Finding an apartment in Rotterdam

jharkonen · Posted: Tue Oct 06, 2009 7:56 am Post subject: Finding an apartment in Rotterdam

Hello all,
I'm relocating from Finland to Rotterdam in October 30th and I'd like to rent a apartment as soon as possible after my arrival. I have some questions about the best strategy for this.

I'd prefer to see the apartment before renting it in order to
-see that the apartment is in decent condition and there are no surprises waiting
-not need to pay a rent deposit in advance to an unknown party
If I contact an estate agency about an apartment I'm interested in, will they require me to pay a rent deposit before my arrival? If I don't want to do that without seeing the apartment, is it realistic to expect me to find an apartment in about one week after my arrival?

Are there any websites you could recommend for finding an apartment for rent? I've had a look on these:
www.pararius.com (has a nice map feature for viewing nearby locations)
www.kamerhuren.net/
Has someone experience in using www.directwonen.nl? The standard registration for using their services costs 35€ and I haven't subscribed yet.
As a reference, I also checked the links in The Netherlands - Renting Property guide (http://www.expatfocus.com/expatriate-netherlands-holland-renting-property) and expat googlepages housing section (http://expatguide.googlepages.com/housing). However many of the sites operate outside Rotterdam and/or are targeted for wealthier tenants.

I also have some additional questions;
-Have I understood correctly that an unfurnished/no upholstery (ongemeubileerd) apartment doesn't have oven, refrigerator and not a proper flooring?
-Will I be asked for proof of income? I am self-employed and my only proof of income is a confidential contract with my customer.
-Are there any forums or other places where I could leave an ad that I'm looking for a apartment in order to increase my chances of finding a good one that's not excessively expensive?

As a note, I'm looking for a studio or 1 bedroom of about 30-50m2, no further than 7 km away from the city center. I'm prepared to pay a rent of some 500-700e.

Thank you for your advice!

agnes1962 · Last edited by agnes1962 on Sat Oct 17, 2009 8:36 pm; edited 1 time in total

Hi,

Although I can't answer all your questions, I have some answers.
irst of all: every estate agent works slightly different. Therefore, ask about the conditions before you decide to use the services of a particular agency.
Generally, finding an appartment that is not expensive is difficult and takes some time. If you want to be successfull on a short time, the best thing is contact several agents and ask for information/search their website.
ACCESS (www.access-nl.org), tel. + 31 703462525 or email helpdesk-dh @ access-nl.org can give you names/websites of real estate agencies in the Rotterdam area.

Good luck,
Agnes

Jamie · Expat Focus Administrator Joined: Aug 06, 2000 Posts: 1649

I don't have first hand experience of directwonen.nl but I believe they're reputable.

If a place is ongemeubileerd I would not expect to see an oven or a fridge, and quite possibly no carpets (there may be exceptions, for example if the kitchen has built in appliances which are not easily removable, so it's always worth checking).

Jamie

agnes1962

In an older post I saw the company Stadswonen (www.stadswonen.nl) who rent appartments (also for non-Dutch people).

May be worth asking if they can help.

jharkonen

Thanks for the tips. I found an apartment through wonenmvm-rotterdam.nl/. As a reference for others reading the forums, I registered at directwonen.nl and was quite satisfied with their service. However they currently have quite limited selection of low/mid priced apartments in the Rotterdam area.