1.) Availability of property:- At the moment the prices are so low in the east that investors can afford whatever type of property they want!
2.) Prices:- Whole apartment blocks and mansions can be bought for less than a one bedroom flat in the UK!
3.) Rental potential:- With half the countries population as your rental market!
4.) Locations:- Germany has some stunning architecture in cities and towns, mountains and beaches.
5.) Standard of Living:- German residents enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world, demanding quality in every aspect of their daily lives.
6.) Accessability:- Germany is Located at the heart of europe and is easily accessable by car or plane. Flights from London to Leipzig between £20 - £60 with airberlin depending when you travel.
7.) Security:- Germany is a secure country where you can buy without fear of criminal organisations causing problems. In some investment countries criminal organisations demand money from foriegners investing there!
8.) Growth:- The wind of change is blowing through Germany at the moment with a change in goverment comes the promise of huge growth for investors. The property sector has not risen for 15 years and property is now massively under valued, as a result it is set for huge growth as the london stock market reported last year!
9.) Future:- The future for Germany looks bright as it remains one of the most technologically advanced and industrious nations on the planet.
10.) Interest Rates:- Germany has extremely low interest rates that have consistantly hovered around the 3% mark.
Half the population rents but not in the cheap places (in the east).
Same applies to the UK. Property is cheap in the places that there's no reason to live in - because there's no jobs or transport, or it's near chemical industries etc.
I'm about to buy in the west and property is certainly not "massively undervalued" in the towns that people actually want to live in. It's £200,000+ for a basic 2-bed flat and £600,000 - £800,000 for the best locations in average cities.
As for Germany being "advanced", many business people that I come across are pessimistic about how uncompetitive and unindustrious their country is now.
I agree with what you are saying to a certain extent. In the west in general and in well known cities such as Frankfurt,Hamburg and Munich prices are very high. This is because they have been well established with industry and investment for many decades. However now because of the cheaper labour costs investment is pouring into the east and new and established companies are relocating to places like Liepzig on a daily basis.
Since the re-unification of germany over €80 billion a year has been pumped into the east from the west on top of money from Europe. All massive investments from private companies has been pouring in. For the last 2 years big american corporations have been buying huge chunks of the former east germany because they recognise the investment potential.
In the past the situation has been that many people have wanted to live the west to because there was where the jobs were, however now 85% of the countries new jobs are now in the east.
And as for prices, in many nice eastern cities such as Liepzig, Dresden and Berlin you can pick up a nice 2 bed apartment for about £30,000 - £50,000 and detached 4/5 bedroomed houses for around £70,000 - £90,000.
I am personally selling off a couple of my flats which are 120 sqm, 3/4 bedroomed and in the city centre in historic building for offers over £25,000. And simular sized flats on same street rent for €750 per month.
No where else in the world could you get such nice properties in such good locations at those prices. As I buy whole blocks of flats I can afford to sell them at a little over cost and make a profit.
I think if people look at the property markets of any country that was considered really cheap 10 years ago and look at how prices have risen then they will understand why now Germany is such a good place to invest.
In the past it has been more difficult to get morgages on former east german property, this however now is changing fast with many realestate companies now offering morgages with properties. There is alot of property owned by banks in Germany who are willing to give morgages.
In every town or city you will find a sparkasse bank and most of them act as estate agents selling property, depending on your circumstances and the property in most cases you'l get a morgage, but shop around there are plenty of other banks to choose from.
All EU citizens has the right to live and work in germany. However anybody wishing to reside in germany longer than 3 months must register their address with the police as even the germans have to do as this is law.
Once you have been registered with the police anybody can apply for a morgage in germany, east or west. This said you should check out which property you are your wanting to buy as there can be restrictions on morgages for certain types of property.
My cousin has several apartment blocks in Berlin all with buy to let morgages.
Don't be put off from what you here from individuals as everyone is prone to mistakes.
I would strongly advise that you should not take my or anybody elses though word though - check for yourself - always do your research.
Every case is different so the results will be different for some people than others.
Best bet is check with banks and real estate companies that are offering finance. "Homes Worldwide" magazine has a list of the banks offering morgages for germany in it's A - Z section.
