Rent Apartment in Basel: 3 essential tips!

Expats in Basel often have a hard time finding an apartment to rent. It’s essential to know a few things about the flat search in Switzerland in order to successfully rent an apartment in Basel. Here are flatsforexpats.com‘s top three tips.

Expats who are new to Basel often don’t know how competitive the housing market is. It is very important to be quick as many rental apartments are only published online for a short period of time. Attractive apartment offers are often not even published. Check all relevant sources like flatsforexpats.com every day and contact the landlords immediately in order to arrange a flat viewing. See here the latest apartment and room offers in Basel.

When you contact the person renting the apartment out, remember: there is only one chance to make a first impression! Address the person in a polite and formal way, try to avoid very informal and short phrases like “Hi, when can I see the apartment?” but write some sentences about you. Landlords often preselect people according to their contact message so you have a higher chance to be invited if you write a friendly message and tell something about yourself.

Attach a perfect application file in order to enhance your chances to be the chosen one who can rent the apartment in question in Basel. Expats in Basel often have the disadvantage of not knowing German. It makes sense to ask someone to help you translate all the necessary info into German. Also landlords or real estate agencies like it if they get as much info as possible about you. Attach a CV, your work contract, some references from work and an introduction letter (ideally with a photo) and you will make a great impression. This is all not compulsory but it helps you to be different from other applicants.

Rent an apartment in Basel might be challenging for expats but if you follow the mentioned tips it should be easier. If you have more tips about renting in Basel, please share them!