A group of Belgian property investors who thought they had bought legitimate real estate in Germany but ended up with run-down flats have won a legal battle against the previous owners.
Back in 2017, some 150 Belgians invested in properties located in German towns through a Belgian company which adverted "renovated real estate, whose roofs and windows have been completely renewed" in Germany. They claimed that the investors could count on a "certain rental income" from the properties, however, the flats turned out to be rundown.
Now, five years later, the group of people who bought six apartments in the German town of Löhne, located some four hours' drive from Brussels, have won their court case against the previous owners, VRT NWS reports.
Their purchase will be refunded due to the decrepit state their properties were in, a German court ruled.
Meanwhile, the Belgians who purchased properties in Arnsberg and Bielefeld are still saddled with the apartments which are located in “drug and alcohol-infested neighbourhoods."
The properties themselves have mouldy bathrooms, collapsed sewers, paint peeling off the walls, and holes in the uninsulated roofs, but a judge ruled that there was no problem with the sale price or the proposed revenue.
Bottomless pits
The investors said that they had "no other choice but to launch several lawsuits in Germany against the Belgian real estate firm that sold them the apartments."
"There is no alternative," said Liesbeth Beeckman, one of the owners and president of Samen Sterk, the non-profit representing the investors and coordinating the claims.
"Renting them out costs us money because the tenants rightly make demands on their living conditions. Leaving it vacant attracts other problems. And selling is not an option. These apartments are a bottomless pit, into which you keep pouring money."
Speaking about the first successful lawsuit, Beeckman told VRT: "There is a relief, but we are left with a bitter aftertaste. Why is it necessary to litigate against such sellers for five years and put extra money into it? This is very difficult for the owners. It's been a long ordeal."
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Beeckman added that the investors were "very embarrassed" as they believed that "low-income people would get affordable, quality housing." Instead, "we were becoming slumlords against our will" by renting "slums" to society's most vulnerable people.
VRT approached the Belgian real estate firm for comment but was told that the company wants to review the content of the verdict before responding.
