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11 votes
Accepted

Renting in England without a local credit history

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 ...
  • 4,148
8 votes
Accepted

What does "separate kitchen" mean in apartments in London?

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 ...
7 votes

Finding temporary accommodation in London

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 ...
  • 323
7 votes
Accepted

Netherlands - Rental agency is forcing me to accept a contract

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 ...
  • 2,753
6 votes

Do real estate agents in Melbourne actively help you find a rental?

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. ...
  • 3,946
6 votes
Accepted

Netherlands housing rental - I might be getting scammed, how to avoid that?

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, ...
  • 2,753
6 votes

Resign Rental Contract Germany

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 ...
  • 1,503
5 votes
Accepted

US citizen looking to visit UK for 1 year

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. ...
5 votes
Accepted

Is 500$/month sufficient to live in Olomouc (Czech Republic)?

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 ...
  • 2,314
5 votes

Renting residence from abroad background and credit check issues

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 ...
5 votes

Renting in Germany: how do I get a SCHUFA?

As a prospective tenant, the landlord is expecting you to obtain a credit report, through the German credit bureau, SCHUFA.
  • 4,678
5 votes

Apartment viewing Tips?

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 ...
  • 2,753
5 votes

French housing agencies refuse to accept a foreign guarantor

(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 ...
  • 1,204
5 votes
Accepted

French housing agencies refuse to accept a foreign guarantor

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 ...
  • 393
4 votes

Renting in England without a local credit history

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 ...
  • 3,466
4 votes
Accepted

How to rent a house in Melbourne Australia?

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 ...
  • 760
4 votes

Finding temporary accommodation in London

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 ...
4 votes
Accepted

EU-citizen, moving to work in Germany, registration issues

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. ...
  • 586
4 votes

Do real estate agents in Melbourne actively help you find a rental?

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 ...
  • 3,697
4 votes

How to find long term accomodation online in France?

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, ...
  • 1,204
4 votes
Accepted

Renting Studio with Minimum rental period

In the randstad (the most populous part of the country), most properties will be rented out within days of being put on the market (certainly if you are talking about small-to-medium size, affordable ...
  • 5,397
4 votes

Renting Studio with Minimum rental period

Finding a new tenant is a time-consuming procedure, with the risk of the gap where you get no money but still have costs. It's obvious the landlords are interested in finding long-term tenant rather ...
  • 211
4 votes
Accepted

Netherlands Renting Registration

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 ...
  • 3,466
4 votes

Do I still have to pay the Runkfunkbeitrag as a tenant sharing a house with landlords, while paying the "Warmmiete" already?

Well, it would seem to depend on two things: Do you have a separate "appartment"? I don't know if there is an official definition for that, but intuitively, it seems that a separate entrance, kitchen ...
  • 17.4k
4 votes
Accepted

Netherlands - How can I avoid paying contract costs to real estate agency?

First of all, get some evidence: A signed written requirement is best; a voice recording is good (and make a transcript); a clear email exchange is not so great, but might do. And now for some actual ...
  • 2,753
4 votes

Netherlands - How can I avoid paying contract costs to real estate agency?

I experienced a similar issue in Rotterdam where an agency (Domica, MaxRentals) charged me € 350 in advance in order to secure the house. I complied and paid in order to get the house. After that I ...
  • 193
4 votes
Accepted

Rentals to "expats only" in Copenhagen Denmark

I suspect it often means slightly more than just expats, it means "expats who are backed by a large company". The reasons are probably: Increased willingness to pay high rents, and less likelihood to ...
  • 166
4 votes

Is there a way to hire someone to view/inspect a house before renting in the United States?

You will have to find and hire someone to inspect the property and report back to you. I am aware of no national or state-level business that does this specific work. OTOH, I haven't searched for it......
4 votes

Is there a way to hire someone to view/inspect a house before renting in the United States?

A virtual assistant would be able to do exactly this for you, as well as help with other tasks on site and preparations before you make a decision. There are plenty of them out there a simple google ...
4 votes

Rules about flat rent in Prague

Yes, a fixed term rental contract can't be freely broken early. Rentals are governed by the Czech Civil Code and terminations are addressed by § 2285 and following (in Czech). There are two kinds of ...
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