This is so friggin awesome! I am so happy that I have to tell somebody.
So my girlfriend and I are currently living in a single bedroom 38m² apartment and we pay €375 a month for it. Quite high by Vienna standards, but the location was great and we at first didn't need a whole lot of space. She worked during the day and I went to school, so not really a lot of space needed. We've been in here since July 2007. As of October of last year, she figured out what she wanted to do as far as going to Uni goes and started on that path. Fast forward to January and we realized that the apartment was way too small for two students who wanted to study at the same time. We have one desk, two laptops and a dinky little dinner table.
Well here in Austria there is a type of rental contract you can get called a "Genossenschaftwohnung". Literally translated, it means "enjoyed apartment". I don't know how that name came about, but whatever. Basically the way it works is that you pay a rather high amount upfront, almost like a down payment that could be anywhere from €10k to €40k (some cases more, it usually depends on the size of the apartment and the building). Then after 10 years or so you have the option to buy it. The thing is, each year you lose 1% of your down payment. However, the benefit is 99% of the time a significantly reduced rent.
We've been actively searching for the past three weeks or so and we looked at a few places but nothing really blew up our skirt. My girlfriend found this place yesterday afternoon and I went with her father to look at it. She couldn't come and see it because she had a test at uni. This particular place is 65m² and has a full kitchen plus a dining area, a giant living room and a nice sized bedroom. To get into these apartments, you also typically have to pay a furniture cost. Typically another €10k or so, because you have to pay for the kitchen and then whatever else is in there. This particular place wanted €10k for the down payment and then another €15k for the furniture. The coolest part, though, is that the furniture in there is exactly the kind of stuff we would have picked out for ourselves. It even comes with an LG HD TV!!!!!!! Friggin sweet!!!!!!!!!!! So my girlfriend and I went again with her father to look at it today so she could see it, but yesterday we said we would take it but we wanted my girlfriend to see it first. So we get there and first thing is her jaw hits the floor. Everything in there is only a half year old and all still under warranty. Giant refrigerator, name-brand high-quality kitchen and appliances. The works. Basically our dream apartment. She said yes in under 2 minutes.
So now we have to wait another week or so before we get an appointment to sign all the paperwork. We also have to wait until May to move in, but man is it nice. I have some photos that I will upload later for you guys to see if you're at all interested. I forgot to get the model of the LG TV, but it had a really nice picture. It'd be nice if they left the Nintendo Wii there too ... But the apartment comes fully furnished. We only have to bring our mattresses from our current bed to the new apartment and then what bits of furniture that we want to bring with us. The rent is also only €360 a month! So basically cheaper than what we have now and like 75% bigger. You would easily pay at least €600 for that same apartment if it was on the normal market.
We are so stoked. And there is room for a nice big computer monitor and tower ...
So my girlfriend and I are currently living in a single bedroom 38m² apartment and we pay €375 a month for it. Quite high by Vienna standards, but the location was great and we at first didn't need a whole lot of space. She worked during the day and I went to school, so not really a lot of space needed. We've been in here since July 2007. As of October of last year, she figured out what she wanted to do as far as going to Uni goes and started on that path. Fast forward to January and we realized that the apartment was way too small for two students who wanted to study at the same time. We have one desk, two laptops and a dinky little dinner table.
Well here in Austria there is a type of rental contract you can get called a "Genossenschaftwohnung". Literally translated, it means "enjoyed apartment". I don't know how that name came about, but whatever. Basically the way it works is that you pay a rather high amount upfront, almost like a down payment that could be anywhere from €10k to €40k (some cases more, it usually depends on the size of the apartment and the building). Then after 10 years or so you have the option to buy it. The thing is, each year you lose 1% of your down payment. However, the benefit is 99% of the time a significantly reduced rent.
We've been actively searching for the past three weeks or so and we looked at a few places but nothing really blew up our skirt. My girlfriend found this place yesterday afternoon and I went with her father to look at it. She couldn't come and see it because she had a test at uni. This particular place is 65m² and has a full kitchen plus a dining area, a giant living room and a nice sized bedroom. To get into these apartments, you also typically have to pay a furniture cost. Typically another €10k or so, because you have to pay for the kitchen and then whatever else is in there. This particular place wanted €10k for the down payment and then another €15k for the furniture. The coolest part, though, is that the furniture in there is exactly the kind of stuff we would have picked out for ourselves. It even comes with an LG HD TV!!!!!!! Friggin sweet!!!!!!!!!!! So my girlfriend and I went again with her father to look at it today so she could see it, but yesterday we said we would take it but we wanted my girlfriend to see it first. So we get there and first thing is her jaw hits the floor. Everything in there is only a half year old and all still under warranty. Giant refrigerator, name-brand high-quality kitchen and appliances. The works. Basically our dream apartment. She said yes in under 2 minutes.
So now we have to wait another week or so before we get an appointment to sign all the paperwork. We also have to wait until May to move in, but man is it nice. I have some photos that I will upload later for you guys to see if you're at all interested. I forgot to get the model of the LG TV, but it had a really nice picture. It'd be nice if they left the Nintendo Wii there too ... But the apartment comes fully furnished. We only have to bring our mattresses from our current bed to the new apartment and then what bits of furniture that we want to bring with us. The rent is also only €360 a month! So basically cheaper than what we have now and like 75% bigger. You would easily pay at least €600 for that same apartment if it was on the normal market.
We are so stoked. And there is room for a nice big computer monitor and tower ...
