Hi,

I'll be moving to Frankfurt in a couple of months. Can anything general be said about how I should time the apartment search in order to have a good selection to choose from? Should I start looking a long time in advance, like now, or a just few weeks before I need the apartment?

Will it be possible to find a place I can move into a few weeks later?

I'm currently living close to Zürich, CH, so Frankfurt is a bit away from here which makes the whole process a bit more difficult.

Cheers,
Henrik

Hi! I think it depends how you are going to find a flat. If you are going to use an agency, I think you would have a better chance at getting something quite quick and something you like. Thats what I did when I moved to Hamburg. We were living in Ulm at the time so we just drove up one weekend, looked at about 6 places, liked four and had the choice of them all really, wheareas when we first moved to Ulm, we used a local paper. It was quite a long process and quite frustrating trying to find something because from a private person, the landlord gets to choose who has the flat and we were disadvantaged because none of us were German. We saw lots of nice places and never got any. Id say we spent at least a month looking, using evenings and weekends viewing. If you are picky and want to live in a certain area, it will probably take longer than if you have a few areas you wouldnt mind living in. What else you could do is go into one of these furnished appartments that are rented out for a few months so that you can spend more time looking. This is probably more worth while if you are planning to live in Frankfurt for a long time. I dont know of any flats that are advertised too far ahead of when they want to be let out. Januarys ads are usually for Flats for Feburary. I would reccomend the site www.immobilienscout24.de We used this to find our place here in Hamburg and a lot have pictures so you can get a bit of an idea what you are getting.

Good luck with the search!

Hi Hebo,

I think it really depends on what you want. If you don't have much time to look, I would highly suggest working with an agency. Still you need to start working on it ASAP!!

Although, if you want to save agency fees, go with Shala00's recommendation, and rent a furnished place, say for a month, until you find something. Check out the Saturday edition of "Frankfurter Rundschau" for excellent private listings.

The housing market in Frankfurt is quite over inflated, all thanks to the banking industry. "You get what you pay for" is rule of thumb.

We spent over 3 months looking for our apartment (weekend trips & finally renting a furnished apartment), and saw over 25 places!! Mind you, we are very picky.

What are your specs? I'm in Frankfurt, perhaps I can help.

Good luck!!

Thanks for the input. Since I'm single I don't need a huge apartment - probably going for living room + 2 bedrooms. What do you call that in Germany, "three rooms"?

yeah, 2 bedrooms is usually 3 rooms as the living room is already counted as one room

Another very good source of options would be to ask someone at your new company to ask around if they know of any flats that are coming up free - i know a lot of people who have got their flats this way.

I moved here 4 months ago - my new employer paid for a relocation consultant to coordinate rental agencies etc. As it was all done at fairly short notice I ended up with a generally awful selection of flats that were v expensive for what they were - clearly the flats that had been on their books for a very long time.

For a flavour of whats available, check out the frankfurter rundschau online and search the flats for rent section

Try Immoscout24 and put in your own search criteria.

Always look for private before going through an agency. Angencies are thieves. They will take a big pile of cash and will do nothing. They also eat small puppies.

Jean-Pierre

Sachenhausen (close to Schweizerplatz) & Bornheim (close to Bergerstrasse) would be my #1 choices for areas within Frankfurt ... loads of character.

If I'm not correct, housing in Frankfurt can cost anywhere between 10-15 Euro/square meter. I know it's nothing compared to what you've probably paid in Paris or Switzerland ... but like Jonnyboy said, there is a lot of crap here!!!

Good luck!

Hi - I'm moving to Frankfurt in July and am trying to find a flat/house to live in. I'll be working in the city centre but don't really want to live there.

Ideally I'm looking to share a place before I get to know the city a bit better. I've been told that sachsenhausen and bockenheim are the places to try and find a place (i.e. not too far to travel to work and fairly lively for bars/clubs etc).

Does anyone have any thoughts as to the best way to find a place (given that I'm looking from London).

Any advice would be helpful.

thanks

denis

Hi Denis,

I've just been through the same.

Sachsenhausen is very nice. It was my preferred place to live but I think that is the same for almost everyone looking for an apartment in FFM!!! If you're going to have a car you have to be careful with Sachsenhausen as parking is quite an issue there (no parking spaces).

Bockenheim itself I don't find very attractive to live in. A bit too much "low quality" in the area. I ended up taking an apartment in City West (5 minutes walk from Bockenheim) mainly because it is very convenient to get to work and the airport from there.

