Show Notes
- Hunderte Betroffene klagen über Abzocke auf Wohnungsplattform (rbb24)
- What is a Mietkautionskonto? (All About Berlin)
- How to move to Germany and become a freelancer (All About Berlin)
- How to find an English-speaking job in Berlin (All About Berlin)
Transcript
[0:09] Hello, everybody. This will be a very short solo episode. I am traveling. I'm still in Egypt right now, but we didn't want to leave you without an episode this week. And I have two quick topics to discuss before we're back together, Jae and I, next week from Berlin. The first thing I wanted to talk about is a housing scam that happened in October - a very big housing scam.
[01:26] And so this platform, HousingAnywhere, tries to solve this by basically being an Airbnb for like longer term stays. I actually know some people who found a place through them, and I understand why people do it. I mean, it's obviously more expensive than just renting a place, but at least it's possible and easy to rent a place. But apparently, even though one of the things that they advertise is that they also give you extra security, there was a huge scam happening, mostly in October, where almost 400 people - 337 people - got scammed and they lost between €2000 and €4,000 each.
[2:13] And the way that worked was that they found an apartment through the platform, and communicated through the platform, and everything was okay. And the platform has their own payment system, even. But then the landlord would send them a message saying: Okay, you need to pay your deposit and that doesn't work through the platform. Please send your deposit to this bank account. And one person that was profiled in this article even asked HousingAnywhere like, "Is this legit? Should I transfer the money?" And they confirmed, "Yes, this is a legit supplier, or company or whatever, and you can send them the money." And then days before she was supposed to move into the apartment, they canceled on her and disappeared, and she never got to see the apartment or let alone move in. And she got reimbursed for the things she paid through HousingAnywhere, but she didn't get reimbursed for the money she sent privately to this person.
[3:24] And so this is a scam that apparently has been happening a lot. And I'm sure HousingAnywhere is trying to make sure this doesn't happen again, at least this exact same scam. But it's just really good to reiterate, and to be aware that there is a lot of scams going on because people are desperate. There is not enough housing in Berlin. And when you come here and you have a job offer or you have a place to study or whatever it may be, you need a place to live, and so people take advantage. So I would just say, in terms of what you can do, be super super vigilant.
[4:51] Otherwise, I think the biggest thing, like the thing that almost all of these scams have in common, is that you never actually get to see the apartment. I understand some people basically decide to move here ... many people decide to move to Berlin from another continent and they want to have the apartment set and ready when they arrive. But that just means that you have to trust somebody's pictures or Zoom call - which can also easily be faked - and then just know that that person and that place exist and are what they say they are. It's so much safer to actually go visit the place, or maybe have someone go visit the place, and talk to the landlord in person. So I would always, always recommend doing that. And if that's not possible, then be extra, extra vigilant.
[6:37] There, too, you need to be vigilant, and if they want you to pay any kind of money in advance, you should be very careful. But then just find a place to sleep, and then try to find your actual apartment, your actual place where you want to stay, when you're already in the city. I think every everything gets much easier and safer once you're able to go to places, visit places, look people in the eye, and confirm that things are legit. And then when you do those things, I think it also pays off to bring a native speaker, or someone who speaks German, and someone who has lived in Berlin for a while and knows, kind of, the system and the red flags. So those would be my recommendations in terms of how to find a place without getting scammed.
[8:17] And one thing that you could do ... and I'm not sure if it's gotten harder in the past few years, but I know several people who have done this, and I think it is certainly a thing you can do if you are a native speaker, and that is to become a freelance English teacher. So the way this works is, or the way that I know it could work, is that you basically, come to Europe, come to Germany on a 90-day tourist visa, and legally speaking at that point your plan should not be to stay. Your plan should be to visit Berlin, Germany, Europe for 90 days, and then go back. That should be your plan as far as the legal official version goes, and as far as your intentions should go.
[9:18] But then, theoretically, should you decide during those 90 days that you actually would like to stay and start a new life in Berlin, if you're a native English speaker there are certainly language schools, English schools, in Berlin that need teachers. And if you go to these language schools in person, CV in hand, and say: Hey, I am a native English speaker and I have maybe some kind of teaching experience. Even if you don't have any teaching experience, I think it's possible to to basically be hired by these schools if you make a good impression. I think you should certainly try to go there in person and introduce yourself and say why you would be a good fit.
