Not at all! English will be the official language of Coliving Semkovo. Learning some survival Bulgarian will help you get around the country, but it is not necessary for being part of the community.

The will be an annual co-op member meeting for voting on the following subjects:

• Chairman/Director
• Budget proposal for the following year 
• Any policies that might need revision

Votes will be decided by majority, with a quorum requirement. Some aspect might require a super majority.
Each member will get a vote. Aside from annual meetings, special meetings will also be called when necessary.

* Note: Although policies, budgets, contract information, etc will be fixed initially, every aspect of community governance is capable of being changed if a majority agrees to do so. This includes voting out Matthias as chairman. These changes will, however, require the consent of a critical mass of people.

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Members will receive monthly reports, as well as an audited annual report. The community will use a digital platform as a means for member discussions and voting.

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Matthias Zeitler is the founder of Coworking Bansko and the Bansko Nomad Festival. He is an entrepreneur with a unique background who has a vision of bringing people together in ideal settings. You can watch a short video by euronews about him and some of his achievements here.

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Coworking Bansko was built into a destination for digital nomads by him, located not far from Semkovo. It contains many of the same community values, activities work spaces that are envisioned for Coliving Semkovo, but does not offer living accommodations and it is also not community owned. So Coliving Semkovo will improve upon the Coworking Bansko experience.

The Bansko Nomad Festival is an annual event that brings together more than 500 digital nomads and remote workers for a week of networking and summer events in June/July. Matthias wants to build upon the success of the festival and also develop similiar event formats in Semkovo.

As mentioned before, Coworking Bansko is also a project founded by Matthias. He considered building a full-scale coliving space there, but it proved to be unrealistic. Having carefully considered all of the factors involved, Matthias learned valuable lessons through the Bansko experience:

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1. The long-term interests of the community and the business (i.e., the co-op structure for coliving) should be aligned.
2. What exactly people are buying into (an apartment, rather than simply a share of a business) should be clear from the beginning. It is also critical to secure early commitments by using a priority backer model. This will ensure the success of the project.
3. The cost of construction is lower and easier to define for buildings that need renovation than for full-scale projects starting from scratch.
4. Investors should be involved in the decision making process from the beginning, and there should be a clear separation between the initial development phase (which will be largely dependent upon Matthias’ expertise) and the coliving phase, in which the members will have equal input on decisions affecting the community.

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While Coliving Semkovo will not replace Coworking Bansko, it will serve as a different type of venue, separate but connected. There will be some overlap between the members/alumni of the two locations, but the goal for Coliving Semkovo is to have it be a shorter-term experience for people who come and go, as opposed to Bansko, where people live full-time.

Matthias has sold Coworking Bansko so that he can fully focus on Coliving Semkovo

We will get some interior design suggestion for units as well as communal areas and also get inspired by great coliving and coworking design concepts from around the world.

We will aim for a similar modern design that people expect from a leading coliving space.

Coliving Semkovo is using a community ownership model because Matthias believes it will create a unique experience where every owner is motivated to contribute to the success of the project. With 200 owners promoting the project and wanting to rent out their apartments and grow the coliving business, it will be a strong form of word-of-mouth marketing. Owners will also be more motivated to run activities that they enjoy for the community, such as quiz nights, karaoke, group hiking, book clubs, cocktail nights, skill shares, and day trips, compared to just being customers of a coliving space. Additionally, being able to influence the high-level strategy and budget of the community business will engage owners more than being part of a community that is owned by a business that sees everyone as just customers.

We assume that the total budget for this is going to be about €6,000,000 excluding the renovation/furnishing of the insides of the apartments. The total project cost is going to be the price of the building, the cost of the project development including the legal process of splitting the units in the cadaster, installing individual water/electricity meters, the cost of the renovation of the coliving areas and the furnishing of the coliving areas.

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So divided by 230 units this gets us to a price of about €30,000 per unit on average.

The units have different sizes and some are more attractive then others. Some have a small balcony, some have big windows, some have small windows under the roof. Some are in a better shape then others (like the bathrooms, the windows, the hallways etc.) which impact renovation effort and cost.

Block A will be available for occupancy before we start with Block B renovations. We expect most of Block B to be ready by December 2024.

