Anyone who has taken the train into Zurich main station and looked out the window has probably seen them: Sugus houses in the city of Zurich.Image: watson
The current situation of the Sugus houses in the city of Zurich is infuriating, but it is more complicated than it seems at first glance. The heiress may have valid reasons for the terminations. But in the process, falling for a scammer.
04.12.2024, 18:5904.12.2024, 19:35
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“This is a nice Christmas present,” says Paul M., who wishes to remain anonymous. He does not mean this sentence seriously. Quite the opposite. this week the postman brought him a registered letter that surprised him: the eviction from his apartment.
It is indeed not only Paul M. who has to leave his apartment with his wife and three children,aged 9,11 and 18,by 31 March 2025. There are also 104 other tenants who live in the So-called “sugus houses” at Neugasse 81, 83 and 85 in Zurich, as Watson published yesterday. Many of them are young families like Paul M.:
“If we all have to leave, the whole neighborhood will be destroyed.”
Peter Paul M.*
It is not realistic for tenants to find an affordable apartment in the same area. And that in just under four months. The children would have to change schools and they would lose their friends and environment. The entire classes would be broken apart in the middle of the school year. The adults lose friendships they would have found and nurtured in the neighborhood.
The year is 1990. The SBB has free space in area 5,along the railway tracks in front of Zurich main station. The so-called X-ray area is to be created here. The stated goal is to provide affordable apartments, notably suitable for families. City residents were already concerned about the growing shortage of affordable living space.
So the SBB is launching a competition for the area. SBB and the city of Zurich chose the winning project together: nine autonomous residential buildings designed identically by the architect duo Isa Stürm and Urs Wolf, which aim to ”allow a wide range of living arrangements and facilities”. These are the plans for future Sugus houses, which will be named for their rectangular shape and colorful facades.
The idea sounds good. But the SBB is having problems finding a construction company that is able and wants to implement this vision. It wasn’t until 1998 that they found what they were looking for with builder and entrepreneur leopold Bachmann. Bachmann completed the construction of the Sugus houses in record time.As early as April 2000, 317 tenants were able to move in.
Other voices call Leopold Bachmann “a grate philanthropist,” a humanitarian. Because Bachmann repeatedly emphasizes that he has one goal above all else: to provide affordable housing for people on low incomes, especially families with children.That’s why he takes a humane approach as a landlord: he pays attention to the “tenant mix” and claims that at least 20 percent of the tenants in his Sugus houses should always be foreigners.
After only ten years of quality defects
Free farmer or philanthropist? The truth probably lies somewhere in between. That shows one Study commissioned by the city of Zurichpublished by two sociologists in 2010.
On the one hand, they draw a positive conclusion: The residents felt very agreeable and anchored in the X-ray area, they made friends with neighbors, and they appreciated the daily exchange with a wide variety of people. No one reports any conflicts due to cultural differences.
In addition, Leopold Bachmann’s wish came true.According to sociologists, in 2010 there were more families with children living in Sugus houses than in any other urban area. And those who lived in Sugus homes no longer wanted to leave: “The turnover rate in the settlement is well below the urban average of 20 percent per year.”
But there is a downside to this tire: build quality. In 2010 we see exactly the picture predicted by Leopold Bachmann’s critics.
“After 10 years everything falls apart (cheap equipment, etc.),” one tenant is said to have written in the questionnaire of the two sociologists. Others report cracks in the walls, poor construction, mold, loose tiles in the bathroom that needed replacing, drawers in the kitchen that could no longer be pulled out, silicone joints in the shower that would no longer hold, poor insulation rooms . or that window handles and ceiling plaster would regularly fall off.
“After 10 years everything falls apart (cheap devices, etc.).”
A tenant in Sugus homes was interviewed in 2010
The sociologists find that there has been a notable decrease in satisfaction with the quality of construction within a short period of time. In the first survey in 2002, only 14 percent of tenants complained about the quality of Sugus buildings.Two years later, in 2004, it was 24 percent. In 2010, half of all tenants reported quality deficiencies in Sioux houses.
14 years have passed as this last survey. There may now be more construction defects. It is indeed tough to assess whether these justify a complete overhaul. The tenants Watson spoke to say: No,a complete overhaul would not be necessary.
