What kind of appartment can I rent in Ravensburg or Friedrichshafen for around 500 euro/month ?

Question

I am going to move to Germany soon and I am searching for an appartment to rent. For this amount of money, is it possible to get a nice central 2 rooms appartment or do I need more money? Thank you.

Answer 1

I think so. You get perhaps 2 rooms apartment for this price, but the extras like heather, water, garbage need to pay separately. And than the Phone, this having nothing to do with Landlord.

Answer 2

Well, 500 Euros "Kaltmiete" (without heating and other extra costs) should give you a decent place.

But you need to be careful about the "Nebenkosten", the extra costs. Depending on where you live, they can easily add up to another 70-300 Euros per month.

Check out the link to get an idea:

http://www.immobilienscout24.de/

Look for "Miete" and there "Wohnungen". The link will take you to a search engine.

There you chose "Standardsuche" and "Bitte geben Sie einen Ort ein" and enter the City name at "Stadt oder Kreis:". Click "Weiter".

On the next page, you have to chose what kind of appartment you want.

"1. Schritt" wants to know what part of the town/suburbs you want to look at. The number behind a town/suburb says how many places they have on file.

In "2. Schritt", you can define the number of rooms ("Zimmer", the size in square meters ("Wohnfläche ca.") and the basic rent without extra costs ("Kaltmiete"). The left box is the minimum, the right box is the maximum. So if you want to look for two-room appartments no more than 500 Euros basic rent per month, you want to enter a "2" in the left box of "Zimmer" and a "500" in the right box of "Kaltmiete".

Then you hit "Ergebnisse anzeigen".

You'll find details about the appartments when you click on them. They usually tell you the extra costs in the "Details" section, but if they don't make sure to ask about the Nebenkosten or you might be in for a nasty surprise when your budget is blown to smithereens.

Also, keep an eye on what you are allowed to use. Some places have a parking space for your car for free, others you have to pay. Some give you access to a cellar storage room, others don't, etc. In Southern Germany, it's also customary that you have to sweep the sidewalk and clean certain parts of the house (cellar and stairs) - that's called a Kehrwoche - and it rotates from one tennant to the other weekly. Some places have a janitor who takes care of the Kehrwoche, but it usually costs extra.

Another important thing: Appartments in Germany rarely have a "Klimaanlage" - no air conditioning. The rhine-valley and Bodensee area in particular tend to get very hot during the summer time, so if you are used to the comforts of an AC, you might want to checkback with the landlord if there is an AC in the appartment or if you can install one.

Energy prices are fairly high in Germany, so you might want to accomodate for that in your calculations, too.

There are some abbrevations that are usually used:

DG = Dachgeschoss = appartment directly under the roof (usually very hot in the summer)

EG = Erdgeschoss = first floor

1. OG = erstes Obergeschoss = second floor (2. OG would be third floor and so on)

Zentralheizung = central heating (oil or gas), I'd recommend that type of heating

Etagenheizung = A boiler for every floor

Zimmerheizung = a heater in the room (rare but some places still have it)

EBK = Einbauküche = pre-installed kitchen. (Those places usually are more expensive, because a fee for using the kitchen has to be paid by the tennant.)

By the way, usually you have to pay "Kaution", a safety deposit, of between one and three monthly rents. You'll get the money back when you move out (given you didn't turn the place into a dump). Also, if there's a "Makler" - an agent - involved, you'll have to pay that person a "finding fee", if the contact to the landlord is established by the Makler.

Good luck!

Answer 3

You will need more than that a month for a nice place. You can look in some papers over there or you can ask or call some one to find a place. Also look on the internet you should find one or just some thing over there good luck and have fun:)

Answer 4

You might have good luck with some of the smaller towns in between -- maybe Ailingen or Meckenbeuren.  The buses are really good there in the area, so you might also do well with Markdorf or Tettnang, depending on your transportation needs / schedule.

In general, I'd say you probably will have a tough time finding a 2 room (2 bedroom? or 1 bedroom 1 living room?) flat for that price ... and most likely not central location in FN or RV.

Viel Glueck und Gute Reise!

(I used to live in Friedrichshafen [Immenstaad] -- feel free to ping me if you need info about the area.)

Answer 5

For 500?    That's funny........