IN SERVICE OF The Crown
The rain does not dampen Olga Troll’s sparkling appearance at all: kissed by the sun and cheerful, she shares how she has built up her real estate service company Crown Consulting into a knowledgeable address in Vienna.
The proud Muscovite welcomes L’officiel Austria to the premises of Crown Consulting in Vienna’s first district. Since 2015, the company has been offering real estate consulting services to well-off people, mainly from the Russian-speaking world. “My story in Austria begins much earlier,” she lets us know. Her father worked for the International Atomic Energy Agency at the UN in the 1980s, and so she attended school in Vienna from the age of six to twelve. A polyglot businesswoman, Olga Troll is proficient in four foreign languages and studied International Relations in Moscow. Then, in her late 20s, a life decision brought her back to Vienna. After gaining a foothold in the real estate industry rather by chance and quickly making a name for herself in her target group, it was precisely this specific clientele that motivated her to start her own business.
The customer is the king
In the meantime, many client relationships have turned into friendships, says Troll. “I am not a typical broker,” she emphasises. “That is too simple and not personal enough for me,” Olga Troll adds. Her company Crown Consulting can be described as a kind of “one-stop shop” with 24/7 service. “Actually, we form a bridge between the ex-soviet Union and Austria,” says Troll. “Comprehensive customer care and discretion are the be-all and end-all in this profession,” she continues. It would not be unusual for the phone to ring on Sundays just before dinner with the family, a client of hers demanding answers. The spectrum of questions ranges from the need for Russian-speaking domestic staff, suitable schools for the children to investment opportunities in development projects. The person who receives her private telephone number can also assume that she is almost always available and if not, that she will call back immediately.
Go west!
There are many obstacles to overcome when moving from a non-european country to an EU country. The same applies to the acquisition of real estate and real estate investments if one cannot identify oneself as a citizen of one of the 27 EU countries. This is precisely where Crown Consulting comes in. “Investments in retail parks or development projects such as apartment buildings in Austria are currently in great demand,” says Troll. What all has to be taken into account and set in motion so that their clientele can get a leg up here? “What documents do you have?” - with this question the experts at Crown Consulting usually begin all client meetings. Then they take care of the necessary official channels, for example, when settlement permits or residence titles are required, before a move to Austria can be initiated and a lookout for “house and home” can be made. They also offer professional support in setting up various forms of business. Another component of Crown Consulting’s advisory services is to assist their clients in raising liquid funds. They provide access to local banks and lenders and also connect their clients with tax advisors and lawyers as needed.
Client profile
“Seventy per cent of our customers are geographically located in the former Soviet Union, 20 per cent internationally, and just under ten per cent in Austria,” says the entrepreneur. With regard to the customer cross-section, she specifies that it does not matter at which end of the income scale the respective customer is located. “We do have clients whose names are on the Forbes list of the top 500 wealthiest people,” she mentions. “But we don’t have an exclusionary mindset. Even the
smaller budget gets attention. Still, more than half of our clients are already financially secure,” adds Troll. Some prominent individuals of the financial elite with roots in the former USSR discovered their fondness for the country of Austria years ago and made headlines with nationwide investments. It is even rumoured that Roman Abramovich can count a building in the posh Kohlmarkt shopping street in Vienna’s first district as his property. As of today, more and more private individuals from the eastern broad guards, who are socially and financially very high up among the middle class, are doing the so-called ultra-rich “in a mini format”. Why is the Alpine Republic so popular among post-soviet citizens?
Vienna as a hotspot
“The Austrian ambience!” is Olga Troll’s answer to this question. “Nevertheless, the factual advantages such as security, transparent legal situation, cultural programme, and the enchanting landscapes cannot be denied, which is why these social strata are attracted to Austria,” as Troll specifies. Almost 23,000 people with migration status from the Russian Federation and Ukraine live in Vienna. The trend has been rising over the years. Those who use the services of Crown Consulting often live secluded lives in their villas, old building, or penthouse flats in the posh districts such as the 1st, 18th or 19th districts, but the 3rd, 4th, and 13th districts also make Vienna attractive for this clientele. “At the moment, the 4th district is quite hip, because of the Theresianum. The school location is still a key deciding criterion for the respective district where a family settles,” the manager explains and further reveals: “It is in the Russians’ nature to keep more near themselves, thus some ballet schools, chess clubs, beauty salons, and events have established themselves in Vienna, which are exactly tailored to this clientele.” To conclude, we would like to know what else does the client need to arrive in Vienna for good. “Definitely no more high heels! “Flats are more wanted by the ladies than ever because they are more comfortable to stroll around the 1st district,” she reveals with a laugh.”