10
There are two catch 22s when trying to rent in the UK as an expat. The first is that you often need an address to get a bank account and a bank account to get an address. The second is that you need an address to get a credit history (technically, I believe you need to attempt to register to vote at the address) and you need a credit history to get an ...
10
Owning a house is possible in Thailand, but only if you build it yourself, and submit lots of paperwork. You do not own the land on which the house is situated, though. Foreigners can not own land in Thailand. (Think: "ไผทของไทยทุกส่วน" from the national anthem - they really mean it!)
A company is a legal entity, and can own land - and there are two ways (...
9
Merely knowing your bank account details is not enough to set up a direct debit, the bank would require your consent (autorisation de prélévement). If you haven't signed such a form, the landlord cannot use the RIB for that (and, incidentally, it's forbidden for landlords to demand that their tenants pay by direct debit, although I can imagine that some do ...
8
An “attestation d'emploi” or “attestation de l'employeur” should be enough, if producing your work contract is not practical. Here are a few templates from various real estate agents (PDF) that seem pretty typical. One of these agents seems to insist that clients use their template and nothing else so yours might have one as well.
What they all ask for is ...
7
I know that at least Sixt allows you to rent a car from Finland and drive it in other Nordic countries, including Norway, but you have to let them know about your plan to drive it abroad before you rent. You also have to be at least 21 years old to rent a van type car.
They also allow you to just take it one way, but the cost for that is pretty steep (~...
7
Finding an apartment to rent, even for short term, can be tricky if you do it online.
I just moved to Edinburgh, from France, so I can at least speak about my experience: I booked 2 weeks at an airbnb, to have an address to crash in when I arrived in the city. From there, I searched for a real apartment to settle in. Between the visit and the actual day I ...
7
It means that the kitchen is not in the same room as the open-plan bedroom/living room. If the kitchen was shared, the property would be described as a "room" (or "en-suite room" if there was a private bathroom), rather than an a studio apartment (also know as "studio flat").
As mentioned in the comments, estate agents' descriptions can be ... imaginative. ...
6
It's 99% certainly a scam. The exact same thing happened to me twice when I was in your position, including the passport scan. Guy said he was working in the UK and wanted to rent out his apartment, in a very good location in Amsterdam, for a low price. Don't bother verifying his passport. I'm sorry to have to break it to you; I realize you wanted the ...
6
I am also not a lawyer, not Dutch, and have no Dutch legal experience. Still, I am absolutely sure they have no legal basis to demand payment. Rental agreements which involve contracts are concluded only when all of the following happen:
The contract is signed by both parties
The apartment is cleared for use by the tenant
The keys are given to the tenant
...
5
Finding an apartment on its own doesn't justify this being an expat question, but since I've done this myself AND know there are some expat issues with doing so, I'll address those.
It takes time. Many agents will just add you to their email lists for listings. There might be some who will take you around, but most just run open homes and deal with the ...
5
Unfortunately, renting in the US is quite difficult without a number of prerequisites. Generally, you should be prepared to have the following things to have the best chance of leasing in the US as a non-citizen student:
A copy of your passport for identification purposes.
A copy of your I-20, IAP-66, or student visa.
A guarantor, someone who is willing to ...
5
You can find the answer on vosdroits.service-public.fr (in French). I summarize and translate the relevant points (omitting cases that don't apply to you).
Le locataire qui donne congé à son bailleur reste tenu au paiement de son loyer pendant les 3 mois qui suivent la réception de son courrier par le propriétaire.
If the tenant notifies the landlord of ...
5
I don't think that the cheque is important. I remember, as far as I can, always using cheques because it is the most common means of payment for large sums in France.
While using cash is a bit weird because the amount is large, I think a wire would be fine. The last time I started to rent an apartment I payed the first rent (along with the deposit) with a ...
5
I lived in the UK for 5 years, and when I moved out of the country, I left my EEA partner there. In the end, I was never able to visit him because of this stuff. So I know a thing or two about this.
You will be allowed into the country with the visa waiver program for 6 months, as you mentioned.
If you are physically in the UK while you are doing work, it'...
5
Question #1: Can you make it on $500? Short answer: It's going to be tight, but yes.
Question #2: Can you save a reasonable amount of money? Probably not.
