Bought a Village? Or multiple properties within one?

Germany isn't cheap, especially when it comes to real eststate and renovation costs.

Thus for such a plan, you would need many millions of Euros. Do you have that?

(Banks will only finance you, by mortgage, a single property - and also only if you can afford the monthly re-payments.)

You have asked the exact qustion in Austria, the same applies to what beppi has said.

You can also forget the idea of buying a whole village because there are none for sale.

You can sometimes buy a whole apartment building but they cost Millions of Euros and those that buy them are property management firms. 

Thank you both. The post is more so to try and at least find others who might've bought across a village or in rare cases the entirety of it.

I've spoken to others who have done so in other countries and bare the cost of living in Germany/Austria in mind, but thought it couldn't hurt to seek someone who has done so before.

Thanks, Naomi

They have actually set up a "village" in the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania, USA, on a dozen ha. But it seems to have been build from scratch. It is a resort community and campground, something that is easily done in the USA and is being done frequently. So I assume they want to do something similar in Germany or elsewhere in Central Europe or the world. So they may have the money. Their reviews are from dismal to well.

This just for the information of the readers.

In general I agree with what has been said above. I think there may be exceptions though, where one could buy in the Middle/Eastern part of Germany something like what is intended by buying from the individual owners. Even in the former Western part, such as in the "Fränkische Schweiz" you may be able to buy all of the houses of a "Weiler" if you make a big enough offer to the last owner. From the first owners you may get their houses relatively cheaply, much cheaper than building new. I think their idea has some charm and if they are the right people something special could come out of it.

@naomi_village

Italy and Spain are sometimes reported to sell whole villages.

A few years ago, the settlement "Alwine" in Brandenburg, Germany (not strictly a village as such) was auctioned off and so far every owner has quickly regretted the purchase. Maybe because half the buildings have sitting tenants with rights.

I hear Montenegro and the Balkans in general are the hot new place for buying such rural properties.

@ALKB

It was actually Italy which inspired my search. I heard of abandoned villages selling properties for €1 and Brits purchasing multiple with the aim of rennovating.

I hadn't heard of Alwine! Will search into it, what a shock it must've been for both the buyer and tenants. 

And thank you, I'll ask around in the  Montenegro and  Balkans forums, it'd be great to see if the possibility is more realistic in those areas.

All the best,

Naomi

@armin31

Thank you Armin, thats so interesting to hear that the concept is also spreading in the USA too. Your advice as with the other responses above for Germany are much appreciated

Warmly,

Naomi

@ALKB
It was actually Italy which inspired my search. I heard of abandoned villages selling properties for €1 and Brits purchasing multiple with the aim of rennovating.

I hadn't heard of Alwine! Will search into it, what a shock it must've been for both the buyer and tenants.

And thank you, I'll ask around in the Montenegro and Balkans forums, it'd be great to see if the possibility is more realistic in those areas.

All the best,
Naomi
-@naomi_village

But they all do come with certain conditions which if you look at it, it does not seem so great because everyone would be buying them up.

There are countries where you need permission from the town hall to buy the property unless you are a citizen of that country.

I have also heard, in the past, of similar deals in Germany, where a property was sold by the authorities for very cheap - e.g. there was a whole castle in Franken (Northern Bavaria) available for 1€!

But these are not charity cases: They come with responsibilities and conditions, which are of course difficult to meet and cause the value of the property to actually be close to Zero. In case of the castle, the new owner had to maintain it according to monument conservation rules, which does not come cheap - and for which the local authorities did not have the finances, thus prompting the sale.

The castle was eventually (after many millions investment) turned into a seminar hotel and event destination (e.g. weddings for the rich) - only such commercial business models can make these deals attractive!

The so called "village" of Alwine, on the other hand, was a dilapidated remainder of a former industrial estate, about an hour drive from the nearest town of any size. (I didn't know until then that such remote areas exist in Germany!) It was sold in 2001 for under 100 000 €, which sounds like a bargain for eight inhabitated main bulidings (plus several others). It changed hands several times since, and the fact that all business models failed to materialize (and the buildings have not seen any repairs) should tell you that all of them regretted it in the end.

My advice, if you are open for realistic assessments: Forget about wanting to buy "cheap" property and renovate it in a place that you aren't familiar with and where you don't understand the locals (i.e. speak their language and know their way of thinking). Too many dreamers have tried and failed such plans!

The question sounds like a scam of some sort. One could buy a tract of land, get it re-zoned if needed, and build a village. To buy a whole one is likely very expensive. If property is cheap then there is a reason. Some villages have been abandoned or on their way to be because of things like unstable underground, poisoned ground or water or buried munitions from past wars that cannot be safely removed, to make them uninhabitable. Or it can be that a whole community needs need new infrustructure like water pipes, sewage pipes, electricity, street lamps, traffic signals etc. and one would be contractually obligated to have them built. Find a super price on a house in Germany built after WWII and it might be that they found a1000 kilo bomb buried underneath after completion.

Some small villages are almost deserted because nobody wants to live in a place with no jobs, schools or decent infrastructure. Bringing life to some of these might be possible but likely very expensive. Like what is the point? Some cults or Nazi enclaves have tried this to have their little fiefdoms to pursue their evil intentions away from outside eyes. So one really needs to know who and why does one want to do such a thing.

@ALKB
It was actually Italy which inspired my search. I heard of abandoned villages selling properties for €1 and Brits purchasing multiple with the aim of rennovating.

I hadn't heard of Alwine! Will search into it, what a shock it must've been for both the buyer and tenants.

And thank you, I'll ask around in the Montenegro and Balkans forums, it'd be great to see if the possibility is more realistic in those areas.

All the best,
Naomi
-@naomi_village

1€ houses in Italy come with conditions such as security deposits and having to renovate the property within two years of purchase, some also have restrictions regarding their use.

There are properties on the market in Italy that are more expensive than a Euro but will give you more freedom in what to do with them.

If the buidlings are listed, the usual bureaucratic aspect of such a restoration is considerable.

Also, unless you purchase a very specific property in a country that offers such a pathway, buying property does not generally come with residential rights. So, if you are not an EU citizen, you will have to factor this in.

Starting a (rural) community with like-minded folks is the dream of many, but I have yet to see a real example that works well. The Israeli Kibbuzim are close, but resemble huge agro-businesses more than communes.

I myself bought and renovated a complex of three old houses (see my avatar), in a city suburb that grew out of a village core (so we have the best of both worlds). Since we rent out two of them, we can in fact choose our own neighbours. I believe communal living only works this way - with a benevolent dictator (a role I like to play). But setting this up brought us to the verge of bancruptcy!