°µÍø½ûÇø

@grumpyoldbird in our village there are a lot of those willing to earn few leva. They call them roma, though in our village they're mostly Turkish guys. Ask your komshias (neighbors) for some help. You may want to check with your obschina (municipality) for help, as well. Our kmet (mayor) would definitely help if requested. Should you require arborists, it might be a bit tricky. Ping for that for help

Tbh..a lot of trust is needed..to tell someone..we are not around for quite a while...can you trust someone to roam around your property..or gain entry..they dont need keys do they ?

Think seriously..although the french behave differently..

@grumpyoldbird ask people in the village.

Having experienced this myself, when we used to make the trip to our property for holidays & would spend several days attacking the triffids engulfing the house, let alone the spiders that had moved in etc, I would be more than happy to offer that service for anyone requiring it, that had a property near me! I guess it's asking locally & finding somebody trustworthy.

Hello, yes there are such services to get the house ready and look after it when you are away. I suppose it depends on the area you are in.

@mccallum I'm not anywhere yet. Thinking about it 🙂

That is an excellent idea, Elaine, and would be so useful! I did cry the first night in my house.

Even now arriving back is daunting. Diving headfirst into a 2metre deep hole to turn the water on, having loads of cleaning to do before I can get into bed or cook a meal. Plus after just a month away the garden is overgrown! If I stay a week, more of that is spent just catching up to where I was last time, and only a few days can be spent working on any new renovation.

@janemulberry perhaps a business opportunity 🤔

It could be an excellent business opportunity for someone!

@wtruckyboy, yes, there'd be a trust issue. I'd assume someone setting up such a service as a business would need to have insurance and a police check, as well as good references. It's wise not to blindly trust everyone. OTOH, it's a sad lonely life if we trust no one!

My Bulgarian neighbour has the key to my house. She takes in parcels for me, she'd sort things out if something went wrong while I wasn't there. If I asked, I know she'd do the gardening and clean the house for me. The problem is, she'd refuse to take any payment!

@janemulberry I get that Jane. Its always better to just pay someone, then you don't feel as though you're taking advantage. As you say, if someone sets up a business they would need to have the relevant insurance, like any other business. It just seems like a wasted opportunity. It's no good for me, as I'm retired and the terms of the visa's irrespective of country, make you sign an agreement not to work. TBH, I wish I'd thought of it a few years earlier 🙄

I think for someone based in an area with a lot of °µÍø½ûÇøs or holiday homes it should be a viable little part-time business. Especially combined with other support services like helping people negotiate Bulgarian bureaucracy or arranging clean-ups after guests for properties rented out as an Air BnB or similar.

Maybe there's just not enough demand for it? Bulgaria Direct used to offer a paid gardening service for their customers but I don't think they do anymore. If it was a money-maker, I can't imagine they would have stopped.

Many °µÍø½ûÇøs are probably like us. Have our cry, then get on with the work!

@janemulberry 😂😂 maybe they are. I do think I'd be grateful for someone going in first to clean up though. Maybe buyers don't actually realise how bad the house is likely to be. Once you've arrived it too late 😂

So true!!!!