Apartment rental agencies in Berlin

Hi all,

Moving to Berlin in about two months and I'm looking at rental agencies. I found one called "Crocodilia" / rooms-in-Berlin.com and I just wanted to know if they're any good? The plan is get something to rent ASAP after the plane touches down, so as to minimise the amount of time spent in hostels, and they give me the impression that a viewing is not always nessecary. The tricky bit is that they ask for credit card details up front as proof of ID: Is thie normal?

I've also been told to not bother with an agency, just get a short-term room when you get there and start looking? It sounded like a better idea, but harder to organise without German!

If anyone has felt with this agency, I;d be greatful for experiences!

Many thanks,
Paul.

Asking for CC details upfront is very common. This is so that dont find a nice flat & cut a deal with the owner privately to avoid the high commision fees the agencies charge!

I dealt with Crocodilian myself... found it VERY easy & simple to use. The 170% commision fee for 12mnths is about normal, probably even one of the better ones. Ive seen some at 150% & some at 200%!! Be warned tho, some fees appear smaller but are topped up with taxes & other fees! with crocodilian, WYSIWYG

Its not easy finding a place without an agency (expecially if your not already in the city) as theres not many private listing sites (that ive found) apart from here & craigslist. FYI always be warey of craigslist, well known for con artists trying to get a upfront deposit of you for a non-existant flat.

The general idea of getting a short-term lease is a great idea as you probably dont know the city much. Its the same situation we were in... took on a flat for 6weeks whilst we looked for something else, but then ended up signing an extra 11months contract for the same place as we liked it so much (until recently )

Maybe you could come here for a weeks 'holiday' & have a look then... you could easily have something booked & sorted in that time, for when you want to move out.

WG-Gesucht and Studenten-WG, despite the names, have a ton of whole-apartment listings. Yes, you need to know some minimal German, but isn't that kinda necessary anyway?

Granted, if you have more money than time, I'm sure an agency is well worth it.

Hiya Paul am doing the very same thing as you! Im from Dublin too and I don't speak German either, are you going to study German or something? Ive given Crocodilian my credit card details and I found a great room on their site but their fee was 160.00 euros which I thought was a bit excessive for Berlin, it appears to be standard nough though judging by the reply in this post. I think Im going to get 2 weeks accommodation for when I arrive and then in that time look for a room. Ive never been to Berlin so Im not even sure where I would most like to live! Does anyone know of the best place to get accommodation for just a couple of weeks?

Hotel Adlon ... decent accommodation and centrally located

thanks miwild, tis a real bargain alright!

More money than time... pretty much sums thing up, to be honest. I can't get over before I finish work here and I don't want to hang around wasting money in Dublin. I had a look around the flatshares - how easy are they to sort out before while not actually being in Berlin? My German's basic at the moment, but I've got a couple of months before I travel and the guts of half a year cash before I need work. The advantage of an agency for me is security: they contact the landlord, so I don't need magnificent German and I can trust that I won't be scammed.

What's craigslist...?

Hotel Avalon - isn't that the one made famous by Michael Jackson and son...?

HI Jellybean - I'm using radio Deutsche Welle podcasts. They have a huge range of excellent lessons, soundbites and nightly news read out slowly in German. It's at www.dw-world.de; or type "warum nicht" into itunes. PM me if you need more details. If you're daring the ILAC centre library does German conversation exchange on Wed nights...! Let me know how you're doing with the move!!

I used Crocadillian as well and thought they were magic. I had originally planned to view the apartment before I moved here but the pesky transport strike last month put paid to that. I asked them if I could take the place for a month and then commit to more as soon as I'd seen it - the agency and the landlady were fine about it.

Anyway the pics on the Crocs site were really accurate and I found them a scoosh to deal with - they even provided the rental agreement in English and I was able to sign online (not sure how this worked but it did). I guess what I'm saying is I'd recommend them in a second. Hope that helps. :-)

I'm finding it really difficult to find somewhere for just a few months!s

Have you looked at ExBerliner Flat Rentals? Until I started to brave Immoscout24.de, I was dealing with them.

http://www.exberlinerflatrentals.com/

I have been dealing with Crocodilian over the internet the past two months, trying to find an apartment in Berlin. Unfortunately this has fallen through (due to something my end, not theirs) but did find them very helpful. Another agency to try is Fine+Mine. I don't speak German (yet!) so it was great that both agencies can translate into English for you. I too was shocked at the commission fees but everyone seems to charge it!

thanks exberliner has two nice rooms but it doesn't say who you will be sharing the house with and thats one of the most important things for me? can you apply for the room and then ask or something?

sneds75 I know , the commission is incredible!!

Exberliner keep sedning me flats that fall waaaay outisde the specs I asked for!!

hey paul. myself and a few of my friends are also planning a move to Berlin in june, so we are in very similar situations.

http://berlin.en.craigslist.org/ craiglist is a classified ads online "paper" somewhat similar to a mixture of buy and sell, and daft.ie. as far as i know, it started in san francisco, but now has different versions for many cities (including dublin, although i don't think it's of much use here). both times i have been to berlin before, we found very good value holiday rentals advertised here. this might be an idea for organising a base to go househunting from when you arrive. they also have long term/permanent apartment rentals.

benefits of craigslist include: ads in english and a general lack of an agent's fee. most of the apartments advertised here are direct from the owner. i agree that the agents' fees seem fairly outlandish.

the german websites mentioned can be manouvered fairly easily with an alta vista webpage translator. i could be imagining this, but it seems like there is better value to be found on these, rather than sites that cater to english speakers.

I'm going to be in Berlin in about 3 weeks and hasn't found a place yet. I decided to spend 2weeks at my language school dorm and find a place during that timeframe, I wouldn't mind staying at the dorm until the end of my stay but I simply cannot afford it (it's so expensive with the language school). I tried searching Crocodilian but most were 2+ rooms and expensive.. I am looking for a place for 1 person (WG or 1-zimmer) <400 euros.. I just hope I can find something within 2 weeks once I'm there, I find it rather difficult to secure a place when I'm not actually in Berlin yet. WG-gesucht didn't do much for me, only 1 out of 5 people respond back to my e-mail written in English and they are wary of giving me the room when they can't actually meet me until some time later..

has anyone (who is not in Berlin, who does not speak German) been successful finding a short-term flat, without using an agency?

Hiya vinterdog, your planning on going to GLS aswell I think, will you email me when you get there and tell me what it's like, Im a little older than you at 31 and Im afraid that GLS is going to be too young for me!!!

Exberliner is fine to deal with. Just call them, they speak English.
Also check out www.city-wohnen.de