Bulgaria Ski discussion board

Hi there
I know there are some people on this forum who own a property in the Evridika Hills development so I wondered what their thoughts were for the upcoming season.

Recent correspondence has led me to believe that ORCO are one again going for the chocolate teapot award.

If you try and book a room at the hotel at hotels.com, venere or expedia it simply says there is no availability - for the entire season. Don't get too excited.....

I emailed Jordan at ORCO to see what the situtation was with the booking sites and if they would be marketing my place this year and got the following (anonymous, Jordan has obviously left) response:-

"We can make a contract of real estate rental management, but should also be noted that there is less demand for your type of room because they are too small and there is no kitchen equipment.

We also believe that it's too early for bookings for the coming winter season. "

The reply, unsurprisingly, brings a whole new meaning to the word 'unsatisfactory'. Now I understand that a lot of people want kitchen facilities (and some owners here have larger apartments) but surely there must be some demand for a luxurious twin/double room on the piste with ensuite, satellite tv etc. More to the point, no-one would be able to book a room, or apartment, in the whole complex anyway if the hotel sites say there is no availability!

Whilst I appreciate there is far too much supply for demand currently in the resort they don't really help themselves. Or any of us.

It also suggests they have absolutely no idea about how to market property for a ski resort if they say that 3 months before the season starts is too early to think about it! Quite staggering really.

Just wondered what other owners are doing? Has anyone else been in touch with them with regard to the upcoming season? Perhaps people who have properties elsewhere could suggest other firms or ideas?

Here's to another, ahem, interesting season.

Hi Josh
I've just returned from Evridika Hills and have had some constuctive meetings with Jordan (who is back on site as of this week). He has started a Facebook Group for Evridika Hills owners to exchange thoughts and as a general forum for information - I think this is a great idea and I'd encourage anyone who reads this and has a vested interest in EH to join.

Try speaking to Jordan - he may have a solution to your room dilema - he said that there may be seasonal rental opportunities for people working in Pamporovo during the winter.

While I was there I found the older thread on this site - for what it's worth here are my thoughts.

Like many people, my wife and I were full of excitement at the prospect of owning our first ski apartment when we paid our deposit on an apartment at Evridika Hills. And like many people, we've experienced the same frustration with the delays, the broken promises and the lack of faith in GreenLife as a result of our decision to invest in this development.

However, I've just returned from Evridika Hills and I've recovered much of my original enthusiasm for the project.

Firstly, Jordan Kartalov seems to be doing a far better job than Plamen ever did, in what are extremely difficult circumstances; namely that he's trying to maintain all of our investments with limited funds because not everyone is paying their maintenance fees.

To be honest, 2 years ago when I was last at Evridika Hills, I was in much the same position. Our apartment was in need of final snagging, our Guaranteed Return promised by GreenLife had not materialised and I was ruing the day I decided to buy in Bulgaria. I left on 4th January 2009 with the distinct feeling that although I had not entered into a management agreement with Orco, our apartment would be used without our permission in our absence and if I ever ventured back I would find it trashed. At my most optimistic, I thought that the place would be damp, musty and generally uncared for during the intervening months.

We've been more fortunate than some. In December 2009, and after many emails backwards and forwards we finally received our Guaranteed return, less the 2008/09 maintenance payment and utilities deposit. I had no problem in these items being deducted and passed to Orco – we always knew that we would have to pay maintenance of the common areas – Orco have to staff the building all year and keep the property in good condition.

This is no different from owning a flat or apartment in the UK – there is always a maintenance bill to cover this type of expenditure. Anyone who has ever owned property abroad will be conscious that unless you undertake to personally go out regularly and keep it clean, cut the grass, clean the windows, do running repairs and make sure the building is secure, you will have to pay someone else to do this for you.

My concerns were that all these things weren't happening at Evridika Hills but because I had become fairly depressed about the whole thing I couldn't face another trip back only to have my worst fears confirmed. However, I had signed the maintenance agreement with Orco so I duly paid my 2009/10 maintenance/utilities fees when the bill arrived.

