In Bulgaria there are many signs of a country for sale. Its residential property, anyway. Everywhere you go, you see ads in English offering houses and apartments, existing and as-yet-unbuilt, for sale or rent at, by Toronto standards, bargain-basement prices. Less than $70,000 could put you in the market for a decent house on the outskirts of the capital, Sofia, or an apartment downtown. In a village “within easy driving distance” of the city, 70 grand might buy you two or even three places, though you might want to spend some of the money on a chauffeur.

The roads aren’t great and driving standards aren’t high. Property prices are usually quoted first in euros, then British pounds, then Bulgarian leva. Domestic buyers are not the prime target. The country, part of the European Union since last January, is hungry for foreign investment and with a little promotion and some hard work it just might get it.