Still much potential for new shopping centers

This article is based on information that had been researched by Bulwien Gesa.

In 2009 noboy wanted to hear about retail investments. After a strong 2007 and a moderate 2008, the year 2009 can be considered loss-making. According to Bulwien Gesa all this could change for the better in 2010 with many foreign investors leading the group of potential investors. Recently also the Deutsche Bank Think Tank mentioned that Germany is the only country where the real estate market is not very much affected by the crisis and where the risk is more manageable than in its neighbor countries (this was actually about residential investments, but still shows the difference in the EU). Investors who purchased properties with long contracts have not much to fear in 2010 as only a few contracts will expire this year.

Properties: Should I Buy From Forced Auctions? How?

In this article I am summarizing the pros and cons of buying properties in Germany through an auction. I am talking about forced auctions held by the courts.

The How-To is here: http://bit.ly/bBpwgU

The pros of an auction:

• No commission is involved, unless you want a broker or consultancy to help you with the assessment of the information that you might want to gather before you go for the property.
• The court always provides for free you with a valuation that had been done by an independant architect. Normally you have to pay for this paper.
• In most cases the property will be handed over with a clean land register. Exceptions are very special cases that are mentioned in the documentation the court can provide you with.
• You are entitled to the income of the property as of the day of the auction. 
• Commercial leases can be cancelled within 4 weeks after the auction (not residential leases!!). 

The cons:

• Many times you might not be able to visit the property from inside since the owner or creditor does not offer this. They are not legally obliged to show you around.
• If the former owner resists the hand-over of the property, though he legally cannot do so, you might face a lot work for some time.
• Nobody assumes any liability for the property regarding damages etc.

If you need help, do not hesitate to contact FIS: hello@fis24.net