Provision Free Apartment Sites?

Hey all.

My GF and I came across a wonderful apartment to rent but dealing with the Real Estate Broker soured the whole deal for me. We got on great with the landlady but could tell that even she didn't like dealing with this guy and he wants 1200 EUR "in cash at the signing" for doing absolutely nothing. He didn't even know much about the damned apartment. I was warned that the system here is that jacked up but I at least expected the person I knew I would get robbed by would at least attempt to earn 20 of the 1200 EUR by knowing his craft.

Are there any good sites with private listings in the Mannheim/BW region since most of what I've found is more geared towards the Munich area? Thanks in advance!

Hey man. You can try immofrei.de (contact: post@immofrei.de). They specialize in the area about a half hour west of you, but I'd reckon they'd know who would provide similar services in the Mannheim area. We got our flat through them, without a penny spent on the ink. Best of luck.

There aren't any sites that have only commission free apartments for rent as far as I know. However, you can find more commission free ones in the local Mitteilungsblatt for each of the communities in the surrounding areas. For example, every Wednesday/Thursday the Schwetzingen, Oftersheim and Plankstadt ones are put in the mailboxes of residents. There are typically between 3-5 "Privat" advertisements for apartments and houses. Good luck on your search and welcome to the wonderful upside down world called the German real estate market.

What rhody said, plus try out http://www.sperrmuell.de/. It's like a pennysaver, and it has some flats and real estate. Also check the local paper. You might find someone trying to jump out of their lease before the terms are up. Now might be a good time at the end of the year/semester. Best chance to avoid the fees, I think.

Thanks for the info, gang. My GF and I will get on it.

this one has both, with and without provision, some houses have 1 month provision... others have a company posted as contact person, but it would be provision free as the company is the "care taker" of the house, so they wouldn't take provision... anyway, it helped us to a certain extent, hope it does the same for you.

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Thanks for the link. We found the said apartment through that site but weren't looking for the 'ohne provision' at the time. The sad thing is that the lady told us she only went through the guy because she wasn't getting any bites through her ad in the paper. A loss for both of us it seems and we won't be making that mistake again.