Flat in Krakow for German students for one semester

Hello!

My name is Richard and i am from Germany! We are a group of four guys that are going to live in Krakow for one semester. (1st of October - end of February)

We are looking for flat at the moment but cannot find a proper one. Most agencies want a huge help fee....
Can anybody help me where to find cheap flats?
We would like to have a flat with 4 bedrooms, which is not easy to find...

Thanks

kind regards
Richard

Try Gumtree Krakow. Make sure you tick the box 'od wlasciciela' (from the owner) or whatever it's called to filter out agencies. Also run the phone number in the ads through google to make sure it isn't an agent pretending not to be.

Additionally, you can make a free 'flat wanted' advert on the same website...

4 bedroom flats are rare though - many flats in Poland though have the living room used as a bedroom (they eat in the kitchen) so a 4 room flat would be normal.

I do not speak any polish...
Thats the main problem of finding a cheap flat, because most pages are written in polish...
I will make an advert on the page!
Thank you

@Richi: best to come to Poland, stay at a hostel for a while and look for a place (you'll aslo get tips from school and other students). It does not make any sense to look for an apartment from abroad. You obviously need to look at it, check the neighborhood.. Besides, it is most likely that you'll get ripped off.

Richard,

Hire an interpreter on site who speaks Polish and German (NOT English!) and, ideally, who is certified!
Even though a semester might seem like a reasonably short stay, don't get stuck in a position where either of you are unfamiliar with

the other's language and you both get into trouble etc.

My e-mail is marekzgerson@yahoo

never heard back, richi.

Sent you an e-mail and was just curious as to what you've decided to do, that's about it:-)

Hire a certified interpreter to rent an apartment? They might as well just pay the agency fee then.

@ Richard, gumtree.pl or any of the facebook groups: Krakow Expats, Foreigners in Krakow etc. Just post what you are looking for there. Most likely someone knows someone who knows someone who is looking to rent out his apartment.

I am German living in Lodz. If you need any help with your first steps in Poland, drop me a PM.

True, but after all, what would a young German student know about entrenched Polish black marketeering (except if the student were a fifty+ former East German)?

LOL

No, having a local who knows the lingo as well as the renter's mother tongue is invaluable:-)
Try and imagine if they used English, he-he!!

German student: Hallo, can I here meet an apartment? (translation of: "mieten")

Polish landlord: No, but you can meet my daughter, she doesn't cost so much.

(guffaw, guffaw)

It would help, yes. But it is not necessary. Specially when that local wants to be paid for the service.

@ Richi, try the facebook pages for foreigners in Krakow or as suggested by InPolska in post 4, check in to a hostel for a couple of days and find an apartment during that time. You would most likely have to do that anyway as you need to physically see the apartment before signing the agreement. You could also use that time to check the notice boards at the University. I would be very surprised if you wouldn't be able to find something suitable for the four of you in Krakow. If there is any help needed drop me a PM.

@Jolly,

I wasn't even hinting that Richi, for that matter anyone whosoever, ought not pay some professional for their services (particularly if certified/accredited)!!!

Anyhow, seems as though everthing's gonna work out just fine:-)

You have lost me here. The point was not to get a professional and then try not to pay them. The point was that there is no need to hire a professional / certified translator to find an apartment. Specially not when the idea was to avoid high agency fees.

Following your logic, in order to avoid high agency fees you are suggesting to hire a certified translator which in turn would charge a high fee?

If there's a (potential) language barrier, then there most certainly is a need for the services of a qualified interpreter!
Richi's written English looks ok so far, but who honestly knows how good it'll be when up against a Polish landlord, doubtless not fluent in either English or German?

No, I still stand that some sort of interlocutor ought to be on hand all the same. Moreover, as I stated previously, how familiar with black-market bribery could a young German student be?? Things work in Eastern Europe differently from Germany!

I am not sure what kind of picture of Poland you are trying to paint here but there is no black-market bribery involved in finding an apartment.


And you do not seem to know how it works in either of the two regions. I have never had a problem finding an apartment or getting around in Poland. Nor will the OP have any problems.

To make it short for you, your suggestion to hire a certified translator (when the OP is clearly trying to avoid additional fees and costs) is ridiculous.

Jolly,

Just because you don't "see" the black market (Schmiergelder, łapówki..) doesn't mean by a long shot that it's not there!

That's why it's the black market; it's all under the table!!!

Lyzko is right. His advice is good.

I'd add that if the OP's university has left these very young people to sort this out themselves then either they must work on a principle of Social Darwinism or more probably it's an example of how things work differently in Eastern Europe and in Germany.

Jon, come on now. Black market for apartments? Bribery? .......... Please. The Poland that Lyzko is trying to describe dates back to the 1990's early 2000's.

Far from reality these days.

No bribery but some pretty rapacious letting agents. People I wouldn't enjoy dealing with and young students would be easy prey.

Yes and extremely high finders fees. But seeing that the OP has mentioned these fees already, it would suggest that he is well aware of what he needs to look out for and what to avoid.

Yes, and this is good. There's also the usual agents' tricks like saying there's a scarcity, prices are rising, you have to decide now or this flat will be lost and that there are other offers when there are none.

Some of the ones in Poland even have stooges turn up during a viewing to pretend they'r interested and want to make an offer!

Come on, you'll! the guy is coming only for 1 semester (= 4 months)! So why not first of all asking the school? I am sure they assist foreign students especially not only because of the language barrier and also because not easy to rent for such a short period. If not, like I said, he just comes over and stays for a few days in a hostel while looking. Whether student or anybody else, nobody in their right mind rents a place without checking visiting it, without checking neighborhood...

I'm sure they must have some support about this. Although I'm prepared to believe anything.

WOW this blog escalated quickly!!!

I am going to check all facebook pages! thanks for this hint!

we already thought about going there without having a flat an staying in a hostel for a few days!

@Richi: of course wise to do so! Upon arrival, also check with your school as they have tips for you...

Hear, hear! I second the good wishes, richi!

Good luck in Poland (..and, if possible, try learning at least a few phrases in Polish)!

Even if nothing else, a simple "Dzień dobry!" to your landlord will go a long way:-)

look for two two bedroom flats, much more common.