productive vineyard. A generally very lovely property.

ref:1018
price: 14,5000euros
size: 1.2 dec

This house is conveniently situated a couple of minutes from the village centre. It has 2 large bedrooms and a large extra room that would make a wonderful living space. A conservatory has been built on the front and this serves as summer kitchen. There is also a small internal kitchen. The house comes fully furnished.
The garden area has vines and a number of fruit trees.
There is a huge garage and at the back of the garden is a very large building that used to be a garage for a lorry - it is brick and has a lot of potential as an extra living space.

ref:1019
price: 6,000euros
size: 2,000square metres

This is a very old house with a lovely energy. Its sits at the top of the hill out of Voditsa on the way to Osikovo and has wonderful views around the whole valley. You could easily be distracted from your digging here as soon as you look up.
Although it’s old, it is in very good condition and is currently lived in. The roof is sound and the rest of the exterior is in reasonable repair. There are 3 large rooms, one of which is the kitchen/living room. The floors are earth and the walls are plastered in local clay - it could all be updated but its still liveable right now.
The old summer kitchen would make a great bathroom.
The land is really lovely - loads of vines and the usual array of fruit trees with a nice shaded area in front of the house with a couple of mature conifers.
The house comes fully furnished.