I also don't know if those letters had any effect but we anyway got the first apartment we applied for.
I had not heard of a house-rental CV before this, but before I relocated, I asked my previous landlord to write me a letter of recommendation and then had it translated into German. In addition to this, my new employer also wrote me another letter of recommendation which stated my salary and the fact that my position is permanent.
Is it so difficult for you to send a email back to her and say sorry dont know what you mean can you send a checklist of what should be included and stop asking for 100 different opinions and lots of messages from yourself asking the questions over and over again????
Common sense should prevail here
Thanks for the info. They have spent the last three days driving us around Zürich showing us the various areas and the properties. Is there more I should be asking of them?
Yes, that is exactly what I did. I just wanted some additional advice.
Thanks
Depends how passive you want to be I guess. We had Auris as our relocation agents, and the apartments we found from homegate and Immoscout and said "we want to view these" ticked our boxes, the ones they found were frankly off the mark.
I moved to my permanent apartment less than 3 months ago, and I was as well asked by the relocation company for a CV. I didn't like it though, but I needed a place and it was "highly recommended". Ejem, I sent it. I did 100% paperwork asked and it worked very well.
Yup, I did exactly what PG suggested. I looked myself for what I liked in Homegate and asked to make appointments for a couple of days. What they looked for me (based on my requirements) were not of my liking, although it ticked all the boxes of what I asked for, but you only know when you see the pictures, location, size, etc. whether you could or could not live there.
Also, I was told that their source was also Homegate or such, so no magic hidden websites. What is true is that I believe is easier to convince the owners when you get their help (they know many people in the market) to take you instead any of the ones queing.
That's been pretty much the exact process. Links from homegate: "Which would you like to see?" And also: "Check homegate yourself and see if there is anything you like." The most helpful bit for us was describing and showing us the various areas, and driving us to the viewings. The agent was quite shrewd in quickly finding out what kind of thing we are after.
Still searching though ... to be honest, I would be happy with a studio flat in Langstrasse, but well, the good Mrs ælfred has slightly different expectations
You've been at this three days and still searching? I don't even want to ask how many apartments you've seen. Are you sure you haven't used up your budget yet? Finding an apartment is just the 1st step....there's lots of work still to be done after that.
Yes, I have used up a third of my onsite visit budget. Starting to get a bit worried.
Hi there, in a similar situation as OP. Had a question for Mrs.D and all you experienced people out there. Saw a place we liked on the 7th, relocation agent applied for it next day, company HR and corporate housing landlord were called for references the same day, but estate agency is taking a long time to decide. They say sometime this week. How long do they actually take to decide and do they bother letting you know if you have not got it?
Put it this way, if a flat has 40 applications, will calling 39 rejected applicants be a good use of their time? I think not. Get your relocation agent to step on the gas and give them another call. He/she should be doing their job of trying to secure you the flat.
As for timing, no news is not good news in my experience for house hunting. Positive news always comes through quite quickly (within a couple of days) for me. Good luck!
Thank you Summerain, just heard from my relocation agent that she contacted them yesterday and they will be making a decision by tomorrow, keeping my fingers crossed.
I use to work for relocation and I've also had my fair share of flats in my 17 years here. So here are a few things to consider (from my experiences):
- This is switzerland, two weeks to a month is normal for a decision. But if you put something in in writing you will EVENTUALLY get a reply ( but usually not a reason)
- if the flat is going through a Management company they often have to wait so and so long till they have enough applicants and then present these to the landlord for a final say - you can imagine this stretches the whole process enormously. Unfortunately there will always be more potential tenants than potential flats so you just have to practice patience.
-landlords want to have a choice and will happily prolong making a decision until the 'perfect' person comes along so they often prefer to have a flat stay empty another month that put the 'wrong' person in it
-not all landlords like expats coming in on contract for fancy dancy big companies with their 'pushy' relocators. Swiss don't discuss the rental rate, and a lot of expats are 'demanding' as they have other standards to the ones normal here. Remember, you can always ask for additional things like new floors etc but a) the price will go up on the flat b) seeming to pick on things makes you look fussy.
- There is the hassle, after the relocation company leaves, of trying to deal with the tenant in english, the lack of understanding for our ways etc etc. Once a landlord has made that experience he/she is often cautious to try again. Not that they will say so!
- And of course, and sadly to say, a good percent of expats who come over with family barely make it a year before their spouse ( who isn't working and finding it alienating living here without language skills, work, friends etc) demands to go home. Swiss landlords like 'long term' tenants.
So is a relocation agent a good or bad thing? As with so many things in life - both. All I can say is don't be passive during house visits. Talk to your relocator openly so you don't waste precious time ( but make sure you look friendly and interested for the sake of the landlor). A good relocator will have your needs in mind. A typical one tends to like filling the quota and will force house visits to eat up time. I changed the 'plan' quite a few times once I realized the rest of the day would be wasted if we continued, but then I hate inefficiency!
Good luck house hunting Expats. And just remember - you don't have to live in it forever, but you do need to start somewhere and you can always get more serious once you know the area better, the country better, and the probability of a long term stay better. Saying that I caution you all on one important thing - be VERY clear about termination on lease terms. Each Kanton is different, as is each region. e.g. În Basel termination is 3 months from the end of each month except December. To get out of your lease early you just have to bring one solvent, interested person to the table, irrelevant of whether the landlord will take him or not. In Geneve ( or so I have heard) you get maybe one or two DAYS a year when you can terminate, there is NO get out early card and terminations go as long as six months!
(Ok, I've said my bit and I'm sure you are all glad I'm finally getting off
Thanks Aslor for all your inside tips.Is there anything we can do during the waiting period to strengthen our case? The HR contact we have seems to be very good. I was wondering if asking her to give the estate agency another call would help. Our relocation agent is on leave until next week and have been assigned to someone else for the duration.
You new job contract, a letter from your new employer and a letter from your previous landlord stating you were a reliable tenant should be enough. I have never heard of a CV though - sounds crazy!
Without doubt, this is one of the best posts i've seen here. It's factual, correct and to the point !
Well, I doubt anyone cares, but we moved into our new apartment today. I ended up doing a fair bit of paperwork overall, but the relocation agent was great at translating the whole lot for me. We registered at the new Kreisburo, ordered some crap from IKEA, signed up for internet and telephone, and finally posted this on EF.
Tip for new house hunters: I haggled on the price and got nearly 10% (300CHF) off. Not bad for a newbie, eh!
Thanks for letting us know. I think every successful rental agreement mentioned on here helps to keep up the spirits of those who are still trying to find somewhere to live.
Hi aelfred,
I'm also moving to Zürich soon so I'm in a similar position to you.
Usually a landlord is over the moon if you show interest in their property, not so in Switzerland in fact when you apply for a contract so will dozens of others so it is like applying for a job.
Because you are 'foreign' you can't produce the credit check/betriebungsauskunft therefore you need to stick in a kind of CV to add credibility to your application.
Work contract, references both work and previous landlords are a must. Stick in a contact for your employer in Switzerland along with their visitenkarte.
If you can get anything from UK, a credit check letter from bank, postcode check even stick the CV in there, it's very competitive!
Good luck
That's weird. From what I know, you need to submit to your landlord a confirmation of indebtedness, salary and a copy of your stay permit ... no other documents should be required...