The British authorities have put the Admiralty Arch up for sale and are now eyeing the building of the Palace of Westminster. However, there are plenty of less pretentious options in Europe. Castles are turned into hotels, rented out for weddings and birthdays, and wine from the vineyards growing on the surrounding lands is sold. But more often they just relax, because the castle business is a troublesome business.

YULIA POGORELOVA

Currently in Great Britain, the issue of the future of the famous building of the Palace of Westminster, where the country’s parliament sits, is being actively discussed. The condition of the historical building became a cause for concern. Work on the construction of an underground parking lot for the needs of Parliament and the extension of one of the metro lines, Jubilee, have led to the fact that the palace is gradually sliding into the water, and the Big Ben tower has already deviated from the vertical by 45.7 cm. In addition, marks appeared on the walls of the building cracks. Among the options for saving the former residence of the English kings, the British government is considering its sale to foreign investors, including from Russia and China. The estimated cost of the Palace of Westminster could be £500 million.

According to realtors, the moment to sell the palace was chosen ideally: London real estate, especially of this rank, is now at the peak of popularity. However, the purchase of such an object can hardly be considered as a profitable investment. "I believe that the acquisition of the palace itself will cost a symbolic amount - a penny or a pound, it doesn't matter. Plus the obligation to finance the reconstruction (a billion, from what I heard) and maintain the palace in proper condition (probably tens, if not hundreds, of millions a year “The use of the palace will be regulated by the British authorities, most likely without taking into account the investor’s opinion at all. I admit that the investor will even be offered some annual income from the rental of the facility by the same parliament. However, in financial terms, this amount will be ridiculous in comparison with the volume of investments.” — says CEO of Penny Lane Realty Georgy Dzagurov. And according to the head of the real estate investment consulting portal Indriksons.ru, Igor Indriksons, the sale of the Palace of Westminster is the usual PR of British parliamentarians: “I think this is the idea of some parliamentarian who wanted to become famous by saving the budget. Can the Kremlin be sold? The Palace of Westminster - the most famous palace. Although there is a confirmed historical fact that Buckingham Palace was sold several times by scammers." Nevertheless, at the end of last year the famous Admiralty Arch was put up for sale for $120 million. The offices of the Cabinet of Ministers moved to the building of the Ministry of Finance, resulting in premises in the Admiralty Arch with an area of almost 7.5 thousand square meters. m have been released and are now waiting for new owners.

In Europe, as a rule, castles go on sale when the owners cannot maintain them. Moreover, you can become the owner of a medieval castle for practically nothing. "The buyer chooses a castle with a limited right of use for a nominal fee of €1. In this case, the future owner undertakes to completely restore the castle at his own expense. The buyer is often placed in a very strict framework: he must restore the original appearance of the castle, not alter anything to his taste and has no the right to sell it for 50 years. There are a lot of such castles in France and Germany,” says Igor Indriksons.

True, in most cases the minimum cost of a castle starts from €500 thousand. The richest selection is in central and northern France. For example, half an hour from Paris you can buy a castle with an area of 1 thousand to 3 thousand square meters for about €3 million. m, which can have from 6 to 20 bedrooms, with a plot of land of several hectares. Of course, the closer to the capital, the smaller the area of land will be and the higher the cost of one hundred square meters.

In Edinburgh (Scotland), the cost of a restored castle will be £3-8 million. More budget options can be looked at, for example, in Germany. A 13th-century castle with an area of about 1,500 square meters is being sold for €300,000 in Saxony. m and with a plot of land of 4500 sq. m. m. For €1.4 million in North Westphalia you can buy a medieval castle converted into a hotel. The area of the castle is 650 sq. m (15 rooms), area of the site - 42 thousand sq. m. m.

As a rule, the cost of a lock directly depends on the condition in which it is located. However, if the castle belongs to the historical heritage, then the rules for its restoration are very strict. The outside must be restored to its original form. “Relatively recently, there was a trend in the market - ancient French castles were bought by the Japanese. They left the façade of the building untouched, but completely remodeled the interior,” says Tatyana Nikishina, head of foreign real estate sales at Moscow Sotheby`s International Realty. Now you can also change something in the interior decoration, but there are many prohibitions.

