Hi Guys,

I will soon be moving to CH and would be living in Vaud canton and working in Montreux. Firstly i would like to know which is the best place to live near Montreux (Montreux itself or Vevey/Lausanne with reasonable rent).Can anybody tell me how much time does it generally take to get an apartment for rent. I want to plan accordingly to bring my family to CH. Any help will be greatly appreciated.

Also i see the number of rooms mentioned as 2/2.5/3/3.5 in homegate and comparis. What does 2.5 and 3.5 mean there ? Is kitchen also counted as room ?

Thx
nhasan

kitchen's not counted, living room is - so 2½ rooms is a bedroom and largish living room.

you have to look at convenience -vs- tax -vs- commute -vs- what you're prepared to pay for rent -vs- everything else you can think of.

They also often demand 1-2-3 months rent in advance as deposit....don't forget this!

I thought that the kitchen counts as 1/2 room if it's detached. If you have an open plan appartment the kitchen is not counted seperately. However I could be wrong...

my apartment is a 3.5 room apartment which means a 2 bed with large open plan lounge/diner and kitchen, I thought the kitchen and bathrooms didn't count as a room and that the half room meant an open plan lounge/diner - for example a 3 room apartment would be 2 beds and a lounge but a small normal sized lounge

Not sure if this is correct but it was the rule of thumb i used when looking for apartments

Nicky

Thnks for the info guys. Which area is better in terms of living standards - Lausanne, Vevey and Montreux ? I would be looking for a place where i can get anything very easily and i don't have to travel far.

all of the above places are not shabby but you should look at public transport and how you'll commute to and from work to make the best decision.

I believe Lausanne is the biggest place ergo the place I'd likely gravitate towards....living standards you would consider high for all of them.

This is starting to worry me a little. I am just beginning the process of looking for accomodation in Zurich.
I've got a budget of 3,000 Sfr, does that mean I could have to pay 9,000Sfr in deposit and then another 3,000 for my first months rent?
12,000 all in 1 go?
I've not accepted my offered contract just yet but is this something I can raise with my future boss and ask him to stump up some cash for?

The deposit varies depending on the landlord. The most we had to pay was CHF7000 on a CHF2700 per month apartment. The next place we lived was more rent but deposit was only CHF3000.

Yes, usually.
dave

If you're lucky, it'll be one month in advance plus one month deposit.

If you're unlucky.....I don't know - I never had the problem as my last place was one month.....

Hi there. When I had to put 3 months deposit, I took a loan from my employer, and they took the money back of my salary for the next 3 months, I'm told this is not unusual. Also don't forget that you may not get your deposit back for another year!!! after you leave your flat, the flat contract says so. I was able to get my deposit back from Basel after leaving the flat 4 months, but ONLY because there were HIGH influences pushing my old landlord for.

Does this apply even when the deposit is kept in a Bank? I just got an apartment and deposited one months rent as security , in ZKB bank account which is going to be opened in my name (rigth now it is in a Administrative account). I also plan to get the Hausrat insurance. Having all this do i still see problems gettting my depo money back?

Again this varies from Landlord to landlord, some will give you back the money as soon as you move out but they can legally hold onto it for 1 year after which they are obligated by law to return it. I've had both senarios happen to me.

they're all now supposed to go into a holding account IIRC; that happened in the late 90s.

You earn interest (mind you not much) and then after moving out, you either get it back or it covers damage, etc.

I just signed mine over to the agency who ran my apartment - 9 months after moving out and 8 months after the next tennant went in.

Hello nhasan!

I live in Lausanne...I pay rent of 1450sfr. per month including water and heating for a 3.5 apartment in a fancy part of Lausanne..that means I have 2 bedrooms, large living room, large entrance hall and separate kitchen. In the canton of Vaud a kitchen does not count as a separate room whereas it does in the Canton of Geneva. I paid a deposit of three months which is currently blocked in a bank account, any interest I receive is transferred directly to my account ) it's not much but at least the bloody landlord or agency don't pocket it!

I did heaps of research before moving to Lausanne..Montreux and Vevey were both more expensive and not as lively and bit too snobbish for me.

I got lucky and have an apartment which is 10 mins. from the station and 5 mins. from the town centre..

If you choose Lausanne, avoid Renens which is a bit dodgy...otherwise Lausanne is pretty safe. Ouchy down by the lake is the posh expensive part, I wouldn't live here if you plan on taking the train everyday as it's quite a trek uphill!

Good luck and keep us posted..

Another good option is to pay an insurance each year instead of putting up the deposit - this is what I do. Then there's nothing to put down up front, and nothing to get back at the end This is one of the few insurance products I consider useful.

Thanks Angelpop .... I was wondering where to live in Vaud. Now you have given me exactly what i was looking for.

Regards,
nhasan

Have you a link please?
I'd rather have my 6K deposit back...

http://www.alba.ch/home_d.htm I can't find the specific product, but this is the company (site in German). I think this is a common insurance product that you should be able to get anyway. Other people may know of others...

Hi Angelpop,

Another thing that i can see from your text is that you said

"I did heaps of research before moving to Lausanne..Montreux and Vevey were both more expensive and not as lively and bit too snobbish for me. "

I have found that communal tax of Lausanne is 83% whereas Montreux and Vevey is around 70%. Considering that also, does Mon/vevey come out expensive ?

Also i read from your previous messages that you are on L permit. Is there a difference in tax payment for L or B. Do you pay tax at source on L also.

nhasan