This weekend I found a really nice apartment (centrally located penthouse, reasonably priced) listed in Lucerne on Flatfox. No exact address, but from the photos you can more or less tell where it is. Looks like they have now taken the ad down, and are sending emails to the people who expressed interest. It is owned by a pension fund, and the current tenants are handling the search for a new tenant. Today I got an email from them explaining the process, and it raised some red flags for me. They said:
- they have invested in custom installations (terrace flooring, lighting, blinds, etc.) and have designer furniture they want to sell to the next tenant
- they already have “spontaneous offers” of around CHF 15k
- they ask people to only express interest in a viewing if they are willing to match something in that range (or more I guess) So basically, you can only apply for the apartment if you are willing to pay ~15k for stuff they no longer need. This feels quite questionable to me, like taking advantage of the tight housing market. I get wanting to sell furniture, but linking it to access to the apartment seems strange. Is this kind of thing common? And is it legal to condition access to a rental like this? Do landlords (in this case a pension fund) usually know this is happening? Has anyone here dealt with something similar? The furniture is not my style, so I will probably pass anyway (even though I may still go see the place), but I’m interested to hear what others think. I don’t know who the landlord is. Thanks for any insights. submitted by /u/kulashaker28
Originally posted by u/kulashaker28 on r/Switzerland
You must log in or # to comment.