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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) To find the answer of any of this questions, just click on them in the following list. 1. What makes your company better than the competition? 2. Which are your main fields of business activity? 3. What makes the Bulgarian property an attractive investment for clients from abroad? 4. What sources do you get the information on your web-sites from? 5. What are those "Latest projects" on you web site? 6. What kind of criteria do you use for project assessment? 7. If I am interested in investing in Bulgaria, what kind of information can you give me about the country? 8. Do you guarantee qualitative legal and tax advising and consulting? 9. What kind of partners do you work with? 10. Do you organize view-on-the-site trips to different properties? 11. What is the regular deadline for completing the deal? 12. From which countries do you usually have clients? 13. What kind of investors usually contacts your company regarding deals and advice for investing?    1. What makes your company better than the competition? Our company offers an outstanding and highly advanced service package that will save time and money to our customers. In comparison with other tourist agencies, the main aim of "Friends Group" is to entirely assist our clients and partners during their stay abroad. We know that visiting a country on business or for pleasure is always accompanied with many organizational details. In order for our clients to feel security and top comfort on their business or vacation trip to Bulgaria, our company organizes every detail of their trip. First, "Friends Travel" takes care of the travel arrangements. With us our clients can book a plane ticket on the most competitively low prices. They have the chance to fly with different kinds of airlines, especially with low-cost companies. They also have the option to choose among more than 500 hotels within Bulgaria. We will also give them useful information about tourist attractions and entertaining events during their stay and even organize most of those events for them. Second, "Friends Group" offers rent-a-car services in order for our customers to travel everywhere they want within Bulgaria. They can pick up among an excellent choice of different car models. The whole rent-a-car service is offered on very affordable prices, starting from 15 EUR per day. If they prefer, our clients may also hire a chauffeur and/or order a GPS device. Third, from "Friends Electronics" our customers can rent a mobile phone or/with a Bulgarian SIM card and they get up to 535 FREE-of-charge minutes for calls to all phones within Bulgaria. In addition, our clients can rent an all-in-one printer (a printer and scanner in one) and print up to 200 pages for free. These services are on the most competitive prices, as our customers save lots of money. "Friends Group" can also be an effective assistant in the future investment plans of its clients through its branches of "Friends Consulting" and "Friends Real Estate". We assist them in buying the home of their dreams in Bulgaria and we help them with its post-purchase management. If they wish, "Friends Group" can also assist them in taking a mortgage loan on a preferential basis. With assisting our clients on every stage of their trip preparation and during their stay abroad, we try to secure for them the most comfortable conditions in Bulgaria. "Friends Group" makes everything possible to remove organizational obstacles and problems during a trip. In that way our clients can completely concentrate on their main purpose of the business or vacation trip. TOP OF THE PAGE    2. Which are your main fields of business activity? Our main aim is to offer to our customers a completely unique service package that will be responsive and flexible. Each service we offer is according to the preferences of our clients. The whole service package of "Friends Group" is created in such a way that our customers can fully concentrate on the major aim of their business or vacation trip. In other words, they can feel secure and comfortable with "Friends Group". We will organize their trip to the smallest details, as we include the following services and products: air tickets reservations; welcoming at the airport; lodging at a hotel or apartment; rent-a-car services (with or without a chauffeur); renting a mobile phone from us with a Bulgarian SIM card; interpretation services; accounting, tax, and legal consulting; and the last, but not the least important service: we will arrange different kinds of entertainment for our customers. We give them detailed information about cultural activities, tourist attractions, stage performances, and gallery exhibitions. TOP OF THE PAGE    3. What makes the Bulgarian property an attractive investment for clients from abroad? There are a number of factors that represent Bulgaria as a country with the highest potential for attracting foreign direct investment. The real estate market in our country is definitely one of the most preferable business spheres, where our clients can have the highest investment returns. The attractiveness of the Bulgarian property is based on the economic, cultural, and political development of the country itself. First, Bulgaria is a country of outstanding natural beauty. Its environment remains unspoiled and is incredibly varied. Bulgaria is a relatively small country, where visitors can travel for a short period of time from the snow-covered Pirin Mountain to the amazing sandy beaches of the Black Sea coast. First time visitors to Bulgaria are surprised by its diversity, its spectacular natural beauty, and the rich flora and fauna. Bulgaria is ecologically one of the purest countries in Europe, with exceptionally clear air and water resources.