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An Irish investment fund is buying up properties on the Black Sea Coast in Bulgaria where property investors who are feeling the effects of the credit crunch are selling up...

Dublin based Appreciating Assets Ltd said that interest from sellers, mainly British and Irish, has been high.

'There are people who agreed to buy property off-plan and now they can't come up with the remaining balance of funding,' said Dylan Cullen, Director of the firm.

He explained that there is a good market for funds around the world for bargain priced properties in the depressed second home market which they see as a relatively safe haven with long term prospects.

Appreciating Assets has raised £6.2 million for its Bulgaria-focused fund and so far there has been no shortage of interested sellers. Since the middle of December the group has completed on 22 purchases and another 15 are pending, Cullen confirmed.

Typically they are paying in the region of £53,800 to £62,700 for good size apartments in a good development with close proximity to the beach. Cullen said their offers are not speculative and the figures are not aspirational, just a decent offer in the present climate.

Not everyone is thrilled when the company announces a price, he said but real buyers willing and able to close a deal are a rare commodity in Bulgaria these days.

The fund's strategy is to collect rental revenue on the properties for five to seven years, banking on the continued growth of the Black Sea's tourism business. Many cash strapped owners are not able to do this.

'We believe that anybody selling to us is happy with the price they're getting. People are often more realistic than they're given credit for,' Cullen added.

Source: www.propertywire.com