- Modern furnished apartment in Rotterdam, fully equipped, perfect for expats! http://fb.me/FTip1me9 #
- Spacious furnished apartment in the historical centre of Amsterdam. http://fb.me/HecCMZE5 #
On September 3, 2010, In Property rental, By admin
On August 26, 2010, In Property rental, By admin
Poll puts the Netherlands in top ten places to live. http://fb.me/uAy0Jb7T #- Rotterdam: cyclists’ haven in Europe’s largest port. http://fb.me/xXcdrhyb #
- Fully furnished big family house in the Hague. http://fb.me/sFDo3zBt #
- Cosy 2 bedroom apartment available from september, check out the website and click request info! http://bit.ly/bRWA2W #
- Typical Amsterdam canal apartment (prinsengracht), fully furnished! http://fb.me/uZFrRTbL #
- England ‘overtakes’ Holland as most densely populated EU land. http://fb.me/Euw7y1zD #
On August 19, 2010, In Living in The Netherlands, Property rental, By admin
Modern furnished apartment with view on park! http://fb.me/yRCrdYrC #- Modern apartment in The Hague, 1 bedroom and available for expats and other tenants http://fb.me/GNfBZ59o #
- Check our Main Company page Perfect Housing – Rental Apartments in the Netherlands http://fb.me/EVZs0n58 #
- Finally moving to Amsterdam? What you need to know. http://fb.me/DE78QBwu #
- Also check our facebook page with lots of info and featured apartments in Amsterdam http://tinyurl.com/38vh5py #
- Beautiful furnished apartment in the Hague / 895 euro per month! http://fb.me/FPif9ZVG #
- Don’t miss it: Sail 2010! http://fb.me/DLIdG9jq #
- Ideal Expat apartment in Rotterdam! http://fb.me/BGu9pMmw #
- New apartment with a modern interior and two bedrooms. http://fb.me/BzQBavsU #
Amsterdam is undoubtedly an exciting city to live in.
Amsterdam map
This small, atmospheric city has plenty to offer everyone: culture, museums, great food, nightlife, parks and family activities. Amsterdam is officially divided into 15 districts, which are each further subdivided into neighbourhoods.
The city’s history, tolerance and social housing policies have helped to ensure diversity throughout the city. The majority of expats looking for a ‘typically Dutch’ urban environment tend to end up in the canal rings encircling the old city centre, the Jordaan, the Old South or the Pijp.
- City Centre Canals: The old city centre is surrounded by four U-shaped canals: the Singel, Herengracht, Keizersgracht and Prinsengracht. The canal houses lining these canals have retained much of their old-style grandeur and provide the perfect location to enjoy Amsterdam’s extraordinary city life. The canals here are packed with cafes, restaurants, tiny boutiques and shops of every kind. The Nine Streets in particular offer ample opportunity for exploring.Apartment prices in this part of the city centre reflect the neighbourhood�s desirability, and on-street parking is limited and expensive. Residents can expect to wait years before being granted a parking permit. Parking garages offer nearby alternatives, but expect high prices and a short walk or bike ride to reach them.
Houseboats also line the sides of these canals and living in one can offer a slightly cheaper alternative for finding accommodation in this part of town.
- Jordaan: The charming Jordaan is located just outside the main canal rings in the city centre and is made up of a number of smaller canals and streets that run perpendicular to the Prinsengracht. This area was originally an old working class neighbourhood and today is an extremely sought after place to live. The Jordaan is known for its myriad of small restaurants and cafes, and is home to several well-known markets on Saturday and Monday. As with the city centre, parking in this area is limited and expensive.
- Old South: The Old South is one of the most popular expat neighbourhoods, as it is close to the city centre yet offers larger living spaces and more green, thanks to its close proximity to the Vondel Park. While living in the Old South is quieter than in the City Centre and Jordaan, the area still offers a number of (upmarket) shops, restaurants and cafes. This is an expensive part of town to live in, although parking is easier and parking permit waiting lists are somewhat shorter.
- The Pijp: The Pijp is one of the up-and-coming areas of Amsterdam, having benefited from recent city regeneration efforts. The area is ethnically diverse and filled with interesting shops, restaurants and one of the city’s largest open-air markets (the Albert Cuyp market). In recent years, the Pijp has become a highly sought after neighbourhood to live in and rising prices reflect this.
The Westerpark is another neighbourhood that has benefited from regeneration in recent years. The enormous Westerpark park, with its trendy cafes, old industry buildings, rolling fields, wading pool and constantly rotating event schedule has done a lot for the area. Westerpark borders the Jordaan and provides easy access to the Amsterdam ring road and highways.