В Knowing more about our country, our clients can judge for themselves about its attractiveness for investment. Second, an important factor in the rising property market is the tourist potential of Bulgaria. Bulgaria is considered the fastest growing tourist market of Europe that foreign buyers of property in Bulgaria are quick to appreciate. The recent improving of the economic, political and social stability of Bulgaria has brought a real boom in the prices of property in Bulgaria. There are impressive natural attractions like the high mountains, beautiful and clean Black Sea coast, minimal urban development of the rural areas, thousands of years of history, and much more. Third, Bulgaria's unique landscape also makes it one of the most ideal locations for a vacation home. Bansko, Razlog, Sandanski, and Pamporovo in the Balkans and Kavarna and Golden Sands resorts on the Black Sea Coast are particularly good areas for investment. Our country has hundreds of kilometers of prime land along the Black Sea coast and winter ski resorts for investors looking to buy property there. The winter ski resorts are perfect for those who enjoy snow sports, including skiing and snowboarding, and would like an alternative home that will allow them to enjoy these activities. Bulgaria is also a beautiful summer escape due to the Black Sea coast area. In fact, it has one of the most competitive prices for sea-front properties, made doubly attractive because of the incredible view of both the mountain and the sea. Source: World Development Indicators database TOP OF THE PAGE    4. What sources do you get the information on your web sites from? We try to use as many sources of information as possible, which not only vary in the type of information they offer, but are also reliable and indicative. We make our market analyses based on this kind of reliable information. We have experts in different spheres of the property and services market whose diverse perspectives and opinions usually produce sound and broad economic analyses. Moreover, we work with people from various nationalities (English, Danish, Russians, Bulgarians) whose qualities and experience are very useful in the primary research of the services and real estate markets in Bulgaria. All staff members and experts at "Friends Group" usually use data from the following reliable sources: Web sites of official national institutions in Bulgaria: The Municipality of Sofia; The Bulgarian Ministry of Finance; The Bulgarian Ministry of Economy; The Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs; The Bulgarian Ministry of European Affairs; The Bulgarian Ministry of State Administration and Administrative Reform; The Bulgarian Ministry of Food and Agriculture; The Bulgarian Ministry of Culture; The Bulgarian Ministry of Environment and Waters; The Bulgarian Ministry of Regional Development and Public Works; Web-sites of different international organizations: World Bank database and World Bank Global Development Finance database; International Monetary Fund database; World Development Indicators database; The web-site of the European Union; World famous sources of information such as the following respectable periodicals: Economics of Transition; The Economist; Business Week; European Sociological Review; Forbes; Fortune; Harvard Business Review; Publications from representative electronic databases and journals: Business Source Premier database; Elsevier Economics and Finance Journals; TOP OF THE PAGE    5. What are those "Latest projects" on you web site? The section "Latest Projects" on our web-site contains detailed information on our recent initiatives in project development and project management. We offer these projects in the section not only to our clients interested in major investment initiatives, but also to customers who would like to buy apartments from those real estate projects. Clients who want to partially invest in our project proposals are welcome to contact us any time. We have a specific assessment scheme and extensive criteria in order to offer a project for investment opportunities. If the results from the assessment strategy are positive and reliable, then we can effectively work on the promotion of the project’s investment potential. Our strategy of project assessment is the most indicative feature of our company. In contrast to other companies, we are not affected by the consideration which firm would give us the highest commission in order to present and promote their real estate projects. We are actually more interested in assisting our clients with making informative decisions about their investment portfolio. We wholeheartedly believe that the more we concentrate on the positive features of a project and on the incentives to invest in it, the more our clients would benefit from our research and project development. This is a twofold process, of course, as our company also benefits and advances further. This inherent idea is clearly reflected in our company’s motto that is "Partnership towards Leadership", because we indeed believe that, in the process of mutual cooperation and assistance, our business can further grow and develop. TOP OF THE PAGE    6. What kind of criteria do you use for project assessment? Usually the criteria we use in the project assessment analysis vary according to the type of project we offer. They might be more specific or more general. However, we divide our analytical approach in the following categories of project assessment: - Investment analysis of the real estate market in Bulgaria; - Analysis of the potential and capabilities of the considered region, in which our offered project is located; - Analysis of the developing capacities of a city/town, in which the project is located; - Analysis of the area in the city/town, where the offered project is situated; - The assessment of the potentials of the project itself Location Road infrastructure; Schools; Hospitals; Places for entertainment; Description of the project; The executive building contractor Reliability; Quality of performance; Representativeness; Technical characteristics; Comparative price analysis between our project and projects of other competitive firms; TOP OF THE PAGE    7. If I am interested in investing in Bulgaria, what kind of information can you give me about the country? We believe that the more reliable the information we give to our customers, the bigger their opportunity is to take the most correct decision for investment. That is why the whole information we gather and, then process and analyze about a real estate project is presented in details to the attention of our clients. With giving such a detailed description of the project, we save our customers' efforts