However, the management of Allgood Property AG determines in the termination letter that the living situation is “no longer reasonable”. To bolster this argument, the administration posted images of cracks, mold and other defects on its website. Allgood Property AG writes only three words about this:
“The bitter truth…”
Allgood Property AG
Allgood Property AG refers, among other things, to this official “statement” at watson’s request.Picture: watson screen
Bachmann’s daughter inherited three Sugus houses
Allgood Property AG is not the new owner of the Sugus homes. It’s just the administration in place.
Leopold Bachmann died in 2021 at the age of 88. he gave most of his property to his charity Leopold bachmann Foundation. He left the Sugus houses to two of his sons and to his daughter Regina Bachmann.All three were given three blocks each. At least that’s how it’s written tsüri.ch and the Daily Journal. Watson could not independently verify this details.
On the Canton of Zurich’s property information website, watson received an error message when trying to find the owners of the nine Sugus houses:
However, the fact that Regina Bachmann only inherited three Sugus houses would explain why only three block tenants received termination notices. Paul M. says to Watson:
“Why should the ‘living situation’ be unreasonable in our area, but everything is fine in the other six blocks?”
he and many other tenants believe they know the answer: Regina Bachmann is using the full renovation as an argument so she can rent out the 105 apartments again for a much higher return.
She leaves the “dirty work” – evicting multiple families, pensioners and people on low incomes – at Allgood Property AG. But by doing so she could cut herself in her own flesh. As there is a shady businessman hiding behind Allgood Property AG: Goran Zeindler.
The skeptical entrepreneur
“You benefit from our experiance!” Goran Zeindler sang this slogan on LinkedIn in 2021 to promote his real estate company Albego Real Estate AG.
Goran Zeindler announced one of his companies on LinkedIn. The link to the company’s website leads nowhere today. Picture: watson screen
However, Albego Real Estate AG no longer exists. Just like the seven other real estate and construction companies that Goran Zeindler founded in the last ten years. Everyone went bankrupt. They are so in the red that the Höfe District Court (SZ) had to stop the proceedings several times “due to lack of assets”. This means that the stock corporations no longer had enough money to cover procedural costs. Not to mention paying their creditors.
There could be several of these. In September 2024, a user rated Albego Real Estate AG with one star on the platform Imoverwaltungsvergleich.ch. And write:
« Warning from companies from Mr. goran Zeindler and his business practices with which he settles tradesmen and builders in switzerland and abuses the CH system. Since about 2000, about 10 known companies (mostly AGs) that can be traced back to goran Zeindler have gone bankrupt or mysteriously dissolved.Currently at least 4 reports have been filed with the public prosecutor’s office.”
Entry from a user on Imoverwaltungsvergleich.ch about the company Goran Zeindler.
Shortly after our first report about mass releases in Sugus homes, user watson contacted us with a similar story. The entrepreneur owes 10,000 francs. And further:
“Mr. Goran Zeindler is a fraud!”
Watson could not independently verify these allegations.Allgood Property AG, based in Baar (ZG), did not want to comment.
however, she continues to promise a lot on her website.For example, “thorough services across the entire property sector”. And in every imaginable role: as builder, property manager and investor. The stock corporation advertises with the same images of buildings that Goran Zeindlers already used for advertising purposes for his bankrupt corporations.
Allgood Property AG,based in Baar (ZG),is the only company founded by Goran Zeindler that is still officially liquid. However, how long this will last is a legitimate question. And whether Sugus House heiress Regina Bachmann, while destroying the colorful life of the entire neighborhood, was also a scammer. Maybe the dubious entrepreneur will give her a Christmas present as “nice” as she gave the ads to her fellow tenants.
What are the potential risks of using LinkedIn for real estate marketing?
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Goran Zeindler promoting his real estate company on linkedin.Picture: watson screen
However, his past raises concerns. Eyewitnesses and former tenants report issues with Zeindler’s business practices, including rapid evictions and questionable renovation claims. Critics argue that such tactics prioritize profit over tenant welfare.
Considering this, there are fears that the residents facing eviction from the sugus homes may be caught in the crossfire of a profit-driven agenda, as it is speculated that Regina Bachmann plans to significantly increase rents in the renovated properties.
As the situation unfolds,many tenants are left feeling vulnerable and uncertain about their future in the homes they have lived in for years. With questionable management practices and the looming threat of rent hikes, the community braces for what lies ahead.