[10:11] And what you will need is you will need a letter of intent from at least three different schools. You're probably safer if you have five. But I think three different letters of intent are sufficient. And so then once you have these three different letters of intent, you will also need an Anmeldung. So you will need to find a place to live, which obviously is difficult, but you will just need to find a place to live, or at least where you can register. And then once you have all of those things, the different letters and the Anmeldung and health insurance - but there are special health insurances for people who have just come from abroad, so you don't necessarily need to get the regular German health insurance - then you can try to get a freelance visa or register as a freelancer. And basically, if you have those things, you should get it, no problem.
[11:17] So you would need an appointment at the Ausländerbehörde, which is very difficult to get, so maybe that's one of the first things you should try to get, or schedule this appointment at the Ausländerbehörde ... at the German immigration office, and it's officially called the Landesamt für Einwanderung in Berlin, not Ausländerbehörde. And then you show them those documents, and they should give you a visa which will only allow you to teach English. So it's probably not, or maybe not what you want to do in the long term, but it's a way to be able to be self-employed and start working in Berlin basically right away and to be able to stay.
[12:09] So that's something that is possible. It's not easy at all, and you are under time pressure, for sure, but I do think the need for native speakers, the need for English teachers, is there. There are a bunch of different language schools that you can look for in Berlin and go to personally, and then that could be a plan of action. I will link to two articles from allaboutberlin.com about how to become a freelancer in Germany, and how to find a job as an English teacher. And if you have any experience doing this, if you have done this or have plans to do this, please get in touch with us. And we will talk to you again next week.
Housing Scams in Berlin
[0:40] So here's what happened. I will link an article in German in the show notes. The housing platform, HousingAnywhere, housinganywhere.com, is quite popular these days because moving to Berlin, it is tricky finding a room. We talked about this in one of our first episodes. You need a bunch of different documents. You need to stand in a long line of people who are applying, and if you don't have a job with a regular income and you don't have a Schufa yet, and you don't have the previous landlord's assurance that you've always paid your rent and all of these different things, then it's borderline impossible to just regularly rent an apartment.[01:26] And so this platform, HousingAnywhere, tries to solve this by basically being an Airbnb for like longer term stays. I actually know some people who found a place through them, and I understand why people do it. I mean, it's obviously more expensive than just renting a place, but at least it's possible and easy to rent a place. But apparently, even though one of the things that they advertise is that they also give you extra security, there was a huge scam happening, mostly in October, where almost 400 people - 337 people - got scammed and they lost between €2000 and €4,000 each.
[2:13] And the way that worked was that they found an apartment through the platform, and communicated through the platform, and everything was okay. And the platform has their own payment system, even. But then the landlord would send them a message saying: Okay, you need to pay your deposit and that doesn't work through the platform. Please send your deposit to this bank account. And one person that was profiled in this article even asked HousingAnywhere like, "Is this legit? Should I transfer the money?" And they confirmed, "Yes, this is a legit supplier, or company or whatever, and you can send them the money." And then days before she was supposed to move into the apartment, they canceled on her and disappeared, and she never got to see the apartment or let alone move in. And she got reimbursed for the things she paid through HousingAnywhere, but she didn't get reimbursed for the money she sent privately to this person.
[3:24] And so this is a scam that apparently has been happening a lot. And I'm sure HousingAnywhere is trying to make sure this doesn't happen again, at least this exact same scam. But it's just really good to reiterate, and to be aware that there is a lot of scams going on because people are desperate. There is not enough housing in Berlin. And when you come here and you have a job offer or you have a place to study or whatever it may be, you need a place to live, and so people take advantage. So I would just say, in terms of what you can do, be super super vigilant.
How Not To Be Scammed
[4:05] It's tricky, because sometimes there are situations where you do need to pay a deposit, like you won't find a place where you don't have to find a deposit. And usually the way you pay the deposit is to transfer money. There is a thing that you could try to do, especially if you have any kind of doubt, where you can go to a bank - and almost any bank will do this - and open an account, and then that account is in your name but it is attached to this deposit and then basically you both have access. But the bank ... I will try to find an article about how this works, but it's a little bit more secure than just sending the money and hoping that you will get it back some day.[4:51] Otherwise, I think the biggest thing, like the thing that almost all of these scams have in common, is that you never actually get to see the apartment. I understand some people basically decide to move here ... many people decide to move to Berlin from another continent and they want to have the apartment set and ready when they arrive. But that just means that you have to trust somebody's pictures or Zoom call - which can also easily be faked - and then just know that that person and that place exist and are what they say they are. It's so much safer to actually go visit the place, or maybe have someone go visit the place, and talk to the landlord in person. So I would always, always recommend doing that. And if that's not possible, then be extra, extra vigilant.
