Bulgarian property has been attracting the type of property investors who may have never considered buying property abroad. Snooker star Willie Thorne is one such potential buyer , he has recently set his heart on buying a house in Bulgaria.
"Mr Maximum", as he is known in the snooker world because he holds the record for maximum 147 breaks, hopes to pot a house at Lighthouse Golf Course at Balchik.
Just 20 minutes away from Varna and the airport, Willie is hoping to buy a £180,000 three bed-roomed house with three bathrooms set right on two new courses designed by top players.
And according to the December issue of Quest Bulgaria, the lspecialist English monthly magazine about Bulgaria and Bulgarian property, he just needs the agreement of his second wife, the 1985 Miss Great Britain, Jill Saxby.
Willie, now 52 and from Leicester, went to the country on a whistle-stop tour having been persuaded by a property developer friend of his about the possibility of introducing snooker to the country.
"They play a game called pool billiards but snooker is unheard of," said the TV commentator and current World Senior Snooker Champion during his trip. "I hope to introduce the sport to this country and, perhaps, in the future hold a championship here.
"But while I was here I decided to look at some property. Spain and the other countries are so expensive - here you can't spend #30 on a dinner if you tried," Willie, snooker's former world number seven, adds.
"It might catch up with the other European hotspots eventually but at the moment it's so cheap," he said.
"The house I'm looking at is between two golf courses; Ian Woosnam has designed one of them and Gary Player the other; they are spending a fortune. The house has a small garden and a pool - ideal when we bring our five kids over here."
No mean golfer - he plays off a 10 handicap - Willie is planning ahead. "If I move here I'll play every day. But getting my wife to agree is the thing," he said.
"I've only been over here for a few days but from what I've seen, I love it and I think when I bring her out, Jill will too.
"Bulgaria is the new Spain and I like it very much. If I buy, it will be for summer use - a holiday home - and we're back again before Christmas.
"The other advantage is the travel. It's just 20 minutes from the airport so when the cheap flights start I'll be able to hop on an aircraft in the Midlands and be here in just a few hours."
And Willie, who owns a snooker club in his home town of Leicester, is looking to open a club in Bulgaria.
"Not a seedy back street beer hall like many think of snooker clubs, but somewhere nice where you can bring your friends for a drink, for food and of course for a game," he said.
Said Chris Goodall, MD of Quest Bulgaria, "Willie is just one of many celebrities who can see the attractions Bulgaria has to offer. Property prices are still good with the cost of living very cheap. And the country itself is beautiful with a great deal going for it."
Source - http://www.homesgofast.com/view_news/245/