Premium-Altbau Berlin: VON POLL IMMOBILIEN - the podcast

In the viewing episode 2 of the VON POLL IMMOBILIEN Podcasts, Sybille Lunkenheimer, office manager at VON POLL IMMOBILIEN Berlin - City-West, and host Susanne Hauf conduct an exciting interview on the major topic area of premium old buildings Berlin.

For the inspection it goes this time into an exclusive old building dwelling in a Jugendstilhaus in the citizen of Berlin district Charlottenburg Wilmersdorf. On you waits here directly afterwards the tour to the hearing or as transcript. We hope you enjoy!

Podcast episode 'Premium-Altbau Berlin' - complete transcript

Moderator Susanne Hauf:

Hello, Ms. Lunkenheimer, have a nice day.

Sybille Lunkenheimer, Branch Manager at VON POLL IMMOBILIEN Berlin - City-West:

Good afternoon.

Susanne Hauf:

You are the branch manager of VON POLL IMMOBILIEN Shop Berlin West. Thank you very much for allowing us to be present at the viewing of this apartment today.

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

I am also pleased to welcome you here in Berlin. Especially in our beautiful, sought-after district of Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf. This is an art nouveau house. You can see though, the facade is relatively plain. But you will still see inside - there are still beautiful Art Nouveau elements preserved in many places.

Susanne Hauf:

Okay, now I know what you mean.

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

It is kept relatively simple, but still all the floral decorations everywhere on the walls, which are then refurbished. Certainly in the course of yes now already over 100 years. But it is always beautifully made.

Susanne Hauf:

Prima, let's move on. I'm already so curious.

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

This was already at that time a highly stately house, here is yes the side street of Kurfürstendamm. Even back then, not exactly the simplest people lived here. So they already had an elevator here. It is now hidden back here in the case. Many celebrities, actors, soccer players and politicians live here. So here is already a beautiful place in Berlin.

Susanne Hauf:

VON POLL IMMOBILIEN - the podcast. Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf in the west of Berlin. A district that not only attracts tourists from all over the world. It is also a high-turnover location for trade and gastronomy as well as a center for culture, science and research. Among other things, the Berlin Stock Exchange has its headquarters here. But also well-known cultural institutions such as the Schaubühne, the Deutsche Oper and the Haus der Berliner Festspiele. Around 340,000 people from more than 170 nations live here. In the neighborhoods, history meets modernity and old-West Berlin charm meets progressiveness.

Mommsenstraße in Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf is the location of the premium property we are taking you to today. An impressive apartment in an old building from the VON POLL IMMOBILIEN portfolio.

My name is Susanne Hauf. I am the host of the podcast, welcome!

Susanne Hauf:

Ach, now I directly notice these beautiful windows. So beautiful - what do you call it? Is that so enamel work?

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

This is an old, the old, well-preserved leaded glass. There you can see the flowers - typical art nouveau with acanthus leaves - and the middle part was certainly once like that, but of course a lot of it has already been broken in the turmoil of war.

Susanne Hauf:

It's amazing anyway that there is still so much old preserved in this house.

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

The ceiling height here is of course already almost 3 meters 60. That makes then already what. Even in the narrow hallway, which is also so typical of old buildings, you still have a good feeling when you come in.

Susanne Hauf:

Exactly, so a bit of freedom. So what strikes me here now directly is, we come yes now from the hallway, there were yes these beautiful, old floorboards and now we have a different floor here. This is parquet flooring.

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

Yes, also oak parquet laid in a herringbone pattern. In the hallway, yes, we had the plank floor. This has always been softwood, which is also laid as a ship's floor - that's the name of this type of laying - elongated offset these, the long planks as a ship's floor. And here we have the typical herringbone oak parquet. That was always common in the front, representative rooms.

Susanne Hauf:

Yes, then we go on. There are yes also now already these beautiful hinged doors everywhere I just see, for the next room.

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

Yes, that is also quite typical of old buildings in general. And here stop still particularly beautiful the original fittings, all the art nouveau fittings. See, they are well preserved everywhere.