Castles for sale

Mestpolo
LifeCostTime
buildingsDescription

Italy, Tuscany	€ 10,000,000	XIII century	Area 2000 sq. m, plot 408 hectares. 12 bedrooms, 4 living rooms, 13 bathrooms, additional the buildings
France, Lake Geneva	€9,450,000	19th century	Area 9400 sq. m. 9 bedrooms, additional buildings, mooring space
France, Brittany	€7,500,000	n/a*	Plot 90 hectares. 9 bedrooms, 4 living rooms, 6 bathrooms, additional buildings, swimming pool
France, Dordogne	€4,995,000	n/a	Area 1162 sq. m, plot 20 hectares. 18 bedrooms, 5 living rooms, 7 bathrooms rooms, additional buildings, pool
France	€4,800,000	XVIII century	Plot 5 hectares. 5 bathrooms, 4 living rooms, 5 bathrooms, additional buildings, swimming pool

Source: according to Knight Frank.

n/a - no data.

In most cases, castles are bought by wealthy Europeans. “Russians are less likely to buy castles, since they are more interested in vacationing closer to popular places, for example, the Cote d'Azur, where castles are impossible to find,” says Ekaterina Thain, director of the residential real estate department at Chesterton.

Locks are purchased less frequently as a business. Although there are quite a few options for extracting income from a medieval residence, for example, renting it out for the weekend, using the vineyards or converting it into a hotel. “At the beginning of the twentieth century, French castles were actively bought by Americans. They converted part of the castle into housing for themselves, and restored part of it and opened museums there, selling souvenirs. Quite often, castles are rented out for various celebrations. You can celebrate a wedding or birthday in a small castle from €2 thousand per weekend, and if a large castle was chosen, the rental cost for the same period can reach up to €130 thousand,” says Tatyana Nikishina. “The maximum return can reach up to 14% per annum if the castle is rented out 12 months a year and if the owner has invested in creating infrastructure for hunting and fishing, built a pavilion for weddings and celebrations,” says the regional director of the residential real estate department at Knight Frank Russia & CIS Elena Yurgeneva.

Vineyards are a rather complex business, and it is not easy for amateurs to make a profit from their use. “We had a castle that was sold with vineyards. They produced famous wine, and such a business brought in about 6% per annum. However, it was already a well-established business with promoted wine brands and supplies to England, continental Europe and Russia, which was created by the original In most cases, a different scheme is practiced by the owners of the castle: the owner leases the vineyards to local farmers, stipulating how many bottles of wine they must provide him in lieu of rent,” says Ekaterina Tein.

A more common option is a boutique hotel or restaurant. Experts advise opening them in small locks - in this case the cost of maintenance is lower. “You can buy a ready-made business. In 2009, a law was passed in France according to which staircases in hotels must meet certain fire safety requirements. Many owners of castle hotels did not want to remodel them and put the properties up for sale,” says Tatyana Nikishina.

Accommodation in a superior double room at the five-star castle hotel Schloss Muenchhausen will cost from €420 per night. True, it did not belong to the famous Baron Hieronymus Karl Friedrich von Munchausen, who was born in the same Lower Saxony in 1720, several tens of kilometers from the castle hotel. Schloss Muenchhausen came into the possession of the brothers Otto and Burkhard von Muenchhausen in 1668. In Russia, the castle is famous for the fact that in 1715 Peter I became interested in it, or rather, in its greenhouse - the only one in Europe where pineapples grew.

A day's stay at Dragsholm Castle (Denmark) in a double room will cost €270, in a luxury double room - €350. Dragsholm was built in 1215 by a bishop from the port town of Roskilde. The castle has now been converted into a luxury hotel with 37 rooms. The main attraction of the castle, which attracts crowds of tourists here, is local ghosts. The hotel's most famous ghost is Earl James Hepburn. According to one legend, he was killed by a Norwegian noblewoman to whom he was betrothed. Another ghost is the White Lady, the daughter of one of the owners of the castle. She fell in love with a young man from a different class, for which her father imprisoned her in one of the halls of the palace.

