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When I was searching for a flat in Berlin I wrote a bot that would continuously crawl EBay small ads and look for suitable apartments (based on surface, neighbo

When I was searching for a flat in Berlin I wrote a bot that would continuously crawl EBay small ads and look for suitable apartments (based on surface, neighborhood, price, ...). When finding a compatible one, it would write to the poster and if a phone number was given send it to me via Slack. I would then always be the first person to call or write, and this helped me to find a really nice flat within just three weeks. The hardest part was pretending to have read the ad when people called me back after my bot wrote them, or explain how I could already call them when their ad was online only for a few seconds :D Here's the code btw: https://gist.github.com/adewes/c9b2a71457c6c6f01f2f https://gist.github.com/adewes/c9b2a71457c6c6f01f2f

TillE 10y ago
That's quite an unusual selection of districts! From Charlottenburg to Tegel to Friedrichshain and Neukölln? I can't even guess what they have in common. I didn't know that many people used eBay Kleinanzeigen for apartments. Good to know.
- raverbashing 10y ago
  > From Charlottenburg to Tegel to Friedrichshain and Neukölln? I can't even guess what they have in common I'm not the OP, but in common they have nothing much really, but beggars can't be choosers (which is the main issue) They're usually accessible and are popular with expats (except Tegel, I wouldn't go there)
- ThePhysicist 10y ago
  My main criterion was good access to public transportation. I lived in various areas in Berlin already (each one has its individual flair), eventually I ended up in West Berlin close to Kurfürstendamm, which is a nice, quiet and central area. The housing situation in Berlin is not nearly as bad as in other large cities BTW (contrary to what most people say), and although it got more difficult to find something nice for a reasonable price it's still possible.
pingec 10y ago
That's how I buy other stuff as well. On the other hand a rule quite frequent among my peers is when you list an add, ignore those that call in the first 8 working hours. Most of those calls are professional dealers (vehicles, properties, hardware) using bots that will only waste your time by trying to lower the price substantially in order to make a quick buck.
spaceflunky 10y ago
Who are these landlords that are selecting tenants based on how fast they replied to an ad!?! What happened to background checks, credit checks, and general tenant due diligence? "Well Mr. Applicant, it says here on your application, you're a heroin addict with a history of extreme violence and a credit score of zero, you don't have the income or the deposit, and quite frankly, I'm not sure how you'll pay the rent. But you did respond to my ad in 6 milliseconds thanks to a python script, so I guess the apt is yours! Welcome home!"
- bjterry 10y ago
  I have a friend who is an apartment manager. I believe they typically accept the first qualified candidate that applies. So those items are still required, but they just create a binary condition. First to apply is an obvious tiebreaker that presumably doesn't cause any equal opportunity problems.
- ThePhysicist 10y ago
  Of course those are still required. But as landlords sometimes receive several hundred replies to an ad you will not even make it into the further selection process if you're not fast, as most people just consider the first ten or twenty people and choose among them. In that sense they're not looking for the perfect renter, but just for an acceptable one.
  - spaceflunky 10y ago
    I suppose this makes sense if you're renting a unit in a massive apartment block or from a large property management agency. My guess is that a quicker reply would give you little to no advantage when it comes to mom&pop landlords who only have a couple units to lease out. All but one of the places I've rented have been from small time landlords and they seemed to put more work into than just who replied the fastest.

TillE 10y ago

That's quite an unusual selection of districts! From Charlottenburg to Tegel to Friedrichshain and Neukölln? I can't even guess what they have in common. I didn't know that many people used eBay Kleinanzeigen for apartments. Good to know.

raverbashing 10y ago
> From Charlottenburg to Tegel to Friedrichshain and Neukölln? I can't even guess what they have in common I'm not the OP, but in common they have nothing much really, but beggars can't be choosers (which is the main issue) They're usually accessible and are popular with expats (except Tegel, I wouldn't go there)
ThePhysicist 10y ago
My main criterion was good access to public transportation. I lived in various areas in Berlin already (each one has its individual flair), eventually I ended up in West Berlin close to Kurfürstendamm, which is a nice, quiet and central area. The housing situation in Berlin is not nearly as bad as in other large cities BTW (contrary to what most people say), and although it got more difficult to find something nice for a reasonable price it's still possible.

pingec 10y ago

That's how I buy other stuff as well. On the other hand a rule quite frequent among my peers is when you list an add, ignore those that call in the first 8 working hours. Most of those calls are professional dealers (vehicles, properties, hardware) using bots that will only waste your time by trying to lower the price substantially in order to make a quick buck.

spaceflunky 10y ago

Who are these landlords that are selecting tenants based on how fast they replied to an ad!?! What happened to background checks, credit checks, and general tenant due diligence? "Well Mr. Applicant, it says here on your application, you're a heroin addict with a history of extreme violence and a credit score of zero, you don't have the income or the deposit, and quite frankly, I'm not sure how you'll pay the rent. But you did respond to my ad in 6 milliseconds thanks to a python script, so I guess the apt is yours! Welcome home!"

bjterry 10y ago
I have a friend who is an apartment manager. I believe they typically accept the first qualified candidate that applies. So those items are still required, but they just create a binary condition. First to apply is an obvious tiebreaker that presumably doesn't cause any equal opportunity problems.
ThePhysicist 10y ago
Of course those are still required. But as landlords sometimes receive several hundred replies to an ad you will not even make it into the further selection process if you're not fast, as most people just consider the first ten or twenty people and choose among them. In that sense they're not looking for the perfect renter, but just for an acceptable one.
- spaceflunky 10y ago
  I suppose this makes sense if you're renting a unit in a massive apartment block or from a large property management agency. My guess is that a quicker reply would give you little to no advantage when it comes to mom&pop landlords who only have a couple units to lease out. All but one of the places I've rented have been from small time landlords and they seemed to put more work into than just who replied the fastest.