Renting an Apartment in Stockholm – Short Version

Okay, so you have probably read the longer version of this article over here and found you were not really interested in my detailed experience during my apartment hunt, so in this new shorter post, I will list the options that I think you have and describe them very briefly. If you want to know more about them and how my experience with them have been, read the detailed version of this post here:

Buying or renting?
You’ve probably already made up your mind about it. Here is the gist:
Buying an apartment becomes far cheaper in the long-term because the ease of getting housing loans from the banks means that you virtually end up paying the same amount in your monthly installments to the bank for buying an apartment as you would pay for second-hand rent. So, comparing the two options, at the end of 1 year, you would either have paid the rent and lost that money forever, or invested the same in a new home and that money is not lost because it is getting you an apartment permanently. Whether or not the real estate prices appreciate, you still get most – if not more – of your money back in case you decide to sell.

Getting a first-hand contract is virtually impossible unless you are willing to wait for 10+ years. So, you need to get a second hand contract through one of Sweden’s many online search databases.

Options for getting second-hand apartments:
1. Register with Blocket.se: (My rating: 1* / 5)
(http://www.blocket.se)
Pros:
a. It is free.
b. Apartments are not the only things you can search for so there are more options (but not really that relevant in this case)
c. Number of ads is huge compared to bostaddirekt.com

Cons:
a. Most of the ads are junk.
b. Most of the people putting up the ads do not publish their contact numbers. So, you just have to send them email with your details and hope for an answer, which never comes.
c. The website is only in Swedish language so you need to translate each ad to English manually.
d. Difficult to separate useful ads from the useless ones. For instance, many ads say the apartment is only available for stay during weekdays and the owner needs it back during weekend. Or, apartment is for sharing only. The problem here is that there is no easy way to filter the results so that you see only the useful ads.

2. Register with Bostaddirekt.com: (My rating: 4* / 5)
(http://www.bostaddirekt.com)
Pros:
a. Mostly genuine ads since the advertiser also has to pay for publishing the ads.
b. Very easy to filter ads according to your requirements, thus saving time which would be wasted if it were blocket.se
c. Almost all ads have a phone number published, so it is easier to contact the publishers.
d. Lots of pictures of the apartment are generally included in the ad along with the location.
e. Membership includes access to sample contract templates, inventory lists, deposit receipt as well as other good tips on apartment searching.
f. Option to change website language to English.

Cons:
a. You need to pay a fee of 700 kr, which is valid for 45 days. This lets you in order to see contact information in ads.

3. Search available options in Indica.se: (My rating: 4* / 5)
(http://www.indica.se)
Pros:
a. A large excel sheet of available apartments.
b. Easy to get pictures and arrange visits to the apartment
c. No charge for visiting apartments and talking to the owners. Pay only when apartment is finalized and contract is to be drawn.
d. Contract is drawn by Indica.se and you don’t have to bother with it.

Cons:
a. Cost of finalizing an apartment is 2,000 kr, which is quite high compared to bostaddirekt.com also. (but it is one-time and irrespective of how long you stay at the property)
b. Apartments seem to be slightly pricier than what you would expect.

How would I suggest you go about it?
1. Forget about blocket.se. Erase it from your memory.
2. Register with Bostaddirekt.com and pay the registration fees. It is worth it. Search for as long as you can afford (in terms of time). And remember to call up the advertiser as soon as ou see the ad. My expectation is that you should be able to find something good in less than a month. So, this is perhaps what you should give most effort to.
3. If you cannot afford to waste any more time, go to Indica.se and call up Kaushik (his number is published on the website). Pick the apartment that you like, visit it personally then pay the fees and its yours.

I hope my article was useful to you. I would love to hear your experiences and any corrections you might want to point out to my article. Happy hunting!