To date we’ve travelled back and forth to Stuttgart twice in the past month to check out potential rental properties, and it looks like it will be the same this month too. It’s an education, for sure.

I’m a lot more open minded when it comes to choosing flats in Germany nowadays, we’ve moved twice locally already and seen some shockers, what is it about the avocado bathroom suite which makes it the only thing to stay after a full renovation? And no I will not pay 1700 euro extra for a kitchen that looks like it was put together by a blind man on crack. And breathe. I’m finding it a little more stressful than I thought I would, understatement of the day!

We are using all the usual online resources Immowelt, Immoscout24, Immonet and Null-Provision. We’ve also had some good experiences with local agents who have contacted us about places that fit our requirements, always keep the agents sweet is the very good advice we were told when we first moved to Germany, your application has to get past them first, the husband does most of the talking in these situations since his German is much better, I listen and understand but mostly I’m there to smile and make happy noises. It is exhausting though and I’d very much like to be done with house hunting now but we have plenty of time yet (apparently).

The delightful German custom of buying the kitchen off the previous tenant is one of the quirks of renting in germany I will never understand. Surely a flat isn’t complete without a kitchen? Mostly buying off the previous renter isn’t too expensive and hey we already have our appliances to take with us from our current place so we are halfway to a kitchen anyway. This along with the taking of all light fixtures (including the bulbs! hello attractive and dangerous exposed wiring) cellar storage rooms so tiny it’s just not worth it and washing machine rooms (in the basement of a five story house which has no lift) all add up to our weird looking essentials list for choosing a flat.

Yesterday we found out that we didn’t the awesome flat we applied for, we are pretty disappointed and don’t even know why we didn’t get it, just that the landlord obviously preferred someone else over us. Such is life, the house hunt is still on for something remotely suitable for our needs.

Any tips for house hunting in Germany?