WG Application Guide

As of the time that I am writing this guide, I haven’t formally finalized any WG. But I am pretty close to it. Yes – I am still anxious.

I have managed to get a few replies in spite of far fewer offers available due to my age. A lot of WGs have an age constraint so I am able to apply to only roughly 30 % of the total available WGs.

Few people have contacted me asking how I am managing to apply and get replies. This blog might serve as a guide to those interested. If you are interested to know how my journey has been so far then you may read House Hunting! and House Hunting – II.

This guide is particularly oriented towards wg-gesucht.de website. I guess you can use these tips for other websites as well.

The first step in looking for apartments is to define the areas where you are willing to stay. If you have no prior information of the area then it can be quite challenging. In this step we will try to find places which are within your acceptable travel times.

We will do this using google map.

1. Open google maps on web and search for your university. This is where we would want to travel everyday
2. Click on directions and click anywhere in the screen. This should give you the direction from the clicked spot to the university.
3. Choose mode of transport as public (I am assuming that’s how you will travel)
4. Now zoom out to a comfortable level and drag the source point using your mouse. You will notice that the time to the University gets updated as you drag the source point on the map.
5. As you drag the source point make note of the cities which are within your acceptable travel time. These will be your target list of cities

The availability of WG in the wg-geschut website is very dynamic. There are constantly new WGs being added and removed.

In order to efficiently search the WG I recommend setting up search filters. Search filters help you to quickly repeat a search. Along with this you can enable email alerts on the search filter. This way as soon as new WGs are added you will get intimation on the mail.

This step is easier on mobile app than website. Mobile app provides some features which are missing on the website.

In the following steps we will create multiple filters. Each filter shall cover the cities noted in the previous step with some overlap between the filters.

1. Start a search by clicking “Start your search” option on the home screen. Click on the filter option on the top right. Set the following filters.
2. Age and your gender: Set your age and gender as you may not be eligible for all the rooms.
3. Gender of flatmates: It is quite common for boys and girls to share an accomodation. If you don’t want to then make sure to set that filter
4. Move in date: You can start looking for 1 to 2 months in advance of your actual move in date. They are often ready to negotiate.
5. Personal preferences: Pets allowed, Smoking etc.
6. Search area: Click on it and a map will appear. Select the cities that you have noted in the previous step. Set the radius greater than the city.
7. Save this filter by clicking the save option. Name it by the city you centered your map around.
8. Repeat step 6 and 7 for each city in your list. Ensure that the radius of each filter is large enough so that it overlaps.

Now if you go to your saved searches you should have multiple filters listed. And anytime a new WG pops up in the city you will be alerted via email.

Before we start with writing the email, we need to get our mindset right. Read the next section which has helped me.

Following this we shall create templates so that we can easily send the mail to many.

I was able to increase the number of responses I got by a simple change in mindset. I switched from – “How can I get a room to stay?” to “How can I prove to my future roommates that I am a good choice?”. The focus is on them and not on me.

So ask yourself this question, next year when I will be renting the place out what information would I need from the applicants? These are the questions that people currently living their also have in their minds.

Some information that you might want to provide are: your age, your ethnicity (we are not trying to be racist but just as a form of info), language, hobbies, habits etc. Every human will have a range of tolerable behavioral range and one wouldn’t want to be stretched every single day. A compatibility check is of highest importance.

Try to provide a complete picture of yourself and let them profile you. If they find you as a good fit most probably you might also find them as a good fit for you.

With this mindset now create a detailed 1 page Resume. Remember that this is not a Resume for job. So cover the points which were discussed above. Also add in your photo if you are comfortable.

E mail templates are really useful feature in wg-geschut website. You will soon be contacting a lot of people. Write the template in English if you don’t know German.

Write the template in such generic fashion that you should be able to send this without modification to anyone. Cover important details like your move in date/month. Don’t forget to mention that you are flexible with your move in date.

The idea with the template is to quickly import the template and personalize the mail for the advertisement. You should be able to personalize by adding just one paragraph and make the mail relevant to the ad.

Now that the template is available we shall use this for every reply.

1. Add the template as a reply to every ad you are interested.
2. Read the advertisement carefully. There are sometimes some special questions or actions (like type “Pineapple”) mentioned in the ad. This is done so that they can easily differentiate between spams and interested applicants.
3. Personalize the template.
4. The rule of thumb is to write the email in German unless if you figure out that the language of the person who has advertised. Writing directly in the language of the advertiser will surely increase the chances of getting a reply.
5. Translate your English mail to German as needed.
6. Attach a detailed Resume about yourself as an annexure. The resume was created in mindset section.

Now if you have done the things right people might be impressed by your openness. They would appreciate your efforts and write you a reply.

Try to respond to them as early as possible. Keep them informed if you are already in touch with someone and finalizing. They also understand that your are house hunting with many people. But do not ghost them. Request them to wait if you are waiting for conclusions in one discussion.

Always request for a home tour if you manage to get a reply. If you have earlier said that you are willing to negotiate the move in date then now is the time.

These two options work for me.

1. You can request them to sublet the room between the period the room becomes free to the date you are willing to occupy.
2. You can yourself sublet it if you can get the contract done.

During the tour apart from seeing the apartment try to connect with the advertiser at a personal level. Simple questions like what course they study? or how is it there? Goes a long way.

They are also students like us. And it will help to already build connections even if you don’t want the room.

I have not crossed this stage yet. I will have to come back and update this section once I finish. But some points I have gathered so far are

1. Don’t transfer any cash until you sign the contract
2. Questions to ask
   • Notice period to vacate the apartment
   • Deductions if any when vacating the room
   • Possibility to sublet (with registration)
   • Deposit amount

Getting a WG is challenging. The demands are high and the availability low. Be patient and courteous.

The blog gives you tips on how to increase your chances. It also gives you tips on being efficient on the platform.

This is the first step of being a student and it already teaches you to be humble. As a student we will soon be asking our teachers a share of their time and experience. House hunt teaches us how to ask for things the right way.

Hope you find nice place to stay and nicer companions to enjoy your stay.

All the best!