[QU Chrisgorlitz under Amazing deals in saxony New Member Posted 23-12-05 13:25 Hey there, I have just gone slighty mad I think, I have just sold my apartment in Varna Bulagaria in the summer and went to the winter Saxony auctions. I got carried away and bought a big house in Falkenstein Vogtland, and then went and bought to massive buildings right in the centre of Gorlitz. Whilst I am happy with my purchases I am at a loss as to where to begin as they all need work and permissions and things. I also speak about 4 words of german which is going to make my mission even more fun! This said the house I bought came in at about €17,000 all in and I've been told it's worth about €70,000. But the buildings in Goriltz are both like 700 sqm +, one then has 3 shops and 5 big appartments and the other used to be a former office building. I would welcome any advice on proceeding with getting them sorted and rented as I am now beginning to run out of money and still don't know whats involved. Posts: 18
OTE] [/QUOTE]
So it seems that since the 23/12 you have now amazingly learnt everything about the german market.You can now sell your flats at "a little over cost" at an amazing offers over £25000 per flat, Isn't that about a £23000 profit per flat ! Also quite amazing that since 23/12, you now have a cousin who owns blocks of apartments in Berlin. You have now started topic after topic concerning the greatness of germany with plenty of false information thrown in for good luck! This website is for factual information and is here to HELP people not for you to "PUMP AND DUMP YOUR PROPERTIES"
I am not offering forsale or rent any properties to people on this forum. This said I did wish to say about the deals I was involved in for information purposes as an idea of price and how to make some money for potential investors and people who might just be interested in whats available. Since I have bought in germany I have tried to find out as much information as possible and also told my friends and family whats available. I always advise people to do there own research to be sure themselves but I also try to help by telling others the lessons I am learning along the way. All of the information I have put on my posting has come from research that I have carried out and is correct to the best of my knowledge and all of comes from reputable sources.
If you are thinking that anything I have said is untrue, wrong or out of date please check it out for your selves.
I got into the market in germany quickly because of I really beleived that it is the right time to invest and as a result I didn't understand everything involved with historic buildings, something which I am now studying. I am also trying to learn german as I think this will help tremendously with future investments.
Although I jumped into the market a bit quickly I am making money, being successful and enjoying the experience.
As for my cousin he has bought in germany after doing his own research because was given the same advice as me.
I think that there are some people on here that do not want everyone to be aware of where the bargains are and others want to just make money off people. E.G. Mr Fox for example advised me that he had a friend that could get my buildings renovated for €1000 to 1500 per sqm. This guy has never seen my buildings does not know what condition they were in or anything about them. When I got proper quotes in the actual work from proper companies came in around €160 per sqm. I think that everyone can see what was going on there!
Again I can't stress this highly enough that everyone thinking of investing in property abroad, always do your research and check with different sources.
You might think some people are idiots but you must realise that after posting here on 23rd december(3 weeks ago) for everyone to read that you do not have a clue what you are doing,run out of money and you would welcome any help, that everyone is a little sceptical about your amazing new found knowledge.
Dont get me wrong Germany I believe is one of the best places to buy and invest, I own 43 properties over germany and have no hesitation in telling people to get over and buy but you are spouting amazing false statements Like now it costs 160e per mt to refurbish a property ! The true cost is over 1000 euros for ANY full refurb and thats not even denkmalgesschutz(listed building)which can sometimes double.Im sure there is plenty of germans on this forum who will confirm this(by the way amazing how fast you were able to get qoutes since you last posted 3 weeks ago)
You both seem to know quite a lot about the german propert market. So basically (as I feared) it is going to be pretty tough getting a buy to let mortgage in say Berlin when I am a non-national? I dont think I will be able to reside in Germany for 3 months in order to register as a resident.
Hello smilie, To be honest my post saying there is No mortgages available isnt 100% true but I was trying to cut it short so everyone understands that it is virtually immpossible for a non national to mortgage a property in East Germany and really you will need to buy your property for cash.I will go through what you need to do !
You can become a resident as soon as you own(maybe rent aswell but not sure) a property.You need to go to the local townhall(rathaus)and for a fee of £25 or less they will give you a resident paper.Once you have this you can open a bank account.Once you have a bank account you will need to show upto 6 years regular savings before you will be considered for any mortgage(if you check overseaspropertyonline.com it has more details) The banks will only lend on your family home they are not interested in investment properties.
Thanks for the reply. So obviously it is going to be very difficult to get a mortgage in East Germany. But what about Berlin? Surely it must be easier for a foreigner to get a mortgage in the capital city?
Any thoughts appreciated....otherwise I reckon the best I can do is remortgage my UK house and buy a place in cash. But I wont be in a position to do that for another year. And then (knowing my luck) I will have missed the boat!
