I'm on a flat hunt and I find that there are adverts put up by regies where they do not show any photos. The building seems nice on the outside and nothing in the description suggests that it could be shabby. I wonder why then they do not put up any photos? I don't want to waste my time and be disappointed by my visit. If you have any experience with this, please share!
No no no for 70s/80s you've got to still expect beige/brown fittings with patterned tiles unless the rent is in the higher 25% for the sqm.
As for the no photos maybe they don't have any and would rather have none than those with the tenants stuff. It it could be a Swiss thing - take a look at Ricardo for example - blurry photos with three or four word descriptions.
I've seen ads like that but ignored them right away. If they don't bother enough for 2-3 photos, I guess they won't bother if the heating fails. Also consider that many tenants like to live in a trash bin. Only after they leave and a thorough cleaning it's possible to get a photo that won't be a fail online.
My only experience was leaving a flat. The real estate company asked nicely if I could take a few photos for an online ad two months before leaving, I did.
In Swiss cities there is a shortage of modestly priced accommodation. Therefore, most flats that are advertised, by whatever means, are snapped up very quickly.
Since these are the current market conditions, landlords don't need to go to any special effort with their ads, as a new tenant will be along very quickly to sign the contract, yes, please, right away.
So true. Especially in the cities. Even for the small village where we were, I had a line of people wanting to see an apply for the apartment less than 48 hours after putting up the ads. Went to a lot of trouble to clean the place up, take nice pictures, even paid for an ad. Could have saved all that trouble. Not one response to the paid ad, all came through Anibis and Facebook, and the people who came and looked signed the application after a quick peak around!
It could also be that the landlord or caretaker is old and is bad at photography (or just doesn't bother). In my experience (in different cities), a lack of photos doesn't correlate to the quality of the flat in any way. What it does do (as is evident by some comments here) is turn a bunch of people off the ads, so there is less interest in the posting. (It could also indicate a scam, but you would be able to check that pretty easily, as long as you don't wire people money without seeing the place first.) The current flat I live in had very sub-par photos on the posting, but it's a fantastic fit for us! And I love that the building is owned by an architect couple who really care about this place and their residents' well-being (even though they don't understand how cc works on e-mail! ).
My advice would be to check it out, if everything else about the posting fits your needs.
I believe it is because the agencies/landlords are not allowed to take photos with the tenant's furniture and private belongings. And also that even if the tenant agrees- the place is very untidy, beds unmade, washing up not done, washing hanging in bathroom, etc. This is what a friend told me who is an estate agent when I asked her why they put photos of untidy kitchens, etc.
You would have thought they would have photos from after the last cleaning when the previous tenant moved out. Not sure if it's incompetence or just the Swiss minimalist lazy way, because they always did it like that, why change
In our house hunt I've been stunned by some of the photos of houses/flats. The clutter, the messes including dirty pans on the stove, the way you can't even tell what a room was supposed to be, the hideous paint colors, the avocado green bathroom fixtures, the orange kitchen tiles from the 1970s... the prices! Just wow.
Yes, same here. But I realised later it was with my 'owner and seller' cap on. When we sold houses, we always decluttered, and for photos and visits, it was immaculate, fresh flowers, cushions plumped up, kitchen and bathrooms immaculate, etc.
When I commented on this to my estate agent friends here- they said it is a nightmare to advertise rentals when tenants were still in situ, as you can't force them to tidy up - they said they often would have liked to do the washing up and tiday themselves- but that would be a breach of the tenant's rights. They don't wait till the last cleaning, as they do not want properties to remain empty n between tenants.
In Geneva, you will rarely find any of the established Regies publishing photos of the apartments inside. Some do, nonetheless, and in fact some of the smaller agencies are more likely to do so.
I don't think this has anything to do with any rules, rather it is their market and as long as people compete for the apartments the same way they do for jobs, they can get away with it. If you wish to find an apartment through a Regie, your best bet is to contact the current tenant, if known; or visit at the time of the group visit when organized.
You can find some ads with photos in glocals - mostly sublets or lease take-over; in fact, lease-take over is your best chance to get apartment that you want and of course get photos or see it yourself in advance from the current tenant.
I recently swapped places, and had no issues finding a replacement tenant. The regie nonetheless wished to advertise on their website, I offered photos but they said no need. At the end, they just gave it to one couple we recommended.
My apartment had no photos in the ad. The reason was an old lady has lived there for ages and the apartment was in awful state. However, the Regie wrote on the ad that the house would have been fully repainted, floor laminated and one of the bathrooms re-done.
As people have said you have better luck in finding photos of:
- apartments of people looking for someone to take over the lease
- apartment in new buildings. I saw some ads with pictures taken right after the building was done (so apartment brand new) and used in the ads now even if the building was now 5-7 years old.
In my hunt for an apartment, I only looked at 2 places.
The first was in the city - nothing special about it, with outdated flooring, kitchen, bath, low ceilings, kind of dark, expensive rent - and about a hundred other people there waiting to see it and kiss the owner's rosy red butt cheeks.
The second, which was posted on the web with almost no info and no photos, had just been fully refurbished. 360 degree views, on a private street with fahrverbot unless you live here. Farm fields on the side. Loads of wildlife. 5 minutes walk to bus, 10 to train, 5 min drive and you're on the highway. 10 minute drive to city center. We and one other couple were the only applicants. Because, you know, if there are no pics, the place must be a sh!thole.