Bargain hunters take note: one of the most expensive houses in Brabant is going under the hammer. The Hollywood-style villa was for sale for years for 11 million euros, but the owner is not losing the house on the paving stones. That is why it is now being sold at auction. And the auction house expects that to be a lot less than the asking price.
Six bedrooms, four bathrooms, a cinema, wine cellar and a kitchen that a star chef would be jealous of. You will lack nothing in the house of over 1,500 square meters. You can take a dip in the indoor pool with sauna. But the showpiece is the outdoor swimming pool. That’s completely in James Bond style: at the touch of a button the basin comes out from under the terrace.
Although you normally only find a villa like this in Miami or the Cote d’Azur, this one is located in Udense Heinsbergenstraat. The house once belonged to real estate dealer Roger Lips. He had it built in 2008 for twenty million euros, but was declared bankrupt five years later. He then stripped the entire house and fled to Dubai, where he still lives.
“We have had some interested parties, but no one has taken action.”
In 2015, the building was auctioned by the bank and sold to a real estate entrepreneur for only eight euros. He completely renovated the house and put it up for sale for 11 million euros. When he died, his relatives tried to get rid of the house. But that turned out to be more difficult than expected. In recent years they dropped the price to 7.5 million euros, but the house was not sold.
“We have had quite a few interested parties,” says Leslie de Ruiter of auction house Christie’s Real Estate. “People from Brabant came to watch, people from South Holland and a few foreigners. But no one took the bait.” The heirs still live in the house. And even though it may be such a beautiful palace, they really want to get rid of it now.
“Living in such a large house as a single woman with your children is not nice either. They want a new start and then the best choice now is to auction it,” says De Ruiter. “Maybe the people who didn’t respond at the time will now come forward again. And perhaps new people too.”
“No matter how nice it may be, we are not looking forward to the whole of Brabant coming to watch.”
The house will no longer yield seven million euros, the real estate agent expects. “It’s always a surprise, but I think around five million,” says De Ruiter. “If you look at the square meters it is worth much more, but the market determines the price.” If there are really very few offers, the seller can always drop out. “And if it is higher, then you can open the champagne,” the real estate agent laughs.
Do you still have a bag of money lying around and would you like to bid? The house will be auctioned online and from a room on May 23. For those who want to take a look first, there will be an open house on May 11. But not everyone can just walk in here. “No matter how nice, we are not looking forward to the whole of Brabant coming to see Roger Lips’ former home,” says the real estate agent. That is why you must first register and provide proof from the bank that you have enough money.
