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So... is this price worth it?
The flat is located right on Schönhauser Alle., on the 5th floor without an elevator. It's the attic apartment. The flat is 100m², plus a small balcony. It has two rooms, but one of the rooms is absolutely massive so we could split that up to make a 3rd room. It has a large bathtub, sky lights, exposed wood beams, a semi-updated kitchen with a dishwasher, washing machine, and has ceiling fans. (Very American, actually. Weird.) It comes with a single sleeping sofa.
Now for the price. The apartment is 1,390 euros cold. Extra costs include 120 euros, plus electric. The deposit is 3 cold rents. So far, I am the only candidate, and the landlord had me tour the apartment himself. Apparently his family bought out the whole building over 30 years ago. The contract would be limited to 3 years, although he said 4 may be possible.
So... is this worth it? Should I take it? Or do you think I could find better? I'm only hesitating because he wants me to move in within 15 days from now and I have to give my current apartment a 3 month notice.. so I'll be paying double rent for 3 months. Ouch.
Edit: Together, my partner and I make roughly 5000 netto. Sometimes more, sometimes less. I'm a freelancer so that's why.
yeah the 3 year befristung is the main thing to watch, but honestly if his family owns the whole building he prob just wants flexibility in case they want to renovate or sell later. that's actually one of the valid reasons under §575 BGB so it could be legit. just get it in writing what the reason is.
the attic heat thing is real though, i lived on danziger str in a similar dachgeschoss and from june to august you basically can't be in the flat between 2-6pm. ceiling fans help but they just move the hot air around. check if there's aussenrollos or at least verdunkelungsrollos on those skylights, otherwise you're waking up at sunrise every day.
for the price, 13.90 is solid for schönhauser. that area near senefelderplatz/eberwalder is still getting pricier, I've seen smaller flats go for more. the 120 nebenkosten seems low for altbau though, ask if heizung and warmwasser are included or if that's separate. some landlords quote the niedrige nebenkosten then hit you with a big nachzahlung in january.
the double rent thing sucks but see if you can find a nachmieter for your current place. even if the 3 month notice is in your contract, most landlords will let you out early if you find someone, especially in
The 3 year limited contract is the biggest thing to look into here. Under German law, befristete contracts need a specific reason like the landlord planning to move in themselves or major renovations. If there's no valid reason in the contract, it's automatically an unlimited one and you can stay. I'd ask him directly what the grounds are before signing anything.
The attic situation in summer is no joke either. Those skylights turn the place into a greenhouse, and even with ceiling fans you'll be sleeping on the balcony some nights. Check if there are external blinds or rollos, because standard ones won't cut it when the sun is directly on those roof windows from 6am.
On the price though, 13.90 cold per square meter for a 100m2 place that close to Eberswalder Strasse is genuinely good for 2024. You won't find much better in that pocket, especially with a proper kitchen and balcony. The double rent situation is painful but three months is manageable on 5k netto if you're smart about it, just make sure your current landlord doesn't try to hold you to the full notice period if you find a nachmieter.
honestly for 100m² near schönhauser allee that price is pretty solid. the attic with beams and skylights sounds nice but 5th floor no elevator in summer is gonna be brutal fyi. the 3 year limited contract is a bit of a red flag though, landlords here sometimes use befristung to get around mietpreisbremse rules, make sure it's actually valid (like they need a legit reason).
paying double rent for 3 months hurts but if you can swing it financially it's prob worth it. finding anything under 14€/m² cold in that area is rare these days, especially with a balcony and dishwasher. just check if the extra 120€ covers everything or if they'll hit you with nachzahlung later, some altbau landlords get creative with heizung costs.
the landlord being the owner and showing it himself is actually a good sign, less chance of some scammy zwischenmieter situation. maybe negotiate the move-in date a bit if possible, 15 days is tight.
What is the correct spelling for a street name that appears differently on multiple signs in Charlottenburg?
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.
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
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.
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