Susanne Hauf:

Yes, beautiful. And exciting I also find that, that you come from the hallway into each room, but also the rooms are all connected among themselves.

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

Yes, and then by connecting the double doors you also have such a vastness. 3 meters 60 high ceilings and then the double doors, that looks very representative also.

Susanne Hauf:

Very imposing in any case. And so bright too, it's so incredibly bright. And now I notice the beautiful stucco here again. It's a bit different in the rooms, after all.

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

In each room is actually a bit different stucco. What is the same is in the rooms in the middle, the center rosette. That's where the gas outlet used to be. One had illuminated with gas. Exactly, which is now of course in the house here also at least no longer, so deconstructed. One has then in the course of the last century the gas connections more and more deconstructed. One has now also electricity for the lamps.

Susanne Hauf:

What would one do now with these rooms from the use? Would that be now so rather the bedrooms or rather small living rooms, or?

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

So we have now to the front of the three rooms, where the one room where we are now, with the beautiful balcony is. That would make a good living room, of course. And then the passage to the middle room maybe as a library or extended living room. And in the small room actually, there was actually once thought of, a guest room. With five rooms, I think, there...

Susanne Hauf:

...one has possibilities, yes. And there's also the beautiful balcony, I'd love to go out there. Let's see what awaits us there.

Sybille Lunkenheimer

It's also often in the side streets, if you're not exactly upstairs, on the upper floors, that you have a tree directly in front of the balcony then. That is of course, when it is warm, also very nice, gives shade. But of course it also makes it a bit dark. But here, right in front of this balcony is no tree.

Susanne Hauf:

Yes, that's real, that's really funny, because I see trees everywhere here, just not right here.

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

And you also have a view of beautiful houses, if you look over there, the stucco variants also still, the volutes up there, on the roof cornice - these are really magnificent houses that are also preserved here. That really makes the charm of the street, because here are also very many houses that were built by very famous architects at the time. Just 1902 to 4 have built here quite a lot of famous architects also and they are thank God preserved.

Yes, then we go further. Exactly. Here you see again different stucco also on the ceiling.

Susanne Hauf:

Yes, right. The is now completely different.

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

There is always a bit with volutes and sometimes puttis in the corners, so in each room is always something different. These are also all original preserved box windows.

If you see the glass like this, it's not completely flat. If you move, you see that it's still an uneven glass with bubbles, that's also still original preserved.

Susanne Hauf:

Yes, that was now the children's room or bedroom. Or as I said, I think you can do a lot here. Now we have two more rooms.

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

The two rooms, this is now the bathroom. The bathroom now very large. But that has also been subsequently enlarged so.

Susanne Hauf:

Yes, wow, that's a real hall.

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

At the time the house was built, no value was placed on such a large bathroom. The concept was completely different. There was here also in the old plans the wall here practically goes through. There was a small bathroom, so to speak a hose bath, we always say now. And left next to it was the kitchen somewhat larger and for it there, where now the guest toilet is, was here straight ahead the chamber, where then the girls slept.

Susanne Hauf:

Ah, I see. Well, shower and bathtub. There you can already do wellness.

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

Yes, now of course you would already like a bathtub and a shower and a spacious bathroom. In the past, that was not so common.

Susanne Hauf:

Yes, that's exactly what fascinates me here. Just this combination to preserve the old and put the new just so on top.

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

And here then also the guest toilet, which is now also of course as I said former girls chamber.

Susanne Hauf:

Is for a guest toilet also already really big. But if I now imagine that the maid lived and slept here, then it puts it into perspective.

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

Yes, by our standards today. But back then, they say, had 15 square meters per capita as normal. Today it has become 50 square meters. But quite currently, we want to develop back into these 15 square meters. So somehow everything repeats itself.

Susanne Hauf:

Yes, interesting. And how was that then? Then they lived here and could then go directly to the kitchen, right?

