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Berliners get Coke to return their sunshine

Residents in a Berlin apartment block have managed to get Coca Cola to remove an enormous advert which had been hung over the building blocking out their light. A short, sharp campaign on social media did the trick.

Published: 7 February 2013 16:44 CET

Berliners get Coke to return their sunshine

Photo: Facebook

The huge mesh poster advertising Diet Coke with the tagline 2we aren’t sorry” was hung on the side of the building on February 1st, Berlin newspaper Tagesspiegel reported on Wednesday.

It kept those living there awake at night as it was lit up – but blocked out so much light during the day that they had to put lights on if they wanted to do anything.

For 31-year-old Fernando Rossi, who lives in the building, this was unacceptable. He took to Facebook and the petition website Change.org to drum up a little support for those trapped behind the fizzy facade.

Rossi set up the “We are living in our own private Coke advert” Facebook group on Sunday night and by Wednesday it had 250 likes, despite it being written entirely in English. On Change.org, more than 2,600 people had signed the petition.

“I also want to clarify that I don’t blame Coca-Cola for this,” said Rossi on the Facebook page. “I’m appealing to them because I believe they are a serious, global brand with a reputation and probably have no idea a landlord would be doing something like this without consulting the tenants’ will,” he added.

Coca-Cola soon got in touch and said that they would remove the mesh poster from the scaffolding, which covers the whole building while it is being renovated.

Because the road was too busy to take the mesh sheet down in the daytime, Coca-Cola initially added a poster which changed the sign to read “We’re sorry”.

An apology from the company hangs in the lobby, reading “the front of your house is, without restrictions, for rental by companies wanting to advertise. Your landlord stressed that you had all been informed about this.”

But Rossi was, he told the Tagesspiegel never informed about the poster, which was supposed to stay until the end of February.

In the email Rossi sent out to those who signed the petition, he thanked everyone for their support and said he hoped the action showed “what every single person can do when they just have the courage.”

The Local/jcw

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EXPLAINED: What fees do you have to pay when buying a home in Germany?

One of the big reasons as to why property ownership is so low in Germany? The fees.

Depending on where you buy your own piece of paradise – you could be on the hook for taxes and fees that add up to over 10 percent of the purchase price! It’s a figure that’s high enough to make some wonder if the investment is worth it – and often used to explain why figures on German home ownership, at around 50 percent – are some of the lowest in Europe.

READ ALSO: Why is home ownership in Germany so low?

Land transfer tax

When you sign a contract to buy property in Germany, you’ll get a letter soon after from your local tax office – telling you how much land transfer tax you have to pay. Such a tax triggers whenever property ownership changes hands in Germany and needs to be paid by the new owner.

It’s calculated based on property value – most often the agreed purchase price – and varies depending on the federal state where the property is located.

The lowest transfer taxes are found in Bavaria – whose 3.5 percent rate is significantly lower than any other Bundesland. Five percent rates apply in Saxony-Anhalt, Mecklenburg-West Pomerania, Rhineland-Palatinate, Bremen, Lower Saxony, and Baden-Württemberg.

Hamburg and Saxony follow with 5.5 percent rates, whereas Berlin and Hesse start going to the high end of tax rates at six percent.

At the highest end with 6.5 percent rates – lie North Rhine-Westphalia, Brandenburg, Saarland, Schleswig-Holstein, and Thuringia.

You won’t be able to add your name to the land registry – or Grundbuch – until you pay your tax.

READ ALSO: Why property prices in Germany are likely to rise this year

Real estate agent fee

In most German states, you’ll also have to pay your estate agent a commission amounting to about 3.57 percent of the property purchase price.

There are four federal states where this fee is lower though – and even a slightly lower percentage could make a big difference given the amounts involved. Hamburg and Mecklenburg-West Pomerania have commission fees of 3.18 and 3.08 percent, respectively.

At 2.98 percent, the lowest real estate commission fees are found in Bremen and Hesse.

These commission fees are also a reason why it may be an attractive option to buy a newer build property directly from a real estate developer – as you won’t pay any commission if you purchase from the developer directly. Private selling or buying foreclosed properties at a court auction also allows you to avoid this fee entirely.

If buying from a developer though, you may have to wait months or years to be able to actually move in though, as the places are often sold while still under construction.

EXPLAINED: What you need to know about buying property in Germany

Notary fee

No matter where you buy property in Germany, a notary must read out the contract in front of both parties.

This can be tedious and take hours – but the idea is to allow both parties the chance to ask questions on the terms of a neutral party.

Unfortunately, you’ll pay for the privilege and there’s no avoiding it. Notary fees are about 1.5-2 percent of the purchase price around Germany in most cases. Some shopping around might help you find a notary who charges the lower end at 1.5 percent.

If you’re not comfortable with legal German, you’re allowed to bring an accredited translator with you to the reading. This is, of course, at your own cost as well.

READ ALSO: Is it a good time to buy a home in Germany?

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