This is where we’ll keep you up to date on any developments regarding the project. If you like the project, feel free to support us, in any number of ways. Check this page for more info. Thank you in advance for your help.
On the picture it says: "Lose what must be lost in order to find what must be found"
Disappointingly it didn’t work out as we had hoped with the farmstead we’d all taken to heart.
In the future, we’ll publish all of our events here. We’re already looking forward to celebrating Wheel of the Year festivals, herbal hikes, homeopathy courses, adventure seminars, creative classes and much more together with all of you.
Externally, there was a long period of silence regarding Sonnweiler. You could almost think that nothing has happened to us in the meantime. We found a suitable property, but we weren't yet able to buy it and start renovating it.
[In der Blog-Übersicht wird hier ein Weiterlesen-Link angezeigt]
We worked very hard in the background. The construction and renovation planning was developed and optimized with the help of our energy consultants. We have offers from craftsmen in the region and also the business plan. All of this shows that our project can be implemented successfully and that we can turn this old building into an environmentally friendly renovated residential and practice building.
And yet our project has so far failed due to financing.
Because of the banks' changed guidelines regarding equity, our existing equity is (suddenly!!!) no longer enough to buy and renovate the property.
We are now continuing to work to set up suitable financing and of course we very much hope that we will be able to do this in a timely manner.
We are very grateful for ideas, suggestions, financial support and the introduction of contacts to potentially interested private donors.
We found an island in the countryside, with two apartment buildings in need of renovation and a large garden plot.
There is plenty of room here to realize our future plans. We are currently working with great enthusiasm on planning the renovation and compiling the documents for the bank.
[In der Blog-Übersicht wird hier ein Weiterlesen-Link angezeigt]
Please keep your fingers crossed so that we can get the financing approved soon!!!
Every financial support, no matter how small, helps us and encourages us. That's why we started crowdfunding. Maybe you too would like to become a sponsor and support the growth and development of this place.
Hurray – it’s finally happened!!! Today, we certified the founding of our company Sonnweiler GmbH with a notary.
[In der Blog-Übersicht wird hier ein Weiterlesen-Link angezeigt]
The next steps are to open an account for the firm with our bank, putting in the requisite seed capital and registering the company in the commercial registry through our notary. Then, we will have completed the founding of Sonnweiler GmbH.
This all sounds terribly simple and fast on paper. However, there was a lengthy and convoluted process the get to this point. We investigated all the different corporate forms, such as civil-law association, home owner’s association, cooperative, foundation, society and weighed their respective pros and cons. We gathered professional advice from different organizations, were supported by lawyers and tax accountants in finding our optimum solution, even if every round of answers yielded new questions at first.
In the end, we felt that a limited liability company (GmbH in German) would be right for preserving the communal character of our project for the future.
What are our next steps? We’re still on the hunt for our future base of operations. We shall see at what point we can announce clearing the second big hurdle.
All this time we thought we’d realise our project on an old farmstead. But how about we make a disused townhouse with a generous plot of land our new home?
[In der Blog-Übersicht wird hier ein Weiterlesen-Link angezeigt]
That is exactly the opportunity that just opened up. Ergo the first step is to go and have a look. We are curious, open to new ideas and like to be surprised by special places and positive people. The first phone call with the current owner of said „Villa with many possibilities“ was very positive, in any case.
That doesn’t mean the farmstead is off the table, of course. Just last week we viewed another one, however it seemed a bit too small for all our plans and ideas. To remedy this, we’ll consider a possible cooperation with the current neighbors.
In any case, we’re staying on the ball. And sometime soon there’ll be an article entitled „Welcome to Sonnweiler!"
On the picture it says: "Lose what must be lost in order to find what must be found"
Disappointingly it didn’t work out as we had hoped with the farmstead we’d all taken to heart.
[In der Blog-Übersicht wird hier ein Weiterlesen-Link angezeigt]
Our price estimate turned out to be quite different from both the owners’ valuation and their willingness to negotiate. But for us at the Sonnweiler project it’s important to remain realistic, particularly as it pertains to financing.
As such we’ve put aside our planning drawings, sketches and the checkbook and gone into another round of seeking out fitting places, looking at them and so on. All these ups and downs help us grow closer together as a group. We’re moving along step by step.
Just now, we’re excited to see whether this time it’ll work out with the right place at the right price. At least it’s good that several promising pieces of real estate have already surfaced. Our next few viewing appointments are already set.
Our first angels and lucky charms have shown up and taken us just that bit closer to our goal. With that, our Sonnweiler as a farmstead just outside of Leipzig is coming ever closer to becoming a reality.
We’re staying on the case and holding out all hope that the farmstead will wait for us, until we’ve sorted everything out. A massive thanks to the current owners for their patience and support.
Oh wow – we just viewed an old three-sided farmstead that just ticks all the boxes for us and our project. It has a residence that is large enough for all of us to move in directly, as intergenerational housemates at first, but still. There’s also plenty space to build more housing, practices, vacation apartments and it has a giant barn with room for all our ideas.
[In der Blog-Übersicht wird hier ein Weiterlesen-Link angezeigt]
Even the current owners are very likeable. We quickly all got the feeling we’d thrive here and could bring our project to life.
This all means we’re cooking on all burners right now. We’ve put the incorporation of our company on the way and are working on getting financing sorted out. It’s all very topsy-turvy emotionally at the moment. At the very least, our collective minds are spinning from all the numbers, ideas, setbacks and developments.
So please, keep your fingers crossed for us!!! We can use every little quantum of positive energy, lots of angels and lucky charms as well, of course, so that everything falls into place soon.
House viewings, inquiries to the local building department, working on our company contract, getting an account opened at the bank and so much more is part of our current work on the project. Almost every Sunday we’ll meet up and carry on plugging away at it.
[In der Blog-Übersicht wird hier ein Weiterlesen-Link angezeigt]
Some days, there’s a glimmer of hope on the horizon and an interesting property will appear from the mist, so to speak. Could this be what we’ve been looking for? But then, once more, it turns out it wasn’t right for us :-(
All the more reason to celebrate our first little milestone. The first version of our website is up, after all it’s where you’re reading this blog post right now. We’ll keep updating and improving the page so you can stay up to date on any current developments regarding our project.
On our quest for the perfect property, we’ve had a look at a lot of different real estate.
[In der Blog-Übersicht wird hier ein Weiterlesen-Link angezeigt]
Sometimes it’s honestly frightening, the amount of money you’re supposed to pay for some of these ruins. And at times, you’ll find strange growths sprouting in the ceiling of the cellar.
