Friends, Boris Pavlov was invited to be a guest on the podcast of the Expert Club for Economics and Politics "The Intelligent Investor". Hosts Georgi Vuldjev and Metodi Tsanov talked with Bobby about the real estate market in Bulgaria.
What are the key factors to look out for when buying an investment property, what are the advantages and disadvantages of short-term rental platforms, and what is the market for medium-term apartment rentals, you will learn in the podcast.
Bobby's part starts at the 34:30 minute mark, and you'll find the full interview below.
Watch here:
00:20 – Introducing the topics in the episode
6:20 – How did the TEAM Virtual Pension Fund perform in December?
8:30 - Financial and investment news from Bulgaria
16:48 – Macro and Markets (news from global markets)
29:35 – Fintech news
Interview with Boris Pavlov
34:30 – What is the story behind the founding of Flat Manger?
38:25 – What exactly does Flat Manger do, what services does it offer?
41:10 – What has happened to the Airbnb market in Bulgaria in recent years?
47:00 – How serious is the impact of the growth of low-cost flights on the Airbnb market in recent years?
48:45 – What are your predictions for the short-term rental market over the next 5 years?
52:38 – Airbnb vs. Booking? What are the differences, what are the pros and cons of one and the other platform?
55:16 – Short term vs long term rental? How do we decide which of the two is more suitable for our property?
57:50 – What are the ideal locations in Sofia for short-term rental? Are there any such underrated locations left and why is the Women's Market one of them?
60:06 – Is the whole northern region of the center of Sofia (between the mosque and the Lion Bridge) a good place for such investments?
63:50 – What are your expectations for the growth of the real estate market in general in the short term?
64:38 – What is Flat Manager's new apartment brokerage service developed for Airbnb/Booking services?
67:30 – Is location the most important factor in short-term rentals? Why is it not a good idea to list an apartment in Lyulin on Airbnb?
68:40 – What are the other most important factors other than location that we should look out for when buying a property for short-term rental?
72:54 – On the consumer side – what are the things that attract short-term renters to a property?
75:59 – How do you know when the real estate market is overvalued (or in a bubble) and it's time for a correction?
78:45 – How should Airbnb be regulated by the state, if at all?
86:00 - Question from the donors: Does Flat Manager manage to overcome the traditional skepticism of Bulgarians towards new businesses and services, such as "these things will pass us by"?
90:40 – Question from donors: What do you think about Airbnb for work, do you support similar services?
93:20 – Question from donors: Are there any cases where you recommend that clients rent out their properties on Airbnb for a medium-term period, i.e. between 2 weeks and 12 months?
97:56 – Final words.
