Short-term accommodation websites for Cologne

Hello,

I am due in Cologne, Germany, for three months, and I have been trying to look up places to rent online. So far http://koeln.homecompany.de/index.php?sp=e...wohnraum_suchen seems pretty practical, as does http://www.e-rent.de/ . Any other suggestions would also be welcome!

E-rent is expensive to use (for a 3 month rental, they'll probably charge you about 50% commission of 1 months rent, or about 200 Euro).

Also, when using e-rent, beware of the photos that have fine print at the bottom, saying something like "photos are of a similar dwelling, but represent the standard". I got snagged like that, and ended up with a place that looked nothing like the pictures.

If you know of anyone in Cologne, ask them to check out more local options for you...

Good Luck

I dont see Cologne on this list, but my german geography is terrible and maybe one of the cities is near cologne?? If not, perhaps email Mr. Lodge and ask for recommended companies in Cologne. Since Mr. Lodge only does Munich, they shouldn't have a problem recommending another company in your area.

http://www.mrlodge.de/englisch/e_bestlinks_germany.htm

good luck.

Try www.immoscout24.de, www.immowelt.de, www.planethome.de or even the local newspaper (Kölner Stadtanzeiger) has an online parter where the flat adverts are (although might be a bit difficult if you don't speak german) http://www.kalaydo.de/iad/immo/sonstige/moblierter-wohnraum For more professional relocation try www.kewa.de..

Phew.. hope that helps :-)

You might try zwischenmiete.de. These are all private individuals (no Provision!), and they aren't entirely things for rent for Zwischenmiete, but you may find something that works.

I just arrived in Cologne 6weeks ago and it took me 2weeks to find a flat. I found it quite hard as lots of students were looking for somewhere at that time so maybe now it will be easier. I used www.wg-gesucht.de which is where I found the place I am staying in now. All the flats advertised are Provisionsfrei (without extra charges) and there is the option to search for Zwischenmiete (particular period of stay), single apartments or WGs (Wohngemeinschaft, sharing a flat with other people). Although the website is mainly advertised for students, it is also for non-students. They have a lot of one bedroom apartments appearing everyday.

If you are planning to get a flat before you arrive your best bet would probably be to go for a zwischenmiete, as people are unexpectantly going somewhere for a short time and need to find someone quickly. If i were you, I would do that and then find something more permanent once you arrive as it can be quite hard to find somewhere if you are not there in person.

I also used www.studenten-wg.de which has WGs only for students, but one bedroom apartments for anybody to rent.

I hope that helps, good luck with the search!