hi,

1. i just signed a subleesse contract with a Swiss person - Italian native speaker, in Zurich. none of us speaks proper German so we thought we could write the contract in English. In case something wrong happens is this contract valid? cause i just heard from a colleague that in Zurich official documents should be in German

2. the guy wants the entire 7000 something - rent for 6 months in advance. wire transfer, and then we are supposed to meet and gives me the keys. Is this common around here? What if he just dissapears after i wire the money in his account?

Wow, I've never heard of that. 6 Months rent in advance. He must be ultra paranoid or marking you. I don't think that's right.

The rent contract is ONLY for 6 months. he is going to be out of the country for this period of time and then he comes back and will live again in this flat and i will move out. so he wants all the money in advance. I tried to convince him to pay for 3 months and than for next 3 but he is very stubborn.

but is the contract leagal in English in Zurich?

If this is a sublet (and it sure sounds like it from your post), make sure that the landlord is in on it. If the landlord isn't on the paperwork, and signing it in person, I'd go looking for another place to live.

When I moved here it was a similar situation. Subleasing from an American for 6 months. I didn't have to pay in advance but our document was in English outlining our agreement. When I went to the Kreisburo to apply for my permit, I showed it to them and it worked as a valid contract for my apartment.

The landlord doesn't necessarily need to be on the same contract, however he must give his permission in written for the sublet.

Your contract is a contract between two private persons. It can be in any language. However, for court action you would need a certified translation in German.

I can understand that this person wants to make sure there won't be any problems while he/she is abroad. But the same problem applies to you.

So if there are some doubts:
- Make sure his/her identity is correct.
- Make sure the appartment is really rented by this person.
- Make sure his/her lessor is informed about this 6 months subletting.
- Try to pay to this lessor directly.

Or make any combination of these measures to feel safe.

- i got copy of his Swiss passport
- i got copy of his original rental contract
- his lessor was informed verbally that "his girlfriend will move in" (i guess the guy wanted to inform him but not to give too many details)
- the payment will be done on wire from my account to his account.
- while he is away, i have the contacts of his best friend and work colleague if any problem might come out

so i got 2,5 out of the 4 things you recommand...i guess i could call it "good odds"

I think it sounds good for the most part, but it almost kinda seems like you will be in essence giving him the money to go on his trip. Hence, the asking for it in advance.

That sounds ok to me.

I don't think so. It's rather an assurance for him, not to have to bother about rent payment during his absence. Not to pay the rent to the lessor would be clearly fraudulent and stupid.

yup...i think it's ok...sometimes i get paranoid and think too much...
but this guy is going to visit Asia for the next 6 months...he showed me his ticket to Singapore...i guess snorkeling is more fun when you don't have to worry about the rent back home

my experience of mate's subletting to each other is that the person in ur position get's their own bills from the landlord in their own name (yours).
then u know the landlord is paid, the tenant is releived from paying for the duration of the sublease they remain liable but the landlord can still open a betriebung against u if necessary for the duration of your sublease obligation

I'd be very careful paying this amount in advance... Just went out of similar situation, was renting an apartment at the beginning of this year. All the contracts (with supplements) were made in English (me as sub-tenant), I was suppose to live in the apartment for six months. I was not paying rent fee in advance, only deposit - but this is an extra month rent amount.

Then the person went to Indonesia, and was forced to return earlier (within 2 months) as he suddenly had problems with health (and some others, no doubt).

I moved to the other apartment, and as all his friends were involved in his returning - they manage to loose my deposit! How unfortunate! It took me quite an effort to return it back, as time passed and everyone were pointing fingers on each other. Only after gathering all the papers and contacting company lawyer, I was able to convince the tenant to return it.

Now, as I've been there, I would do the following:
- Negotiate the payment in monthly installments;
- Define the deposit and have an agreement on that;
- Open a secured account and transfer this deposit to it, or if deposit is to be paid in cash - just make a note in a bank on what you're taking this exact amount for;

As a conclusion and my advice, I would be careful paying this amount in advance, as you're not certain how you can get part of them back in case of somethings happened. Or just list it in a contract.

hi, thanks for the info and advices...
i had a dinner with the guy for like...4 hours...he seems a decent person to me....

the only way he accepts the payment is in a lump sum for all the 6 months. and i think me doing this will mean that he can trust me. on the other hand, whatever he would do, i can't trust him 100% anyway...
i mean...we had dinner together, we got to know each other, before getting the flat i had 2 interviews, i saw the flat and....a flat that is lived in can say a lot about the person that lives there, right?

it is true, all the talking we had might have been a lot of acting...but on the other hand he will let me live in his flat and he won't move a thing from there...so he has to trust me a lot...i did my best to prove he CAN...not paying the money in advance could make me lose my credibility but on the other hand...he can also leave after the wire transfer was done...and i end up tricked...

my logics say that i shouldn't do it, but my instinct and intuition say to go for it...i had a lot to lose but also a lot to gain out of trusting my intuition in the past...so this time i will go with the intuition and if i get tricked next time, as my grandma says "i will blow even in the yogurt to make sure is not hot"

Since I may also be subletting I'm just wondering....is it completely necessary to enter into some sort of agreement/contract with the landlord. I have just been dealing with the tenant.

archie,

As you already decide on this, you should go for it I guess. And good luck to you, hope this would be a good deal done.

Anyway, I recommend you in this case to list all possible "early termination procedures" like: how the rest of your transfer would be returned to you, what would be time frames, and who's going to have a power of attorney to sign for this person in case of his disabilities (hope this would never happened).

Sounds too paranoid, but still this would not hurt both parties and at least you would be more secured.

Cheers,
Andrey.

This may sound obvious, but just in case... I would make sure that you get a receipt signed by this guy stating that he received X amount from you for the rental of his apartment as set out in the contract between the two of you.

Good luck if you do decide to go through with it

Archie, having dinner with someone isn't proof of character, I'm not saying in your case that this man is not genuine but most con-men/women can charm the birds out of the trees.
Have you seen a copy of his rental contract? What comes to my mind is, how can you know that the flat is his and not one that he has sublet from someone else? I know thinking the worst of someone is hard but he could be on his hols on your money and the original renter could turn up.
Just a thought.