SAS Hero Goes into Battle over His Holiday Home in Bulgaria
Article published from By Charles Rae - The Sun on 2008-02-12 12:40:00Category: Properties in Sunny Beach
Former SAS hero Robin Horsfall is going into battle again - over problems with his holiday home in Bulgaria.
The ex-squaddie was one of the 12-strong team, which stormed the Iranian embassy in London in 1980, rescuing 16 hostages and killing four terrorist gunmen - with Robin himself claiming the "kill" on the leader.
Now his battle is with London-based Bulgarian Dreams and Robin says it highlights problems that many Brits have when buying and building holiday homes in Bulgaria.
He told The Sun of his problems to warn other Brits of the pitfalls in buying in the former Soviet state.
He said: "We don`t want them to twist the Regiment`s motto into Who Dares Loses!"
Robin, from Farnborough, Hants, is furious that almost nine months after work finished on his three-bedroom home built in Sunny Beach near the Black Sea he is still waiting for the official deeds to be sent to him.
Despite frequent phone calls to Bulgarian Dreams, Robin says he still does not have the documents for the house, which cost him ?77,000.
After it was completed last May, 50-year-old Robin and his wife Heather, 49, visited their new home and he said: "I am pleased with it but there are a few snags - the deeds is the major problem.
"When we saw the plans, the house was due to be built at a slight angle so we would have a view of the countryside but instead it has been built with a view of the house next door and we want to talk to someone about it."
But Robin claims he is thwarted every time he tries to speak to Bulgarian Dreams and he can get no information from the company.
He said: "They just don`t want to know. It is as if they sold us the house, took the money and are now not interested in after-care. Once they have got your money they are not interested any more."
Robin, who runs 18 karate schools in West London, paid for the property outright and now wishes he had opted for a small mortgage or kept back part of the final payment until all the problems had been sorted out.
He said: "I may have been a bit naive but it is important to get hold of the deeds because they are the only proof that we actually own the house and I don`t think that is too much to ask."
But Jayne Pearce, managing director of Bulgarian Dreams, said the deeds had been sent out but went to Robin`s former address.
She added: "They were sent Recorded Delivery and we are trying to get them back from Royal Mail but that can take some time."
She said that any problems with the property would have to be dealt with by the developers and added: "We only sell the properties, nothing else."
But Robin said it was almost impossible to talk to the developers because each time he phones he is given another number to contact, with no result.