Author name: Matt Eck

The Second Rule of Real Estate (when renting) is Landlord Landlord Landlord

Before I moved overseas I rented apartments all the time, and in the States you certainly want a good company running your apartment complex, but when renting directly from private landlords, which I have found is more common internationally, it is essential to find a landlord whom you can trust. I learned this lesson the hard way while living in Russia. One of my landlords there, in an effort to protect his son who was facing criminal charges, kept his family registered at the place where I was staying. It was not a happy morning when the police came by the house and did a thorough search through my stuff looking for stolen items. Can you say “not cool,” kiddos?

So here are a few things that I look for in landlord when renting from a private person.

1. Character- Are they abiding by the laws as far as you can tell. Do you have a rental contract or is everything just verbal agreement? Is he paying taxes on the place? How does he feel about you registering at the apartment? Sometimes this stuff is hard to find out unless you ask. So ask!

2. Flexibility- Of course you can’t expect to get away with murder, you need to make sure you stick to your contract and get your rent in on time, but are they at least open to negotiation on certain non-essential things like pets or allowing you to get rid of the furniture in the apartment that you don’t want.

3. Availability- This is important. You are going to have problems with the place and you need to be able to get a hold of the landlord sometimes. Again this one might be hard to gauge at first, sure in the beginning they’ll bend over backwards for you, they want their place rented! However, once the deposit is in will you be able to call them when you are having a problem with the stove that belongs to them or you need to find the gas meter so that the utilities guy can read it?

4. Likeability- Now your landlord probably won’t become your best buddy and let’s face it, if your landlord is going to be coming over to check in all the time that might not be such a good thing either, but if you can at least get along with them that can go a long way.

Bottom line, a rental agreement with a private person is not just a contract, it’s a relationship. That’s an important thing to remember. Of course, the relationship goes both ways so I need to make sure I’m a good renter (regardless weather I have a good landlord). After all, who knows what the Lord will do through your tenant-landlord relationship.

Part I: Location

This ain’t HG TV. Trying to find an apartment overseas can be a daunting task and you would be really lucky if you end up with three awesome places to choose from (don’t get me started on all those whiners on House Hunters). I’m no expert, this is only my fourth time apartment hunting internationally over all and second time in Austria, but I’ve gained some insight into the process and I thought I would share.

Location is a huge consideration and there are so many variables. There’s normal stuff like distance to work and quality of the schools, but there are a few different things to consider when trying finding an apartment in an urban environment in Europe.
1. Parks– Not having a yard, you’ll want to find a place that has at least a small park with a good playground nearby. We are really lucky here because Vienna is packed with little Kinderspielplätze. (Now only if Adam Spencer were around to help us find them-it’s a talent only he has.) There are a couple of bigger parks around town and we are certainly looking around those areas. I think it would be a great way to get to know people by going down to a park and playing a game of soccer or frisbee or something. Who knows, maybe we could invite them over to our place afterwards for fellowship…start a Bible study. The possibilities are endless.
2. Public transport- Whether you own a car or not your access to public transport is a pretty important factor. Right now we don’t have a car so for us it is essential. There are three main kinds of transport here in Vienna. First, is the subway or U-Bahn. Over 70% of the population uses this form of transport on a daily basis. So even if you have a car, it’s still a good idea to think about how far you are from a U-bahn station if you want to have other people over dinner or a small group or something. The U-bahn is your quickest form of public, allowing you to get almost anywhere in the city usually in 30 minutes or less. The next two types of public transport are trams and busses. A tram, also called a Bim in Austria, is a lot like those trolleys running on tracks in San Francisco that you see on the Rice-a-Roni boxes. They are great for short distances but not a U-bahn substitute because of their slow speed due to frequent station stops and street traffic. Busses, or Autobusse, are in the same category as trams, but they seem a bit faster to me. What you really don’t want is to live somewhere with a long Autobus or Bim ride before you get to the U-Bahn station. That can turn a 15 minute commute into a 30 minute commute really quickly…or, um, slowly.
3. Shops- Shopping must be done almost daily. This is a result of limitations due to transport (imagine walking home with all of your groceries), and storage (smaller fridges, freezers and cupboards). It’s a really good idea to find a place that is a short walk from some type of grocery store. It’s even better to be close to several stores because different stores are good for different items. For instance, there are lower-budget stores like Hofer (the Austrian name for Aldi), Lidl, and Zielpunkt that have great prices on your basic staples. There are also higher-end grocery chains (Spar, Billa) that have a few specialty items that are nice to be able to get. It’s also not a bad idea to have a DM or Bipa nearby. These are Liz’s favorite. They are kind of like Walgreens or CVS without the pharmacy. Pharmacies are always stores unto themselves and are generally pretty easy to find just about anywhere you are.

What visa are you on and how does it work?

We are currently on a tourist visa. We are only allowed to stay here 90 days out of 180 (approximately 3 months out of 6). In other words after being in Europe for 90 days (3 months) we have to be out of Europe for 90 days in order for our tourist visa to reset so that we can legally enter Europe once more.

What’s the difference between the tourist visa and the one you are applying for?

