subject: The market that stayed out of trouble [print this page] Over the past 3 years a wide range of governments, regulators, banks and buyers have collectively been suffering from what might be described as Icarus Syndrome.
Laws and tax breaks were installed to encourage rampant construction of apartments, offices and hotels in dubious locations. "Soft touch" regulation was all the rage and banks were competing with each other to see who could rubber stamp the most loan and mortgage application forms in the shortest possible time. Buyers were borrowing beyond their means to purchase overpriced property developments around the world.
Too many thought they could keep on flying forever until finally, in early 2007, Icarus like, they soared too close to the sun and fell back to the ground with an almighty thud.
While all that craziness was happening, there was one country that paid no attention to the excesses of its neighbours during the boom.
Their banks didnt get carried away with huge loan to value mortgages and their citizens generally saved more than they spent. Economic growth, rental rates and property price inflation were all stable and steady. It was and still is by far the most important economy in Europe and has been a profitable and safe haven for investors for decades.
Im talking about Germany of course. "Brand Germany" was one of the main factors in the huge success of the solar investment product we launched earlier in the year. Our new range of syndicated commercial property deals share many of the same brand Germany benefits - i.e. safe & predictable investments with high rental income and solid financing with low entry levels.
Our local partners
The local partners we have formed an official collaboration with have been buying, letting and selling all types of German property for 20 years. They are also experts at sourcing, structuring and (crucially) managing German properties. They have transacted over 250 million worth of property deals and currently have more than 50 million worth of German real estate under active management. In short, theyre good at what they do and Ive been very impressed with their focus.
Torcana have gone back to basics with this product and nothing has been left to chance. Our due diligence has been extensive and we are confident the German properties listed below will sell well in any type of market - booming, busting or steady.
