9 hours ago
We ditched the UK to buy a huge three-bed house in Bulgaria for £25,000 without even viewing it - now we're adding a swimming pool and bills are unbelievably cheap
A British family have revealed how they ditched the UK to buy a huge home in Bulgaria without even viewing it first.
TikTok users @RenovateBulgariaWithUs purchased their pad near Svilengrad, half an hour from the Turkish border, last year and have been updating viewers on the renovation progress.
They purchased the spacious three-bedroom property for just £25,000 last year on a 'spontaneous Wednesday afternoon'.
Their new home came with outbuildings and half an acre of land, which they're now making their own, adding astro turf for the kids to play football, and even digging a pool.
The DIY-ers - and their six children - are also renovating a stylish bar area with seating, firepit, worktop and sink, and adding a BBQ.
'We brought a house in Bulgaria from UK, on a spontaneous Wednesday afternoon,' they announced in a TikTok video.
As for bills, the family pay a yearly tax 'like council tax' which is around £45, while water and electric costs are 'very low compared to the UK'.
One of their first jobs was to add a working toilet to the bathroom, and they've since been renovating the other rooms, recently adding beds and other furniture.
In a recent video, they said the living room is 'almost done', having added a bright blue sofa, leaf-print curtains and a canvas they brought over from Asda in the UK.
They've also replaced windows, and added new flooring, fittings and fireplace - doing much of the work themselves.
Outside of the busy renovation programme, the family have been soaking up the 30 degree heat at a nearby pool while they wait for their own, which should 'be ready within a few weeks'.
On a recent trip there, they spent 60 Bulgarian levs on eight kebabs and eight drinks - the equivalent of £25.
The new home has attracted the envy of many others, who have heaped praise on them on TikTok.
People said: 'Gorgeous house';
'Loving watching the progress videos. Your outside space looks amazing and really taking shape';
'It's going to be lovely when it's done';
The family are currently renovating the spacious property. Pictured left is the finished living room, right is another room still in progress
UK vs Bulgaria: How do costs compare?
UK expats Maxwell and Leah Jones are leaving life in Prestatyn, Wales behind to relocate to Bulgaria.
Here, they detail their approximate costs now, and after they move:
UK
Rent: £680 a month
Electric and gas bill: £250 a month
Food shop: £130 to £200 a week
Council tax: £140 a month
WiFi: £45
Water: £40 to £50 a month
Bulgaria (estimated)
Electric bill: £15 to £20 a month
Food shop: £40 to £80 a week
Council tax: £25 a year
WiFi: £60 to £100 a year
Water: £5 a month
'Everything you've done so far looks incredible! Life is different in Bulgaria and children play at zero';
'I only came across your TikTok yesterday and I've watched from the beginning and WOW! What an amazing transformation already, looks phenomenal';
'If I ever win the lottery this is what I'm gonna do!'
Although Bulgaria may seem like an unlikely choice, many are ditching sky-rocketing mortgages in the UK for the much cheaper alternative.
Results from the 2021 Bulgarian census show there were 4,484 British citizens living in the country, up from 2,605 in 2011.
As of January 2024, the average house price in the UK was £282,200, rising to £518,000 in London.
Comparatively, the central north of Bulgaria has an average asking price of €26,574, according to Move 2 Bulgaria, making it one of the cheapest areas to live in Europe.
So enthusiastic are some buyers that they're buying plots and homes on eBay, often unseen, and knuckling down to restore them for far less than it would cost to renovate a similar property in Britain.
And they're moving out there despite it being the European Union 's poorest state - with the lowest GDP per head of around £11,857, less than a third of the UK's - which is also in the throes of political turmoil.
But despite being known as a 'mafia state' by many due to claims of political corruption, the allure of cheap homes, a low cost of living and sun by the Black Sea has been too much for expats to resist.
Gemma Stevenson moved to the country in 2007 and set up Bulgarian Property Experts to help other Britons find their perfect home.
Corresponding with MailOnline by email, she said people were drawn to the country by its low cost of living across property, food, bills and transport - as well as its breathtaking landscapes and enviable weather.
'Whether you're renting or buying, the prices are significantly lower than in most Western European countries,' she said.
There are other draws: a low crime rate in rural communities outside of major cities - where the Foreign Office warns that pickpockets can run rife - and, inevitably, some things that Britons can only dream of.
'It has more than 300 days of sunshine a year, particularly in the south,' she noted - far more than back home.
And there's also its position on the continent, at the furthest reaches of the European Union, bordering on Greece and Turkey, which are both accessible by road or dirt-cheap trains.
An overnight couchette on the Sofia-Istanbul Express can run to as little as 30 Euros.
Bulgarian Property Experts' listings serve as a microcosm of why Britons move: a three-bed home in Popovo, a village in the north-east of Bulgaria, costs as little as 15,000 Euros (£12,000) and is primed for renovation.
A fully renovated three-bed, three-bath house, which also boasts two kitchens and a 32 square metre swimming pool is just 143,000 Euros (£120,000) - barely enough for a suburban terraced house in the average British town.
Among them are Maxwell and Leah Jones, aged 38 and 29, who bought a house outright for £8,000 without even viewing it after growing tired of trying to get a foot on the property ladder in Britain.
The couple bought their three-bed home in Popovo, in the north-east, for less than 3 per cent of the £300,000 cost of a similar sized home in their home town of Prestatyn, Wales.
They flew out in May to see it and plan to move there full time by the end of the year after investing an estimated £15-20,000 in bringing it up to scratch.
With monthly living costs thought to be around £300, or £680 for a 'comfortable' living standard, they plan to raise and homeschool children Lorenzo and Indy there as they integrate themselves fully into Bulgarian life. Handily, Maxwell is a joiner.
'It was exactly like it looked online,' he said earlier this month.
'We were due to buy a house in the UK but it became hard to put all this money out and still be paying it off for 25 years.
'We looked at the price in Bulgaria and it became a no brainer.'
'Now we're mortgage-free. There is a lot to do - it's a shell but we are up for a challenge.'
He will fly out in two months to re-wire the house before the rest of the family joins him before the year is out. They will then live off the land, keeping animals and growing fruit and vegetables.
Last year, Scunthorpe native Donna Hardy moved out to Veliko Tarnovo - the university city where estate agent Gemma's daughter is studying - and bought a huge house for some 26,000 Euros (£21,900).
The estate included a barn, several outbuildings and an acre of land - all for less than it would cost to buy a family hatchback in Britain.
