Hi everybody,
I want to know the average monthly rent of furnished and unfurnished apartments (in Augsburg or Munich preferable). I guess, an apartment of 2 rooms, Kitchen +Lounge would be sufficient for my family (Me, My husband and 2 small kids). Are the furnished apartments too expensive? Should we go for unfurnished ones and buy everything (that might be too expensive!!). We want to stay there for 4-5 years and then return back to Pakistan. I checked some companies and they charge too much to ship the furniture and household items to Germany.
I heard that there are agent involved who help in finding apartment. How much do they charge? Do you know about any good websites for locating apartments (maybe agent free websites)? What could be the quickest way to find an apartment?
Any information will be highly appreciated.
Regards!
Apartments in Germany
Hi and welcome to the forum!
Munich is the most expensive city in Germany and rents are €10-15/sqm (excl. utilities and furniture. You can get the details from the "Mietspiegel", an official listing of rent levels that many German cities publish (in German language, of course). The Mietspiegel for Munich is here:
http://www.muenchen.de/rathaus/Stadtver … iegel.html
A 2-bedroom plus lounge (=living room) flat is called 3-room in Germany. A typical 3-room flat of 70sqm would thus cost 700-1000€/month in Munich. Heating and other utilities will add another €150-250/month to that.
Augsburg is slightly cheaper, but not by much. It is also difficult and time-consuming to find a good place to rent in both cities, so arrange for temporary accommodation and sufficient free time in the first few months (yes, it takes that long, especially without agent!).
Agents generally charge the flat-seeker 3 months rent as fee. Please note that the landlord also usually asks for a deposit of three months rent, thus you need 7x the monthly rental amount (incl. first month rental) upfront to get a place with agent, or 4x without agent.
Furnished accommodation in Germany is generally rare and expensive. Add 30-80% to the rents explained above to get a furnished place. All places advertised are empty unless it says otherwise (furnished = "möbliert" in German). You might prefer to ship or buy your own furniture instead.
Just for information:
There was a change in the law: from January 2015 the landlord has to pay the agent's fee (Provision) and not the tenant any more. How far has this been implemented yet ? Not sure, and experts believe that landlords will recover the agents fees in other ways e.g. increase the rent or ask for Ausgleichszahlungen (compensation payments).
You can also check websites for apartments to get an idea (e.g. nestoria.de, immobilienscout24.de, immowelt, etc.).
@Beppi. Thanks. You are always very helpful.
@no_clue: Thanks. This is very good news. I hope it gets implemented soon.
Hi guys,
which cities in Germany would you recommend as the best balance between ease of finding a place and job opportunities?
Moreover, is it easier to find a WG-zimmer in Munich than a whole flat, or is it just as difficult?
Thank you!
Job opportunities depend on the industry you are in: Frankfurt is centre of finance, Berlin for politics and high-tech startups, the Ruhr area has lots of heavy industry, Hamburg trading and port, Stuttgart and its surroundings are traditionally into automotive and machinery, etc.
Berlin is probably still the best big city for finding a reasonably prices place to stay, although that is currently changing, too. Munich has never been good for accommodation of any kind.
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