Sunday Times Looking for Bulgarian Dreams Clients

Sunday Times Reporter, Anna Mikhailova, is looking to speak to clients who purchased through Bulgarian Dreams in order to compile a report on the company for the newspaper. 

If you are a purchaser with Bulgarian Dreams and would like to pass on your information for the benefit of others, Anna can be contacted via her email address at  anna.mikhailova@sunday-times.co.uk. 

If you are unfamiliar with the whole Bulgarian Dreams saga or its previous coverage on the site you'll find a selection of previous pieces on them here. 

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Bulgarian Dreams Watchdog Update

BBC's Watchdog programme did a followup on Bulgarian Dreams (including interviews with some people referred to the programme by OverseasCafe.com). 

The programme's website says:

"Since our broadcast we've discovered a lot more about Robert Jenkin and Bulgarian Dreams. He was selling apartments in over 30 developments across Bulgaria, so it's no surprise that we've now heard of hundreds of you who each paid him tens of thousands of pounds for properties that were never finished."

It finishes with a statement submitted by Jenkin, who refused to take calls from the programme:

Statement on behalf of Berkeley Square Trading Limited (T/A Bulgarian Dreams). 

"The decision to close the London sales and marketing office of Berkeley Square Trading Limited t/a Bulgarian Dreams doesn't mean that the company isn't committed to providing ongoing customer support services to clients who've purchased developments in Bulgaria where it's able to do so. Clients are aware of the telephone number and email address where ongoing queries can be addressed. Bulgarian Dreams will answer such queries if they're addressed to the Company directly, but it's not prepared to discuss individuals' issues on air."

You'll find the programme on BBC's Watchdog website. 

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For independent articles on overseas property click here.

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Bulgarian Dreams features on BBC Watchdog Programme

Bulgarian property agent & developer, Bulgarian Dreams, featured on a BBC Watchdog programme this evening. The programme followed the attempts of a Bulgarian Dreams client to contact the company. He visited Bulgaria only to be told by BD's office that they didn't have a phone number for Robert Jenkin, the company's owner. The client then went to speak with his solicitor who claimed he did not know what was wrong but everything was a "complete mess".

We have featured Bulgarian Dreams on the Blog on a number of occassions (and been legally threatened by their legal representatives, DLA Piper, to boot). If you wish to view previous postings to get an idea of what has been in train you'll find all postings mentioning the company here. There is also an article featuring a number of unhappy Bulgarian Dreams clients here and the Irish Times featured a piece on Bulgarian Dreams and its clients which can be found here.

The picture above, featuring Jenkin and his Bulgarian wife Maria Georgieva, featured heavily in the documentary as the Watchdog team failed to track Jenkin down to speak with him.

The programme concluded with the statement that Bulgarian Dreams (which is a trading name for Berkeley Square Trading Ltd.) had ceased trading due to the "extraordinarily difficult economic conditions" and that it wished its understanding customers "all the best for the future."

Nice one.

The Bulgarian Dreams website now features just the following message:

Dear all,

We regret to inform our customers that following the extraordinarily difficult economic conditions we have had to cease trading.

All existing customers who have previously purchased property should refer directly to the development companies in Bulgaria, none of which are directly affected by our closure. A list of contact details is included below:

Interlink BG Limited: interlinkbg@abv.bg

Smart Partners BG: smartpartners.bg@gmail.com

Interart Group: interart.group@hotmail.com

We would like to wish all our customers all the best for the future and thank them for their understanding at this difficult time.

Bulgarian Dreams

Here is the link to the BBC Watchdog programme for those affected by this issue. Unfortunately, depending on where you are accessing the content you may not be able to see the video. If it appears on You Tube we'll link to it here. In the meantime the transcript of the piece (which is also on the BBC Watchdog site, is below).

Buying property in England is difficult enough, but buying abroad can be a real nightmare as dozens of Watchdog viewers have found out. They've contacted us because they've all been taken in by the same company.

