Endgame

The search for an apartment is almost over. Rudolf & Cornelia looked at a nice place for us in Holsterhausen: great public transport, cafes and bakers in the neighborhood. I've got the Mietvertrag in my hand and we're almost ready to sign, but we're stalling until we get a report on a second possibility in Rüttenscheid. This one is larger and on the top floor of a three story building very near the Florastr. U Bahn stop. It's being offered privately, so there is no agent involved, and no agent commission. This is the biggest plus point. The rental agents, or Makler, take an outrageous commission on rental transactions and as near as I can figure, they do almost nothing to earn the money. Like a union electrician at the Javits Convention Center in Manhattan, the Makler doesn't do much, but they can sure put some serious roadblocks in your way if you don't give them their pound of flesh. Nothing would make me happier than to do an end run around them, but we'll have to wait until Monday to see what we hear about the second possibility. One way or another, we should have a decision by Tuesday of next week, just three days before leaving Logan.