The “visa” we are applying for is actually a residence permit, not unlike a U.S. green card. This residence permit will allow us to stay in Austria long-term. The tourist visa that we are on only allows us to stay 3 months out of 6.

So your tourist visa will be finished on Monday?

We are leaving on Monday, March 28^th which is day 88 of our current tourist visa. We are doing this because it is advantageous to leave a couple of days left on our current visa so that if our residence permit is ready to be picked up in less than 90 days we will be able to come back to Europe as soon as it is ready. Otherwise, if we stayed until Wednesday we have to stay the full three months outside of Europe even though our residence permit was ready. Sending it to us is not an option we have to be in the Vienna immigration office to physically to pick it up.

Why didn’t you just apply for your residence permit in the States?

We pretty much had to do it this way for a couple of reasons. First, we had to have a rental agreement in order to apply for our residence permit. As expensive as it has been flying back and forth it would have been even more expensive to maintain residences in both the U.S. and Austria while waiting for our residence permit to come through. Second, the competition is extremely stiff for one of these residence permits. There is a quota for how many are given out in any one year. I think the number is around 60 or so for Vienna. There are well over 60 people applying every year for this permit so if you are not physically present at the immigration office on the first working day of the year you will have zero chance of receiving a residence permit that year. That’s why Liz and I were at the immigration office at 5:30 in the morning (two and a half hours before the office opened) and still we were numbers 35 and 36 in line!

I have heard rumors that the quota system will go away next year and it may be possible in the future to apply from the U.S. Pray that this will indeed happen for the sake of our teammates that wish to join us here in the future!

If you applied in January why haven’t you heard back yet? What in the world could be taking so long?

This is being handled by a government institution. Need I say more?

How many more times are you going to have to do this?

Let’s pray that this is the last time! I expect that it will be. Even if we have to stay the full 3 months in the U.S. this time I feel pretty sure that we will get an answer during our next 3 month stint in Europe. Based on what happened last year most people who received their residence permits had heard back from the immigration office by June or July at the latest. Residence permits are always much harder to get initially than they are to maintain. So as long as we stay current with our residence permit we shouldn’t have anything to worry about.

I hope that answers all of you questions. If not, post your questions in the comment box below and I’ll do my best to answer them.

The good news is that we in fact have 2 of the three documents that we need for our visa right now with the third currently in transit and guaranteed to be delivered here tomorrow morning as long as there are no issues in customs. The bad news is I talked on the phone today with a different case worker (ours was not available) and she sounded unsure that our visa would be granted so soon. I haven’t given up all hope yet, but to be honest it was a bit disheartening to hear. Either way, I’m planning on going down there tomorrow and physically handing in the documents that we have. And of course following up with plenty of questions.

Hopefully I’ll talk with our case worker then and find out what she knows. She was going to talk to the people that handle the decisions so we should have a more official word from her. Pray that she found out some good news for us. Otherwise we could be heading to Dallas/Ft. Worth as early as Monday morning arriving there in the afternoon of the same day.

We have a place to stay, which is a real blessing. We are still looking for a vehicle to drive. We will be staying East of Denton a bit, so we will need something to get us to and from the store/church etc. We’ll have a car seat with us and most of the things we need for Naomi. We have a travel crib and can pack that if we need to but I’ve been thinking if anyone has one that we can borrow, that would help us save some space in our bags.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not giving up hope just yet. Please keep praying that this all works out and we don’t have to come back at this time. I’m just preparing for the all possible outcomes while we all hope and pray for the best!

I wrote a few months ago about my Nigerian Friend Uche who was in danger of being deported back to Nigeria. I later found out that not only Uche was in danger but also his roommate Moses. You will remember that I had been helping teach Uche to read and Moses was a part of my Bible study. I wanted to let everyone know that Moses and Uche are doing fine now. Moses tells me that he had a close call with the police one day and has since moved out of the house he’d been living in. He also told me that he had the help of a lawer that does pro bono work for refugees and he and Uche are back in the process of getting their residence visas. Uche has since started taking a German class, which is even better for him than me trying to teach him to read in English. Moses has also joined my BTCL class which I started two weeks ago. Keep praying for these guys that they would continue to grow in their knowledge and love of the Lord and that they would be salt and light here in Austria.

A picture of part of my BTCL class with two of my Nigerian friends

I know that most everyone has taken down their trees by now but I wonder if you will allow me to make one more reflection about this Christmas season.

Maybe it was because Liz was pregnant and we were constantly on the road due to a foreign government’s decree, but this Christmas I found myself thinking of the Christmas story from Joseph and Mary’s perspective. I’m sure anyone who has either been pregnant or helped a loved one through a pregnancy can tell you that travel, especially late in the game, is no picnic. Of course Mary and Joseph didn’t have to worry about things like compression stockings and economy class transatlantic flights 2,000 years ago, but those things would have probably seemed like luxuries compared with the road from Nazareth to Bethlehem. We were also fortunate to be able to stay with friends and family during our travels. I could not imagine the shame (let alone the discomfort) of staying in the stable of an inn, in a culture that is so much more concerned with hospitality than our own.