Bulgarian Dreams is a property business that promises new homes, in a country where the market has been booming. Each of the people we've spoken to has handed over tens of thousands of pounds and now they're worried they've lost it all.

Bulgarian Dreams has won awards, has glossy brochures and a snazzy website. It also offers the reassurance of a head office in London. Chris Dale was really excited about buying a piece of paradise and he thought he'd found an estate agent he could trust. In June 2006, Chris paid Bulgarian Dreams a £500 deposit for an apartment on a luxury development called Windows to Paradise.

Far from completed
Bulgarian Dreams put together a DVD which showed all the apartments it had on offer. It made it quite clear it'd do all the legwork and all Chris would have to do was move in. However Chris's Bulgarian Dream soon went flat. He paid a total of £56,000 for his apartment including solicitor's and management fees. Now, more than a year after the company wrote to him to tell him the development was completed it's far from it. Chris's apartment has no electricity or water. There are power cables on the ground that could potentially be live and rubbish everywhere.

Bizarrely, Bulgarian Dreams told Chris none of the problems with the apartments were anything to do with them. It was full of promises before the sale, but once it'd been paid it washed its hands of the whole thing and then stopped returning his calls. Bulgarian Dreams had said that Chris's contract was with the developers, a company called Interlink BG. He was told to contact the developer direct about any problems, but they haven't returned his calls or email either.

Same story
So far, more than 80 Bulgarian Dreams customers have contacted us with almost exactly the same story. In December, Bulgarian Dreams suddenly closed its London Office without telling its customers. But the company does have another office in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. Chris Dale and Watchdog's Paul Heiney travelled out there in search of answers from Bulgarian Dreams and the couple who run it, Robert Jenkin and his Bulgarian wife Mariya Georgieva.

At Bulgarian Dreams' office Chris was told that it no longer had his money; that it had been paid to Interlink BG, the developer. So Chris and Paul crossed the city to Interlinks BG's registered office address but no one was there either. Unfortunately for Chris, Bulgarian Dreams has lied to him. It may claim it has nothing to do with the developers, but that simply isn't true. Records show boss Robert Jenkin is a former owner and director of Interlink BG. And his wife Mariya is still named as a company manager. In fact, after more digging, we've discovered one or both of them might have been acting not just as the estate agent and developer, but also the property management company, the supposedly independent solicitors, and even the furniture supplier.

Only last week, the company took down its website and announced it had ceased trading due to the "extraordinarily difficult economic conditions". It wished it's understanding customers "all the best for the future."

Bad man?
There's an old saying in Bulgaria - bad weather gets better, but a bad man never does. Is Robert Jenkin a bad man? We don't know. But certainly he persuaded a lot of people to part with a lot of money, for something they've never had. We've tried to contact Bulgarian Dreams but it's failed to respond and seems to have disappeared.

The Association of International Property Professionals advices anyone who's encountered difficulty with the purchase of their apartment through Bulgarian Dreams to contact a lawyer. Even if it does not end up going down the legal route, anyone in difficulty will need someone who knows where they stand legally. The AIPP can help people affected to find a lawyer and have suggested a lawyer representing a group would reduce costs. The AIPP are happy to meet concerned parties as a first point of reference before they start paying for a lawyer, and say this service would be free of charge.

If you've had problems with Bulgarian Dreams or require more information about buying property abroad contact the AIPP on +44 (0)20 7409 7061.

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For a selection of property from around the world click here.

For a listing of agents selling overseas property click here.

For independent articles on overseas property click here.

For advice on purchasing property overseas click here.

For news on the world of overseas property click here.

For new releases and product updates from agents around the world click here.

For a list of upcoming overseas property exhibitions around the country click here.

Lawyer Suing Bulgarian Dreams' Contractors

We've been contacted by Milen Hristov, a Bulgarian attorney-at-law, who is currently suing contractors working for Bulgarian property agent, Bulgarian Dreams on behalf of seven former clients of the company.