and time to perform the above-mentioned activities by themselves. The data we offer to our customers is divided into the following categories: Regional development of the Balkan Peninsula; Investment potential of Bulgaria; A detailed analysis of the capacity and status of the considered region/area, where our offered project is located; A detailed analysis of the development and status of the town, where the project takes place; Legal, economic, and investment analysis of the project itself; Detailed information about the executive firm/ building contractor; Technical details about the project; TOP OF THE PAGE    8. Do you guarantee qualitative legal and tax advising and consulting? We definitely guarantee such advising and consulting through our "Friends Consulting" services. We work with the most qualified and responsible experts in the spheres of tax and financial consulting, and legal services. They can help you with a vast range of issues. Our accounting services include monthly book-keeping activities for your company: processing monthly income statements; balance sheets, and other required documentation; preparing annual closing entries; submitting the required documentation to the relevant state institutions; preparation and filing of the current year income-tax form; and advice on how to optimize your tax payments. "Friends Consulting" also offers to you a great variety of legal services such as: registration of companies and corporations; assistance to companies in obtaining a BULSTAT number; preparation of precise contracts fully protecting your rights and interests; advice about the process of establishment and transfer of the ownership of a real estate/property; assistance in certifying property transactions and signing relevant documentation before a notary; legal representation and protection in judicial matters and lawsuits; We also offer assistance in terms of opening of personal bank accounts or bank accounts of your company in Bulgarian banks. Moreover, we can help you in getting all kinds of loans- mortgage loans, consumer loans, and loans for business customers on a preferential basis. We could also help you in the process of preparation of your investment portfolio. We will also assist you in optimizing your property investment returns in the following ways: We will conduct all necessary repairs of your property with the purpose of rent maximization; We will assist you in renting your real estate; We can guarantee that you will regularly receive your rent payments according to the negotiated contract; We make sure that your tenants will cover their bills regularly; TOP OF THE PAGE    9. What kind of partners do you work with? Investment funds/private equity firms; Building contractors; Foreign real estate agencies; Consulting firms; Bulgarian banks; Companies in computer and mobile technologies; Car companies; Airline companies; Mobile operators; Hotels; Office 1 Superstore – stationary and writing materials; TOP OF THE PAGE    10. Do you organize view-on-the-site trips to different properties? As soon as you arrive at the airport in Bulgaria, we will meet you there. We will also arrange view-on-the-site trips to different real estates, depending on what kind of property you want to concentrate your attention. We will assist you in finding the home of your dreams with the ideal parameters. We will give you full analysis of the region, town, and neighborhood where you have located your real estate. We will show you the advantages and disadvantages of the property you have chosen. In that way you can take the most informed decision for your investment portfolio. TOP OF THE PAGE    11. What is the regular deadline for completing the deal? Keep in mind that, if you buy a house or an apartment in Bulgaria, or even an office building, different factors are considered in order to define a deadline for completion of the real estate deal. Usually for the completion of a real estate deal we can give an approximate time of 2 months. Of course, we can complete a deal in one week, depending on the status of its various stages and other important supplementary factors. Such factors, to name just a few of them, are whether all the documentation on the deal is already prepared and introduced, what kind of real estate you are willing to purchase (an apartment or a house), and whether you acquire it with the land in addition. Moreover, the deadline of the purchasing deal might be extended if you decide to take a mortgage loan from one of our banks-partners. Many other aspects of the purchasing process should also be taken into consideration. First, we need to consider your budget, or how much money you would like to spend on property investment in Bulgaria. If you can cover only a part of the property price, then you would consider taking a mortgage loan from a Bulgarian mortgage lender. We work with some of the best and biggest banks in Bulgaria and we can arrange a mortgage loan on a preferential basis. After estimating your budgetary potential, you need to take into consideration that, when you buy property in Bulgaria, you need to cover some expenses during the purchasing process and later on the conveyance stage of this process. Consider notary fees for transferring of the ownership rights, as well as some Bulgarian local taxes, such as property registration with the relevant municipality. Despite the long process of purchasing property abroad, we believe that we can effectively and qualitatively do everything on time instead of you. That is why you do not have to bother with details, as we are here to assist you in every step of the process. TOP OF THE PAGE    12. From which countries do you usually have clients? United Kingdom Denmark Russia Ireland USA Spain TOP OF THE PAGE    13. What kind of investors usually contacts your company regarding deals and advice for investing? Although we employ individual methods of approach to each of our customers, based on their various preferences and needs, we could order the different kinds of customers/investors in the following 4 groups: Physical persons /private investors/; Investment funds/private equity firms; Building contractors/investors; Foreign real estate agencies; TOP OF THE PAGE

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