We estimate that the renovation and furnishing of the units will cost between €10,000 (smallest, simple) to €25,000 (biggest, more luxurious)

Pricing afterwards will increase with market rates as the whole project becomes more attractive.
If you are interested in the project then don't wait too long.
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What we already did in the past:

• Technical and Legal Due Diligence, sharing lots of information including pictures/videos of the property. Online webinars and on-site visits to to present project.
• Pay for option to buy the building
• Hire first staff for marketing and admin (project based)
• On-site viewing of the building for interested buyers,  offering specific apartments for sale and signing purchase commitments.
• Started the apartment selection (https://reservations.colivingsemkovo.com)
• Bought the whole building (Block A, Block B, Block C)
• Split the units into individual deeds
• Create the co-op
• Move the deal forward and make notary appointments with future owners, start hiring staff for Coliving Semkovo
• Renovation common areas starts, renovation of first units start

What we are working on right now:

• Start planning for renovations of owner apartments, start planning renovation on common areas, split electric meters, …
• Soft opening of Coliving Semkovo for owners and first external guests (influencers? groups?) with some floors and a few apartments fully ready while other areas are still being renovated.
• Most of the common areas are ready and we have renovated at least 75 units.
• Building is fully ready for the first winter season 2024, except for owner units that don't want to renovate them.

We aim for a soft opening in  2024 where owners can already use their apartments, but most of the colivng areas are not operating yet.
The grand opening iis planned for the winter season 2024/2025, however the actual timeline depends on many factors, so some apartments will be accessible first for owners to use before we welcome the first guests at the coliving.

May, but not at this early stage. The current budget assumes that we find enough buyers through Matthias’s contacts and our own marketing efforts. If this sufficient then we will need to pay commissions to agents or other sources of buyers. This will increase the cost of the units, so we will build commissions into later stage pricing.

You will get a notary deed that confirms your apartment ownership. You can freely sell your apartment and do not need any approval from the other owners as long as all your fees are fully paid.

When you sell your apartment, you can either sell your co-op share to the new owner or the co-op will redeem it at nominal value. It will be up to the co-op to decide if owners from resales will get new shares at nominal value or if the only way to acquire shares will be from the previous owner. But that is a discussion for a much later time.

You cannot keep your co-op share after selling the apartment. As the destination develops and the coliving pricing increases we would expect that the apartment prices increase.

Bulgarian banks will normally not finance real estate purchases for foreigners. This includes foreign nationals that have a permanent Bulgarian residence. Foreign banks will normally not finance real estate in Bulgaria. Banks also generally avoid loans to entrepreneurs or freelancers, even if they can show a lot of income.

So most likely you will not be able to get financing unless you are a Bulgarian national with a stable salary from a reputable Bulgarian company that has been paid into your Bulgarian bank account for the last few year.

Yes, foreigners can buy apartments in Bulgaria.

Unfortunately getting residency in Bulgaria is getting difficult for non-EU citizens. It is not tied to ownership.

There is a trade representative visa option for people that have a company outside Bulgaria and then basically send themselves to represent the company in Bulgaria. It is not easy, nor fast, and requires a lawyer for the process.

There is some talk about a digital nomad visa for Bulgaria in the future, but the party that was advancing this is no longer in power. So it is unclear when/if this would be available. Bulgaria offers a 90 days visa free stay within a 180 day period for most foreigners. See https://visaguide.world/europe/bulgaria-visa/ for more info.

Taxation is a personal topic and depends on many factors, including where your tax residency is and if you own the unit as person or via a company, domestically or abroad. If there are double taxation treaties etc.

In Bulgaria you will have to pay 10% income tax on rentals at the source. The co-op will not distribute taxable dividends, but provide benefits (i.e. reduce the owners fee). We will aim to find the most tax efficient setup and simplify tax payment from rental income if you otherwise have no Bulgarian sourced income.Please talk to your accountant for your specific situation.

We will see what’s possible for grants, but expectations are rather low. There are some government backed loans available to improve the energy efficiency of the building, including installation of a heating system and solar panels.

