Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim1979
I'm now in a position to be buying in Berlin (subject to the £/€ rate hopefully getting a little better) and avoiding 'rogue agents' is certainly at the top of my list of things to do. Can those with the experience shed a little light on who is worth avoiding and - just as importantly - who is good to do business with. As this may well be the first of multiple purchases in Berlin, then it would be nice to get an agent to build a good working relationship with.
Cheers,
Tim.
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One of the best ways to find if the agent is a "rogue" agent or not is to discuss the rental returns.
If they mention that they can offer you a tenanted property which you can then raise the rent on over the coming years to provide you with a good yield - alarms bells are ringing. Some can but those are few, far between and the rental yields are so low to begin with that agencies probably aren't offering them.
In my opinion, tenanted properties are not the best investment vehicles in Berlin for a number of reasons including the Berliner Mietspiegel, legislation protecting the tenants and the fact that tenants in Berlin are entitled to "free" legal representation.
Also, if the agency is offering product in areas like Neuköln as investment property, it's another indicator to be wary. While Berlin as a whole offers some superb investment opportunities, not all of Berlin is as good an investment as the next.
Neuköln for example was all over the newspapers in 2006 due to violence related issues and they have even had to add metal detectors to some of the school doors to screen the kids for weapons upon arriving and leaving the schools. Today, Neuköln also can't be classed as the best place to invest in Berlin yet some agencies still offer it.
This was just under two years ago in Neuköln:
Letter From Berlin: Germany's School of Hard Knocks - International - SPIEGEL ONLINE - News
No Solution Other Than Police Presence for Unruly Berlin School | Germany | Deutsche Welle | 01.04.2006
I can't tell you which agents to avoid - the same way I won't promote the company I work for out of principal. But those two snippets might give you a headstart on some of the less informed agencies.