Source
r/zurich•
CordialPython

How long it took you to get a long term flat?

Title basically describes it :)

If you’re comfortable, sharing size, budget and general area would be nice

And anything else about experience, like how crowded viewing was, did something bizarre happened (like you got told you'll get it, you send paperwork and then got rejected) and similar war stories :)

So far I'm hearing things that range from weeks to years, so I'd like to put things in perspective (especially since that information isn't precise in any way, eg I don't know even Canton folks referred to), and I'm interested to hear more about situation in ZH Canton :)

I'd like to hear more for 'not in ZH city', but I believe city information will be valuable for others, so share what you can :)

Thanks

Posted May 19, 2021, 12:43 PM UTC

711
stocazzo24•

Getting a flat in Zurich city was an absolutely miserable experience. I'm not even talking about the crazy prices, which according to basic economic principles should probably be even higher since the competition for flats to rent is just ridiculous.

There's a mailing list you can subscribe to (for a fee) that lists flats that are not on the other usual websites (it's a rule, you can't list if your flat is listed somewhere else). The ad would arrive in your email box at 5 pm and you had time until 8am in the next day to sign up FOR A LOTTERY to be randomly selected among the 20-30 people lucky enough TO VIEW the property. That pretty much sums it all up.

8
CordialPythonOP•

Oh boy, this definitely sound miserable. Did you get lucky with that list or got your place some other way?

Would you mind sharing the list info?

2
b_n•

About two years of passive looking and applying to find something I was truly happy with. In total I made about 20 applications, and that’s not including many apartments I didn’t bother to apply to after going to the viewing and seeing >50 people.

While in limbo I jumped around sublets and it was a pretty good way to see different parts of the city and to meet people. I think there will always be a sublet surplus since people like to leave Zurich temporarily but don’t want to give up their apartment. A lot of these people may even decide to leave permanently and let you take over.

In terms of war stories... twice I had leaving tenants tell me they’d recommended me as first choice to the landlord and had that fall through - feels bad.

In the end what helped:

  • having all paperwork ready to go, including a nice intro letter and recommendation letter
  • discussing openly with my employer + colleagues
  • finding a building that was being entirely renovated in the area I wanted to move. All 8 apartments in our building were available at the same time... I feel like I fill the 8th slot to make up the “non-Swiss quota”.
5
CordialPythonOP•

Thanks. Two years sounds like a lot. However if you found what you were looking for, it was worth it :)

What do you mean by recommendation letter? Intro letter you mean like cover letter, why you're nice tenant and want that area?

How did discussion with employer and colleagues helped? You got a tip from them about this building or?

1
OneMorePotion•

It fully depends on what you're looking for and how many other people want to life there as well. If we talk about Kreis 1, you need to be prepared that you probably compete against hundreds, if not thousands, of applications. But if you look a bit outside of Zurich center, it doesn't take long to find a flat.

When I moved last september I had over 200 people view my flat in Thalwil.

3
CordialPythonOP•

Uf, thalwil definitely doesn't sound that much better :/ I was aiming for thalwil, but was told it's too expensive and there isn't much flats that I'd like while being in my budget (read: 0-1)

I heard war stories about dozens or hundred people for Zürich city, I kinda hoped hundred didn't reach the coast :) I guess I'll need to look further :)

1
OneMorePotion•

There was a bit of a shift during covid. Many people moved away from Zurich City to have a bit more room during the extensive homeoffice period.

Thalwil has high rents, but really low tax. It's actually a good balance if you ask me. But yeah... Not so many good and affordable apartments available right now.

1
CordialPythonOP•

I can then only hope that they decide to go back to the city soon :D with corona measures relaxation on the horizon, who knows :) We'll see, fingers crossed :)

1
OneMorePotion•

Not so sure about that. Probably not within the next year and a half. Just because the living space is still scarce in comparison to the amount of people applying.

But it should be possible to find something in Thalwil/Horgen if you specifically target this area. My old apartment was so popular because it was way larger than your average 2.5 room apartment. And dirt cheap. I've heard from friends that only around 30 to 50 people came to their appointment to view the apartment. The 200 I had can be accounted to the price and size of the object.

But I wish you all the best and that you will find your dream apartment ;)

1
Yakitoris•

Did you live in one of those nice Überbauungen right on the lake, like the ones with the round roofs? Those seem to have crazy low rent for what you get, had a similar super busy viewing, but I'm not surprised given the value it had relative to the rent they were asking for.

1
OneMorePotion•

No I lived further up the hill. I fail to see why I should pay 2 to 3 times the rent for an apartment right at the lake, when you can have lake view from many places in Thalwil. And a 5 minute walk is also not worth a rent of 3k more from what I paid, just because only one street (a very busy one at that) lies between you and the lake.

1