Berlin Apartment Hunting, my learnings
The market is tough and demanding; so should you be.
I have collected my own experiences, stories I have heard and my learnings over the web.
Bypass Aggregators
Prioritize real estate companies and their listings over aggregator platforms that sell premium memberships.
I have paid for memberships to aggregator websites and it is safe to say that they are useless. What they have extra are private listings which you should approach with extra care anyways. Real estate companies, property management companies, construction groups etc. are always whole lot easier to deal than private landlords.
Aggregators provide some services such as schufa, application package etc. to reel you in but these are useless in reality, feel free to run this by any makler you want.
- Some platforms have integrations with banks and you can prove your income. This does not fly with landlords, companies. They need those payslips. But always send them redacted!
- Some platforms also use integrations to prove your rent payments to your current landlord but this again is pointless and not accepted. You need the confirmation of rent payments document. Mietschuldenfreiheitsbescheinigung.
- You need schufa that shows score. Not the positive or negative that are issued to you on famous websites. (You can alternatively request a schufa for free every year that shows a score out of 100. This works in most cases but some require Schufa that shows score out of 1000. Which is obtained from Schufa website.)
Define your ideal apartment
I am not going to cover all the basics such as address registration, postbox, change of name, safe area etc. . These are all given. You can find out more on https://allaboutberlin.com
Apart from those make sure your basicneeds are covered. Living space is an important part of your life. Do not pick or apply to an apartment as last resort or just because market is tough.
Make sure all three basics are up to your standards before applying to an apartment:
Price
Location
Features
These are non negiotables and they are correlated. If price increases, location or features or both should increase depending on that. But never compromise just because market is tough. More space is always going to be more space regardless of location or if you do not have a balcony and you opted for an offer 50 eur less; you will do a lot of mental gymnastics to justify it.
Location is overrated. Living outside the ring is not what expats make it to be. Berlin is mostly safe and has great transportation. Do not fixate over location. Apartments outside ring should cost less though, make sure you are not overpaying.
Appointments
Some listings expect you to earn plus 10k and not have a work life. They schedule you visiting times that are during working hours even if the apartment is in outskirts or suburban areas. I do not think their intention is ill but on your part this creates a sensation that you should be attending to it nevertheless and beat others to it. Request an alternative appointment. If they do not have an alternate date, let it go.
Do not feel rushed. Do not cancel your meeting and other important life events just to attend an appointment. I have been there, it is not worth it.
10–15% of the time, person giving you the appointment and asking you to be punctual will not show up or be late anyways.
Never send your documents before appointments. Redact your documents. Always hide personally identifiable information. You can use macOS preview’s built in feature or simply use a PDF editor.
They will give you an application form, you can scan them with your mobile device and fill them digitally via chrome or preview on macos. These forms are usually very basic but I have seen some that required PII. Do not provide. Even if it is the best apartment there is and you are sure you will get it, do not cave in.
Inspect the Property
Examine what is included in the apartment, such as appliances and furnishings.
Check for water damage.
Check the neighbours and neighbourhood.
Check the reputation of the housing company (Hausverwaltung) managing the property.
Check the reputation of realtor.
Check if landlord’s name appear on web for scams or similar activities.
Check building rules. Some have extreme rules around quiet hours, some have extra fees (intercom or smart doorbell fees etc.)
Find out who will be your contact point when something goes wrong? Property management, some other company or landlord themselves? How fast will they be reacting to your inquiries?
Check google and trustpilot reviews of both the realtor and property management.
Internet is full of stories how property management firms fail to fulfill their duties and you run without electricity, hot water, heating etc for days or your furniture maybe subject to damage because of a water leak.
Most will argue you can go to your mieterverein and have them involved. Sure, but you are still without hot water, amenities or whatever. Being right or justified does not equal to comfort.
I have seen a famous property management overlooking an apartment after an apartment fire.
Some apartment complexes have their own reviews on internet. You can check those to get a feel.
Contract signing
- Sign up for https://www.berliner-mieterverein.de/. They offer a lot of services and stand by you for any disputes and can go over your contracts.
- Have legal insurance that covers rental disputes.
- Request an English version as well (but this is not legally accepted.) So always have the contract reviewed by a German speaker or even better a legal professional. If English not provided use deepl ai or google translate’s document upload feature to translate it.
- Triple check correctness of names, addresses, and other details. German apartments do not have door numbers but they have either a description or some new units have codes. Triple check it is the apartment you are in.
- Sign the contract inside the apartment.
- Never transfer money before signing the contract.
- Confirm deposits are paid to a shared account and consider installment options.
- Check whether it is index rent or not.
- Check whose bank account has been given or if it is sepa mandat.
