The Best Serviced Apartment

In Belgium, the expat industry is blooming, many companies provide furnished accommodation for their people, who come from abroad for a certain period of time. 

With lots of choice, it can be hard to find the right option.

Let’s start! 

1.Long or short term?

In the expat industry, a short term stay is a stay for a few weeks up to half a year, longer term would be everything from six months up to several years. 

Keep in mind, that the longer the stay, the better the price, landlords like having their apartments occupied and are willing to negotiate on the price in case of a long term stay. 

Don’t be shocked if you see a higher price the shorter your stay is.

And what if you’re unsure?

Sometimes you are simply unsure for how long your project will continue, in that case it is good to communicate that to the landlord or rental agency, we know the field, understand the customer, and settle on an agreement that suits both parties. 

2.Where to look?

Some companies have long established relationships with rental agencies, such as ours, Perfect Flat, which focus on the expat market.

Others are beginners in the industry.

Good starting places to look are Google, Facebook marketplace, Facebook groups, 2dehands (in Belgium and The Netherlands) and last but not least word to mouth, friends, family or business partners are often the best link to a good solution. 

How to know whether the agency or person you found is trustworthy? Visit their website, read some reviews or ask around, ask to visit the property, if possible. Don’t be hesitant to ask questions.

Apartments for expats are furnished, equipped and include all costs to make it easier and lessen the amount of monthly invoices to worry about. Here you can see what we offer in our apartments.

3.Prices

What should you expect, when you’re looking for expat housing?

Most of the time the price is reasonably higher, but is that really so?

Apartments for expats are furnished, equipped and include all costs to make it easier and lessen the amount of monthly invoices to worry about.

Often the costs are calculated per person per month and therefore the price seems higher, whereas the price per person stays reasonable.

On a budget? The bigger the apartment, the more people it can house and the lesser the price.

Keep in mind that quality often trumps quantity and it is advised to not place more than two people in one room. 

The more comfortable the people are, the happier and more productive they will be at work.  

4.Deposit?

Yes, most landlords or rental agencies will ask for a deposit, usually that equals one or two months’ rent, keep that in mind and be ready for this cost.2

5. House or separate flats?

This one is fairly easy to decide, as mentioned previously, if you are on a budget, a big house will be more budget friendly than two or three separate flats.

Other than that you should consider whether you’d like your people to be in the same accommodation, or not. Do they travel together? Are they dependent on each other?

If you prefer a quieter environment with less people in one space, then the best is to choose for two or more separate accommodations.

6.Location

In the city center or on the outskirts? Easy to find parking? Close to the highway or public transport?

Depending on your work and location of your work these may be some important factors to consider, almost everyone requires parking, which is not always easily available, but it will be easier to find parking outside of the city, than in the center.

Then there’s always the option of renting a parking space in the area.

Good to know: You park free of charge on the streets of the region you’re registered at.

Most of our accommodations at Perfect Flat are very close to public transportation and highways or main roads, many apartments have accessible parking.

7. What if the market for expat housing in my region is limited?

Antwerp, with its harbor and international flair is flooded with lots of options to accommodate international businessmen, construction workers, skilled handymen, engineers and students from abroad. What about the other regions? Construction projects are not limited to Antwerp, but the niche housing market for expats is scarce. Scarce, but not nonexistent!

Perfect Flat has several partners, who offer accommodation in other areas of Belgium, and if not we are happy to find a suitable option for you.

If that doesn’t work, thankfully Belgium is not a big country and we will be happy to provide an accommodation for you in Antwerp until you find a solution.

Now that you have more insight into the world of expat housing, we hope that it’ll be easy for you to make your choice.

Don’t forget to visit our website perfect-flat.com to check out our offers and get even more information and contact details.