Hi, try these realestate websites as they all have links to banks and finance companies. And don't worry to much about missing the boat to much like what happened in the Uk certain areas went up faster in price than others, so even in a couple of years there should still be some good bargains in certain areas.
I was advised to, and is working for me, to invest in areas where I could afford to buy as close to the exact centre of a city or large town as possible. This was because their are redevelopment grants available and they are always the places that go up fastest in value. It's always worth checking if you can get a grant as sometimes it can cover upto 70% percent of renovation costs. That said this level is rare, but 30% - 40% is not uncommon.
Originally posted by Chrisgorlitz: I agree with what you are saying to a certain extent. In the west in general and in well known cities such as Frankfurt,Hamburg and Munich prices are very high. This is because they have been well established with industry and investment for many decades. However now because of the cheaper labour costs investment is pouring into the east and new and established companies are relocating to places like Liepzig on a daily basis.
Since the re-unification of germany over €80 billion a year has been pumped into the east from the west on top of money from Europe. All massive investments from private companies has been pouring in. For the last 2 years big american corporations have been buying huge chunks of the former east germany because they recognise the investment potential.
In the past the situation has been that many people have wanted to live the west to because there was where the jobs were, however now 85% of the countries new jobs are now in the east.
And as for prices, in many nice eastern cities such as Liepzig, Dresden and Berlin you can pick up a nice 2 bed apartment for about £30,000 - £50,000 and detached 4/5 bedroomed houses for around £70,000 - £90,000.
I am personally selling off a couple of my flats which are 120 sqm, 3/4 bedroomed and in the city centre in historic building for offers over £25,000. And simular sized flats on same street rent for €750 per month.
No where else in the world could you get such nice properties in such good locations at those prices. As I buy whole blocks of flats I can afford to sell them at a little over cost and make a profit.
I think if people look at the property markets of any country that was considered really cheap 10 years ago and look at how prices have risen then they will understand why now Germany is such a good place to invest.
I say beat the herd buy now!
Hi Chris I am very interested in investing in East Germany. I dont speak German and have no conatcts there, but would like to bid at the next aution this February....i wonder if you can advice on the steps for this venture.. it will be a cash purchase..
where can i get simple and straight forward instructions in how to plumb in a bathroom and kitchen sink
Originally posted by Chrisgorlitz: I agree with what you are saying to a certain extent. In the west in general and in well known cities such as Frankfurt,Hamburg and Munich prices are very high. This is because they have been well established with industry and investment for many decades. However now because of the cheaper labour costs investment is pouring into the east and new and established companies are relocating to places like Liepzig on a daily basis.
Since the re-unification of germany over €80 billion a year has been pumped into the east from the west on top of money from Europe. All massive investments from private companies has been pouring in. For the last 2 years big american corporations have been buying huge chunks of the former east germany because they recognise the investment potential.
In the past the situation has been that many people have wanted to live the west to because there was where the jobs were, however now 85% of the countries new jobs are now in the east.
And as for prices, in many nice eastern cities such as Liepzig, Dresden and Berlin you can pick up a nice 2 bed apartment for about £30,000 - £50,000 and detached 4/5 bedroomed houses for around £70,000 - £90,000.
I am personally selling off a couple of my flats which are 120 sqm, 3/4 bedroomed and in the city centre in historic building for offers over £25,000. And simular sized flats on same street rent for €750 per month.
No where else in the world could you get such nice properties in such good locations at those prices. As I buy whole blocks of flats I can afford to sell them at a little over cost and make a profit.
I think if people look at the property markets of any country that was considered really cheap 10 years ago and look at how prices have risen then they will understand why now Germany is such a good place to invest.
I say beat the herd buy now!
Hi Chris I am very interested in investing in East Germany. I dont speak German and have no conatcts there, but would like to bid at the next auction this February....i wonder if you can advice on the steps for this venture.. it will be a cash purchase..
Any suggestions on the best towns, cities for capital and rental investment.
where can i get simple and straight forward instructions in how to plumb in a bathroom and kitchen sink
1. No NHS waiting lists, in fact no bungling NHS! 2. Most effient Rail service - no strike days "'cos its Monday after Bank Holiday" 3. Not as PC as in the UK 4. The German people are very polite 5. Their sausages ARE the best 6. More informative programs on TV 7. Their sense of humour is very good 8. They are interested in other cultures 9. They are good at marching - in the protesting sense ie about not invading Iraq! 10. Less likely to be targets of suicide bombers.
