Neighbors Kees and Geert have enjoyed living on Heerseweg in Veldhoven for decades. Yet, together with the residents of the thirteen bought-out houses in the street, they make way for ASML. The chip machine manufacturer pays millions for half the street. “We choose eggs for our money,” says resident Kees van de Ven.
Satisfied and with their arms folded, the two neighbors at Kees’ kitchen table talk about the deal. The far back neighbor with the chip machines comes closer with long strides. But they actually had no real wish to leave.
“We live beautifully here,” says Kees. “What we have here, we will never get back anywhere else. My wife was born and raised here. She has lived here for 63 years.”
“Isn’t it easy to buy thirteen houses?”
Yet they are now making way for the growing ASML. The ball for the mega sale was set in motion by his neighbor Geert Heeren. He doubted whether he should still invest in his house with the high-tech neighbor in sight. At the town hall he bumped into ASML’s real estate director and one thing led to another. “I asked him if it wasn’t easy to buy thirteen houses.”
His neighbor also listened to it. “My wife wanted a new floor and a new bathroom. They needed to be replaced. But does it make sense to start the renovation if ASML might be at the door in a few years?”, he and his wife asked wonders.
“Then they watch the sprinkles off my sandwich.”
It was the start of several talks, in which all thirteen homeowners eventually joined and an agreement was reached within a few months. “Soon there may be a thirty-meter high building in our backyard. Then the living pleasure will be a lot less,” says Geert. “Then they watch the sprinkles off my sandwich.”
Kees adds: “I didn’t feel like looking at a high tower. Then it would be better to say: we choose eggs for our money and we start again somewhere else. It is nice if you can cash in on your house.”
They made a deal with ASML with all thirteen owners. If one didn’t participate, the deal wouldn’t go through. But after a few months the sale is complete. “We are all satisfied with it,” says Kees. “Almost everyone has already found something else.”
“If we didn’t get better, nobody would be interested.”
They do not want to say how much money the men have received for their house. It is clear that the amount is a lot higher than the current value. “If we didn’t get better, nobody would be interested.”
Yet they do not want to count themselves very rich. Kees: “New construction also quickly costs 850,000 euros, and then you have a garage in which the car door can hardly be opened.”
The residents of the thirteen houses may continue to live in their homes until the end of 2026. In any case, the two neighbors will not have to miss each other in the future. Both have already bought another house. Geert: “We will continue to live close to each other: we will soon be neighbors across the street.”
READ ALSO:
ASML buys half a street and pays millions for it
ASML bought millions of properties in this street, and more will follow
2023-05-04 16:07:18
#Kees #Geert #sell #house #ASML #Dont #high #towers #garden