For a less urban environment, many expats also relocate to Amstelveen, a suburb of Amsterdam directly to the south. The area is green, has a neighbourhood feel and is close to the city’s largest park (the Amsterdam Woods (Amsterdamse Bos)) and Shiphol airport. Many international companies are located in Amstelveen, and the International School of Amsterdam is also found here.
If you have plans to move to Amsterdam and you do want to find an Amsterdam apartment in a great location, make sure you do get the right info!
On May 10, 2010, In Property rental, Rental Amsterdam, Rental Rotterdam, Rental The Hague, Rental agency, By admin
The expat and your rental property
Before debating the “why” question, it’s probably wise to define what an “expat” is.
Here is my very best attempt at a definition: An expat (expartiate) is typically a non-native (i.e. not Dutch in this case) business professional working in The Netherlands on temporary assignment. An expat often has specialist professional skills (e.g in finance, IT, advertisng, marketing) that may not be available in the local labour market. They are typically well educated and have a higher than average disposable income.
If you are a property owner, there are a number of reasons to consider focuing on renting to an expat tenant in The Netherlands. There are rental brokers that focus exclusively on serving the expat rental client and engaging such a broker can help in finding a tenant with a suitable profile.
Here are a couple of reasons to consider an expat rental tenant:
- They usually have a higher rental budget than a Dutch tenant. Often this budget is paid for, or at least subsidized by, their employer and therefore an expat may be willing to pay a little more for a good quality property matching her profile.
- If, as owner, you are looking to rent your property for a year while on walk-about in Australia then you want certainty regarding being able to return to your property a year later. Expats come and go. In some cases, you are offered more certainty with an expat renting for a year before moving on to another assignment in Paris than a Dutch client who may seek to claim their considerable rights under Dutch rental law.
- Expat tenants typically like to have a diplomatic clause in their contracts allowing them to terminate the rental agreement (with notice) if their employer posts them to, say, Lisbon. This clause – almost never used – also offers the landlord a safety valve as the clause usually works both ways. Should you, as landlord, return early from your assignment in London, then you would be able to reclaim your property earlier providing sufficient notice is provided.
Perfect Housing can assist with screening and securing you an expat tenant on temporary assignment here in The Netherlands. Advice is offered pricing your property, the (local) government rules regarding renting, and on how to prepare your property for rent.
Via partners, Perfect Housing offers full property management services involving collecting rent, chasing late payments, and conducting routine repairs and maintenance.
If you have a property for rent in The Netherlands (from studio to luxary villa), for periods of 6 -36 months – please make contact for an orientation discussion.
On May 3, 2010, In Corporate apartment, Events, Queen's Day, Rental Amsterdam, Serviced Apartments, By admin
It’s strangely quiet in the office this morning as survivors of Queen’s Day struggle in after a three-day party weekend. For the uninitiated, 30 April or on 29 April if the 30th is a Sunday is Queen’s Day which celebrates the birthday of the Queen of the Netherlands and is supposed to be a day of national unity and “togetherness”.
Well, that sounds nice. But it’s also a weekend of opportunity – for the scammers, that is. More on the scam in a moment.
Back to Queen’s Day. Here’s some more stuff paraphrased from Wikipedia: a tradition started on 31 August 1885, on the birthday of Princess Wilhelmina, later Queen Wilhelmina. Queen’s Day is known for its “freemarket” (Dutch: vrijmarkt) all over the country, where everybody is allowed to sell things in the streets. Other activities during Queen’s Day are children’s games, individual musical performances, and music concerts.
Yet another activity is the scam. This is what we experienced in our serviced apartments business in Amsterdam. It worked like this:
- A scamming site was set up: http://www.thepalacereservation.com
- Several of our serviced apartments were illegally listed for insanely low prices +/- Euro 40 per night instead of Euro 160 per night
- Incredibly – during the busiest weekend of the year – there was not only availability but for give-away prices
- No, no, no – no phone contact possible. Just transfer your money to a Western Union account number
It’s harsh to claim that those following this instruction got what they deserved but it once again emphasises online caution. On the big day itself , we received three parties – two Spanish and one German group – looking to check-in to apartments booked by others month’s ago. All we could do was point out several budget hotels outside the A10 (the highway circling Amsterdam).
On checking this morning, it appears that http://www.thepalacereservation.com is still up and running despite us informing relevant ISPs and the local police. Although, there is an entirely new look and feel – someone has been busy over the weekend.
On April 23, 2010, In Getting your deposit back, Living in Rotterdam, Rental Rotterdam, Security Deposits, By admin
Question:
I rented an apartment in Rotterdam for 3 months through Rots Vast. I extended the contract 4 more months through the landlord and she told me tell her one month in advance. I told her again on April 12th, that I would be leaving and she says she’s keeping half my deposit because I didn’t give advance notice (although I told her in January I was leaving in April). She is also now saying that fixing the toilet is my expense. No inspection check at beginning and none planned for end (29th Apr). Advice?