You should also look in Bornheim and Westend. Further, after moving here, I've noted that there are some nice apartments along the river on the opposite side of Sachsenhausen. I don't know the name of that part of town yet (but I guess the apartments are going to be pretty exepnsive there).

If you go for Sachsenhausen be careful with the noise from the airport. In the outer part of Sachsenhausen you have more or less constant noise from the airplanes.

The easiest way to find something is to use a "makler" (real estate agent). If you don't speak any German it will help you even more, as many of them speak English. It'll cost you 2 months rent in fee so you should try to negotiate this with you employer.

Be aware that many apartments are let without a fitted kitchen.

A good website to search for apartments in www.immobilienscout24.de (all in German).

Be aware that the rent is normally stated "kalt" (cold). You shall therefore add heating and Nebenkosten (charges) to the price to get you real rent.

The good news is that there is plente of apartments to choose from. The bad news is that many of them are not really attractive. Since you're moving from London you'll probably find the prices reasonable (everyone else will tell you it is very expensive here - I don't agree in that).

Good luck

Henrik

Hi Denis,

A pre-welcome to Frankfurt! I've been here since last November - and personally love it! Frankfurt is the sort'a city that grows on you ... and July is a perfect time to be moving!

Finding an apartment (at a decent price) in Frankfurt is not an easy thing, but they're out there!

I live in Bornheim and work in Sachsenhausen - both are high on my list. Check out Westend too.

Good luck!
Cheri

Hey Denis,

I came across these apartment sharing sites:

www.studenten-wg.de
www.wg-gesucht.de

a website for people wanting to share accommodation - my friend got her flatshare through it:

http://www.easywg.de

Hey Denis,

You can always use a rental agent, but they are a bit expensive. I looked at a beautiful flat with an agent, but they wanted 4000 euro to move in with rental fees + deposit + taxes. 4000 euro!!! You're best bet is to do everything yourself if you can; once I started putting some effort into it, I found a decent furnished place in Borhnheim just by googling 'apartments for rent in frankfurt,' and I came up with loads of stuff online. It took only 3 weeks from the day I started searching to the day I move in.

Also check Nordend for flats, it's a great area not far from the city center.

Good luck!!
Rebecca

Hi,

My name is Matt (22).

I'm graduating soon and have accepted a job in Langen, nr Frankfurt. This isn't my first time in Germany (I was with Hewlett Packard as a praktikant a year ago), but it is my first time in Frankfurt!

It's all very exciting but I'm stuck with where I should start with finding an apartment.

Does anyone have any more tips for the best places to find a wohnung? I'm looking to spend no more than around 500 Kalt/month for a nice place. The closer to the action, the better.

Hopefully I'll be seeing some of you soon

Cheers,
Matt

I am not sure if Langen is really a happening place to live to be honest!

So you might want to try Sachsenhausen it is only a few stops on the S Bahn to Langen.

If you are looking provisionfrei the best place is to try the Frankfurter Rundschau on a Friday afternoon. They do have an online version as well I believe!

immoscout

Wohnungs Börse

You could have a look here as well!

I reckon for 500€ kalt you should get a decent two room apartment about 50m2. That is about what I pay and I have quite a nice flat in a lovely area

I'm searching immobilenscout.

I'm wondering what happens when I come out - I guess I need to come out a week or two beforehand to find somewhere to live. With regards to this, where should I look to for staying for a couple of weeks (very cheaply!) whilst I find a suitable place to live more permanently?

What did you do when you came out?

The last time I was here, everything was sorted for me by HP - I just dumped my bag in a room and went to the pub. Dieses mal ist es nicht so leicht...

You could always try a short-term lease at the Mitwohnzentrale

Mitwohnzentrale is ok if you do not finding anything else. I think they are a rip off personally!

Me thinks anything in Germany involving an agent is a rip-off! But then again, trying to find something without them is not a pleasant job either.

Hey its not that bad

If you live downtown Frankfurt Langen would be 11 mins by regional train or 20 mins by Sbahn. 20 mins up the 661, although the traffic can get a bit heavy at rush hour.

Before you rent a place in Germany read my Tips and Tricks for Rentors so you don't get ripped off.

As others suggusted take a short term let first if you can.

