On finding the right apartment in Munich

So, what is different from finding a home here in Germany from finding it in Austin? First of all, agents don't really care that much for their customers, since Munich is such a favorite with so many people that apartments are rented or sold anyway.

On the other hand, there DO exist realtors that try to find something for you - we have/had one of these. To start with, we have a very strict profile with regard to what we want - a 3-bedroom apartment in the inner city area in an old building, rather quiet, light and affordable. Even if that might be hard to get, it's a statement, isn't it?

So there is that one agent who kept calling Werner already in America and offering him JUST THE RIGHT THING, but we never knew where this 'right thing' was located, how big it was and how much it cost.

So when we got here, Werner asked him to call me instead of him (I wonder why??)

I received several phone calls from him, telling me about a wonderful apartment in 'Untermenzing', which is definitely not within the inner city limits. After listening to him, having told him that we really wanted something in the city, I finally gave in and decided to look at the apartment, just in order to be able to tell him that this was NOT what we were looking for.

And it was NOT what we had had in mind - plus, it took me 45 minutes one way to get there. When I told the agent all that, his only response was: "But it's quiet, and you wanted a quiet environment". It was quite useless to point out that we wanted something quiet IN THE CITY - he just would not listen. So I fled ...

Only two days later he called me again, offering me THE deal of all times: an apartment in the city! When asked if it was an old building, he told me: "No, but you wanted something in the city." I hardly managed to hang up because he kept pointing out the wonderful location.

Then I did not hear anything from him for about two weeks - but he had not forgotten about us. He called, told me about his next find and that we would love it - for sure! Before I agreed to look at it, I asked for the address - it was the same apartment he had offered me two weeks ago! And it is located next to the "Mittlerer Ring", a city highway, rather noisy.

Anyway, I met him, looked at it and was immediately sure that I did not like it that much (although, admittedly, the ceilings were quite high. But the closeness to this highway was annoying, something which he kept ignoring, instead he pointed out the greenery:" Don't you feel like living in a park?" A said no, since two trees next to a supermarket don't really make a park, do they?

Finally I got rather obvious: "If you keep showing us objects that do not fit the profile we have given you, don't be disappointed if we don't want them." His answer: "But it's in the city!" So I turned round and left - and thought I had got rid of him for good!