Salary after tax
Before we start, we need to calculate the amount of tax you will pay. As of 2016, 500$ equals ~12100CZK, which after tax would be ~10400CZK. I'll be using the Czech currency from now ...
5
It is correct that the contract binds you to pay for three months, even if you cancel it right now, before moving in.
However, typically landlords in Germany are willing to accept a qualified replacement for you ('Nachmieter') - they are not forced in any way, but it is quite common; from my experience, 1/2 - 3/4 of all rental 'notice periods' end short ...
5
As a prospective tenant, the landlord is expecting you to obtain a credit report, through the German credit bureau, SCHUFA.
5
Let's start with the "bad experiences" part of your question: This might be trivial for some, but: Never ever pay any money before you've physically seen the apartment. There are quite a few rent scammers who will give you all sorts of excuses for why you need to pay before you've seen the place - don't be fooled.
Now for some meta-advice:
Ask a Dutch ...
5
(Partial answer)
As mentioned on https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F31267, it is legal for the owner to require a garantor (a caution), notice that it is not mandatory.
La présentation d'une caution n'est pas une obligation légale.
Toutefois, un bailleur peut exiger la présence d'une caution pour
louer son logement. En pratique, ...
5
As promised, I am completing my comment with an answer.
As @audionuma mentioned, the housing market in Paris is quite difficult, even for locals.
Indeed, it is technically illegal to refuse a guarantor because s/he is not French or doesn't live in France. Here is what the law states (article 22-1 of the law regarding rentals, modified by the latest ...
4
The standard way of renting a house is through a real estate agent, which require that you inspect the property and fill an application form.
One thing that was surprising for me when I migrated to Australia is that there can be quite a lot of competition for renting a place, especially in certain suburbs and around the beginning of the year. Therefore, it'...
4
Service-public.fr describes the rules for furnished and unfurnished apartments. The page on contracts for unfurnished rentals is somewhat more explicit but I think the rules are the same in this respect (many other rules are different, however):
Le délai court à compter de la date de réception effective de la lettre de congé. Ainsi, par exemple, une ...
4
We've recently used a 'man with a van' to move some of my fiancée's belongings from Finland to the UK. We found him on a Facebook group for FI-GB expats who were recommending him to other members.
It cost around €300, which is about a quarter of the cost we expected to pay if we'd have gone with either the quotes we'd had from 'official' moving companies, ...
4
Paperwork and deposits for apartments are reasonably similar to what's required in the US though the standards seem to favor renters. I don't know if it's more or less similar in other European countries (or elsewhere).
Citizenship is not required. Of course, there may be some racial discrimination in practice but it's possible to file a complaint. For ...
4
I'd second AirBnB as an option - it will allow you to use the time to scout out areas and look around before settling for something a bit bigger.
Alternatively, websites such as spareroom.co.uk are listings of home owners letting out rooms in their houses - usually for longer term (3-6m), but there may be some offering shorter lets (or others that if you ...
4
My letting agent ran an international credit check (or rather they asked another company to do this) based on my previous address in Canada (which I had to list as “current address”). They also asked my previous landlord for evidence that I had no outstanding debts and had been a good tenant. Together with the job contract and other documentation, this was ...
4
Once you arrive to Germany you will have to register your residence at the City Hall in one weeks time. You do it in 10 minutes and it costs nothing. You just use address where you are in Germany. From then on it's your legal address. Previously it was enough to just show up with the filled in form and passport, and they would register you. You may need a ...
4
TL;DR: Sorry, expecting to find an apartment in 10 days is completely unrealistic.
First, the background: in Australia, it's illegal for a real estate agent to take a commission from a tenant, they make all their money from the landlord. Second, Australian laws are structured so that it's very difficult for a landlord to kick out a tenant once they've ...
4
One thing to be aware of is that there are two main legal frameworks for long term rental in France : 'meublé' (furnished) or 'vide' (empty). A 'meublé' will include all furniture (bed, chairs, table, maybe tv set, ...,) whereas a 'vide' rental might include some kitchen stuff (oven, fridge, ...) but no other furniture.
Some clues here on 'meublé' vs 'vide'....
4
This means the rental is potentially legit. Some people illegally sublet apartments, which means the intermediate remains registered at the address and will not permit the tenant to register. If the tenant registers anyway, the authorities will realise a “collision” at the address and you will both run into trouble. Subletting is a bad idea for many ...
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