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

Yes, there was then the passage to the pantry. Above the pantry, the girls or maids, one would then say, lived and then worked in the kitchen. Served here in front in the representative rooms and then also went out again through the kitchen and through the spiral staircase down to the courtyard.

Susanne Hauf:

Were virtually invisible, except for the moment of serving.

Now we come to the kitchen.

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

Yes, there you can also see the floor. These are also the original preserved tiles still. That is also rare. They're not even broken in a big way. Sometimes you have broken areas.

Although you can also reconstruct those. These tiles are now also restored, because yes many Berlin old buildings just no longer have so well preserved tile floors. But here it is really still original.

Susanne Hauf:

Yes, then we go in.

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

The kitchen is now of course no longer so, so old.

Susanne Hauf:

Ne, I think there is such a dishwasher and so.

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

Exactly, here we have of course everything nicely equipped with dishwasher, with stove, with microwave, with extractor fan - so everything you want in a modern kitchen so. And there's the former exit to the spiral staircase then. Exactly, that is only now closed and there is a shelf built in.

Susanne Hauf:

Mrs. Lunkenheimer, some residential buildings in this street are yes listed building ensemble. What makes this location so outstanding?

Sybille Lunkenheimer

Yes, precisely because here through the turmoil of war nevertheless very much has been preserved and still in the original. Here - just in this circle Schlüter Street, Bleibtreu Street - have worked around 1900 and 1905 very many, very famous architects. For example, right next door is the famous yellow ensemble. That was designed by Albert Gessner at that time and that's also beautiful and everything is also preserved in the original. Or also if you look across the street here, yes. Subke is also a well-known name or Ignatz Grünfeld. These are all very, very well-known architects, of which thank God so much has been preserved.

Susanne Hauf:

Yes, beautiful. In Frankfurt am Main, we visited a premium apartment in the Grand Tower in the last podcast episode. This one is quite a different property, but also premium and, above all, just as sought-after. How often do apartments like this come on the market?

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

So every five years maybe times that you have times the luck. It is rather rare, also very sought after then.

Susanne Hauf:

Yes and how long do they stay on the market then?

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

Not long. We also have many existing customers, they are of course already waiting for such an opportunity and we usually market that then also discreetly.

Susanne Hauf:

What do you think, how will the demand for such properties develop?

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

This is high and will not become less. In the good locations or even premium locations, the apartments are just not getting any more.

Susanne Hauf:

And is it still worth buying a property like this in Berlin today?

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

Yes, of course. We have admittedly in the last ten years a very high price increase, especially here in the city center. So 150, 160 percent is actually normal here.

Susanne Hauf:

You had just said now that these apartments are traded discreetly. How do I have to imagine that? How can I now come to such an apartment?

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

If you are looking for an apartment and approach us, visit us in the store at Ludwigkirchplatz or in any other way, then we will be happy to note your wishes, what exactly you are looking for, how big the apartment should be, in which region the apartment should be located. And then we would notify you first when we put something on the market.

Susanne Hauf:

Ach, that's interesting. I can sort of get listed like that as an interested party.

Sybille Lunkenheimer

Yes, of course. And that's important for us, too. The better we know each other or the better we can also understand and know your wishes, the better we can then also send you suitable properties. And this is also discreet. Some owners prefer that their property is not publicly visible in every internet portal. And so we then already have the customers of whom we know exactly what they are looking for - they then also get exactly the right thing.

Susanne Hauf:

Can you make exactly tailored offers, that's nice.

Yes, so very impressive also all the background information, also historical. So that was already very interesting and I have learned a lot today. Thank you very much for that, Mrs. Lunkenheimer.

Sybille Lunkenheimer:

Please, I was pleased if you liked it. If you still have questions, you can always reach me.

Susanne Hauf:

Are you interested in this property or other apartments, lofts or houses? Then feel free to contact the VON POLL IMMOBILIEN experts at any time.

VON POLL IMMOBILIEN - the podcast. You can find us on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast and in the VON POLL IMMOBILIEN app. On Amazon Music and via Alexa. Just say: Alexa, play the VON POLL IMMOBILIEN podcast.