fidobsa

I'm from England but have lived in north east Scotland since 1997. At present I'm self employed, doing electrical appliance repairs but am looking to do something different as the trade is in decline. I have inherited some money and I'm thinking of buying a property in France, Germany, Hungary or Bulgaria. I already have a building plot in Bulgaria but I'm not sure I could cope with the amount of crime and corruption they have there.
One plan is to buy a village or rural farmhouse requiring modernisation, move in for about 2 years and do as much of the work as possible myself. Meanwhile I would rent out my cottage in Scotland so would get a small income from that. Another option I have considered for Germany would be to buy what they call a "2 family house", what in UK would be referred to as a pair of maisonettes. In this case I would do the modernisation then rent out one of the flats to local people, keeping the other flat as a holiday home. Either way I would hopefully eventually retire to the overseas property.
I did look at a lot of properties in France and a few in Germany when over there in September. Unfortunately I had not found many places in Germany before I went, as I had only looked at English language websites. I now have mastered finding places on German language sites and have a long list of possibles but am not keen on going back in mid winter.
I've never been to Hungary but there do seem to be a few bargain properties there as well. I've noted there are quite a few new houses in various states of completion for sale. I assume they are victims of the credit crunch and the builders have gone bust. I would consider buying such a house if first fix is complete or nearly so. It looks as though living expenses are a bit lower in Hungary so it could be an attractive country for retirement.
I concentrated on the Limousin region of France and really liked the lifestyle there. It is fairly sparsely populated so there is not much traffic and I think the climate would suit me. I think Bulgaria might get a bit too hot for me in mid summer. The properties in France tended to be more expensive and in worse condition than in Germany and I suspect health services are more expensive, an important consideration when choosing a retirement location.

Sherlock Holmes

Hi there and welcome to B.E.

It's my pleasant duty to welcome you to the forum and give you a point of contact should you need any help with the site in general. You can contact me here.

A list of all the moderators and helpers with their relevant countries including Hungary and France can be found here.

Any problems, dont hesitate to PM me.

Have a look around the Europe fora, I'm sure you'll find some interesting stuff there.

I'm sorry that you had trouble with your first log in post. Not sure why but the tech team will take a look I'm sure.

Enjoy B.E and your move to Europe.

Alistair.

Jerseygirl

Hi there...welcome to the site. Thank you for taking the time to introduce yourself.

I see you've already posted in several of the Europe forums...our members who post in those forums will probably be able to answer your questions about moving.

Please shout out if you need any help.

Sue

Welcome to BE fidobsa,

I hope you enjoy being part of our community.

Bob

Welcome to BE