How to Rent an Apartment Abroad
In case you were wondering what happened to my exasperated Instagram stories of apartment hunting in Hamburg, have no fear! I am still indeed semi-homeless! (I’m just being dramatic- I can stay in my illegally sublet room for a bit longer, so I am indeed quite lucky.)
Anywho, I’d be lying if I said the past few weeks have been relaxed. Ask anyone who’s ever been apartment hunting in Hamburg, and they’ll probably tell you a similar tale- it’s extremely difficult to find and then get approved for your perfect place. There are plenty of apartments to look at, but they’re online for 5 minutes, the poster gets inundated with messages from people who have their phones set to notify them when a new flat is online, and then the post subsequently disappears in the blink of an eye. Needless to say, my screen time for the past few weeks has been off the charts, refreshing my apps and websites every 30 minutes.
But then something miraculous happened, as I sat in a call box at WeWork on Monday, butchering the German language while arranging a viewing of my 8th apartment in Hamburg. I got an email saying I was approved for a flat! Cue the happy dance! And then something even more miraculous happened: I got another email confirming I could move into another flat, in a completely different neighborhood. And then… wait for it… I got an email that said, in essence, “The owners are on holiday but yours is the only application we submitted to them, you fit the bill, and it’s probably yours” for a third flat and it’s safe to say at this point I cried happy tears.
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This is my first time searching for flats entirely alone, and to feel like I had done it, and successfully completed this seemingly impossible task (with a bit of help from some great friends), felt absolutely awesome. But this got me thinking… why isn’t there better information out there about how to rent abroad? How to find an apartment in a country where you don’t speak the language? And how to avoid overpaying for flats targeted at foreigners?
Every single day foreigners are being pinpointed for overpriced flats, via websites like Airbnb or Wunderflats in Germany, offering fully-furnished apartments (and very convenient services, I must admit) for hundreds of euros more than the flat is actually worth each month. So while I’m still not an expert on absolutely anything, I do have experience looking at flats in New York, Portugal, and Germany and finding pretty good deals. So I thought I’d put my advice in a blog post and hope that people find it here, instead of getting their wallets unnecessarily raided by websites with English options.
So let’s say you’re looking to move abroad:
Where do you start?
1. Facebook Groups
That’s right, good ol’ Facebook has become almost irrelevant to my daily life, with the sole exception of Groups. In Hamburg alone, there are about 5 different Facebook groups specifically for people looking to rent out, or move into, apartments. Straight from the source, no agents involved, just private viewings (with hefty competition for slots). In Portugal, I also found Facebook groups like “Expats in name-of-your-town” to be absolutely FILLED with helpful apartment tips, and further groups like “Housing in Ericeira” to be much better sources for finding apartments than going through the real estate agents in town. Keep in mind, this advice is for renting only. For buying properties, I would be lost without an agent, especially with the zoning and bureaucracy in Portugal.
2. eBay?
Yep, that’s right. My absolute favorite, do-or-die website in Germany is the classified section of eBay, called eBay Kleinanzeigen. It’s like your neighborhood craigslist, but less sketchy and filled with awesome finds for a fraction of the new price because, well, the things aren’t new. From furniture to fabric to flats, eBay Kleinzeigen literally has it all and if you’re looking for a flat in Germany, you should most definitely search here.
The Portuguese equivalent to eBay Kleinanzeigen is olx and it’s filled with gems, like Pumpkin, my trusty Smart car who was purchased via olx.
3. Friends and Locals
By far the most integral part of my personal apartment hunting history has been the element of humanity. Making connections with people from the very first message, with a letter written in the language of the place where you’re looking (use friends or Google Translate), arriving early to appointments to chat with the person leasing the flat, and even including a picture in my slew of documents (a tip from one renter), so that companies can put a face to my enthusiastic application.
On this same point, Kris and I found our flat in Ericeira, Portugal for a very competitive, fair price thanks to a friend in town who knew the owner. Remax had the same apartment listed for about 100 euros more per month, so just know that it really pays to visit a place first and make some connections with folks in town, before beginning your search.
I miss living next to this coffee
Something that makes me endlessly happy about this blog, is the number of messages I get from people who are looking to move abroad. Anyone can do it. Yes, anyone. You don’t need to have a job squared away. You don’t need to be a supposed genius, qualifying for standout visas like Melania Trump. And you certainly don’t need to be rich. You just need to be smart (and unafraid to spend a few weeks glued to your phone and computer.)
Skip the agents, surpass the overpriced furnished rentals, and start making real connections with real people. It’s there that you might find yourself a very real dream home abroad…