Looking at yields and rents there, seems some flats offer good value there.

Was Berlin always so "inexpensive" ?

Why so cheap compared to London or other major British cities?

Which parts of Berlin would be best for peace, classy neighbourhood, not too far from their Tube?

Any tips welcome.

Thank you

I bought a property in Berlin in 2005. I did a few threads on here back then.

Everyone has a different opinion on 'best' area including Mitte, Charlottenberg, Wilmersdorf, Freidrichshain, Prenzlauerberg, Kreuzberg and Zehlendorf.

A few observations of my experience so far;

The bueracracy is a little tedious and ott.

It is'nt investor freindly, in the sense that you cant just do as you please as is the case in the UK. Lots of tenant freindly rules, limits on rent increases, very specific rules on ongoing charges and how they can or cant be recouped from tenants.

As you would expect, everything is in German which gets cumbersome, for example only today I got a bill from the BSR(state cleaning authority) about 8 pages long which I have to translate, arrange transfers for and so on.


I also bought a block of flats, but this time with a German freind which makes everything so much easier! This one is out by the Polish border where we found rent yields to be much higher for blocks (c 20%) although we did buy a bargain which helps with the yield. Of the 2 investments I much prefer the latter as local demand is good (so far) and the competition from other landlords, less.

Capital growth should be steady given the low base we have started from. Neg heads as ever see Human life as a static entity so they will tell you capital growth will not occur. They argue Germans will never take to mass ownership. I disagree.

YIELDS:
You need to recognise you are likely to be inundated with bills and one off costs so a seemingly high gross yield can end up at around 4%.

SUMMARY:
I prefer now to invest in areas that have a Brit focused culture as it makes everything so much easier to manage and resales easier. I looked at Italy but nothing stacks up and I dont like the fact they have mass corruption, lack of natural law and 61 Governemnts in 63 years (imagine your kids in an inheritance dispute with a local bent Mayor - it would be shoulder shrugs all round and no one to turn to).

Believe it or not, Medittereanean Morocco (Saidia) is my favourite target as there are very safe Royal resorts on a grand scale being built and where the focus from inception was to provide year round rent from very unique developments that have no competetion in Europe.

Thank you, very nice lot of tips there.

Berlin tends to take my breath away

Try these local estate agents, the bloke's the in-house mortgage consultant:

once you've read through DB's 'code' you'll gather that it's not worth doing...cue his reponse containing word 'neghead'.

Berlin is at the bottom of the cycle,
while the UK is now "just over the top"

think Berlin is a great city. It makes a great place to invest but also a great city to live in. Its brimming with history and culture. A real ineresting city and I think it has all the qualitys of any of the great citys in the world, New york, Paris, London, Amsterdam. Its full of artists, musicians, a party somewhere every night of the week.
There is always something to do, and no one seems to get on your case if you do someting wrong.
You can be yourself in Berlin.

Anyway, If your tired of all the Slick talking real estate agents, and anybody needs a hands on real estate agent in Berlin to weed out a good property, send me a message or give me a ring. I'm always happy to help new people discover Berlin!
My friend works for Real estate agency and he found me some great stuff in Prenzlauberg at a great price

My number is +4915153508364