to any readers who may help, i live in waltham abbey and have noticed a new high street shop selling property in berlin i strolled in last tuesday to see if there was anything that was of interest as i have a property in cyprus,they where selling and intersting project which had a ten year rent guarantee from 24,000 sterling there website is http://www.berlinrepos.com if there is anybody with any advice would be gratefull.

Yes if its £24k its going to be the east of the city and be very run down and deserted. Visit there before you buy.

And secondly guaranteed rents are a con as the 10years rental is merely added onto the price you pay. No such thing as a free lunch.

For those that like Germany, I've been alerted to an opportunity that has just become available with berlin-capital. (Do search via Google and you will find.) What follows are some details from their pdf. I have not looked at this in depth, just thought it seemed good enough for those looking at Germany to take a closer look.

Loftland, originally a radio factory during WW2, is now being developed by a German developer woth over 100 years experience into residential apartments. (Literature didn't say who the developer was.) Until recently Loftland had been a military headquarters for the US. Situated in a prestigous Berlin address (Zehlendorf - SW Berlin), this development comes with 50% mortgage (unusual for Germany - though as normal for banks, lending it will be subject to status.) Half of the already completed apartments have been sold to locals, which indicates you are probably paying market value (assumption to check out) and that the guaranteed rentals are genuine rather than built in discounts. (Do your own research here, I'm sceptical about guaranteed rentals.)

These apartments are completed as a turn key offering. Pictures of completed apartments on berlin-capital website are impressive.

I'm not looking in Germany and won't be taking this further, just thought I'd let folk know about the offering.

Abbeyt, I've just had a curry in theydon bois, so not too far away!
The thing that puts me off Germany is unemployment and terrible long term demographics.
When you add in a 10 year guarantee, it rings alarm bells.
You may get a decent (though false) yield for ten years but the property could be worth very little at the end of the period and no one will be there to rent or buy it.

A couple of things here.
I've had dealings with this company and never a bad word about them from me. I am speaking as I find nothing more.
The Zehlendorf Kaserne development - know the area well, been into the barracks when it was functioning as such and I can confirm they will probably be excellent value for money - it's not the Mayfair of Berlin but it's pretty nice around there and I wouldn't mind living there if I were in the market for a flat.
I would suggest you get more info on the flats for 24k. They may be in the old east and a pile of garbage or they may be in need of a little tlc. It may be of course they are in the old west, part of a repo sale which was cheap and they are wanting to move them on quickly. Just because they were in the old east does not make them a bad investment. If they are Plattenbau I would suggest you walk away, If they are pre 1945 they might be worth a look, depends on the neighbourhood, close to u-bahn/s-bahn, hospital, schools, bus line etc etc etc. Never dismiss anything out of hand on the word of someone else - do your own homework - someone suggested going over for a visit without any company reps to hold your hand - sound advice take it.
I've posted a couple of times here the companies I regularly used in Germany when I was doing this for a living, you could do a lot worse than give them a call to ask advice or see what they have on their books.

abbeyt,
Please humour me. Which High Street shop are we talking about? I'm in Southampton next week and I'll do a little sniffing.

I went to Berlin for 3 days in August, to have a look at property-related opportunities:

+ central berlin (old west berlin) is hot, with places going thru auction and sold at far over appraised values

+ the cycle bottomed in the first half of 2005, and now there are few bargains in the central part,
you have to look outside to still find bargains

+ east berlin, especially the outskirts is still oversupplied. you can find bargains, but buy carefully

+ you'd better know something about the legal system if you are going to buy, there are pitfalls for the unwary

/more here: http://www.greenenergyinvestors.com/index.php?showtopic=810