We have, of course, referred to Bulgarian Dreams and their activities in the past, you'll find the main post here. For those not in the know, the company was being investigated by the Association of International Property Professionals (AIPP) and, à la MRI Overseas Property, decided that they'd leave before they were dispatched, which they duly were.

If you have had any dealings with Bulgarian Dreams, its owner Rober Jenkin or its legal representatives, DLA Piper, you may be very interested in the information contained in this blog from Milen Hristov which contains reference to a number of pointers about how to handle your dealings with Bulgarian Dreams and how the company operates its business.

To contact Milen Hristov
Phone: 00359 (0) 885558281
Email: milen@mhlegal.eu
Web: http://mhlegal.eu

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Want to release equity in your Bulgarian Property?

Click Here for more information.

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For a selection of property in Bulgaria click here. 

For a list of agents selling property in Bulgaria click here.

For independent articles on the Bulgarian property market click here.

For advice on purchasing in Bulgaria click here.

For news on the Bulgarian property market click here.

For new releases and product updates from Bulgaria agents click here.

For a selection of property exhibitions featuring Bulgaria property click here.

How have people found the OverseasCafe.com Blog

Folks seem to like this particular list for some reason, it got a lot of traffic last time around, so here we go again.

This is the list of the top search terms leading to the site over the past two months (we haven't done one of these in a while). They're ordered from the most popular downwards.

You'll notice that the regular favourites of Bulgarian Dreams, MRI Overseas Property and the Orient Palace in Bodrum are still clocking up major amounts of traffic. MacAnthony's in particular, and their chief executive, Darragh MacAnthony, seem to be particularly heavily searched for, and the text of the searches would indicate that there's quite a bit of dissatisfaction out there about the company and its directors. Our old pal, Hans Bartsen, from the Orient Palace also seems to be a pretty popular (or unpopular, depending on what way you look at it) individual. Robert Jenkin of Bulgarian Dreams makes a few appearances as does the bould Michael Lynn, he of KenDar Holdings, Overseas Property Law, and nicking €80m worth of bank money fame.

This is the most popular blog for MacAnthony's, it's this one for Bulgarian Dreams and this one for the Orient Palace. You'll find a few blogs on Michael Lynn and his worldwide travels but this is the main one.

And the winners are:

bulgarian dreams

mri overseas property

orient palace bodrum

mri overseas property scam

kevin okane accused of turkish property scam

mri overseas property complaints

mri property scam

mri property complaints

mri complaints

harcourt developments

larionovo

mri overseas

macanthony complaints

Larionova, sunday independent

overseascafe

buyers+of+orient+palace+BODRUM

bodrum orient palace

mri property blogs

how is current financial crisis affecting itali...

futura gael

mri bulgaria customer forum

irishblogs.com

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oriental palace bodrum

hans bartsen

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hans bartsen

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simple overseas

Euro+Holding+orient

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Robert Jenkin, Bulgarian Dreams

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kevin+o%27kane

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site:overseascafe.blogspot.com

distressed sales portugal

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lehman brothers and harcourt developments

lanzarote property blog

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MRI PROPERTY SCAM

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LEGAL ACTION AGAINST BULGARIAN DREAMS

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COMPLAINTS MRI PROPERTY VIEWING FLORIDA

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Ginetta Vedrickas fuerteventura

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french leaseback

larionova properties ireland

Sunset Resort OOD and Mr O'Reilly

justifying increase prices overseas

MRI overseas property turkey complaints

kevin o kane

darragh macanthony's money problems

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How Have People Found the OverseasCafe.com Blog?

One of the questions we're often asked is, 'how have people found the blog?'

Well, it is found through a variety of means as it is listed on a number of blog sites, but the most common way to find the blog is via search engines such as Google, Yahoo and Live.

