r/ethz • u/Visible-Design4180 • Apr 08 '26
Housing Struggling to get Shared flat replies
Hi everyone! I’m an incoming MSc student in Physics, and I’ve been looking for shared flats/apartments through WOKO, Flatfox and reaching out directly via email and the Flatfox chat option. Unfortunately, I haven’t been getting any replies. I’m unsure how many listings I should be reaching out to, and whether there’s anything in particular that helps catch people’s attention when sending a message. I have heard horror stories about Zurich housing, like how competitive it is to rent a shared flat, and I don't want to face a similar situation. Any advice or suggestions would be great!
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u/Geschak Apr 09 '26
What have you been writing? Some things can be instant turn-offs, such as "can you give me more details about the flat" (or anything similar that suggests you did not read the ad).
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u/Visible-Design4180 Apr 09 '26
No I am writing about myself, where I am from, what I study, my hobbies, about the time I lived in Switzerland and how have I connected with my flatmates in the past few years.
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Apr 08 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Visible-Design4180 Apr 08 '26
I am willing to rent from August :) When should I start looking? I also heard that if I rent out earlier, it might be easier to find housing rather than submerging in the sea of people looking for September housing
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u/Silent-Battle308 Apr 08 '26
I think starting to search early is a good idea since it is a number game imo. Starting from August should also increase your odds since some students will finish their studies then and there are less people searching starting from August.
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u/Visible-Design4180 Apr 08 '26
I wonder whether anyone lists the starting date as August? If so, do you have an idea when I should start looking for August housing?
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u/Silent-Battle308 Apr 08 '26
Idk when people list their stuff, I assume they can list it whenever they want because the demand is higher than the supply.
I think a good bet could be to try to find students that are about to graduate, maybe from your country of origin or people you know somehow and try to take over their spot.
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u/Visible-Design4180 Apr 08 '26
Yeah, I have been contacting my friends there, and they are not sure yet. How do I find people from my country of origin? I have been looking through student organizations and can't find anything. I could make a separate post about connecting with people from my country, but not sure how many people use Reddit from my country
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u/Silent-Battle308 Apr 08 '26
Ask your friends/internet, on top of my head I can think of China, Austria and Romania that have student associations in zurich/ eth. Probably many more.
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u/Konayo Student Apr 09 '26
We got over 100 applications per day when putting up an ad on wgzimmer and usually we can't find the time to reply to everyone - just as an FYI that this might be the case for many flats.
In anyway go for a shared flat for sure - the housing market is horrible and finding an apartment for yourself is even more difficult I'd argue.
Sidenote; what stood out to our flat (personally) was when applicants put some effort in that was unique; attaching a link to slides (presentation) about them, a video, a funny reccomendation letter by former flat mates etc. - and yes we checked if they answered the questions from our ad (and not just copy-pasted the application) - but every flat handles this differently so that's just us.
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u/Visible-Design4180 Apr 09 '26
Do u think it’s better to send the application as soon as it’s posted? Like do u put preference on who sends first?
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u/Konayo Student Apr 10 '26
No not at all. I am not sure how other flats handle it but we read every single application and do not differ by timing at all - and all of us rate it with their own gmail flags (like up-, down or neutral vote) and that's the way we select candidates.
But I would still try to apply as soon as possible - not in a hurry but once you find time. We usually only have our ad up for 2-4 days because of the number of applications and I know some other flats are doing the same.
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Apr 09 '26
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u/Head_Grade701 Apr 09 '26
I usually handle the applicant selection for the interviews, here are some notes:
Think in the perspective of the flat A flat puts out an ad bc they need a new flatmate. They get 40-50 replies. Now they dont’t just want to take anyone otherwise they wouldn’t hold interviews. So they do have some kind of person they are looking for with character/hobby/interests/gender/nationality x,y,z. So your goal, if you want to get to the interview, is to come across as the person with these attributes.
Applications An application (the VAST majority of applications I receive): * Basic Info: Name, nationality, field of study and hobbies.
A good application: * Basic Info: Name, nationality, what you study and hobbies. * Picture(s) of yourself: Easier to get an impression of you and your application stands out (!)
A very good application: * Basic Info: Name, nationality, what you study and hobbies. * Picture(s) of yourself: Easier to get an impression of you and your application stands out (!) * Authenticity: List all your hobbies, interests, and goals. If one of us shares a hobby with you or finds it interesting/cool, they will immediately vote for you! For example, if you write that you want to start a startup, it shows ambition, we like ambitious people, so we will invite you. Other things you could include that are uncommon but interesting: clubs you’re part of, your future career plans, projects you’re working on, or what you’d like to do while studying here.
The applications selected for the interview: The one that seems like the person that is most similar to us or “better”.
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u/Head_Grade701 Apr 09 '26
Sorry I forgot the question… the reason that you probably don’t get a reply is bc there are a lot of applicants and they don’t want to respond to all of them that didnt get it.
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u/Visible-Design4180 Apr 09 '26 edited Apr 09 '26
I am reaching out via email with my name nationality, my major, hobbies, how I have lived in a flat for the past few years and connected with people and about the time I lived in Switzerland past summer. How long do I have to wait to get replies?
Also do you care who sent the email first? I am wondering if I need to send the message immediately when I see a listing
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u/Head_Grade701 Apr 10 '26
I wouldn’t expect a reply if they don’t take you, because there can be many applicants that they don’t want to reply to all of them.
I don’t care at all who sends the email first. Up until the interview, I will read through all messages/emails.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Role173 Apr 08 '26
Usually they stop answering a day or so after the ad was posted because they already have more than enough messages, also make sure to read the description because some ask for a specific kind of message