There are many castles for sale throughout Europe. They range from historic castles in desperate need of renovation to splendid castles which have been fully restored. There are castles that can be bought for as little as 1.00 Euro to castles that cost 20 million euros, and in all price ranges in-between. 

The castles which are for sale often go back to the 12th and 13th century, but many were built or rebuilt during the Renaissance and Baroque period. They were embellished in the elaborate style of these times often replacing earlier once simpler or crude structures.

Anyone can become an owner of such a castle providing you have the funds to buy and renovate the castle. Unless you have or can arrange financing, banks in Europe do not loan money for castles. Foreign nationals in Germany and most other EU countries, with some exceptions, can own property outright. In some other eastern European countries a buyer may have to establish a corporation through which he can buy the castle or form a joint  ownership corporation with a local resident.  

Before you decide to buy a castle you should read the information below carefully, it will give you an idea of the steps you have to take to become a castle owner.

  1. You must have the funds for the purchase. If you have to rely on money coming from real estate you may want to sell it first, then start castle hunting. If you are planning on taking out a loan for the purchase, forget it, banks do not loan money for castles. Thus, as stated above, you have to have the funds to buy and renovate the castle.  However, you do not have to renovate everything at once. You can renovate step by step and stretch renovation out over a number of years. But you do have to have the cash to purchase the castle.
  2. If you are now thinking about that notoriously alluring price tag of 1:00 Euro, it’s not all that advantageous a deal as it sounds. For one thing the one euro is for the building only, you still have to pay for the land the castle stands on. But that is not the worst of it as the land is usually sold at the going market rate. It is the condition of the building and the fact that castles sold for one Euro are always the property of a town or county government. This means lots of stipulations and deadlines. The purchase contract alone can take months since your intention to buy the castle and your intended use have to be brought up before the town council whose members will decide in several sessions whether or not you are the right buyer. In the end the council members vote on it. The majority of the council will have to vote for you. If the majority is against you buying the castle, you have wasted a lot of time trying to get the castle. We discourage buying a castle this way. Buying from a private owner is for the most part preferable. No deadlines to finish renovation, no stipulation of how much to invest.
  3. But that does not mean that after you purchase the castle you can pick up a hammer and go to work. Whether you buy from a private owner or from a city government, you have to apply for a building permit before you start the restoration work.  For that you have to have an architect who will draw up plans unless plans do exist and you don’t want to make changes from the original lay-out.  A building permit can cost from 3000 euros to 6000 euros. At the same time you have to contact the Denkmalschutz, the historic preservation department of the state. They will then send someone who will take his time going through the castle to inspect it for to historic attributes that must be preserved. They will also tell you what color you can paint the facade, what floors, windows, ceilings etc. you have to preserve. Usually they can’t stipulate to much when it comes to your private quarters, although if there are original floors, doors, windows, they still stipulate to restore them. Such an inspection can take a month or two. It is not free, the cost can run from 5000 euros to 15,000 euros. But in most cases the state will reimburse you 50%. Although do not count on it.
  4. When you start restoration you have to hire a Baumeister (general contractor) who, before he begins has to inform the building department that he will begin renovation. He also has to inform the Denkmalschutz. Both agencies will keep an eye on the project to make sure nothing is done that should not be done.
  5. You must take into consideration that investing in a castle is investing is not something to get rich with overnight. It takes a bit of time to renovate a castle and set up a business venture, but once restored a castle always retains its value.  The right use concept is important to make castle a profitable investment. We can advise you on this.
  6. A 3% to 6% commission applies to all purchases. If the property is less than 100,000.00 euros a consulting fee of 7,500 euros applies. If the property is listed with a an other realtor, the commission stipulated by the realtor applies.
  7. If a castle shows a purchase price of 1.00 Euro that is the price for the structure. The actual sale price is the value of the land on which the castle stands on. This cost varies with the location of the castle and the size of the land. The 1.00 Euro is only the cost of the structure which can still be a very good value depending on the condition of the building.

PARTNERS – Unless you have the funds to buy and renovate which more or less can add up to a million or two euros, consider buying a castle together with several partners. It is the smart way and the only way of becoming the owner of a castle. Financing is very difficult if not impossible. Partners can either be working partners or silent partners. They can be persons you know, or add your name to our list which will appear just below this paragraph in January. It is the way we bought our castle (shown above) for which we have an opening for one more partner who will be an owner of 20% of the castle and its business. It is not only a way to make castle ownership possible, but it is also fun to have partners with whom to plan and discuss the project. If you have questions send us an e-mail to: contact@poshjourneys.com

For further details contact us at: contact@poshjourneys.com
or call us at 775-852-5105 Mon. to Fri. 9 am to 4:30 pm west coast time.

 

Rittergut  Castle Klingenberg

One of the oldest Knights Castles in Saxony going all the way back to the early 16th century. The floor space is 18,000 square feet, the grounds are about a half acre. The location is great. Dresden(the capitol of Saxony) us about 20 miles and Prague is a little over an hour away. The Castle faces the small square and the back side overlooks the forested countryside, river and valley. Since the castle stands at the edge of a hill, the view will never be obstructed. Restoration on the castle’s exterior has been started.

   

 

Schloss Bobersen

Schloss Bobersen is located in Saxony, Germany. It is a Baroque Castle built in 1700.  The castle has been restored andis  move-in ready. All utilities are new. Some interior finishing work still has to be done. The location is about 50km/30 miles from the city of Dresden, the capitol of Saxony. The floor space is 18,000 square feet, the property is 10 acres. A stretch of it is along the Elbe River. The closest larger town is Riesa, located on the other side of the river. The property has several barns and stables that have not yet, of have been just partially restored. The castle is privately owned. For more information send us an email to contact@poshjourneys.com

 

Medieval Castle

800=year old castle, partially renovated, move-in ready. Floor space is about 18,000 square feet not including cellars. The grounds are about two acres. The location is good, about half an hour from an the Leipzig-Halle Airport and half an hour from downtown Leipzig. More detailed information is available.

 

 

Baroque Castle

This large Castle was built in the mid-1700. It is located in a popular holiday area in a large park within walking distance of a lake with bathing and boating facilities.  The floorspace is about 20,000 square feet. The asking price is 350,000 Euros. For more details send us an email to: contact@poshjourneuys.com

   

More Castles coming soon