We've collated a list of the top 150 most popular search terms to bring up the blog since its inception in February. There are thousands more but we didn't reckon anyone would want to read through them all. These are in order of importance and have not been altered in any way from how they were typed into the search engines.

bulgarian dreams
mri overseas property
overseascafe
Bulgarian Dreams
www.overseascafe.com
bulgarian dreams expelled
mri overseas property complaints
mri complaints
inside track bankrupt
orient palace bodrum
french leaseback
mri overseas property scam
mri overseas
"bulgarian dreams"
delhi airport
overseas property blog
damac dubai
palm springs damac
mri property scam
aipp bulgarian dreams
kendar
complaints about mri overseas property
Hans+Bartsen
blogs for the damac palm springs cancellation
MRI Overseas Property
mri property complaints
bulgarian dreams
kendar global
macanthony realty
mri overseasproperty
what is it like working for mri property
overseascafe.com
"MacAnthony Realty International" scam
damac palm springs
direct from the developer show
michael lynn
mri cyprus
harcourt developments
customer complaints about mri overseas property
bodrum orient palace
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mri macanthony
MRI Overseas Property scam in Bulgaria
MRI OVERSEAS PROPERTY
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michael lynn fraud kendar holdings
mri overseas property blog
mri property blog
macanthony staff scam
who is MRI property problems with
spanish property mri problems
irish times article m lynn vantea
moneyweek
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Bulgarian dreams
dubai damac
medsea complaint
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Hans Bartsen
AIPP BULGARIAN DREAMS
orient palace bodrum news
dubai project
spanish property
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palm springs dubai cancelled
AIPP BULGARIAN DREAMS
macanthony exhibitions
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Irish Times MacAnthony Real Estate article
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MRI property
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MRI Property Developers what is it like to work...
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MacAnthony Realyty complaints
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KENDAR HOLDINGS
MRI overseas property blogs
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consumer reports on macanthony realty internati...
buyers+of+orient+palace+BODRUM
helen carson belfast telegraph
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BULGARIAN DREAMS LEGAL ACTION
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vantea
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kendar holdings
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MRI international property scam
orient palace + buyers
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distressed sales cyprus
helen carson
mri overseas property forum
complaints about MRi
distressed sales spain
palm springs dubai damac
distressed sales dubai
"michael lynn" black sea
mri problems cyprus
macanthony realty spain
"Mri property"
MRI overseas properties
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simple overseas property complaints forum
mri global inspection trips
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macanthony scammers
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Tapu problems
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Damac, Palm Springs, Dubai
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MACANTHONY REALTY INTERNATIONAL WORKING FOR

So there you go, that is the kind of stuff people are searching for on the internet when the OverseasCafe.com blog pops up.

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General Property/News/Agent News/Editorials

For a selection of property from around the world click here.

For a listing of agents selling overseas property click here.

For independent articles on overseas property click here.

For advice on purchasing property overseas click here.

For news on the world of overseas property click here.

For new releases and product updates from agents around the world click here.

For a list of upcoming overseas property exhibitions around the country click here.

Bulgarian Dreams Expelled from AIPP

It will come as a bit of a shock to those who have had dealings with Bulgarian Dreams that they have been officially expelled from AIPP (the UK based Association of International Property Professionals).

There is no specific reason given for the expulsion except that the "Tribunal finds that the conduct of Bulgarian Dreams in this regard fell way short of the ambits that should be expected."



This decision by the AIPP would have to call into question the value of the company's two Bentley awards, awarded in 2005 and 2006. These awards are renowned within the industry for being given to International Homes Magazine's largest advertisers to thank them for their custom over the year, but that's a rant for another blog thread.



News on the grapevine suggest that the company's owner, Robert Jenkin, has gone to ground and is completely uncontactable. Someone within the industry in Bulgaria cited the company as a perfect example of "an agent who became a developer without sufficient knowledge and is now suffering the consequences."



All reference to AIPP seems to have been removed from the company's site but it still claims to be a member of the EEAU (European Estate Agent's Union). The link to this entity's site (http://www.eeau.eu) currently only leads to an error page.



If you have had dealings with Bulgarian Dreams we strongly recommend that you get in contact with the company to query your current status or contact AIPP to examine your options at this stage.



Further info on the company's expulsion from AIPP can be found at http://www.aipp.org.uk/

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