A few points; Are any of you buying property over in Germany actually bothering to learn a bit of the language? Are you actually going to rent out to the german population or just for tourists?
I am living in Germany for approx 7 months (and do not intend to go back to the PCUK)and have started to become fluent in German and to intergrate into their society.
About the 1st (unfunny) comment by 'Unchained' about the war: GROW UP!! I would not be that impolite to even consider stating c*ap like that to these good people!
Originally posted by Wobbletastic: On the contrary… I think Unchained was bang on. It doesn’t do any harm to be reminded about the wrongdoings in Germanys recent history.
I really hope that anglophiles like yourself are not buying in this country....... Have seen so many Insel affen here....
Originally posted by Chrisgorlitz: 1.) Availability of property:- At the moment the prices are so low in the east that investors can afford whatever type of property they want!
2.) Prices:- Whole apartment blocks and mansions can be bought for less than a one bedroom flat in the UK!
3.) Rental potential:- With half the countries population as your rental market!
4.) Locations:- Germany has some stunning architecture in cities and towns, mountains and beaches.
5.) Standard of Living:- German residents enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world, demanding quality in every aspect of their daily lives.
6.) Accessability:- Germany is Located at the heart of europe and is easily accessable by car or plane. Flights from London to Leipzig between £20 - £60 with airberlin depending when you travel.
7.) Security:- Germany is a secure country where you can buy without fear of criminal organisations causing problems. In some investment countries criminal organisations demand money from foriegners investing there!
8.) Growth:- The wind of change is blowing through Germany at the moment with a change in goverment comes the promise of huge growth for investors. The property sector has not risen for 15 years and property is now massively under valued, as a result it is set for huge growth as the london stock market reported last year!
9.) Future:- The future for Germany looks bright as it remains one of the most technologically advanced and industrious nations on the planet.
10.) Interest Rates:- Germany has extremely low interest rates that have consistantly hovered around the 3% mark.
I LOVE point 8! Come on guys! This is not the UK, property goes DOWN in value after a few years! This is not an island! If you want to make a profit then sell to the UK lot.... Don't let other people tell you otherwise ok?
Hi everyone, sorry have been away for a while, nice to hear your all talking about germany. Sorry Philoma/2, I know this dosen't give you much time before the auctions, but you asked for my advice so hear goes: Location wise you can't go wrong with places such as Liepzig, Dresden and berlin as their is always strong demand there for people wanting properties to rent. Personally all the properties I buy are in tourist locations though. Obviously I must also recommend Gorlitz as it is a lovely city with over 4000 listed buildings. As for villages I must say that ifeld near Nordhausen is the nicest I've come across.
With the auctions coming up I must recommend 3 lots: lot 73, 95( This one the auctioneer personally recommend to me as it has a new roof, is in good nick and there is a big demand for such properties) and my personal favourite Lot 59( a former post office building right next to train station, great building and would make about 15 quaility flats).
I am buying in East Germany(egessin) and require extensive building work doing; any suggestions.
quote:
Originally posted by Chrisgorlitz: 1.) Availability of property:- At the moment the prices are so low in the east that investors can afford whatever type of property they want!
2.) Prices:- Whole apartment blocks and mansions can be bought for less than a one bedroom flat in the UK!
3.) Rental potential:- With half the countries population as your rental market!
4.) Locations:- Germany has some stunning architecture in cities and towns, mountains and beaches.
5.) Standard of Living:- German residents enjoy one of the highest standards of living in the world, demanding quality in every aspect of their daily lives.
6.) Accessability:- Germany is Located at the heart of europe and is easily accessable by car or plane. Flights from London to Leipzig between £20 - £60 with airberlin depending when you travel.
7.) Security:- Germany is a secure country where you can buy without fear of criminal organisations causing problems. In some investment countries criminal organisations demand money from foriegners investing there!
8.) Growth:- The wind of change is blowing through Germany at the moment with a change in goverment comes the promise of huge growth for investors. The property sector has not risen for 15 years and property is now massively under valued, as a result it is set for huge growth as the london stock market reported last year!
9.) Future:- The future for Germany looks bright as it remains one of the most technologically advanced and industrious nations on the planet.
10.) Interest Rates:- Germany has extremely low interest rates that have consistantly hovered around the 3% mark.
