Farhad Vladi has a holiday spot for (almost) every budget. In Europe, Canada, the USA, the Caribbean, the Seychelles or off the coast of New Zealand. His 400 square metre offices are filled with seemingly endless filing cabinets, with data, facts and pictures of 12,000 private islands stored in hanging files. Vladi Private Islands has already sold around 3,000. To whom, for example? The boss of a total of 60 employees tells us that too
Mr Vladi, your company sign says 1971 - is that when it all began?
In 1971, my first island, Cousine Island, was officially transferred to the buyers on 12 March. I already had the idea of looking for an island in 1969. Then I read in the newspaper that someone had bought one for 5,000 Deutschmarks. But that was a newspaper hoax or a rental, because there was nowhere to buy an island for that money. Islands are real estate and the minimum price back then was 50,000 Deutschmarks. I looked at books and maps and realised that the most beautiful islands were in the Seychelles. So I travelled to London and went to the office of the High Commissioner of the Seychelles. I asked if I could buy islands from him, he laughed and said no. But I took a local newspaper from the Seychelles with me and sent 50 Deutschmarks there - for an advert: Vladi is looking for an island.
Did it work?
Yes, I thought I would get a small advert for 50 Deutschmarks, just like the Hamburger Abendblatt. When I saw the specimen copy, I was shocked: a whole page! Two or three people got in touch, including a lawyer, a Seychellois whose friend wanted to sell his private island. Cousine Island cost 1.2 million Deutschmarks, and that was the end of my dream, because I was still a student...
But then it wasn't...
No. I sent the pictures and maps to wealthy Hamburg residents. Then the property developer Vogel got in touch and said: I'm buying the island, together with two friends. How much commission would you like? Five per cent? Four, three? Yes, yes, I said, and got 30,000 Deutschmarks, which was a lot of money for me at the time. The other two gentlemen were the banker von Marcard and the coffee king Albert Darboven. Today it belongs to the owner of a helicopter company. After this first deal, I initially wanted to finish my studies, but then the buyers on Sylt showed the postcards with their island around. And a second gentleman got in touch with me.
That sounds like a good advert.
Yes, the buyers were asked where they got the island. They said it was from a student called Vladi. And so one gentleman asked me to find an island for him too, whereupon I sold him North Island in the Seychelles in 1972. This private island is so famous because we rented it out to Prince William and Kate for their honeymoon.
Okay, from then on you were a professional island broker?
Exactly. The next customer was again an acquaintance of the first buyers, a Hamburg banker. He wanted something close by and so I looked in Brittany, Ireland and Scotland. He then bought the Breton island of Lavrec. And so I continued in France, hired a small aeroplane for 90 Deutschmarks an hour and looked at the islands off the coast from above. If there was a house on it, then it was probably a private island, so I wanted to find out who owned it. I wrote to the mayor of the town, which was very time-consuming and took weeks. Later, I took the car to ask the fishermen. Because a fisherman who lives opposite an island knows who owns it. He often drives the owner back and forth. That's how I found out which islands were for sale and brokered them.
Why do people buy a private island? Is it an investment?
Yes, you could buy very cheaply back then. Today, an island for 1.1 million would cost several times as much, and island prices are increasing by around ten per cent per year. And the second reason is the feeling of control over the island. They also have no neighbours to take into consideration. There is only one sovereign - nature, and people are happy to subordinate themselves to it. When they are on the island with their family or friends, it is a very close relationship. The son no longer picks up a smartphone, but goes for a walk with his father, experiencing something new every day. Island holidays are a special kind of holiday, which is why the owners never really want to sell their island again. That's my problem here as an estate agent. You either have to come up with real money or something has happened.
What, for example?
In the industry, we speak of the three Ds: Death, Debt and Divorce. If someone dies and has heirs, it is better to sell the island and distribute the money. Then there is the issue of bankruptcy. If someone is bankrupt, they have to sell. And the third case would be divorce. If the marriage breaks up, a new wife may not want to enter the love nest of the first.
What are the requirements for a private island?
An island is securitised in the land register, otherwise we can't sell it. It could be that the island belongs to the state, which then leases it for 99 years - and so the customer would only have usufruct. Before the island is transferred to our new customer, a lawyer must check whether the land register is unencumbered, whether there are any compulsory mortgages or whether a right of way has been registered.
And it must be buildable...
Exactly, that's part of the verification phase. So: we sign a purchase contract, the customer pays some money into an escrow account so that we know that they are serious and mean business. And then comes the verification phase of perhaps 60 days. If the result is negative, the deposit is returned. If it is positive, you can transfer the money. The inspection also looks at what the customer intends to do with the private island. Whether he wants to build a 300 square metre, two-storey house. He then receives a letter from the lawyer and the architect stating that this is possible and that he has the certainty that he is allowed to build. And that it is not a bird sanctuary where you are not allowed to touch anything.
