| What is the main focus?
The main focus of the firm is the consultation, the preparation and marketing of the remainder of stock of real estate out of communal building societies and banks. What references do Stadt Konzept have? Stadt Konzept can look back at 18 years experience. Stadt Konzept is a licensed partner of the “Deutsche Kreditbank” which is a privilege only given to 5 companies in Germany. The requirements for this are, amongst others, a) a positive statement from the authorities, b) a less than 1 % loss of customers in the last 3 years. This guarantees a reference of absolute respectability and reliability. Stadt Konzept is a business partner with firms from the State of Berlin with an exclusive contract up to the year 2008 giving us the competence to independantly negotiate contracts in the name of Gewobag. With this, the State of Berlin guarantees the surety of statements and actions made by Stadt Konzept and inspects them on a yearly basis. There is no other company in Berlin who has such a partnership. What differentiates our company from others? The difference is the communal connection. The situation with remaining stock of real estate from banks or especially out of communal stock is a whole different story. Here, the name and reputation of the company, in this case Gewobag as the subsidiary of the State of Berlin or the Commerzbank, is more important than a quick sale or a rigorous clearance sale. This means that everything is inspected and managed upfront so that the buyer is secured long term. Stadt Konzept who have been given the mandate by the companies are subject to the inspection of these sales. For the buyer this means that he has the highest security that the real estate offered is exactly what it appears to be. This means also that the facts and the figures concerning the costs have been inspected and confirmed. The long term care and support is a matter of course with the Gewobag which is expressed in their existence of 90 years. This is where the criteria of differences lie. Why is that so important? Purchase of real estate in Berlin is complicated. Through the history of the Wall, meaning the Divided City of Berlin, it was difficult for the city to develop “normally”. Of course nowadays this is exactly the interesting potential in the shape of “low” prices. Naturally Berlin has all facets and prices to offer. What is cheap, what is expensive? Are there still “public contracts” existing which exclude the right to use of property oneself or for raising the rent? Will there be high renovation costs involved? Do they have a reputable property management or management for this exceptional property? How long have the property management been there and what are their references? Does the buyer have to expect any arrears from the property management? What is the condition of the area one street further up? What kind of people live in this property? Is the property possibly long lease? All these questions have to be considered in the price. Berlin obviously also has prices of € 700 or That is the question of questions. You will never find the “correct” price. The seller always wants more money and the buyer always wants to pay less. The price is also determined by the market of location, infrastructure and the kind of quality of the flat. You can at least find out an approximate price of a street through (Hypovereinsbank) under the following link: www.hypexpertise.de. The Hypovereinsbank establishes the price on the examination-principle according to the asset value method. The asset value method, as the name already states, examines the value of the flat which includes the location, infrastructure, transport connection, social structure, etc. This type of examination method is used especially when checking single-occupancy houses and commonhold flats. Out of convenience, most banks in Berlin use the earning capacity value method, because by doing it this way it is not necessary to inspect the location of the property. This method is normally used for commercial property where the rent is valued in proportion to the buying price. If one were to value single flats through this method, then every renovated flat would be overpriced by 30 % in Berlin. Why? Because it is a method used for commercial property whereby the quality of the property is not considered. How does one get financing in Germany? Germany is the land of paperwork. There is no place in the world that is so complicated for financing like Germany. And nowhere else is it harder to get financed. Why is that so? There are 2 reasons: for one, it is dependent on our laws of safeguarding loans. The laws state that the banks are obliged to deal with the money of their clients (savings, etc.) in a secure manner. Secondly, Germany had a real estate crash which meant great losses for the banks. That is why the laws are strict and allot “non-Germans” a maximum of 60 % financing of the buying price. Which district is the best? That is up to the wishes of the client. If he is looking for cheap flat for his own use for example, then the East side of town would be a preferred district. But if a client is looking for a long-term tenant, then the East side of town would not be the ideal district for him because of high unemployment, and it being a socially deprived area of town. This also includes districts like Mitte, Friedrichshain, Prenzlauer Berg, Neukölln and Kreuzberg. Sure, they have a high prospect, but there is also a higher risk involved. There are no other places where rich and poor are so close to one another as in these districts. You will find totally renovated luxurious buildings next to collapsed ruins. € 2 per sqm rent live next to € 6 per sqm rent. Nobody really knows which street is going to be THE street next. For example the Friedrichstrasse in Mitte: when the offices and stores were planned at the time, nobody expected it to become Berlin’s luxurious mile. The prognosis of rents for offices per sqm at the time were € 30 - € 35; for flats € 15 - € 20. What about today? Offices are going for € 15 - € 20 per sqm and flats are going for ~ € 6 per sqm. Why didn’t it work out like they expected? Too much traffic and traffic jams, too little green areas, no parking spaces. It’s that simple and it’s also that logical. These districts have to grow first before anybody knows what the structures will be like. They were all at the border of the Wall and were also in zones that are only being taken care of since 15 years. Most of the buildings were ramshackles and had to be renovated. So, most of the people moved away from there and new people moved in. This type of movement is still taking place today. People forever moving out – new people moving in. This causes a lot of unease and thus, a lot of insecurity up till today. To have a “quiet” structure, it is necessary to have a district that has gradually grown. You will find that in the North and South of Berlin. Here you will find districts which were not affected by the fall of the Wall. For a buyer who is not willing to speculate and is thinking in terms of long-term secure rents and not quick profits with high risks, then these districts are ideal and can be recommended. We also offer property in Mitte and surroundings, but only to a specific type of clientele. That type of clientele has to be in the position to see and accept the risks involved while making a quick profit. That is the reason why we prefer not to offer these areas of town to clients who are non-professional estate buyers and who are foreign investors. We offer security conscious buyers areas like Tegel, Haselhorst and Buckow. What is so good about Tegel, Haselhorst and Buckow? 1. These are districts that are old and have gradually grown, which means you have access to their history and to the originalities of the whole area What service does the buyer receive? 1. All the required paperwork translated into the English language by a sworn in translator. This includes the Declaration of Partition, Sales Contract, Management Contracts for Individual Ownership and Common Ownership, Contract of Rental Guarantee |