# Finding accommodation in Frankfurt or Berlin?



## stewy88

Hi everybody. I will soon be moving to Germany with my wife and I was hoping to get some advice with regards to housing. Here are our requirements...

1. Nothing special. Simple and cheap is perfectly fine for the time being.
2. Quickness. I need to find a place pretty promptly. 

So, I was hoping to get some advice on as to what would be the best way to find something, cheap and quickly.

1. Could I organize something from the UK or is it only really feasible from within Germany and in the place in question?

2. How should I go about it? Estate agents? Privately? Any specific newspapers? Any good websites?

Thank you for helping us!

Stew.


----------



## James3214

You will need to understand a bit of German but a good bet would be to try sites like immobilienscout24.de 
You will probably have to pay 1-2 months fee if you use an agent otherwise look for 'dírekt von Eigentumer' or ' Provision Frei' where you don't have to pay the fee.

What a better option might be is to use the following site and find a house share or a time limited rental (a lot of people just rent out their places when they go away or abroad for working) It's not permanent but can be a good idea just to get somewhere and find your feet.
http://www.wg-gesucht.de

You might be lucky and be able to arrange something from the UK and some even speak English as mentioned in the adverts.


----------



## stewy88

Thanks for the advice! In your opinion, how much do you think we are looking at to rent (per month) in Frankfurt as a couple. We wouldn't mind living on the outskirts a bit.

Cheers.

Stewart


----------



## James3214

stewy88 said:


> Thanks for the advice! In your opinion, how much do you think we are looking at to rent (per month) in Frankfurt as a couple. We wouldn't mind living on the outskirts a bit.
> 
> Cheers.
> 
> Stewart




For a really small 1 bed (known as 2 room apartment) start looking at 500€ upwards (warm..ie with costs included)...look at those sites in Frankfurt for some idea. Don't forget they show 'cold' and 'warm' rent. The rent is 'kalt'/'cold' and the costs (such as heating and lighting, building costs,etc) are 'warm' which can be anything up to 10-40% of the 'kalt' rent.
Obviously, outside Frankfurt is a lot cheaper. But your travel costs might cancel any benefit.


----------



## ALKB

Are you still thinking about Berlin as an option?

Berlin is cheaper rent-wise and also regarding general living expenses. If you are interested, I could give you an overview of what the different boroughs (Bezirke) are like? 

I'd recommend to fly over for a few days to explore and view as many flats as possible before deciding on anything. Photos can be deceptive and an internet advert is not going to tell you about the noisy pub downstairs or that there was a mould problem in the building, etc.

You can also have a look at kijiji DOT de, which will take you to eBay Kleinanzeigen (classified ads) a lot of people are looking for someone to take over their lease because they cancelled it early, moved to their new flat and don't want to pay double rent.


----------