By the way, the presence of a zest in a castle attracts attention to it only if the future owner intends to use it as a business. But when buying for your own residence, not everyone is attracted to the proximity of ghosts. “People believe that ancient castles have their own aura. We have had cases when, when choosing a castle, buyers took psychics with them to viewings so that they could check the aura of the castle and advise from this point of view whether it is worth buying,” says Ekaterina Thain.

If a castle with a twist is purchased for a hotel, its price may increase by 20-30%. But, as a rule, such factors do not affect the value of the object. “The history of a castle is a marketing ploy that helps sell it faster. In particular, a castle in the southwest of France, in Gascony, where the prototype of the main character of “The Three Musketeers” by Alexandre Dumas D’Artagnan lived, was recently sold for €3.5 million The castle where the film “The Da Vinci Code” was filmed was sold for €25 million. We noted that the number of requests from potential buyers for these two objects was much greater than for objects with similar characteristics, but without a legend, both by the way. The castle was bought by wealthy families for vacation; no commercial use is expected,” says Elena Yurgeneva.

Purchasing a castle imposes a number of obligations on the owner. “Not far from Toulouse there is a large chateau, an architectural monument of the 18th century, in which the 90-year-old baroness lives. She is obliged to open her house to tourists in August, one or two excursions are held a day. If she is in a good mood, then she can As a rule, tourists do not enter the owners’ private rooms,” says Ekaterina Tein.

When purchasing a lock in Europe, it is useful for the buyer to seek advice from a tax inspector, as there are circumstances that may entail significant unplanned expenses. "When buying a castle, you should take into account the peculiarities of the country's tax legislation. For example, in France you can register a castle either for one person or for a company that includes all family members or most of it. In this case, you can avoid inheritance tax, which in France reaches 30%. It is important how long you are going to own the castle. For example, after seven years of owning real estate in France, the income tax rate on invested capital is reduced, and after ten years of ownership you are practically exempt from it. therefore, the tax here will be lower,” says Ekaterina Tein.

Louis XIV was here

INVESTMENT IN HISTORY

Alexey Semin, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the ASG investment group of companies:

— I purchased the Leveville castle in 2005. This is a monument to the history of France of the 17th century, included in the list of historical heritage. The castle was owned by the personal secretary of Louis XIV, with whom the king stayed when traveling to the provinces. The castle hosted meetings between the king and the Marquise de Maintenon, who later became the morganatic wife of Louis XIV. 10 km from Leveville is the Maintenon castle, which the king presented to his beloved as a gift in memory of these meetings. Other historical figures include the Crown Prince of Condé, who was persecuted by Catherine de Medici and spent several years under house arrest at Leveville Castle. The owners of the castle in the 19th century were a French bourgeois family with large capital. They went down in history thanks to the fact that Alexander Dumas the father stayed with them several times when he was experiencing financial difficulties.

Restoring a historical monument is always difficult. The first mention of the castle dates back to the 12th century; in the 17th century, the castle was rebuilt and turned into a palace. Its archive burned down during the Second World War - the headquarters of Hitler's army was located in the castle. All the documentation was restored bit by bit - this was needed during the reconstruction. It took three years to restore the interiors. Architects and restorers from the Louvre were involved. Today the forest area around the castle is being restored, which will take approximately six years. The castle itself has been completely recreated.

A castle like Leveville costs at least €10 million on the market. Its restoration cost several times more. It takes about €200 thousand annually to maintain the castle in optimal condition. If you organize receptions, the amount of maintenance will increase significantly.

In accordance with current legislation, historical monuments must be open to tourists on certain days. In France, owners providing excursions are even offered significant tax breaks. Since I am not a resident of France, do not reside there permanently and pay taxes in the Republic of Tatarstan, these preferences do not apply to me.

A palace with all its inconveniences