Hello!

Finding an apartment to rent in Europe is a unique experience. We will be relocating from outside Switzerland and were hoping to find a place sight unseen. I know this probably is not recommended, but we have locals who can view the place for us & advise.

Is this a possibility? Some owners have told me that they must "interview" us first.

I have received answers from some landlords that they have enough applicants already. Do we have to compete with others for the apartment? Is this normal? (It feels like NY!)

How long does the application process take?

I just want to know what to expect when we are looking.

Thank-you!

Probably very depressing to do it, but I advise you to have a look at other Threads in this part of the Forum. Then you'll begin to see the difficulties. (Thank your lucky stars that you are not looking for accomodation in Geneva, where the situation is even worse.)

You will not be able to actually place an ad on here looking for a flat until you fulfil the Market Place rules, unless, as might happen, the housing ones get relaxed.

In the meantime, I suggest you look at other Forums in here - there are plenty of other 'problems' you'll have to deal with - and see what other questions come up. If you can give someone a tip or two from your experiences in Europe, all the better.

Good luck in your hunt.

Jeez...I was hoping it would be much easier.

Thanks for your help.

Is it possible to find a place in one month?

Yes, as previous poster said, there are a lot of threads on this already.

Just to add: renting while not here may be theroetically possible but very difficult due to the circumstances you mentioned and also for the paperwork you would need to submit, ie. salary attestation, etc.

Yes, expect to compete, depending on the market, sometimes less than 0.1% vacancy rate, you have upwards of 50-100 applicants.

The process, depends how flexible you are, 3-6 months may be optimistic in some areas.

If you must have housing lined up before your arrival, considering using a relocation consultant/agent. A relo agent works for you, not the landlord, and often has the connections needed to convince the landlord to choose you.

A relocation agent will cost you - but given your situation may well prove to be a good investment.

Best of luck with your move.

it's possible - but to ease your way - I'd suggest you use a relocation agent.

I have had to go the furnished apartment route just to get a lay of the land, and be in position if an unfurnished comes along.

<rant>
I have to admit...seeing rent prices for furnished and unfurnished apartments being at parity seems ludicrous. Likewise a 3 room apartment in Wetzikon (East of Zurich) running about the same price as a similar place 10 minutes from Zurich city center tells me logic has left the housing market. I know demand is higher than supply, but there is definite gouging from some landlords as well.
</rant>

A tip to all the apartment hunters

Folks, if you are applying to a WINCASA owned property, make sure that you provide a reference from someone in Credit Suisse

After 3 months of searching, we finally managed to get an apartment in Lausanne, but only after my wife asked one of her ex-colleagues in CS to write in some good words.

Good Luck !!

To the new ones arriving in CH, Wincasa is a Credit Suisse Group company and one of the leading real estate services companies in Switzerland.

Depends on where you want to be and what you are willing to pay... I actually have a place you could take over (as do many others if you look in the 'Adverts for Homes' section).

But in general, probably not.

We had to be "interviewed" by landlord for the first apartment here in Zürich and yes, it is possible to find a place within a month(i did it in under less than a month for my current one - but I had some undesirable traits like a dog and musical instrument), but of course, factors like location and price of the apartment will play a big part.

Cheaper and well located apartments will definitely see more competition. I remember arriving 15 minutes early for an open house apartment on Konradstrasse (5 minutes walk from the Zürich HB), which was reasonably priced and there was already a queue from the apartment on the 2nd floor, till outside the building. Nightmare. There was another flat that I applied to and when I called to follow up re my application, the agent snapped that he had to go through 200 over application forms.

The trick is to have all your documents and references ready, fax them together with the application form as soon as possible (or deliver it by hand if you must) and be pushy if need to.

Good luck!

A friend of mine has a luxury furnished flat available in Basel near Kannenfeld park. If you (or others) are considering Basel let me know and I'll connect you. Its available for short- mid- or long term rental and she speaks English.

Here are a couple pictures of the flat:

2 floors, washer/dryer in unit, top floor is a loft with bedroom and office nook, down stairs, kitchen, dining, living room and bathroom. Park facing balcony.

That's beautiful, what is the rent price?

Thanks everyone, I had no idea it would be so difficult. My husband is Swiss, so I'm just going to let him do it all.

I think that will help...I hope. You gotta use what you have going for. I thought being nice and responsible was enough.

I'm in a similar situation. Fortunately, we have some time to get ourselves sorted out. Still though, we were only planning on one trip out before our move and that trip will be too soon to start looking for housing .

Short term (month to month) 3,100/mo
6 month + 2,600/mo

That includes heat, water, Internet, basic phone, basic cable, furniture, kitchen pots, pans, dishes, silverware, etc. bedding, bath linens, stereo, flat screen TV, steamer, Sweedish oven, incredible views of the mountains from the middle of the city.

The place is 2.5 rooms and about 100 m3

Garage parking space is available nearby

Very quiet neighborhood - great for studying, not good for party people

Only negative: 4th floor no lift

I lived there for a few months and I must say it was fantastic! The huge modern bathroom is a great find in Switzerland.

It's not my flat, it is a friends so I don't want to post her contact information here. PM me if you're interested and I'll give her your contact information.

Hello

We are in the same boat, moving from London to Vaud. We went yesterday to have a look at some properties and put in 2 applications, one we really loved but were informed today that we didn't get it. I'm so frustrated and dejected, the process just seems so hard especially if you are in a different country.

Not sure if you are aware of this but you can't actually but in an offer an a property unless you have seen the property.

Good luck!

hi Swisstobe,

I think having a Swiss husband will help! At least he will have a permit so can apply right away. I'm thinking of getting one of the Swiss guys at work to act as my imaginary boyfriend when applying for apartments - it is that hard. Not for the salary boost, just because they seem to be biased towards couples. I've managed to find decent places in London and all over the south of France when I lived there. Piece of cake compared to here.

I don't want to depress you - we are all in the same boat, but have all your papers ready to apply immediately for anything you like and be prepared for some rejections. I'm just trying to think of it as a challenge!

Good luck...

LMG

We too are preparing to come over but we've decided only to start looking once we arrive. May be not ideal but I think the process is harder if you are abroad. My husband too is Swiss so I'll let him handle that side of things while I lurk in a friendly way in the background.

Good luck to all..