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Having invested in a property in Bulgaria, it is more than likely that you will want to look at the most efficient way to rent the property. Property rental in Bulgaria, as with any other country, is generally organised so that the owner can, at the very least, cover the costs of any loans that have been taken to finance the purchase initially.

There are many different ways to go about renting property in Bulgaria, all of which should be considered, depending on what you as an investor want to achieve.

How you intend to let your property should be something that you are reasonably clear about, even before you purchase the property. Some of the companies that currently offer off-plan investment properties also offer a rental package, often with a guaranteed rental yield. This option can be an excellent choice for an investor who wants an initial degree of security. However, potential investors in these schemes should be wary, as the company may be guaranteeing a rental yield to encourage the sale, this rental yield may be entirely unachievable, in future years, and investors may find that their ongoing situation is not as healthy as they thought.

If you are considering one of these schemes, always obtain independent advice and carry out your own research. Take the details of the property to other local agents and find out what you could normally expect to achieve in terms of rental. Use this as the basis of your purchasing decision and not the promises of the company selling the property to you!

If you have purchased a property independently, you will now have to find a letting agent. As with the UK, there is a range of services that these agents will offer, from simply introducing a tenant to your property to full management, including cleaning and maintenance. As it is likely that you will not be living within a close distance of the property, a management service is almost certain to be the best option. Bear in mind that there is no set rule in terms of what an agency has to offer regarding the types of services; therefore, it is vital that you establish a full list of what is included and what is not.

Before deciding on the type of agency that you should employ, you will need to decide on the type of letting facility that you will be offering. For example, are you going to be offering holidays lets on a week-by-week basis, or are you looking at letting for six months on a short-hold tenancy to a local resident? As a general rule, week-by-week rentals will return a higher profit (certainly in the weeks that the property is let). However, there are the additional costs of managing the letting and changeover process and, of course, it is important to factor in the down time or ‘off season’ that the holiday let is likely to see.

If you are planning on targeting the local market and therefore offering a longer term tenancy, it may be possible to use a less comprehensive management service that offers emergency coverage only. When renting to locals, an investor will inevitability achieve less income, on a monthly basis, but the management cut will almost certainly be lower and the income more consistent.

In reality, the choice of market that you are targeting will depend on the property that you have purchased. A city apartment is more likely to be suitable for the local market and a coastal or mountain resort is more likely to be tourist based.

There is certainly more to renting in Bulgaria than meets the eye. Consider the issues BEFORE you buy and make sure that your investment works for you and not the other way round!