This year I decided that I was burying my head in the sand and that I had to make a decision how to move forward – should I have a go at letting it myself to try to cover the ownership costs, allow Orco to let it on my behalf or just try to sell it and cut my losses. I booked a flight and arranged to meet Jordan to talk the whole thing through.

I let myself back into the apartment expecting the worst – and was pleasantly surprised. Everything was exactly as I'd left it in January 2009. The apartment was untouched by anyone else, had been cleaned and smelled fresh and the majority of the snagging list I'd left had been completed. This was so far removed from my expectation that I immediately started to feel more positive towards both Evridika Hills and Orco – they'd obviously been doing their job.

Jordan also makes me feel confident in the future of the development. He's very honest and makes no false promises about how rich we all may get from our investment. Crucially though, he's realistic. He knows there are issues with the build and the quality of the finish and GreenLife have pretty much washed their hands of this and left him to try to resolve the problems with the builder. He's actively suggesting solutions to the various issues on site and I reckon he'll get results.

Jordan also thinks there will be more lettings this year as the complex becomes more established and he's shown me an apartment which was rented out all through last year's ski season. It was in great shape and had obviously been well maintained in spite of the pale colour of the furnishings. In fact, I was so impressed that I've signed a management contract to let our apartment during this winter.

So here's how I see it.

Despite GreenLife reneging on promises made, Orco are running the development well under difficult conditions. We all may wish that things had been different but we are where we are. Most importantly of all, we have an apartment to show for our investment. There are plenty of concrete skeletons around Pamporovo (and I assume likewise in Bansko and Borovets) which people have doubtless sunk thousands into only for the builder to go bust and their investment up in smoke with it. So we all have something to be thankful for.

But only if Orco stay in place and keep the building running. Without maintenance fees, essential works can't be carried out, the new heating regime (which seems to make a lot of sense and may well cost us all less in the long run) won't work properly and Orco may decide in August next year that they can't take the development on again. Whoever takes over the running will still need maintenance fees to run the project and if no company is prepared to take it on because the owners have a reputation of not paying, the whole development will end up abandoned. In this scenario everyone loses.

I think we all know that GreenLife should never have promised us 7% guaranteed returns on a brand new development. They were already throwing in the furnishing packs for nothing and with the build overrunning by 18 months it was never going to be financially viable. So maybe it's time to start looking to the future. To count our blessings that we have good accommodation in a fantastic location in a beautiful resort and that (in the scheme of things) it was as cheap as chips. I'd urge anyone who hasn't visited recently (or even at all) to book a cheap flight and get out there. The beer is cheap, the people are friendly and the food is good. Ask Jordan for some wood and get a roaring fire going in the wood burner. Bang a DVD on or just chill out with a bottle of wine and a book. Wander around the resort – it was pretty quiet in mid-October but my mate and I still found plenty of places open to eat and drink.

Finally, if you have outstanding maintenance fees, please reconsider withholding them. By all means pursue GreenLife who owe you the money if you feel you may still be in with a chance of getting them to pay, but don't compromise your investment (and potentially all of our investments) by starving Orco of the funds they need to make Evridika Hills a great place to have bought and a great place to stay.

Sorry if this sounds preachy - I just want the investment we all have made to work for everyone.

Here's the easiest way to get to it. If you have a Facebook profile, search for Jordan Kartalov - there are only 2, one in Macedonia and ours in Smolyan. Send Jordan a friend request and a message to say you're an EH owner. He can then invite you to join the group.
Alternatively, feel free to search for Ian Shaw (I live in Wolverhampton and have a caricature as my profile picture if you're struggling to find the right one) and I'll do the same.
If you're not on Facebook it's easy to create a free account and you can keep all your personal information private - just adjust the security settings to maximum for everyone! That way you can be part of the group without the rest of the world knowing every time you sneeze!
Hope to see you there! I'm going to trawl through the older posts from last year to see if there are any email addresses I can mail to about the group etc.
Cheers
Ian