Finding housing

Be prepared that finding a suitable place to live from afar is time consuming and frustrating. Have patience and be resourceful & tireless... it will work out! And it's a huge relief to know you have a place to land when you arrive.

Write up a "housing wanted" ad describing a bit about yourself (include a picture to show what a nice, normal tenant you are) and what you're looking for, and send to EVERYONE you know in Sweden... your department, people you met for 2 minutes when you were there... word of mouth really helps.

Just like everywhere else, there are a few rotten apples... scammers who would love to cheat you out of your money, so be careful. (The first person to contact me wanted to rent me a nonexistant apartment, sight unseen, without someone able to check it out because he had "already moved overseas" and would mail me the keys... sketchy!!). It really helps for peace of mind to have a local contact available to check out the place and make sure everything seems OK.

In Sweden, they refer to the number of "rooms" as including a living room... so a 2 room apartment would be 1 bedroom + living room.

Note that many apartments in Sweden are owned by the state and work from a long waiting list that takes a year or more to make you eligible. You may want to sign up for those to increase your choices down the line, but you will probably have to find a private party rental at first.

This may be either "firsthand" (direct from the owner, how it is usually done in the US) or "andrahand", which is Google translated as "in the alternative" but I think should be thought of as "second-hand", meaning you are renting from a tenant (since people tend to keep their apartments for a long time, because they are so freaking hard to find!!!).

Websites to look for housing in Lund:

Helpful guide for students looking for housing in Lund here

1. http://www.blocket.se Swedish craigslist, the main source. Browse posted ads for free; posting a housing wanted ad costs about $15, and is how I found my place (and was contacted by several good possibilities, in addition the scammer; lots of people do not post their housing available, but instead look for a suitable tenant and contact them directly). However I needed a Swedish credit card to make this work, my US one did not.
Look at first listing (Lagenheter) under 3rd category (Bostad) from pulldown menu
(use Google Translate for individual listings, doesn't work for website. To mail the person who posted an ad, use the Swedish version of the website, the Translated version won't work. You can match the ad by time/date posted).

2. http://www.akelius.se/ Have to register, need mysterious number to do so

3. http://www.andrahand.se/ rent apartments, vacation rentals.

4. http://www.stenafastigheter.se/Bost%C3%A4der/LedigaBost%C3%A4der

vacant housing & parking spaces. None listed for Lund; most of their Malmo housing is listed in Boplats South

5. http://www.bopoolen.nu

6. http://www.andrahandsguiden.com/

guide to firsthand rentals in Sweden, can order book on same in Scania for 195 SEK (all in Swedish, not helpful)

7. http://www.bopoolen.se/

free listings, not much there. posted ad for housing wanted.

8. http://www.bostaddirekt.com/Default.aspx

9. http://www.stadsbostad.se/ application form to fill out,

requires personnummer. Cute, centrally located, downtown-ish apartments with character. need to get on list

10. http://www.lkf.lund.se

· To register:

· ”Nej” personnumer; make your number your yyyy-mm-dd of birthday.

· Have to click to ”register your interest” for available places to get on list to see them.

· dogs are allowed in all properties.

· average wait time 2 years.

Only for purchasing houses:

http://www.hemnet.se

http://bovision.se/ can’t get to work

http://www.hsb.se for sale, much untranslatable by google translate

Real Estate Swedish

bostadratt	tenant
Inneboende	Intrinsic/lodger
Radhus	townhouse
Hyresratt	Rental properties
bor i foraldrahem	Living in parental home
hyr lagenhet i andra hand	Rent apartment in the alternative
Lägenhet	apartment
Ort	city
Hyra	lease
· Min och Max antal rum:	Min & max # rooms
Våning:	Floor (ground, etc)
Yta/Boyta	Area (m2)
2:a våningen /1 trappa upp	2nd floor/ 1 stair up
Våning	floor
Hiss	Elevator
balkong	Balcony
Byggår	built
Diskmaskin	dishwasher
Tvättutrustning	Washing machine
Tvätt	Laundry room
Sovrum	bedroom
Vardagsrum	Living room
Kök	kitchen
Bad	bathroom
Bytes	Housing exchange