Rural Smallholdings Magazine

Property Exchange Service - trade your UK property for smallholding in Bulgaria, France, Spain etc

Many have a dream of living abroad, escaping the rat race of the UK and starting a new life in another country, bbqs in the evening sun, days around the pool, days at the beach, snow in the winter, running a smallholding with chickens, sheep and pigs. Some had even already planned their move and were just waiting on their house in the UK to sell. But now with property sales in the UK at an all time low and buyers a dying breed, that dream is slipping away.

On the other hand there are people that have followed their dream of living outside the UK or maybe had to go to a different country for work but would now like to return to the UK. However, they cannot afford to easily get back on the UK housing ladder, there are less buyers around for properties in places like Bulgaria, France, Spain and the housing market has pretty much stalled everywhere.

This has left many in countries such as Bulgaria, France, Spain, Corfu, Greece and Turkey unable to sell their houses in the sun, while others are left in the UK, with their property listed with estate agents for months without any viewings.

One solution to this is a property exchange - one person swaps their terraced UK property for say a renovated house in the Bulgarian country side complete with 1000sqm of land, outbuildings and fruit trees. Or perhaps, the swap is between a one bed apartment in a northern UK town for a seaside apartment.

Ideally of course values of properties being exchanged should be about equal so there may need to be a cash lump sum given by one party, or possibly two or three properties in say Bulgaria, swapped for one house in the UK. And any paperwork needs to be properly drawn up by lawyers in the respective countries or knowledgeable of the law in the countries involved.

For the last 4 years TheTravelBug website has focused on property sales within Bulgaria, helping many British buyers purchase rural village houses around the Stara Zagora area of Bulgaria, however with the economic crisis making it difficult for people to free up the cash to purchase abroad the strong Euro, as well as other factors, the housing market pretty much everywhere has stalled. This has left many in Bulgaria (and other countries) unable to sell their properties so TheTravelBug is now focusing on a property exchange service.

For many Bulgaria offers an ideal escape from the rat race of Britain. It offers cheaper living with smallholding type properties the norm. Nearly every village house comes with a large plot and outbuildings. Everyone keeps chickens, the odd cow, few sheep and a goat or pig. House prices for a decent 2 bedroom house in need of renovation but with large plot is around 10,000 to 15,000 Euros. Fully renovated properties up to British standards start from around 60,000 Euros.

If you are interested in swapping your UK property for a slice of the country in Bulgaria, please visit http://www.thetravelbug.org

Article written by Rachel Gawith

For smallholdings for sale, to rent, and wanted, visit Greenshifters.co.uk