I'm flying out to Basel next in a couple of weeks to search for an apartment. I don't really expect to find one as I will only be there for a few days but it should at least give me an idea of prices and areas etc and will give me chance to find a serviced apartment or something short term. I just have a couple of questions:

Everyone says that demand is very high for apartments but I have seen some nice ones on homegate for over a month now. Does anyone with experience know if this is due to the adverts being left on the site after they have been let or is there something hideously wrong that is not obvious from just looking on the net?

Nebenkosten in mentioned in the homegate adverts, could anyone let me know exactly what this includes?

cheers

Nebenkosten usually includes:
(some) heating costs; cable TV payment; (probably all) water charges; cleaning, lighting, heating common areas in appartment blocks.

Electricity and extra heating costs will be extra (usually).