Home sweet haus!
I'll be honest. I'm exhausted. Yesterday was my tenth day in Germany, and with the help of my friends, sponsors, and random knowledgeable acquaintances, I have managed to obtain, a car, a doctor, a phone, and....... a HOME!
I realize that in all my ranting about the car that I forgot to tell you what I purchased...a minor detail compared with the odyssey of actually getting it. I am the proud owner of a Honda accord. It's silver and pretty basic. No automatic anything, and it's a little older, but it met my two standards of under 10years old and 100k miles. I also stayed under my budget with it, so I bought a navigation system for it which has doubled as my Realtor.
In Germany, the realtor gets a fee from the renter if they choose to rent a home that the realtor showed them, and it's usually around 1,000 Euro, which with the current exchange would cost about $1600. No way jose! Even if you find a house in the paper and take yourself to it, if it is listed by the realtor, they still get to charge you a fee eventhough you did all the work. So with some help from my friends and the navigator, I saved a bundle and found my own place. It only took me a week, and that week only seemed like forever, but I'm done.
I am the proud renter of a duplex in Otterbach. It is about 15 minutes from work, and it is close to several people I've met here, so I'll have some good neighbors! The landlords live in the other half, which is only connected to mine along the garage and the bathrooms, so I don't think we'll be bothering eachother. Besides, they build walls here that are over a foot thick and made of concrete, so I don't think it's possible to bother anyone anyway! Melanie, the landlord, is going to show me how to garden in the German style. I'm so excited because my little yard is already gorgeous, and her backyard is a small eden.
The neighborhood is quiet, and it is in a little town that has fabulous walking trails, parks, restaurants, german bakeries, and the current tenant says there is an incredible icecream shop too! And I can get to all of these things on foot! I walked around a bit yesterday, and I also saw two beautiful old churches and I even found a tourist information center right by my house!
The house itself is about 1700sq ft, and it is on two floors. Downstairs is a brand-new kitchen, a full bath, and a living and dining area. Upstairs has three bedrooms and the other full bath. The floors are all laminate wood and tile, and there is a cute balcony off two of the bedrooms. The best part is that there are three closet spaces. Germany doesn't believe in closets, so these are a real bonus. They are really just small empty spaces...no racks, shelves, or bars, but at least they are places where I can put my stuff out of view. :)
Right now I only have pictures from outside because the current tenants weren't home when I came back to sign the contract (In Germany, landlords aren't allowed in if you aren't home). I got really lucky with this one. I came back because seven people saw the house yesterday, and we all wanted it. The landlord chose me! Probably because i oohed and awed over the yard so much. :) I'll post some more pictures once I'm in the house. It is officially mine on September 1st!
I realize that in all my ranting about the car that I forgot to tell you what I purchased...a minor detail compared with the odyssey of actually getting it. I am the proud owner of a Honda accord. It's silver and pretty basic. No automatic anything, and it's a little older, but it met my two standards of under 10years old and 100k miles. I also stayed under my budget with it, so I bought a navigation system for it which has doubled as my Realtor.
In Germany, the realtor gets a fee from the renter if they choose to rent a home that the realtor showed them, and it's usually around 1,000 Euro, which with the current exchange would cost about $1600. No way jose! Even if you find a house in the paper and take yourself to it, if it is listed by the realtor, they still get to charge you a fee eventhough you did all the work. So with some help from my friends and the navigator, I saved a bundle and found my own place. It only took me a week, and that week only seemed like forever, but I'm done.
I am the proud renter of a duplex in Otterbach. It is about 15 minutes from work, and it is close to several people I've met here, so I'll have some good neighbors! The landlords live in the other half, which is only connected to mine along the garage and the bathrooms, so I don't think we'll be bothering eachother. Besides, they build walls here that are over a foot thick and made of concrete, so I don't think it's possible to bother anyone anyway! Melanie, the landlord, is going to show me how to garden in the German style. I'm so excited because my little yard is already gorgeous, and her backyard is a small eden.
The neighborhood is quiet, and it is in a little town that has fabulous walking trails, parks, restaurants, german bakeries, and the current tenant says there is an incredible icecream shop too! And I can get to all of these things on foot! I walked around a bit yesterday, and I also saw two beautiful old churches and I even found a tourist information center right by my house!
The house itself is about 1700sq ft, and it is on two floors. Downstairs is a brand-new kitchen, a full bath, and a living and dining area. Upstairs has three bedrooms and the other full bath. The floors are all laminate wood and tile, and there is a cute balcony off two of the bedrooms. The best part is that there are three closet spaces. Germany doesn't believe in closets, so these are a real bonus. They are really just small empty spaces...no racks, shelves, or bars, but at least they are places where I can put my stuff out of view. :)
Right now I only have pictures from outside because the current tenants weren't home when I came back to sign the contract (In Germany, landlords aren't allowed in if you aren't home). I got really lucky with this one. I came back because seven people saw the house yesterday, and we all wanted it. The landlord chose me! Probably because i oohed and awed over the yard so much. :) I'll post some more pictures once I'm in the house. It is officially mine on September 1st!
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| Germany |
posted by Claire | 4:19 PM
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