If you are renting a house or apartment, there are several things you might want to consider for real peace of mind – some are obvious, some not…

Over the next couple of weeks in The Sofia Echo, we’re offering 10 tips for renting in Sofia.

Location: property people always say that the top three things to consider are "location, location, and location". 

With Sofia’s traffic, location is certainly an issue. Even though this is a fairly small town, the traffic is bad and getting around is not easy – though recent extensions to the Metro are helping. 

For most people, the key things are to make sure that your commute to work is easy, and that there are good restaurants nearby.  With a limited number of supermarkets around town, good access to the shops is also a factor. 

Most new arrivals start by wanting to rent in the centre of town – especially Doctors’ Garden.  But rentals there are few, and expensive. 

Old Sofia hands tend to head for the lower slopes of Vitosha: the villages of Dragalevtsi, Simeonovo and Boyana, where the air is fresher and the pace of life less hectic. Up-and-coming areas for expatriate rentals include Iztok, Izgrev, Manastirski Livadi and Ivan Vazov.

Choosing your landlord
You may have found the perfect apartment.  But have you found the right landlord?  We hear horror stories all the time – most recently, the German family getting back from holiday to find they had no heat or electricity (their landlord had gone to live in the United States, and had not paid the bills).

Make sure you are renting from a landlord who is willing and able to give you good support.  Things will probably break, or leak, or go wrong – they always do. You need to be sure that your landlord will fix them.

Common parts
It’s not just your apartment that you need to consider. Other parts of the building are also important to you – the lobby, corridors, lift, the roof.  These are usually shared with other tenants or owners. But who pays for their upkeep? 

In Bulgaria it often proves hard to persuade all owners to pay their share.  In shared buildings it can take months or even years to get agreement to do the general cleaning, mend the lift – or even fix the roof. So if you are thinking of renting in an apartment building, give some thought to this issue. 

Parking
You’ve found a fabulous apartment in a great location – but will you be able to park your car?  This city wasn’t built for the million or so cars now registered here. 

There are very few public car parks. In central areas, street parking is paid for, patrolled and controlled as a "blue zone" – with non-payers quickly towed away.  Even outside the Centre, street parking can be in short supply.  Ideally, try to rent an apartment that comes with your own secure parking spot.

Rental agents
Sofia has some excellent rental agencies - like other cities, it has a few mediocre ones, too. You will save yourself a lot of time if you specify your requirements precisely, covering location, your budget, what size of apartment you need, how many bedrooms, etc.  Alternatively you can go direct to apartment owners.  In either case, the more exact you are, the quicker your search will turn up the apartment you need. 

With regard to fees, the norm is for rental agents to charge you half a month’s rent for their services. They will charge the landlord the same, as well.  Of course you will escape this fee if you go direct to the landlord.

Getting connected
Most likely you will be keen to have broadband internet access in your new apartment - probably also a telephone, and perhaps cable TV. 

Are these already installed?  If not, how long will it take for them to arrive?  And will your landlord be responsible for putting in the order and chasing it up?  It’s worth getting clear answers to these questions, and not getting left with the job yourself. Navigating the bureaucracy of Bulgaria’s utility companies is not for the faint-hearted!

Financial matters
You have negotiated your rent.  But does it include everything?  Is there are separate management charge?  Is there a separate charge for your car parking space? Must you pay the city taxes?  Be sure to clarify these points before you sign on the dotted line!

For rental deposits, the norm in Sofia is to give the landlord a deposit equal to two months’ rent.

Many landlords have to charge VAT.  But if your company is registered for VAT, they will be able to reclaim it – as will many embassies and international organisations.  In such a case it makes sense to try to make it a company let – your apartment is rented for you by your company, rather than directly by you.

Security
Compared to most cities, Sofia’s a pretty safe place.  But you’ll still be wise to take your security seriously.  Recently there has been an increase in house robberies in particular – to the point that a few expatriate families have moved from houses to apartments in gated compounds. 

The obvious security questions when renting an apartment: Is there a guard? Are they on duty 24 hours per day?  Does the apartment have an alarm system? How secure are the doors and windows?

Paying the bills
This is one of the shocks in store for new arrivals – and one of the bugbears for those who live here.  You will probably need a couple of hours to pay your electricity bill every month.  There are offices where you can pay all your utility bills in the same place – but you will have to queue, and it can take time.

Alternatively you might be able to pay from your bank account via automatic transfer (not all banks offer this). But few people do so, as often there are mistakes in the bills.

A friend who’s also a partner in an international accounting firm fell foul of this recently – and almost had his electricity cut off.

A small number of landlords will pay utility bills on your behalf - taking care of all this for you.  If you value your time, make sure yours falls into this category.

The Neighbours
If you’ve lived in an apartment block before, you’ll be alert to the problems that bad neighbours can generate. 

It’s a good idea to find out who your neighbours will be.  We draft our contracts to protect the rights and privacy of all the tenants in our buildings.  We also turn away prospective clients who might make others feel uncomfortable – including one recently who had asked if we would build him a sentry box outside the building!

Vesey Crichton works for Cleves, which has a portfolio of 140 luxury rental apartments across Sofia – www.cleves.bg