We had recent contact from clients in the UK who wanted to sell a property near Sofia Mall. They were in Sofia for the weekend, and we arranged to see them at the property on Saturday afternoon. The client mentioned that the property had not been rented out since the start of Covid and that there were a few problems with damp. Well, this was the start of the issues of Bad Property Management in Sofia.
Leak from Above Apartment
It materialized that post-Covid, it was impossible to rent out the apartment since all the walls and ceilings needed repairing and repainting before the property could be rented but the existing property management company had not made any effort to repair the damage so that the apartment could be placed on the rental market.
As part of our concierge real estate marketing service, we told the client that we could arrange to get the work completed so that they could put the property on the sales market but that all the respected tradesmen would be busy and that it probably would take a month before the work could commence and the sales marketing could start.
Exclusive Contract
The sellers agreed to sign a contract that would give us time to complete the repairs and then 3 months to sell the property.
The keys were retrieved from the inactive property management company and handed to Sofia Property Broker to take complete control of the situation.
Trusted Tradesmen
Over the years Sofia Property Broker has built up a list of quality tradesmen that could complete the work on-time at a price they would charge Bulgarians and not Foreign Investors. We had two detailed quotes prepared which were similar in cost but one with an earlier start date. The clients selected the earlier start date and sent over the 10% reservation fee that would guarantee the start date.
Huge Pile of Unopened Mail
On one of our visits to the apartment we collected a huge pile of unopened mail that was stuffed into the mailbox in the security area. One of the pieces of mail was from the water company which was a 3-year-old bill of 1500 Leva. This was a ridiculous amount for an unused property.
We contacted the water company who said that they would be willing to re-evaluate the situation if we filed an investigation report at their office and were present at the apartment when they took a new meter reading. The bill was then adjusted downward to 1100 Leva.
Amazingly the electricity was still on at the apartment, which showed that someone was paying for the electricity service as the electricity is normally cut off when the bill is overdue for one month.
Writing to Original Property Manager to Cancel Contract
We then arranged for a physical email to be delivered to the existing property manager to cancel the contract.
Loss of Original Notary Deed
While this is nothing to do with the property management firm, the owners have lost the original notary act which is needed to sell the property.
A copy of the original can be found at the ‘Notary Management Office in Sofia’ but we must be given a power of attorney to retrieve this document. The owner is now in the process of getting this documentation.
Bad Property Management in Sofia
If you are experiencing bad property management in Sofia then please contact us to see if we can help you.
