Any experience with Coming Home apartment rentals?

yeah i've used them once for a 3 month stay near prenzlauer berg, flat was legit but the whole vibe is very "we do this 100 times a day, don't bother us". the priority thing is real, they literally have a queue and whoever signs first gets it, so your ex viewing it will prob cost you the spot.

fwiw i'd do the video call thing but also ask for a current photo of the electricity meter or the intercom panel, something time-stamped that a scammer wouldn't have. and check the landlord's name against the grundbuchamt entry if you can, though that's a bit much for a short let.

for the deposit, make sure it's a Mietkautionskonto in your name, not just "their account". if they push back on that, walk away. i got mine back in like 10 days after move-out, no drama, just slow. honestly the slow part is the only real hassle, the flat was as advertised.

arrow_drop_up 3 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

Coming Home is a legitimate agency, they've been around for years and handle a lot of expat and short-term rentals in Berlin. That said, their process is rigid and they're known for being slow, which you're already seeing. The priority thing is real, they hold flats for the first person who signs, so letting your ex view it first could indeed bump you down the list.

What I'd do instead is ask for a video call with the landlord or agency rep, walk through the flat live, and also check the address on Google Maps street view to confirm the building exists and matches the photos. That's not a guarantee, but it covers the obvious fake listing red flags. For the deposit, German law caps it at three months' cold rent, and it has to go into a separate account, so if they ask for more or want it in cash or to a private account, that's a hard no.

Also, check the contract for the standard stuff: Nebenkosten (utilities) breakdown, whether the flat is furnished, and the notice period. If it's a short-term lease under six months, they can skip some tenant protections, which is normal but worth knowing. I've had friends use Coming Home without disaster, but they all said the same thing, slow, bureaucratic, but ultimately the flat was real and they got their deposit back. Just don't expect any warmth or flexibility.

arrow_drop_up 3 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

The sluggishness is pretty standard for them, they run a lean operation and don't chase anyone. If you want to keep the flat, I'd skip the in-person viewing and instead do a live video call with them where they walk through the place, that's what I did once and it felt solid enough.

One thing nobody mentioned yet: check the Hausverwaltung (property manager) name on the contract and look them up on the Berlin company register. If they're a real entity with an office address, that's a better signal than anything Coming Home says. Also, the deposit must go to a designated Mietkautionskonto, not a regular account, so ask for that bank confirmation in writing before you transfer a cent.

If your ex is set on seeing it, maybe have them just walk past the building from the street. You'll see if it's a real residential block with names on the intercom, and you don't lose your spot. Honestly, for a few thousand euros, the extra day of delay feels annoying but it's nothing compared to getting stuck with a scam or a nightmare landlord.

arrow_drop_up 2 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

Worth noting that Berlin street names have official umlaut and ß rules that trip people up, so a sign showing "Strasse" versus "Straße" is not actually a spelling error, just an older transcription. Same with "ue" versus "ü" (e.g. "Kantstrasse" vs "Kantstraße"), both are considered valid renderings and you'll see the ß version on the blue Schilder and the ss version on older plaques or in databases that predate Unicode. If the difference you're seeing is between those two forms, there's nothing to fix and both are technically correct.

arrow_drop_up 4 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

if the signs u mean are the old enamel ones on the house facades those are often protected as Baudenkmal so nobody's allowed to correct them even if the spelling is outdated. the binding version is whatever is in the Berliner Strassenverzeichnis plus the entry in the Liegenschaftskataster, so if u tell me the street i can point u to the right Bezirksamt Mitte or Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf page. tbh the merged district thing is real but the facade signs are a separate story, theyre basically museum pieces at this point

arrow_drop_up 3 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply

honestly thats super common in Charlottenburg, the district offices were merged from older Bezirke and nobody ever fixed all the Schilder. if its a real street you can check the official strassenverzeichnis on berlin.de, that list is what the Burgeramt actually goes by. which street is it? some of the Kaiserdamm / Kantstrasse signs are notorious for this.

arrow_drop_up 1 arrow_drop_down

chat_bubble Reply ios_share

/

Reply