What I Would Do
[5:49] I think if I were to move to Berlin from another country right now and I haven't lived there before, basically if I was in your shoes, I would just try to find a shared apartment for the beginning or even live in a hostel for the first month. During that first month, find a shared apartment. I think finding a room in a shared apartment is much easier than just finding an apartment. And obviously you may not want to do that because you are beyond that time in your life where you want to live in shared apartments. I understand, but I think that would be probably the safest thing to do, because in those situations it's easier to find a place and I think maybe the scams are fewer.[6:37] There, too, you need to be vigilant, and if they want you to pay any kind of money in advance, you should be very careful. But then just find a place to sleep, and then try to find your actual apartment, your actual place where you want to stay, when you're already in the city. I think every everything gets much easier and safer once you're able to go to places, visit places, look people in the eye, and confirm that things are legit. And then when you do those things, I think it also pays off to bring a native speaker, or someone who speaks German, and someone who has lived in Berlin for a while and knows, kind of, the system and the red flags. So those would be my recommendations in terms of how to find a place without getting scammed.
How To Get a Visa Teaching English in Berlin
[7:30] The second thing I wanted to talk about is related to an email that we got, by Steve. Hello, Steve! Steve is a university professor in Phoenix, Arizona, and he fell in love with Berlin seven years ago and decided to retire early and to move to Berlin. Congratulations in advance, Steve, I think this is a really cool plan! And he has many questions. I hope we get to address them all as time goes by, but one of the things he asked was: What kind of job could I find in Berlin, and how will I be able to stay in Berlin beyond my 90-day tourist visa?[8:17] And one thing that you could do ... and I'm not sure if it's gotten harder in the past few years, but I know several people who have done this, and I think it is certainly a thing you can do if you are a native speaker, and that is to become a freelance English teacher. So the way this works is, or the way that I know it could work, is that you basically, come to Europe, come to Germany on a 90-day tourist visa, and legally speaking at that point your plan should not be to stay. Your plan should be to visit Berlin, Germany, Europe for 90 days, and then go back. That should be your plan as far as the legal official version goes, and as far as your intentions should go.
[9:18] But then, theoretically, should you decide during those 90 days that you actually would like to stay and start a new life in Berlin, if you're a native English speaker there are certainly language schools, English schools, in Berlin that need teachers. And if you go to these language schools in person, CV in hand, and say: Hey, I am a native English speaker and I have maybe some kind of teaching experience. Even if you don't have any teaching experience, I think it's possible to to basically be hired by these schools if you make a good impression. I think you should certainly try to go there in person and introduce yourself and say why you would be a good fit.
[10:11] And what you will need is you will need a letter of intent from at least three different schools. You're probably safer if you have five. But I think three different letters of intent are sufficient. And so then once you have these three different letters of intent, you will also need an Anmeldung. So you will need to find a place to live, which obviously is difficult, but you will just need to find a place to live, or at least where you can register. And then once you have all of those things, the different letters and the Anmeldung and health insurance - but there are special health insurances for people who have just come from abroad, so you don't necessarily need to get the regular German health insurance - then you can try to get a freelance visa or register as a freelancer. And basically, if you have those things, you should get it, no problem.
[11:17] So you would need an appointment at the Ausländerbehörde, which is very difficult to get, so maybe that's one of the first things you should try to get, or schedule this appointment at the Ausländerbehörde ... at the German immigration office, and it's officially called the Landesamt für Einwanderung in Berlin, not Ausländerbehörde. And then you show them those documents, and they should give you a visa which will only allow you to teach English. So it's probably not, or maybe not what you want to do in the long term, but it's a way to be able to be self-employed and start working in Berlin basically right away and to be able to stay.
[12:09] So that's something that is possible. It's not easy at all, and you are under time pressure, for sure, but I do think the need for native speakers, the need for English teachers, is there. There are a bunch of different language schools that you can look for in Berlin and go to personally, and then that could be a plan of action. I will link to two articles from allaboutberlin.com about how to become a freelancer in Germany, and how to find a job as an English teacher. And if you have any experience doing this, if you have done this or have plans to do this, please get in touch with us. And we will talk to you again next week.