And now as we put our crib together and get our little girl’s things in order I can’t imagine having to put her in an animal trough on her first night outside the womb. That’s what really hit me this year as I was reading Luke 2 just before we opened our presents. Verse twelve says, “’ ¹² And this will be a sign for you: you will find a baby wrapped in swaddling cloths and lying in a manger.’” (Luke 2:12 ESV) Did I see that right? The sign that the shepherds were to seek, the mark that would tell them that this is the promised anointed-one of God, was that they would find a baby lying in a feeding trough? I wonder if Mary and Joseph ever asked themselves, “Why must we travel during this time when it is so difficult to do so?” “Why is there no one to take us in?” “Why is the only shelter available an animal stable?” “Why is there nowhere to lay our child but a trough?” Then the shepherds show up and reported to them that it was the sign that the angels told them about, a sign appointed by God. I wonder even if these were some of the things that Mary was treasuring in her heart as the Shepherds told her what they had seen.

I still don’t know the purpose that God had for us as we were traveling during this time and I’m sure it is not nearly as wonderful as the purpose He had for Joseph and Mary. I do know this; He does have a purpose for even the difficult things in our life. Whatever circumstances we go through, we know that our fundamental task, or purpose is to walk obediently with God, desiring that He be glorified and shown to be worthy of praise in our words, thoughts, and actions. When the people around us see this reaction, they will see and hopefully come to encounter the hope, joy, and peace that is beyond circumstances. For this reason may we grow by God’s grace in saying with Mary, “Behold, I am the servant of the Lord; let it be to me according to your word.” (Luke 1: 38a ESV)

Liz and I are enjoying time with family and friends down here in my home town of El Campo, TX. We’ve even caught the annual Christmas parade complete with floats, the high school marching band, cowboys, and tractors decked out with Christmas lights. It’s great to be with family, especially during this time of year, but we miss our friends and ministry at home in Austria. We have been encouraged lately, however, that in our absence God continues to work in the seeds that we have planted there. One example is in our friend Djudji and our neighbor Melanie. Djudji, a friend of ours from Church, asked if she could stay in our apartment while we are gone. This was a huge blessing to us since now we have someone watching over our place while we are gone. We encouraged Djudji to get to know our friendly new neighbor Melanie. We have been getting to know Melanie for the last few months and have been praying about how we can minister to her and were praying that Djudji could continue while we were away. Sure enough, one night when Djudji was hosting a Bible study group in our apartment Melanie came over to see what was going on. Since then Djudji tells us that Malanie comes over regularly and that they both watch out for each other. Djudji has been sharing the gospel with Melanie and has invited her to take part in a woman’s Bible study group. We are thrilled to know that God is ministering to our neighbor even while we are gone. It makes us want to be there all the more, but we are also encouraged that we are here at this time for a reason. Please continue praying with us that God continue to draw Melanie to Himself, and that He would show us His purposes even in our visa difficulties.

I was praying today and thinking about an article I read about the hardening immigration policies in Austria. We had to leave the country over a week ago because our application for a residence permit was dismissed. We found out on a Saturday and left in less than a week. It was and is stressful, but I am so thankful that we are able to leave voluntarily this way. I was thinking about those immigrants and asylum seekers that don’t leave voluntarily. Why don’t they leave? Some don’t want to leave because they fear that they will not have work, or not be able to take care of their children, maybe even children they decided to have while in Austria. Some may even be going back to hostile situations, not even sure that they will be able to live or survive.

I was thinking about this not because we had to come back, but because I found out that a friend of mine is being deported. Uche and I have been meeting together every week for the last six months or so. He came from Nigeria over six years ago when he was only a teenager. Uche can’t read. I met him when I went over to his friends house to lead a Bible study. He was the sweetest guy. He had a gentle and trusting way about him. I could tell he had a heart to serve. He loved the Lord.

Uche really wanted to participate in the Bible study. My friend and I who were co-leading did our best to help him, but Uche quietly stopped coming one day. My friend decided to teach him to read. When he left on furlough six months ago, I took over. Uche and I became friends. I enjoyed getting to know him. I enjoyed the challenge of teaching him to read. He is reading short words and sentences now but I wish we could have read the Bible together. That was his goal.

I don’t know why Uche is being deported. He certainly is not the model immigrant. His German wasn’t great. He sold newspapers to make money. “Schwartze Arbeit” is what they call it, “working black”-illegally. It is very common. He was a refugee. He was accepted into the system, but he either didn’t take the systems help or the system just didn’t’ help him much. I’m not trying to blame anyone. I’m just sad for my friend and wish that he could have been better off for his six years spent in Austria.

I’m also sad that another believer will be leaving a country where the evangelical population is so low (some estimate as low as .5 %). In many ways I am losing a coworker in the gospel. Please pray for Uche. Pray that he will be able see God’s hand in this and that he would use this time to grow in his faith. Pray also for more workers for Austria, weather they be nationals, missionaries sent by large congregations, or missionaries sent by persecution as the believers in Acts 8:4 who were scatterd and went everywhere preaching the word.

A picture of our Bible study. Uche is on the far left.