Answer:
There are several questions in your mail. Most rental contracts are explicit about when notice can be given and how that notice must be communicated. A typical clause might state something like ‘you may terminate the rental agreement after an initial period of so many months (often 6) with a notice period of one calendar month. Furthermore, there is often the requirement to communicate that notice by registered letter to the owner and/or their agent. Of course, this is the formal side and a not every owner sticks to the letter of the contact accepting, instead, notice by email, phone or post-it. Fixing the toilet at your expense sounds unreasonable but the owner may cite cause. If, for example, you washing machine breaks because your have stuffed 20KG in instead of the 5KG limit, then you should pay. It a washing machine breaks because it’s a classic 1972 model and its best days are long-gone, then this would typically be an expense for the owner. I have answered several other questions in Expatica’s Ask-the-Expert section on reclaiming deposits and providing notice. Please search further in this blog for additional tactics on handling deposit recovery.
On April 15, 2010, In Property rental, Rental Rotterdam, By admin
Question:
I’ve read some of your articles, I’m living in Rotterdam can I find an office like wswonen here in rotterdam. I rent a room and share WC bathroom and kitchen with another student. My landladies brother has just moved in to stay, a strong smoker and 50 years old. No sign of this in my rental contract. Where can I get valuable advice? thanks in advance, Veronica.
Answer:
Tricky one and we’re not lawyers. You could try the following in the following order:
- Try enquiring at someone like Access as they may at least be able to tell you your legal position without charging you a fee (they are a voluntary organisation)
- Explain to your landlady your aversion to passive smoking and request that smoking occur only outside
- If you have a strong legal position, then you could follow up with the threat of legal action (bit extreme but it is an option)
- If you have a weak legal position, then you can either accept it or you’ll have to consider moving.
Good luck finding your way through the smoke.
On April 14, 2010, In Getting your deposit back, Paying a security deposit, Property rental, Security Deposits, By admin
Question:
We were renting a furnished apartment in Delft for a year. At the end an agent checked the apartment twice. It was perfect. Two weeks later the landlord found a stain in the mattress. He suggested to buy a new one (the prize for the new mattress is 1875 euro). Our suggestion was to chemically clean the inner part of the mattress and drape it with a new cover. The apartment was not new at the beginning. Is our obligation to buy a new one? Two months after they still keep 3000 eur of our deposit. Thanks in advance, Ivona
Answer:
We receive a lot of questions on deposits. It’s always tricky to discuss a specific situation but here are some thoughts. At the final inspection, there is typically a sign-off. Any items that are broken, in need of repair, scratched, dirty…etc. are documented. It appears that this did not happen in your case. The most discussion is always generated by cleanliness. The classic scenario is that the apartment (or item in question) was not clean at the start of the tenancy and therefore there is no obligation to return is clean(er) at the end. Although possibly too late now – a good check-out starts with a good check-in. There are various suggestions to questions on returning deposits in responses to other questions in this blog (search on ‘deposit’ and in the Expatica – Ask the Expert (Housing section). Good luck in resolving this.
On April 12, 2010, In Property rental, Rental Amsterdam, By admin
Not really hidden, but not always obvious
When you rent an apartment, you typically focus on the main cost: the rent. Although this is THE main cost, there are other taxes and charges that either fall on your shoulders of that of the property owner.
If you are unaware of these, you can have a bit of a surprise sometime during the year. So, with the goal of removing surprises, here is a quick overview of how this looks in Amsterdam (other cities in the Netherlands will have their own version).
- Verontreinigingsheffing: This is a pollution levy for direct drainage of effluent into surface water of an independent residence not connected to sewer system. For single occupancy, this is Euro 53 per year and if there is more than one occupant, Euro 159 per year (the OCCUPANT pays this to WATERNET).
- Watersysteemheffing ingezetenen: This is a levy for use of public water system of independent residence. A mere Euro 81 per year (the OCCUPANT pays this to WATERNET).
- Afvalstoffenheffng: A levy for refuse collection. Different rates apply for different parts of the city. Amsterdam Centrum charges Euro 221 per year for single occupancy and Euro 295 per year for more than one occupant (the OCCUPANT pays this to GEMEENTE AMSTERDAM).
- Rioolheffng: A levy for connection to sewer system. A fixed charge of EUro 145.46 per year (the OCCUPANT pays this to GEMEENTE AMSTERDAM).
- Watersysteemheffing gebouwd: A levy for use of public water system of independent residence. This is charged at 0.012778% of the WOZ-value (the OCCUPANT pays this to WATERNET).
- Onroerende-zaakbelasting: Property tax charged at 0.05287% of assessed property value per year (the OCCUPANT pays this to GEMEENTE AMSTERDAM).
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