What’s Missing in German Apartments? Why Move-In Ready Isn’t Ready at All
When we walked into our first Neubau viewing, we thought we’d found a spacious, modern apartment. Then reality set in: there were no closets, no light fixtures, no bathroom mirrors, no undersink cabinets, and absolutely no kitchen cabinets.
Our future “move-in ready” apartment was really just… walls, heated floors, and nine dangling light bulbs.
The Lighting Jungle
For our current place, we counted nine hanging bulbs in total: two in the bathrooms, three in the bedrooms, one in the kitchen, one in the dining room, one in the living room, and one in the hallway.
That meant budgeting for nine lighting fixtures — and figuring out a way to make the place look like a home, not a jungle of loose wires.
And then there was the mysterious Abstellraum. At first, we had no idea what it was for. But for North Americans like us, and especially for Duygu, it quickly transformed into one large walk-in closet. We much preferred one big storage space instead of “closet after closet” eating into our living area.
Move-In Ready vs. Move-Out Ready
In Novi, Michigan, our apartment at Encore at Manchester came with everything: a fully equipped kitchen with quartz countertops, bar lighting, a fridge with a water dispenser, a gas stove, and modern cabinets.
In Stuttgart? We walked into an empty shell. No kitchen. No cabinets. Just walls covered in construction dust. It was technically “move-in ready,” but to us, it looked more like “move-out ready.”
That’s when we realized German apartments — especially new construction — start at a much barer baseline than what North Americans expect.
The DIY Phase
Once it sunk in that nothing was included, we had no choice but to build our home from scratch.
A DIY walk-in closet from IKEA became our solution for missing storage.
We designed, bought, and built an entire kitchen — for a rental apartment.
We bought undersink cabinets and DIY’d them to hide pipes in both bathrooms.
None of these were in our original budget. We had to eat into savings, and it hurt. But looking back, we’re glad we made these investments early. Today, our space finally feels like home.
What North Americans Should Budget For
If you’re moving into a Neubau in Germany, here’s a realistic starting budget for the essentials:
Kitchen cabinets, stove, induction hob: ~€10,000
Fridge: ~€800
Lighting fixtures: ~€40 each (or buy in spotlights in bulk like we did to save money)
Bathroom cabinets & mirror: ~€200 to 400 per bathroom
Closets or wardrobes: ~€200 each
If you can afford it, buy new for the long run. If not, consider secondhand furniture and appliances from Stuttgart expat groups or English-speaking forums. Either way, plan for it — because these costs add up quickly.
Looking Back
The biggest lesson? Don’t assume anything will be included. In North America, apartments are delivered “ready to live.” In Germany, apartments are delivered “ready for you to make them livable.”
It was tough financially at first, but investing early was worth it. Our apartment is now truly ours — not just four walls with nine lightbulbs.
