Erb-Villa is auctioned off: This is what the buyer can expect

Today one of the last objects from the bankruptcy estate of the Erb family of entrepreneurs comes under the hammer: Villa Wolfensberg high above Winterthur ZH. It is the home of the automobile entrepreneur Hugo Erb (1918-2003). There he lived with his family until his death in 2003. Since then the historic villa has been empty.

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In February 2017, the Erbs’ family home was still advertised for sale on the Internet, For CHF 2.95 million. For almost three years, no investor was willing to offer so much. Now the stately villa, which has recently been targeted by squatters, is being auctioned off. The current estimate is CHF 2.2 million. The starting value of today’s auction is not known, but will be below this CHF 2.2 million. Bids must be made in increments of CHF 10,000.

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Villa can be demolished

The key data of the enthusiast property are impressive: 6000 square meters of land, 13 rooms, swimming pool and even a bowling alley – previously the epitome of pure luxury. In addition, a wonderfully enchanted park that is in the inventory of the gardens worthy of protection. The house is not protected, so a buyer should have it torn down – and expand the existing living space by up to 100 square meters.

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But there is a catch: the house is in the highest degree Renovation needed, The villa was last renovated in 1956. The property’s sales documentation, which is available from BLICK, shows how high the costs will be for the highest bidder: around CHF 830,000 to repair the terrace garden.

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An additional 1.74 million Swiss francs will be added to the entire outdoor facilities including the swimming pool. The renewal of plant pipelines and water intake amount to CHF 600,000. That should be estimated defensively. Because: The lines are in a miserable condition.

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A turbulent past

Even the cost of the demolition is calculated in the document. “We estimate an expenditure of CHF 270,000 to dismantle the existing buildings.” The buyer would also have to bear these costs.

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Villa Wolfensberg has an eventful past. It was built in 1937 by Kurt Schoellhorn (1894-1966), descendant of the Haldengut brewery dynasty. Hugo Erb bought the property at the time because he wanted to show the established Winterthur families that he was also one of them.

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Rolf Erb had overwritten the villa in which he grew up with his two brothers the year after the bankruptcy of the company’s empire to his then one-year-old twins. He wanted to remove the property from the bankruptcy estate. Without success.

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Second largest bankruptcy in Switzerland

In 2003 the opaque Empire of Erbs went bankrupt. The group left over six billion francs in debt. After Swissair’s bankruptcy, it is still the second largest bankruptcy in Switzerland.

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On April 8, 2017, billionaire bankrupt Rolf Erb († 65) was found dead by his life partner in Eugensberg Castle in Salenstein TG. According to the autopsy report, he died of heart failure – as a broken man. Just a few days later, the winterthur would have had to go to prison for seven years because of fraud and forgery of documents. For years he has fought against this verdict by all means. In vain.

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Castle Eugensberg, a wonderful classic car collection and several properties in Winterthur have already been auctioned off. Now the last large property is to find a buyer in Villa Wolfensberg.

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