SwissCaution - the apartment deposit lenders thread

[Richdog]

	Quote:	swissbob
	If there are damages and SC pay out then you have to pay them back so it's not really an insurance policy - more a loan with an annual interest charge.

Yeah, my thoughts too.

Interesting bit form their site:

	Quote:
	The freedom to terminate your contract at any time By signing up for a SwissCaution rental guarantee, you are not linked to a contract with a minimum duration. You can terminate your SwissCaution rental guarantee at the end of each calendar year without justification. To do so, you need only to provide your lessor with a substitute guarantee of the same amount and quality.

While I understand there is no minimum contract... just to be 100% clear, am I right in understanding that the payments you make them are indefinite, i.e. it can go on forever, with you paying back your annual instalments until such time as you want to stop, upon which point you have to give your landlord either a replacement agency to guarantee the funds, or the cash deposit back in full?

[Mrs. Doolittle]

	Quote:	Richdog
	While I understand there is no minimum contract... just to be 100% clear, am I right in understanding that the payments you make them are indefinite, i.e. it can go on forever, with you paying back your annual instalments until such time as you want to stop, upon which point you have to give your landlord either a replacement agency to guarantee the funds, or the cash deposit back in full?

The payments are made annually, in advance, and of course, the higher the deposit, the higher the payment. (admin fee is fixed). You cannot terminate anything without the agreement of the landlord.
Here is a copy of the terms and conditions.

[KeinFranzösisch]

	Quote:	summerrain
	Yes, whenever I make enquiries about an apartment my first few questions will be: do you accept a dog, piano, and Swisscaution. As far as I remember, I spoke to a lady about a property at Livit once and she said its possible - might just be for that property and landlord. My current agency Privera AG does accept Swisscaution for most of their properties. They even offered to help us set it up when we were signing the contract, saying that they have an agreement with Swisscaution. Very refreshing.

I am renting from Basler/Baloise and was able to use SwissCaution. They didn't even blink, frown, grimace, hesitate etc. It was much easier to give SwissCaution 230Sfr rather than give the landlord a 6000Sfr deposit.

[summerrain]

	Quote:	Richdog
	Yeah, my thoughts too. Interesting bit form their site: While I understand there is no minimum contract... just to be 100% clear, am I right in understanding that the payments you make them are indefinite, i.e. it can go on forever, with you paying back your annual instalments until such time as you want to stop, upon which point you have to give your landlord either a replacement agency to guarantee the funds, or the cash deposit back in full?

Yeap. Correct. True to the Swiss form, there will be a 50 chf admin charge for doing that - of course!

[dseminchuk]

Not sure if i missed the post, but can SwissCaution deny you for any reason?

I am here on medical for assistance with my spine and im not working. My income is with swiss social assistance. No way I can pay a 1700 deposit to get an apartment.

Thanks

[akenney414]

Hi All,

Thanks for all the info on SwissCaution. I was wondering if there is any kind of negative impact for using SwissCaution (besides the additional cost)? Like would it look bad on a credit history? Or would it somehow impact my ability to renew my residence visa? Of course it may not be accepted by individual landlords, but it seems like the kind of thing that would be frowned upon in general. Does anyone have any experience like this?