Room for Rent

There is an article on the BBC website this morning about landlords in Paris who are exploiting the very serious housing crisis there by offering apartments for rent in exchange for sex. Anything Paris can do, however, Berlin can do better.

As far as I can tell from the BBC article, these are landlords with apartments to rent. This means that they don't actually live with these women, rather they will stop by with varying frequency to "collect" the rent. In Berlin, which doesn't have a housing crisis that I'm aware of, the situation is a bit different. The horny guys placing these ads are looking for roommates. So conceivably, paying the rent could be a full-time effort.

I stumbled across these ads while searching for a roommate, and they're pretty straightforward:

M55, will nicht mehr allein wohnen

Region: Berlin Berlin Tempelhof Erstellungsdatum: 04.03.08 suche nette Partnerin,die bei mir wohnen und mit mir leben und lieben will.Haus mit Garten,nicht zu gross,vorhanden.Kind oder /und Tier kein problem.Bis bald,hoffe ich.L G

Rough translation: Male 55, doesn't want to live alone anymore. Seeking a nice (female) partner who will live with and love him. House with garden, not too big, available. Child and/or pet is no problem. See you soon (I hope), warm regards.

The next one even offers a trial period of a few nights to test the chemistry, so to speak:

Meine letzte WG-Erfahrung hatte ich (M/40) im Studium, aber Region: Berlin Berlin Erstellungsdatum: 02.03.08 ich habe ein separates Zimmer in meiner schönen Wohnung am Kurfürstendamm frei und könnte mir vorstellen, dass dort eine junge Frau übernachtet, mit der ich auch mal den Abend verbringe, wenn ich in Berlin bin und in der Wohnung übernachte. Zunächst ...quasi zur Probe (ob wir uns verstehen), könntest Du am Montag zu mir kommen und ...wenn Du willst ... KOSTENLOS Mo/Di bei mir übernachten. Klar gesagt: Auch wenn ich "M" bin und dieses Angebot bewußt nur an "W" richte, dränge ich mich garantiert nicht auf !! Ich bin also kein "verklemmter Typ". Das ich unkompliziert und unkonventionell bin, zeigt wohl schon meine Anzeige. Das bedeutet also auch, das bei beiderseitigem Interesse "Vieles" möglich ist ...ganz natürlich, selbstverständlich und ungestreßt. Okay, this guy had his last roommate experience when he was in college, but he has an empty room in his lovely apartment in Kufürstendamm and could imagine having a young lady living there, who would also occasionally spend the evening with him when he's in Berlin and sleeps in the apartment. Therefore, he suggests a test run...Interested parties could come to him on Monday and spend the night FOR FREE. But to be clear: although he's a man looking for a woman, he won't force himself!! At the same time, he's not repressed. That he is uncomplicated and unconventional is obvious from the ad. This means that with mutual interest "a lot" is possible...but naturally and without stress. There are quite a few people who work in Berlin during the week and go home on the weekends. This includes many civil servants who didn't want to move to Berlin when the capital moved here from Bonn. This second ad just screams civil servant/businessman with an adoring wife and three kids somewhere in another city. In both of these ads, the rent is "free." Ah well... There is so much I could say about these ads, but if I think too much about them I get annoyed. I guess it's enough just to make it clear that when it comes to sleazy...well there's Paris-style, and there's definitely Berlin-style. And yes, I have found a new roommate. I did not, however, find him at the site where I found these ads. But more about my new digs and my new roommate later.