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I bought dream home abroad for £3K on EBAY – it has no windows & looks like a jungle… but could be next Costa del Sol
STANDING in the corner of a room, covered in mud and dust and looking at the holes in floor and roof, Rob Davies struggles to hold back tears.
He is hard at work in a house he bought for £3,000 on eBay before even setting eyes on it - because it is in Bulgaria, more than 2,000 miles away from his home in Ayrshire, Scotland.
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“I didn't realise how hard this was going to be,” he says on Channel 4's Help! We Bought A Village.
Rob had been trying to clear the mud floor in the property when he made contact with the ceiling and the insulation fell through.
But, despite the long road ahead, the delivery driver, 35, is positive about what is to come and is pleased to have finally invested in brick and mortar as he was always told to.
He had been left unable to invest in the UK property market thanks to skyrocketing prices, but the three up, three down house in Golyamo Krushevo cost less than a typical deposit.
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And he's even splashed out on more properties in the same area since - hoping it will follow the price-hike in resorts like the Costa del Sol.
In an exclusive chat with The Sun, he said: “Life is all about taking a gamble, and this is one I'm willing to take.
“I probably won't see a return on these properties in my lifetime but I'm doing it for my boys.
“I'm hoping Bulgaria will become like Spain. Property there used to be dirt cheap before everyone started going on holiday there, and now it's hard to find something for less than six figures.”
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Rob, who will appear on the C4 series tonight, bought the six-room house in February 2022 fully aware that it had no plumbing, electricity, central heating or windows.
There is no bathroom in the house and it doesn't even have a fitted kitchen.
It currently has mud floors in place both upstairs and downstairs, as is traditional with Bulgarian homes.
While the celling is made from bamboo and mud packed together – and slowly falling apart after years of neglect.
First visit to the home
Rob reckons it will cost him in the region of £20,000 to full refurbish the home and hopes to do the majority of the work himself with the help of family and friends, but knows he will have to pay professionals to sort the roof and put in the windows.
But, as he lives and works in Ayrshire, Scotland, he reckons it will take him around five years to revamp the house.
The small village of Golyamo Krushevo is just 20 miles north of the Turkish boarder and a short drive to the nearest beach – something his wife wanted if they bought abroad.
It is also just an hour from the nearest airport – another condition Rob's wife set down for his foreign purchase.
It is one of a number of villages that have been abandoned as young Bulgarians move to the city for work – leaving just 2 million people in the countryside.
On his first visit over to assess the ramshackle house, Rob was thrilled at the condition the house was in.
“Once we got through the jungle of the garden when we got into the house we were actually surprised how sound it was,” he said.
“Obviously it's got mud and sand upstairs and downstairs and the insulation needs redoing and windows put in. But honestly I was pleasantly surprised.”
Falling in love with another property
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While out in Bulgaria, Rob also fell in love with the property across the road, a traditional Bulgarian cottage where animals would have lived in the ground floor.
“It's a piece of history, but at first I couldn't find who owned it,” he said.
“We ended up buying a different, more modern house in the village that was only lived in by the family that owned it.
“The man who sold it to me was in tears as he handed over the keys.”
This second property, also six rooms, is habitable and has running water, electricity and windows in place.
It is where Rob plans to live when he flies over to Bulgaria to work on the other houses.
After returning home from his visit, and second house purchase, the father-of-two was browsing Bulgaria property sites and spotted the cottage he had fallen in love with.
He quickly snapped it up for just £2,500. Several family and friends have told him the cottage should be torn down and rebuilt, but Rob seems potential.
“When you look past all the mess in there, it just needs some love and care put into it,” he said.
“It has the original wood fire oven and other traditional features. I want to preserve a bit of that history, but do the inside up more modern.”
Within just six months of buying his first house, Rob now owned three in the village.
He told the Channel 4 programme: “These houses are history, and they should be protected. I was always told to invest in brick and mortar, so I am.”
Inheritance for his kids
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His plan is to give his sons, Ross, 16, and Scott, eight, a house each when they've been renovated to do with as they please - although his eldest seems bemused at his dad's decision to buy two falling down homes.
However, Scott seems thrilled with his dad's choice and tells him he thinks the houses are great.
At the moment, Rob reckons he and his wife will keep the first house he bought but that could all change.
Thankfully, the locals seem happy about their new Scottish neighbours and have been welcoming to the family.
“There's a bit of a language barrier, but everyone has been friendly,” Rob said.
“One of them even towed my car off the house's lawn when it got stuck and wouldn't accept any payment other than a drink in the local bar.
“Our communication is a lot of Google Translate and me trying to pick up words in their language.
“It's a very different way of life out there, they all live off the land and these villages have got left behind when youngsters go off to the city. I think they're happy to see some money being put into the village.”
If his property empire doesn't go as planned, Rob does have a back-up plan – use the acre of land he owns for something.
Many of the locals grow food by their homes and the region used to be known for making good wine.
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But either way, he is happy with his investment in Bulgaria and hopes he'll leave a mark on the village and a legacy for his sons.
- Help! We Bought a Village is on Channel 4, weekdays at 5pm from Monday 16th October
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