Surely you get to know the buyers well around the island purchase?
Yes, we travel a lot with the client, we even have breakfast together. That's not the case when I sell flats here in Hamburg. Then I put on my suit, meet the client and show him the flat. And then he leaves again and we're still with her. When I'm out and about with island clients, we're quickly on a first-name basis and we talk about lots of things that have nothing to do with the island. About private matters, what he does for a living and so on. Back then, I travelled to Brittany with Dieter Hallervorden and we spent the night on the island. I got up at five in the morning because I wanted to take pictures of the sunrise outside. Suddenly he tapped me on the shoulder and said: "Farhad, put the camera away, the island has been bought, you don't need to take any more photos." And he did indeed buy it, the castle island of Costaérès. Some customers invite me round to their place after the purchase to show me their newly renovated house - just a few weeks ago Jeremy Irons, who owns an island off the coast of Ireland.
How do you find out what the customer wants on site?
The customers are very open and say honestly: "The island is very beautiful, but not as I thought it would be. I would prefer one with fewer trees, more hills or a bigger beach." Then we drive to another private island whose features are more suitable. But that's rare, because it involves time and travelling costs. The clients already look at the pictures here and tell me what they want and what they don't want before they visit. I also always recommend renting an island in the area with the family. When someone buys an island, they are buying into a natural environment, but also a social one. If you rent in advance, you will already see the people around you, as the islands are not far from the mainland. After all, customers have to go shopping, to the pharmacy, they need petrol for their motorboat or they want to go to a local restaurant. They have to get to grips with the environment, whatever it is. Even with the birds or insects
If the private island is sold, who will take care of it?
We often look for a small plot of land opposite on the mainland with parking spaces for the car and boat. The owner then comes from the airport, parks his car, takes the boat out of the boathouse and drives over. We usually quickly find someone to look after things through our administration. It's not difficult to look after an island, people are happy to do it. Most of them are fishermen who are happy to get some money for it. We then announce the customer to them and ask them to air the house or check whether the car battery is still full.
What is your favourite island?
So, my favourite island is the next one I'm selling. New Zealand has always been such a dream country for me, as have the Seychelles. But when I was ready to buy an island myself, the Seychelles were already so expensive that I couldn't afford it. There aren't many private islands there, and they are highly sought after. They are often converted into resorts. I finally bought Forsyth Island off the north coast of New Zealand's South Island 30 years ago.
How big are the smallest islands you offer?
For me, 10,000 square metres is the minimum, and that's how it actually looks elsewhere in the world. Smaller islands are usually no longer private.
You mentioned entrepreneurs, bankers and actors. Who else buys islands?
When I sold the 100th private island, I took a look at all the customers, but I couldn't find anything in common. One is a dentist, the other a banker or carpenter. They all have one desire, and that is to be connected with nature - and that has nothing to do with their profession, nothing at all.
What about yacht owners? Are they particularly interested in private islands?
Well, you can't get to an island without a yacht or boat. Johnny Depp, actor and yacht owner, once bought an island 20 years ago. And he is the perfect example. He drives his yacht to the island, where he has nothing more than a jetty. He moors, sleeps on the yacht, eats there and enjoys the day. He has no house on the island, no administration, no electricity, nothing at all. The island remains untouched, this combination is ideal.
And surely that has many advantages?
With a yacht you are independent. That's how I came up with the idea of running a showroom in San Francisco together with Meyer Werft. The idea was to sell a private island and a floating villa at the same time. This also has the advantage that customers can later resell the island undeveloped.
A fairly well-known yacht owner, Otto Happel, bought Frégate Island. Did that also go through you?
Yes, I think he was about 27 when he bought the island. That was also a case where the seller sold for financial reasons because he had other investments in mind. Mr Happel still owns the island in the Seychelles today and would never sell it. He is currently building a large retreat there. We have also rented out this island many times.
Who rents a private island like this, can you tell us?
The funniest rental for me was when an American lawyer contacted me. He had chosen Frégate from a catalogue. I said, yes, wonderful, costs so much, and he sent the money. Then the customer should arrive. I always call the manager a day later and ask whether the customer is satisfied or has a complaint. I want to hear that beforehand and not when he's gone again. So I give them a call: Are there any problems? Not at all, the administrator replied, but that's not a lawyer, that's Bill Gates. I didn't tell anyone at the time.
Is the rental sector increasingly interesting?
Yes, very much. I see it myself on my island. I also rent it out, so I have one house for my family and one for renting out. When you build in New Zealand, the houses don't have to be expensive, you don't have to insulate them, there's no frost. The houses are 200 to 300 square metres, nothing more. Customers want to experience nature.
