WOONINGHUUR.COM money wasted just don't bother

• just posting this to get some feedback from house and room hunters about the Dutch rental marketand to share some of our experience up to now.
  
  We are Londoners and are used to an open and large rental market where the landlord pays the larger fees.
  
  We are having real trouble finding a place to rent.
  
  1 All rental seem to be linked through makelaars or agencies THEY CHARGE THE TENANTS 1 MONTH RENT PLUS TAXES/REG/OTHER DISBURSEMENTS. This can be costly.
  
  2 There are no GUMTREES/LOOTS and free ad papers especially for renting, so options are seriously limited. The Dutch rental market is slower and tighter.There is less rental property and it is harder to track down
  3 WOONHURING.com
  
  When there is nothing to look at and you get desperate you do desperate things. We paid up the modest ( 17.50) There are a few listings but nothing we can use. They clearly operate on a "piggy back" system using other peoples listings recycling ads to "fill out" the pages Of course many of the ads are not private landlord listings but , you got it.... our good friends the costly MAKALAARS who will charge registration , one months fees plus......
  
  Finding a place to stay in Holland for a family is proving to be tough.
  What to do?

  31 Jul 2008, 10:33 david Bacon