It’s official once your name is on the mailbox and door buzzer.
After some major challenges and frustrations last Friday and this morning, I was finally able to meet the landlord this evening and pick up the keys to my new apartment. The problems were mostly due to communication issues, but there was a certain level of incompetence involved as well. Some people just have no sense of urgency when they are not the one being inconvenienced. And God forbid if anyone has to do anything outside of their standard work hours, even when they are the one who failed to do their job during work hours. But working through so many parties is always harder than working directly with the person/company you’re doing business with. Basically, I have a relocation agent who found my apartment and handled all the paperwork through an apartment search company. The apartment search company works directly with landlords and screens prospective tenants for the landlord to rent their flats to (for a fee, obviously). The landlord is the one who ultimately hands over the keys and signs the final contract/lease. Well, once there was a problem, it became a game of he said / she said, or they didn’t do this, or they didn’t inform me, etc. At the end, everything worked out, but not without a great deal of frustration, angry emails, and tons of phone calls.
My apartment is a furnished studio in Kruezberg, which is the neighborhood I most wanted to live in. I’ll talk more about the neighborhood and why I chose it in another post. The apartment is small, but freshly remodeled and everything is brand new. The best part is the amazing view since I’m on the 8th floor. I’ll take some pictures during the daytime and post them later. This apartment is only temporary, but I’ll be here for at least four months. This will allow me time to get my visa and other documents in order, which I have to do before I can rent a permanent apartment. I have the option to stay longer, but as one would expect, I’m paying roughly double what the apartment would normally cost because it’s fully furnished and all utilities are included. As I told my relocation agent, this is simply the Foreigners Tax that all regular travelers have come to expect. So once I have my documents in order, I’ll find a regular, permanent apartment at the regular Berlin rent-controlled price, and buy my own cheap Ikea furniture. Until then, I am comfortable, happy, and looking forward to exploring my neighborhood more… once I’m finished with quarantine, of course.
