First time poster here. I'm moving to Zurich in a little more than two months, and I'm trying to figure out how to handle housing. Long-term, my wife and I want to rent a small apartment in the city; we have a vague idea of a few neighborhoods we are interested in.
I've looked at Homegate and Comparis, but one thing I'm unclear on is whether it's possible to find and rent a place entirely over the Internet. Is that a likely possibility? Or must we get a temporary apartment for a few weeks so we can find a longer-term rental in person? What do most who move to Switzerland from a different continent do?
I'm sure I'll have other new-to-Switzerland questions, but hopefully you can help me with the first!
The chances of renting an apartment remotely are...remote. Usually in Zurich there are lots of people applying for any given apartment (tens, sometimes hundreds) and the landlord will normally pick one that has seen the apartment in person and he has met.
Also, if I were renting an apartment, I would like to see it myself first, as well as the neighborhood, as contracts are usually long term here and there are only some dates over the year when you can give notice and move out.
A good option which I know people did was get temporary accomodation in some village away from Zurich (there are some offering apartments for 3 or 6 months) and have that as a "base" for in-city apartment hunting.
We moved over from Canada about 15 months ago now and I would look up apartments online and send the ones I liked to someone at the job I was going to so they could call (in German) and they went to a couple showings for me. Two advantages was they were able to send me a ton of pictures of the place and, best of all, were able to tell the landlord that a Swiss company would vouch for us lowly expats who wanted to rent the apartment. We love our place and it was so much easier than finding a short term place that would allow our two dogs.
I really doubt you will be able to do this all yourself from afar - they want to meet someone in person, even if it isn't you, but someone they can get a good feeling about. If you don't have anyone over here who can help, and you don't have any pets you have to deal with, I would definitely suggest a short term rental so you can figure out the area you really want to live and have a chance to go see them yourself. There is a lot of competition for places over here, so it's not likely someone will take a chance on someone who isn't even on the ground yet. And be prepared for a lot bigger deposit than is standard in North America. most places are 2-3 months rent as a deposit PLUS the first month rent up front.
Good luck with the move! Tons of things to do, but it all happens. If you can afford it, or you can negotiate it with the company you are coming to work for, I definitely recommend a relocation agent...especially if you don't speak German as there is soooo many forms and steps to do and it is all in German. Money I would have definitely spent if I could go back in time.
Thanks for the replies. Yes, it was definitely my impression that this was a remote possibility.
I do have coworkers over there I could impose on, but I'd hate to do so. And I could spring for a relocation agent, but that would be entirely out of pocket--I chose to switch offices, so my employer isn't giving me the perks I'd have if I were a new hire.
Other than help dealing with forms, what would you think a relocation agent is most helpful with? I had one in the US once (free to me), but it was only slightly helpful (all she did was show me neighborhoods in the area I was moving to). I'm not too concerned about the language issues, because my employer does have a translation service I can use for this.
One thing I was wondering about is how important it is to try to find a place at the end of the quarter. I've been told many rental agreements end on an annual quarter, so the best time to look is at the end of the quarter. Is that true?
(And if so, how much before the end of the quarter must one start looking? I'll be ready to move in at the start of Q3, but I'm wondering if I will have a much easier time finding an apartment if I come over a couple weeks early to look.)
I have rented places for my clients who are unable to visit personally and do the viewings but I can tell you that few of my colleagues in the industry will do this because they believe you have to see a place yourself. I admit it is a huge responsibility but there have been circumstances where there were just no other options and clients knew the risks involved.
My advice to you would be to stay in temp housing when you first arrive and do your search once you are here.
I discovered that the market is filled with tenants and meeting as well as seeing the place in person is a must, failing that, perhaps have a trusted friend to check out the place. In several instances the apartments did not meet the specs of the ads at all, in a few cases the pictures was illustrating a new kitchen albeit the kitchen in place were pushing beyond 30 years...
I don't know if the situation in Zurich is comparable, but i would certainly not want to find out after the letting agreement have been signed...
Good luck with your flat hunting and relocation.. And as I almost forgot. welcome to the forum.