Here is an example calculation for the cashflow of a studio unit. Not considering periods where owners use the units themselves.Initially the occupancy rate will be low and we start with a low price point, see marked values in table below. So owners should expect to have a slightly negative cashflow (owners maintenance fee) or breakeven in the first year until we get higher utilization rates. But then it could become really interesting once we get to higher occupancy rates and are able to also raise coliving package prices due to becoming a more attractive destination with more people. Of course this depends heavily on our ability to make Coliving Semkovo an attractive destination for our target groups and promote it accordingly.(not financial advice, please make your own assumptions and do your own calculations.)

Owners will receive €200 per month for a studio, €400 per month for a large studio/1BR and €600 per month for a 2BR unit. Utility costs are reimbursed on top of the rent based on consumption. To make utility bills more predictable for guests we will charge the coliving guests a flat fee. We will have a booking system that will try to equalize utilization across units so that all owners will participate equally in the rental scheme. Owners that do their own promotion for their apartments will receive direct bookings of their apartment on top of the equalization scheme.

When you buy a unit in Block B we will charge a €500 non-refundable reservation fee per apartment to get the process started.

• shortly after we will send you a preliminary contract, at this point 25% of the price is due
• If you use our recommended lawyer for the transaction then expect about €300 in legal fees plus the cost to get a POA in your country of residence or in Bulgaria (probably another €100)
• the notary will charge about €350 plus 2% for the property tax
• We aim to complete all the legal transfers of the deeds before June 1st. At this point the remaining 75% become due

There is also an annual maintenance and service fee per unit. We will start charging this on July 1st. Expect about €500 plus €15 per m2 for the remainder of 2024. afterwards the annual fee is determined by a flat fee plus the actual cost for repair and maintenance for Block B per year, split across all Block B owners based on their size of units.

The coop will start with renovation of Block B units in summer 2024 and then charge in milestones. For renovation, for furniture, for electricity and water meter.

If you buy the apartment through a company, with a second owner, or if you buy multiple apartments then the legal fee will be higher as it is more complex.

• The building has many areas that can be converted into storage. So while individual units do not have their own storage it will be possible to get storage at the building. We aim for pricing around €99 per m3 per year for rented storage.
• We will also sell private storage units in Block B after all apartments have been sold. Sizes are between 3m2 and 9m2, expect roughly about €1000 per m2 if you want to buy a private storage unit.
• We intent to offer mailroom services so that owners can receive mail and shipments, even when they are not in Semkovo.

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Below is the typical net area of the different floorplans. Coliving Semkovo will probably keep most of the staff rooms for staff & volunteers or convert to budget accommodation. Or sell some as apartments even though they lack a view/balconies to increase the budget for common area upgrades.

Most units have their own small balcony or outdoor area.It might be possible to combine units if you want something bigger.

Some of the units have solid walls to separate rooms, others use wooden dividers. We will see where it makes sense to add dry-walls and where it makes more sense to keep the semi-open floorplans. Unit cost will be determined based on size, not on amount of walls.

For comparing pricing with other apartments elsewhere please consider that you are not only paying for the net m² of your unit but also that you also get a fraction of the ~8000m² common/communal areas that are about half of the total building size and a share of the coliving business. You will be able to rent our your apartments through the coliving and won’t need to worry about check-ins or how to organize maintenance when something breaks.

You can decide how you want to use / furnish your unit.To rent them out however it is best of most of the units have the same style, furniture and amenities as this will make it easier for guests to get a consistent experience.

For rental units the suggestion is:

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We will split the renovation works into multiple stages and do one floor at a time. Owners that do not want to get their apartment renovated before opening will have the choice to select apartments on specific floors/blocks that are scheduled for later works. Overall the works should be renovation, not construction, which should cause less noise anyways.

Similar for common area renovation works we will do one area after each other, also considering that initially we will have probably only 50% occupancy and won’t need all areas yet.

The profit from apartment sales is reserved for building renovations and for the initial setup of the coliving areas.

The coop has authorized spending 80% of all income to make that happen, while keeping 20% as reserve for 2025.

The building has a lot of space, some of them being service areas, basements etc. So we will do the renovation in stages with the initial focus on areas that we will actually use from the beginning. And then as the operations grow bring more areas online.

