(Opinion piece, James Flint, Director www.sofiacasa.com )

Sailing in uncharted waters like the mariners of yore, maps of the known world encircled by fearsome monsters and dragons, i.e. most of the Bulgarian developers who provided off-plan units like so many commoditised plastic ducks of a production line!

They saw your masts on the horizon in 2004, then fleets started to berth in the ensuing 5 years, followed by the current crash on the rocks of inadequate legal and independent advice when purchasing abroad. As the tide of investment suddenly subsided many were swept away in a Tsunami that started with Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac.

How many of you are now left paying 7-12 Euros per m2 (on the gross area, including garages & common parts), for services that are poorly delivered, if at all, by sister companies, set up overnight, by thee Developers, to milk the tail end of the boom?!

I want to call this the 'Balkan Valve' as it is a system that allows Developers to control the in-flow & out-flow of cash, with a cartel of racketeers in varying degrees of association, all aiming to 1) shut out competition, 2) monopolise revenue streams and 3) lock owners into onerous rental guarantee, furnishing & block maintenance agreements ...for the foreseeable!