Today marks five months since I started on my apartment search in Munich.
There have been many apartments viewed. One finally decided on that I should have moved into on August 15 that never actually materialized.
Again more viewed but nothing found.
Yesterday I saw three offers online that looked interesting and responded to all three.
Phone Call #1, All in German, although the agent would contest that
Me: Hello, I am calling about the apartment.
Agent: Which one?
Me: Number 34..
Agent: We have a lot, which street?
Me: On the Shuderstr.
Agent: Your German is terrible. You will never find an apartment.
Me: I know, but when can I see the apartment?
Agent: Can you get a colleague to translate for you?
Me: I only want an appointment to view the apartment.
Agent: Who is the apartment for?
Me: Only me
Agent: Do you have the correct documentation?
Me: Yes
Agent: Your German is terrible. You will never find an apartment.
Me: I understood that. When can I see the apartment?
Agent: Is the apartment only for you?
Me: Yes
Agent: Just for one single girl? It is such a big apartment.
Me: I know. It is what I want (Note that a big apartment in Munich is a tiny apartment in the US so this is all relative)
Agent: Call back with a German colleague and then we can set an appointment.
Me: .....
Phone Call #2 (All in German, the agent seemed to be ok with it):
Agent: Hello, you are interested in the apartment on xWeg?
Me: Yes, very much.
Agent: You can come see it today or tomorrow?
Me: What time today?
Agent: 16:45 would be ok. Do you know the address?
Me: Yes the street, but which house number?
Agent: 15
Me: Ok great. Will see you there this afternoon.
Agent: Ok! Later!
A day in the life of a language challenged, half deaf expat.
Posted from Munich
6 comments:
As long as you have the cash for a deposit, the first month's rent and proven income, what do they care if you don't speak German? Or is your agent going to traipse you through one of those gawd-awful apartment visits where every interested renter shows up at once?
I know, right? They can be so crazy. Normally in Munich anything you find means you are going to traipse through with a number of other 'competitors'. So even though I have gotten quite good at weeding out the bad apartments and only visiting ones I actually like, there are 30 or more other people there who want the same one. In Munich they really don't like single girls looking for apartments (they will probably meet a man and move out soon) or foreigners of any sort (they will probably move home, get deported, etc and move out soon).
crazy americans. who would want to rent to us?
good luck!
WTF?
Over here people are happy to rent to stupid foreigners who don't know the laws as well as Germans. :/
IT was a 9 month wait for us, but we finally got to move into a bigger "small" apartment. Good luck, in it all.
Obviously you are a foreigner up to no good. Germans are naturally suspicious creatures. Yet they are the freakiest people behind closed doors. If the rent check is on time who cares. Let one of them try and rent a place from me in the states. They will probably want to pay in old Deutsch Marks and schnitzel.
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