Furnished Flats Frankfurt

And if at all possible get a place privately, Maklers are a total ripoff

You can always try WG-Gesucht.de, I don't know if there is a hidden fee involved anywhere, but the people who are letting the house/flat/room leave their phone numbers or email address.

Worth a look innit.

Its not that easy to get to/from Langen by public transport beyond rush hour and daytime hours. Weekends too are hell. One train every 30 minutes only. No night buses. I worked there in my first year in Frankfurt and also lived in Neu-Isenburg which is on the same line as Langen. I chose N-I to live in because it was only a few stops from my office in Langen. But Neu-Isenburg I also found incredibly poor for getting to/from Frankfurt, all the more so considering the place is only just outside the Frankfurt city border. Again, weekends only two trains an hour. The train station is placed a good couple of kilometers from the NI city centre. Ok it has a tram line which runs to Frankfurt, but it terminates at the Neu-Isenburg/Frankfurt border - some 2 km or so from Neu-Isenburgs centre. Very sensible. There are (private - and expensive) buses to Frankfurt, but outside peak times only one an hour.

Both Langen and N-I. are not part of Frankfurt City, they are independent municipalities and so the city tariff which covers you for the large area of Frankfurt does not cover you for little Neu-Isenburg (let alone Langen) even though the former is only a few miles outside Frankfurt. I think all this is due to local municipal political stubbornness, the Neuisenburgers like to maintain their independence. Just to go a few kilometers from Neu-Isenburg to Sachsenhausen costs you more than going the same distance in Frankfurt because of this tariff border. But all in all it made it a bastard of a place to live in if you did not have your own car and just not worth the aggro.

Nor could I find a single launderette in the whole of Langen or Neu-Isenburg, even resorted to checking the yellow pages. Finally I ended up having to cart my washing by train all the way to Sandweg in Frankfurt`s Nordend!

So from what you all say, I should be living in Sachsenhausen and commuting each day to my office in Langen.

Sounds fine to me, I'm used to commuting. It's nice to read a book or paper on the train

I guess I need to find a regional overview of Frankfurt (showing Sachsenhausen etc) so that I can pin their locations on Google Earth.

You could even drive to Langen from Sachsenhausen as most of the people (therefore the queues) would be going the other way.

I was strongly recommended NOT to live in Langen. (I live and work in Darmstadt)

Neil...

I guess this isn't much use to most of you (cos, well, you live there already), but I needed an overview of the Ortsteile - Sachsenhausen, Nordend etc etc.

Basically I don't want to live too far north, and have to take 5 trams and then walk for 10 minutes and then take an S-Bahn just to get to work each day to Langen.

A car is not an option just yet. The Kaution on a flat will kill my pitiful student savings (read: overdraft) as it is.

I've found this link http://www.frankfurt.city-map.de/ that will show me the regions or whatever they're called if you zoom out enough. It's not great, but it helps me.

A little tip, before you sign your life away on that dream flat make sure if at all possible that the contract reads that you leave it unpainted. Even though the law has changed its best to avoid getting into a fight with the landlord over painting your flat when you leave.

Generally speaking Landlords expect you to hire a German firm to repaint the place, cost plenty.

Getting to and from Langen during office hours isn't a problem, real problem will be getting from langen train station to work, if you lucky it will be right by the bahnhof, than its a piece of cake. If you have to take a bus than it could be a real pain.

If you are just after the regions...here is a area map but unfortunately not combined with a road map.
http://www.frankfurt.de/sixcms/detail.php?id=2835

EDIT: But a better one is (which if you zoom out shows the name of the regions in Frankfurt along with a road map)
http://www.stadtplandienst.de/

If you want to know, how long it takes to get around by public transport:
http://www.vgf-ffm.de/english/fahrplan.html
(You may have to click on the English flag first)

Another good place you could look is down by the Zoo. I think prices there might be cheaper as it is not quite Bornheim and not quite Sachsenhausen either but walkable to all the good night spots and the shops!

You could get the S-Bahn to Langen direct from Ostendstrasse which is not far to walk


That is a good idea in theory but most places still have this in the contract and anywhere decent certainly will! I don't think you need to hire a firm though it just has to be done properly

Hello everyone,

Due to business i will be arriving to Offenbach June 15th, what is the best way to find an apartment? how could i locate small towns . I once visited my cousin , she lives in Marbug it was beautiul . Are there any cities like that around offenbach or Frankfurt? sorry for all the questions i hope you can help.

