Living in a vintage gas station, in Schoeneberg

Andreas Meichsner for The New York Times

Have a look at the fabulous article by the New York Times on a very lateral-thinking renovation: from gas station to apartment-cum-art-gallery!

Actually, I remember seeing an Aral gas station teamed up with a bar/restaurant at Schlesisches Tor U-bahn station, close to Club der Visionäre. I wonder if it is seasonal or open all year round…have to check it out.

The full article can be found on the New York Times website together with a beautiful slide show. An excerpt of the article follows.

In Berlin, a renovated gas station

by KIMBERLY BRADLEY

Resilient Berlin real estate

This morning the New York times has an interesting article on real estate in our favorite city….”Berlin Real Estate holding firm”.

The banking crisis has left some wealthy Germans worried about leaving large amounts of money in their accounts or investing in stocks and shares. They have turned instead to bricks and mortar and a result has been increased sales to locals. This is a real change in a city where fewer than 15 percent of the 3.4 million residents own their homes.

Mr. Frank says he has noticed a change in the foreigners now coming to Berlin: “There are more entrepreneur types arriving, more people setting up businesses, especially Internet start-ups.”

Still, most large corporations have not relocated to Berlin from Munich, Hamburg and other cities, much to the disappointment of the capital’s administration.

“Ich bin ein property investor…”

“…location is even more crucial here than anywhere else. The city always had an unusual structure as a collection of villages, but wartime destruction and Cold War division has left the geography even more out of whack. It’s still very much a bipolar city with two areas offering the most robust safety net for investors: the Mitte and Prenzlauer Berg areas of the former East and the south-western neighbourhoods of the former West”.

An interesting article on the Irish Times. Yes in real estate “perspective” is everything, especially if you are a value rather than a growth investor. Berlin had it bubbly times in the 90s after the reunification and in the early 2000s…true, in 2006-2007 there were still people hoping to do a quick buck in Berlin but I would say confined to a few overpriced areas…the big bubble had burst years before. On location, my favourite theme of discussion, the author is very effective in describing the issue in Berlin. Click on the title for being re-directed to the Irish Times article.

Ich bin ein property investor: is it the right time to buy in Berlin?

Twenty years after the fall of the Wall and after two property bubbles, prospects for the Berlin market are steady, Irish developers operating there tell Derek Scally.

Verkauft dich nicht, Berlin…

Tempelhof Airport, Tegel Airport, MediaSpree, Gazometer, Marx-Engels Forum, Gleisdreieck…many plots of land are in the middle of something in Berlin. The Local investigates some of the “deals” and reasons opposing citizens and business (with the city’s government somewhere in between).

Berlin stokes foreign investor land rush

Berlin is a roomy place but investors from Britain and the US have come to see the German capital as fertile ground for a cheap property deal. Ben Knight finds out how much of the city’s  is left for Exberliner magazine (click on the title to be re-directed to the website) – Exberliner (editor@exberliner.com)

Photo: IlGatto

From the wall to four walls

Mauerpark gentrification? au secours!!! Let’s hope this side of Berlin remains messy and fluid, and not a neat row of pretty boxes! There are already so many houses built in Berlin which only ask for a coat of paint (and yes, new plumbing, the removal of the odd paper-thin post-war dividing wall), why building more?

20 years on, a street recalls the Berlin wall

by William Boston on Sphere

…and here are the flats!

It took some time, to refurbish them, to stitch up proper mini-websites, but eventually here they are. Click on the links on the right…

The 1920s flat has a surface of only 54 square meters – plus a mezzanine! – and is located in a beautiful Altbau. The 1960s flat is cuddly, only 30 square meters but its location is magic!

Both are located in the Bayerisches Viertel in Schöneberg…our ideal neighborhood!

Location, location, location!

The Aflatinberlin mantra! Location, location, location! An interesting (even if not surprising) article today:

Berlin Berlin – time for a good bargain?

Wednesday, October 14, 2009 @ 17:51 PM

written by Peter Talkenberger

How is the property market in Berlin doing these days? Contrary facts and opinions are the order of the day. But also really good news. In this article we publish an interview which we had with an architect, who overlooks the “scene” from his office in Friedrichstrasse “Am Checkpoint Charlie”.

long-legged beauty

This morning MeinMann and I were looking at the new Ligne Roset showroom in Rome, and all of a sudden I saw something familiar. The pure lines of the “Scandinavian furniture” of our childhood. Palisander and burnished metal legs. In this case it’s Tanis, a desk by Ligne Roset, re-editing the CM 141 desk by Pierre Paulin, presented at the Salon des Arts Ménagers in the 50s.

This makes us even more proud owners of our palisander sideboard, an original one, manufactured by Musterring. What once was popular good design for the masses now becomes quite premium-price and bo-bo.

Long live Berlin second-hand stores!

And now, what’s up?

One year ago I kick-started the refurbishing process at our 1920s flat in Schöneberg. In the early spring, while the finishing touches were being added…ooops! we decided to double-up and buy another flat, the Little Cub, a small but cuddly 1960s apartment.

Over the Summer I furnished also the second flat and we spent our holidays in both of them. Ab und zu, we would move from one flat to the other, in order to check our ergonomics intuitions, see if something was missing and make room for friends and family who joined us in beautiful Schöneberg.

We collected lots of enthusiastic feedback.

On our 1920s beauty the most frequent comments were: “Look at this magnificent window!” (you see it now as the Header of this blog). “I loove the touch and feel of the old parquet!”. But also the modern evolution of the flat got the thumbs up, especially the bathroom in gray hues and the surprise mezzanine.

The 1960s Cub flat seduces for its balcony view on to the park and the flood of light, making those 30 square meters airy and open. Its German retro 60s design was enhanced by selecting carefully the furniture. A few pieces, not to crowd the space, but the right ones.

In the meantime, the crisis unfolded. One year ago everybody was scared of banking with a Bad Bank. Markets crashed and the like. There were times we asked ourselves if we had done the right move.

With insight, we realized we bought at the bottom of the market (hopefully!) and our monitoring of Schöneberg real estate prices confirmed a thing or two.

First, good locations and nice properties disappeared from the radar, were scarce on the market and retained their value. Second, more mass-market and common properties were abundant and at cheaper prices. But we didn’t want a property without caractère in the first place, so no regrets. Third, it’s more difficult to get mortgages today.

And now, what’s up?

avant-garde retro design

The ugly ducking is back? at Frankfurt auto show the Trabant nT, an electric version with retro-inspired design has been presented. Check out this NYT article…