The renovation budget includes:

• Upgrade of the heating system for the coliving areas to biomass, heat pump and/or inverters
• Upgrade the hot water system for the apartments. Tankless boilers?
• Installation of about 150kW of green power, either solar, wind, or hydro plant - or combination - to cover base load of commercial energy needs
• Upgrading all lighting to LED (energy efficiency)
• Painting everything, including the roof, replacing floors where required
• Upgrading/replacing electric circuits and appliances
• Renovation of (some) staff apartments
• Renovation of (some) service areas
• Repair of old building tech (like ventilation, elevators, commercial washers/dryers, sauna, pool etc) - or replacement
• Landscaping outdoor areas
• Upcycling of furniture and equipment that is useful for the future
• ….

We will hire some permanent facility staff to already be part of the renovation and help with some aspects with the idea of giving them a permanent position to maintain the building after the initial renovation is done. There are some older guys in the area that have been involved with the building in the past and know it very well. And also use outside contractors for defined work packages to get the renovation done in a reasonable time frame.

The budget also includes the basis to run the building as a coliving space like:

• Furnishing all common areas for coliving purposes, including art and decoration
• Facilities like: communal kitchens, a gym, movie room, games room etc
• Some reserved budget for special interests and amenities - we will vote on which those are
• All kind of required tech (dishwashers, coffee machines, access control, network, building tech, tools, equipment, …)
• Budget to launch the coliving operations (staff, marketing, etc)
• ….

The list of works and purchases will be prioritized in a way to ensure that we can start operating the building. The owners will be able to express their interests to help with prioritization.At the moment it is not envisioned that the co-op needs to take any bank financing, however if the actual costs are higher, then it would be possible to e.g. finance the solar panels or heating system instead of paying them outright.

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Here is a list of 20 “must-visit” coliving spaces and the cheapest private room option in each for a one month stay for one person. (pricing as of Oct 10th). Not all these prices are comparable as they are in very different locations, but the trend is clear: people pay for coliving and Coliving Semkovo would be a clear low-cost price leader initially and then we have enough room to grow to a more premium pricing while the destination develops.

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• We will organize shared transfers to/from Sofia on selected days.About €20 per person in a minibus if we combine transfers,but people might have to stay a night in Sofia on arrival/departure days.Driving time: 2:45h
• There is a public bus to Belitza. We can organize pickup from there for about €10Driving time incl. transfers about 3:30h
• People can of course rent cars at Sofia airport and drive themselves. Driving time: 2:45h
• And we will organize ride shares among our community. We might even keep some of our own rental cars in Sofia that people can pickup/drop there.

We will make Coliving Semkovo an attractive destination year-round. In periods where outdoor activities are less exciting we will focus on doing events and attract organizations that want to do events. This can be workations, team building, bootcamps, language camps, coding schools or similar type of activities that need accommodation and event space. We will aim for events that are in line with our core community, so a medical conference for dentists might not be the right fit - unless they bring lots of money :-)

We are building an distraction-free adult-only coliving space, so children under 18 years are not allowed on the premises that are operated by the coop (Block C). Of course you can bring kids to your apartment (Block A or Block B), but there are no facilities for kds, so maybe not the best environment for them.

The owners might change this policy later with a vote in the co-op, but generally this is not a place with the needs of kids in mind. While we develop Semkovo as a destination it might be possible that in the more distant future there are other owners or guests that create another coliving space for families close by, but do not count on it please. There might be much better places for kids than Semkovo.

Owners can keep small pets (cats, dogs, goldfish…) in their apartments. Pets will not be allowed in the coliving areas, but each block has a direct entrance that can be used to get pets in/out of the building.

Pets that cause issues with other guests or owners, like frequent noise or smell issues, will be asked to leave the property. Also aggressive pets will be banned on the first offense. Owners will be responsible for damages that their pets cause to the building or landscaping. The specific way how these conflicts will be mediated will be describe in the co-op rules, but expect that we will have binding rules for all the common cases.

Owners will be able to decide if their units should be rented out as pet-friendly - and if there is an additional charge for pets to cover possible damages to their apartment.

As we are in a rural area and have a lot of space there, it is feasible to build an animal shelter / small stable nearby where pets can live outdoors together.

The plan is that owners put Inverter ACs into all apartments.