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Hey guys. Myself and a friend are going over to live in Frankfurt for the year. We will be moving there in July and are looking for an apartment preferably in the Bockenheim region. We want a 2 bed apt and are willing to pay up to €600 a month. All the websites we looked at arnt much use, were going over for a 3day visit next week. Any advise or help you could give us on websites or rental agencies??? tanx a mill, brenkiwi

Hello,
I'm a new poster to Toytown, but have been reading the forums for some time now. Enjoy all the tips and information.

Would appreciate reading about your experiences with finding an apartment in Frankfurt. My spouse and I have been looking for 3 months now but have not found the right place. We currently live in Heidelberg and I am commuting daily to Eschborn by train. It's greuling. How long do you think it might take us to find what we are looking for (if ever, see below)? How long did it take you to find an apartment in an area that you liked? Did you have to compromise? Are you still happy? Have any regrets?

We are a mature, middle-aged couple with no children and an older cat. Because my spouse works at home (Internet) and because we'd like our family and friends from other countries to visit us, we need a larger apartment with at least 4 rooms. The cat (who lived most of her life with an idyllic garden in California) seems to ask daily "where is the back yard?" We currently have none, not even a balcony. The 3 of us would like to have a little garden or some sort of outdoor space accessible direct from the apartment. We also need parking. About the most we can afford is 1500 euro warm. Is it too much to expect to find such a place in a lively, artsy area of Frankfurt? Of course, we are completely enamoured with Sachsenhausen, but have recently also discovered Bornheim. We've looked high and low (from Friedrichsdorf in the Taunus to Darmstadt and the Bergstrasse), but our hearts are set on Frankfurt. We are art, theater and food lovers and enjoy entertaining and/or meeting friends or neighbors at a local pub. I'm just not sure we'd be happy in the suburbs.

Look forward to reading about your experiences.

Bockenheim could also be a good area for you commuting to Eschborn on the train or indeed by car.

I do not think you are being unreasonable in what you are looking for have you tried putting up posters in areas where you would like to live?

Yes, we have considered Bockenheim too. Haven't tried putting up posters. Good idea. Where's the best place to do that? Guess any street corner or ReWe store, huh?

Hi Everybody,

I just saw a flyer on Leipziger Strasse in Bockenheim for a 3 room appt.
If anyone is interested, here are the details:

Deposit: 1800 euro
Rent (netto): 600 euro per month
Nebenkost: 150 euro
Fees for garbage collection: 77 euro per month
72 square metres

Contact number : 0171 80 48 174
the apartment is in Leipziger Strasse.

hope this helps.

i have no connection with the landlord whatsoever. I simply thought maybe someone in TT could be interested in finding a flat in Bockenheim.

cheers and have a lovely day!

Hi all,

I have recently moved to Hessen after finding a job in Frankfurt. I#m currently staying with my girlfriend and her family but I'd like to get my own space around FFM. I was wondering if anyone could recommend places to search for accommodation which are safe and reasonably pleasant, bearing in mind that my salary is €25k.

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Cheers
Geoff

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I am guessing by your salary that you could afford about 400€ a month but that is only an estimate.

Take a look at this site there are a few rooms in shared flats available for that price

WG Gesucht

I know of a flat available on Glauburgstrasse, Nordend, from September onwards. Its a good location if you want to get to know the city and would appear to be well within reach budget wise.

hello all.

i have literally just arrived. so i am thinking what to do accommodation wise as I have just started a new job in the financial district. I am wondering if it is a good idea to initally use a realtor/estate agent to try and find me a place to rent somewhere central or try and look in the papers. however i was hoping someone could recommend a website (in english) or a paper/magazine ???

thanks in advance.

action

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do you have anyone who speaks German - friends or colleagues who can help you look? Most of the best deals tend to be in the papers (Frankfurter Rundschau, comes out tomorrow lunchtime with the property ads section)... the estate agents will charge you around 2 months rent + 19% VAT as their commission. The website I often look at is www.immobilienscout24.de but again that's in German.

ok. forget about estate agents then !

will check that paper tomorrow.

thanks for your advice.

cheers

Lights, camera, action: Welcome to Toytown.

Try AllGrund. Very highly though of as far as I know. Don't know the website exactly but google it and something should come up.

Dear Toytowners,
I am currently residing in Munich and would soon move to Frankfurt Am Main by end of April 2008. Would need help on websites or any kind of help in searching for an apartment or a WG!

I appreciate your help

Cheers
Babs

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