The Süddeutsche Zeitung reports that a lawyer in Düsseldorf, Frank-Georg Pfeifer, has produced a leaflet called ‘Augen auf beim Hauskauf’ (Keep your eyes open when you buy a house).
bq. Augen auf beim Hauskauf von Rechtsanwalt Frank-Georg Pfeifer, 2,50 Euro, Haus & Grund Deutschland Verlag und Service GmbH, Mohrenstraße 33, 10117 Berlin, Telefon: (030) 2 02 16-0, Fax: (030) 2 02 16-580, E-Mail: verlag@haus-und-grund.net.
The problems are similar to those in English. Pfeifer says you should pay less attention to what ads say and more to what they don’t say. Here are some translations of his:
|Landhausbauweise| Ausgebauter Geräteschuppen |
|(country house building style| a shed with extensions)|
| Seriöses Umfeld | Bankenviertel, abends tote Gegend |
|(respectable surroundings| banking district, dead at night)|
| idyllische Hanglage | Feuchtigkeit gratis |
|(idyllic site on a slope| damp at no extra charge)|
| Traumhafter Blick über Pferdekoppeln und Weideland |Von Straßen keine Rede; glücklich der Erwerber, der über einen Geländewagen verfügt. |
|(Fantastic view over horse paddocks and pastureland|no roads mentioned – count yourself lucky if you have a Land Rover)|
The BBC offers the equivalent for Britain: Estate agent speak: a dictionary.
bq. Benefits From: Contains a feature you may expect to be the bare minimum for the extraordinary price you are paying.
Example: “Benefits from roof, floors, walls”.
bq. Bijou: Would suit contortionist with growth hormone deficiency.
bq. Borders: Loose term signifying that a property is sufficiently close to a desirable area to ensure the burglars who live next door to you will travel to work.
Example: “Fidel Castro’s house is situated in the highly desirable Bahamas Borders area”.
Reminds me of some Alpenvorland village areas: eine tote Hose bzw. ein mieses Kaff und liegt hinter dem Mond. A dead pair of trousers, a real hole and lies off the beaten track.