To update my last post, I've just viewed updated PS stats..... seems my Garden Heights apt. is now doing quite well from inital figures publicized a few weeks ago.

Hi Ivan, I visited a number of agents in Bratislava over a number of visits. It turned out that I didn't buy on my first visit, and in retrospect I think that was a good thing. You should treat the first visit simply as an opportunity to get a feel for the place - what are the good areas and the bad areas, what are the kinds of properties that are available, what is important to the locals (elevators, parking, public transport, location etc.). Some agents are set up specifically to help foreign buyers, and will liase with the local estate agents for you, setting up appointments etc. These people will charge a fee of around 2%. Some estage agents will have english speaking employees though, and I bought one property in this way quite successfully. Unfortunately, if I mention the name of the agent then PS will delete this post. There are some beautiful buildings in central bratislava (BA I) and some not-so beautiful buildings. The not-so beautiful buildings are still very well located though, and if they are a bit manky on the inside then they can always be renovated. I didn't go down this route myself, but the agents will be happy to help you. I had one sale fall through (leaving me with legal fees), after the vendors tried to raise the price. Aparently this has become more common, although this is only what I have been told.

Hi Minsk. Thanks so much for your reply. So the places you built were not off plan no? how old were they? Cheers Ivan

I've just got back from Romania. Brasov was very impressive, as was the location of Belleview Residence where I'm buying a unit through PS. It even had a big 'Hollywood' style advertising sign up on the hilltop! I also had a good look around the areas of Bucharest to get a feel for them. Its mostly wall to wall with old panelaks. I presume they're unable to knock them down to make space for new builds, which is a shame. Hence some of the new builds seem to be in odd isoloated places around town, or being built on empty derelict areas. I'm not sure what the impact on prices would be when a new build is surrounded by panelaks, so would be wary of buying an isolated one. But if there are areas where its going to be a cluster of new builds I'd be more confident about an area being up and coming. There was one new build I saw (I dont think it was a PS one) that seemed to be accessed by a mud track. So I hope they are planning on building a proper road to it!

Hi Doug, Always interested to hear views on Bucharest and Brasov, I have quite a few friends who live in these old style blocks and frankly they have become blind to the overall appearence because that is what they are used to. Now that they see new builds popping up they are really not concerned that they may be adjacent to a shabby old block. It always amazes me that one can see a nice new villa of block nestled amongst some tired old buildings. For this reason I think that as long as your resale market is local people it should not be a big problem. However there is doubtless a benefit buying in a good area where the surroundings are clean and pleaseant, but in Bucharest you have to pay a high premium for this. I guess your strategy dictates your location because buying in an area such as on the East side where prices are much lower could bear dividends in a few years time once the area has been redeveloped...this is more of a medium to long term view and requires a bit of homework to find the best locations.