Post: #1

For those of you who have lived abroad for months at a time, what was your process for securing an apartment before arriving?

I am finding it quite difficult to find an apartment to rent in Warsaw for 5 months starting in February.

Post: #2

Would like to hear more about this too.

For Berlin I scoured craiglist and found some great sublet options, within a few days. I think it does depend on the country though - in London for example, these boards are FULL of scams.

I'd also like to hear how people do this for more exotic countries e.g. Thailand. I know Tim Ferriss recommends craigslist and similar boards for Argentina, but recommends renting from Expats e.g. Germans who are alot more straightfoward to deal with than locals.

Post: #3

Google
Craigslist
Couchsurfing groups
Real estate companies on the ground
Ask locals

Post: #4

Air Bed & Breakfast is phenomenal. I actually know the founder. Cool dude with a great rags to riches American story. Just look at the listings on the website: http://www.airbnb.com. Truly epic shit. I've even used it to rent out my place when I'm on the road. Made a KILLING renting out my apartment that was two blocks from the Capitol building during Barack Obama's inauguration. I pulled in a month and a half's rent just from a weekend rental. I often joke that Obama has done more for me than any president in my lifetime before he even took office (though I'm not a fan of his presidency).

Post: #5

Securing a place before you get there is hard and, unless its from a vacation rental type site (which tend to cost more) that has reviews, you won't know what the place is actually like until you get there. A better plan is to search for desirable places about a week or less before you go (see Roosh's post, e.g. google "apartment rentals *city*") and contact the ones you are interested in for a viewing. If they say a viewing isn't possible than be very wary. Stay somewhere temporary for a week, like a hotel, and get a local sim card for you mobile asap, as dealing with things over email takes too long and landlords can be very flakey with responding. Hit the ground running hard over the first few days and check out all the places you're in. Pick the one that you like or contact more places and repeat. Generally takes me 1-3 days on the ground to find an appropriate place.

Post: #6

This process is much tougher than I thought. I found a nice apartment but the owner wants a down payment of $200 to his financial secretary in Canada. There is no way of him verifying that he is the owner.

I did however perform a reverse-image search on the apartment pictures he sent me and they are original photos.

Post: #7

(12-03-2011 07:04 PM)zoom Wrote:  This process is much tougher than I thought. I found a nice apartment but the owner wants a down payment of $200 to his financial secretary in Canada. There is no way of him verifying that he is the owner.

I did however perform a reverse-image search on the apartment pictures he sent me and they are original photos.

$200 isn't too much, but I'd be wary sending money sight-unseen unless its to legitimate escrow. The context also matters, e.g. you're less likely to get scammed in Norway than you are in Nigeria.

Post: #8

http://www.airbnb.com

Brilliant site