The building is built with solid walls and we should be able to keep utilities for apartments at about €50 per unit per month on average. This cost will be collected as part of the coliving bookings from external guests. Owners will pay their own consumption while the unit is not rented out.

Another great source for heating the coliving areas is a large wood chip burner / biomass system. It requires wood chips to operate, but those are 50-70% cheaper than wood pellets and easily available in areas with an active forestry management - like Semkovo :-)

We also aim to put a large solar installation on the roof to cover at least a part of the electricity usage for the coliving areas. Current ROI on solar with commercial electricity rates is about 3-5 years, so this is a sensible investment and will also provide more value to the owners.

It might also be possible to install a hydro power plant in a nearby stream which would provide a more consistent power source than solar.

We will also upgrade the building infrastructure to include more “smart” automation as well as install energy consuming lighting and other systems to optimize costs.

So while heating a huge property like this without breaking the bank is a challenge, the scale of the building will help us to find an economical solution and use technology that is way more advanced than when the building was originally built.

All owners will get a specific booking URL to share for their specific apartment, so when you promote it people will book your place when it is available. If it is not available then of course other units will be proposed.

If you want to provide your apartment to a friend or family member for free, then they can pay the coliving fee of €150 per month directly and can choose if they want to use the cleaning service or not. You can decide to cover or charge utilities. We will support these free bookings in the booking system. And you will also be able to set a higher rental rate in the booking system, e.g. if you furnish your apartment to a much higher level. The other fees will increase prorated for apartments with higher base rents.

It will not be possible for non-guests to get access to areas in the central block of the property. So basically everyone will need to be either an owner or pay the coliving fee.

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For a studio the standard monthly fee is expected to be €499(*) initially, this includes roughly:

1. - Rent to owner €200
2. - Coliving fee €150
3. - Cleaning fee €20
4. - Utilities €50 (flat fee, average)
5. - VAT, tourist taxes, misc. €79

(*) if unit/renovation costs are higher then also the initial package cost will increase to maintain the same return for owners.

Shorter term rentals (weekend, event, week) will be priced proportionally higher. When the business grows and the destination becomes more attractive we might be able to raise prices accordingly. Aiming for a coliving package of €600 - €750 for a studio within 3 years is not out of the question looking at coliving properties around the world. The owners rent will increase proportional when we realize higher prices. If we decide to run promotions, then the owners rent will decrease proportionally for participating owners. Initially we expect about 40-50% occupancy, but aim to raise this as we gain more momentum.

The initial budget will be set at a level to maintain the building, build a future repair fund, and operate the coliving regardless of any external coliving guests. And with a risk buffer as initially there are probably more repairs and we don’t know yet how much everything is going to cost.The estimate for the first year is €800 for a studio (1 pax), €1650 for a one-bedroom (2 pax), €2400 for a two-bedroom (3 pax) which includes the coliving access for 1 owner.

Guests will pay for the coliving membership which brings in additional revenue to the business and allows to offer more services and amenities.

The owner’s fee will decrease based on the commercial development of the business as well as how the owners decide to distribute or reinvest profits from the coliving operations.

The prediction is that the owner’s fee will decrease to €0 with a 40-50% utilization and the current coliving pricing for owners that rent out their units. However once utilization grows it should be possible to increase pricing which will generate a higher cashflow for the business and reduced owner fees for everyone.

• MONEY :-) and COMMUNITY
• Attracting people to Coliving Semkovo, which is located in a remote area with limited amenities, can be achieved by offering affordable real estate ownership opportunities starting at €15,000 in a coliving space that will be owned by apartment owners together. Many nomads are interested in owning affordable real estate as a base, even if they travel most of the time, and this location is perfect for it. The community-owned business structure makes it even more attractive.
• The project will start with a community of owners who will use their apartments at least sometimes and will promote the destination to their friends, benefiting from the coliving business and, if their apartments are rented out. The low cost of real estate will also allow us to offer very attractive pricing on coliving packages, which will attract the first guests, especially as we will have a large community from the beginning and many people are looking for that community experience. Even though it is remote, we will be able to offer amazing facilities for our community, surpassing many other coliving options around the world and setting a new standard.
• For some target audiences, the remoteness also means less distraction and more focus, which can be an attractive value proposition.
• → find out Why people are excited about this project

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