Office space is another kind of pursuit altogether. A price of 2,000 DM per square meter is, well, understandable for downtown Tokyo but for economically sluggish Belgrade?

The reasons behind this seemingly absurd situation lie in ordinary corruption, blood-ties and basic scams.

Let's take one of the political parties SPO as an example. They have acquired some of the best retail space in town for their bookstore, offices and coffee shop and are currently scooping out more choice space from some downtown residents for their relatives, friends and business partners. It all boils down to family relations and having your own people in local power. No, it's not fair, and the opposition-led City Hall, for all its democratic posturing, doesn't seem to want to take a crack at this problem, nor is the independent press writing about it.

I don't mean to scare anybody with this backgrounder on downtown property but anyone living here should be aware of the laws of supply and demand, or the incongruity of any such laws in general.

A second thing to be prepared for is the general practice of paying at six months to a year in advance for rent. This is because, sadly to say, people are desperate for money and would like to secure a rental commitment, since rental contracts, are, after all, just pieces of paper. Such cases have been documented in which the owner of an apartment turned out not to be the real owner after all. So before you fork over a few thousand marks, make sure and get your landlord's identity card number and other vital statistics.

In general, the plummiest places are ripe for the picking between June and September, when all of Belgrade vacates town and heads for the nearest seaside.

The most common method is to head to an flat-renting agency. Most are small one-or two person operations and can possibly save you time finding a place on your own, especially if they maintain a computer database. The best agencies have screened the choices in advance. They can provide better recommendations and they will even set up an appointment to take you personally to see the place. The common procedure is to pay the agency about 30% of your first month's rent once the deal is done. There are also plenty of unreliable agencies out there and it's best to ask around for a recommendation. These cowboy operations will typically provide you a list of addresses for a fee (usually around $10) and then it's up to you to knock on doors, if they exist at all.

The cheapest and probably most inconvenient way to find a place is to search through the classifieds section of the daily newspapers or the classifieds-only paper called Oglasi. Make sure and get the early edition of the paper on Tuesday afternoon and make those calls fast. The frustrating part of this method is the discovery that 80% of the advertisements are actually the offers of rental agencies. The other downside of relying on the classifieds is that the independently-listed apartments are at the low-end of the market and can resemble something out of the Addam's Family residence. If coke-stoves, communal bathrooms and cobwebs don't appeal to you, call the owner for details before you visit the place.

The last and probably easiest way to find a flat is to take out an ad yourself. It's probably not wise to mention that your a foreigner. Some hestitate about renting to foreigners because they worry about getting stuck at the end of your rental period with a huge phone bill full of international calls. Just state your preferred price range, space requirements and location. Expect to pay between 300 and 500 DM for a furnished, centrally-located flat with a telephone line and a washing machine no smaller than 50 square meters.

Living in an old building in the center of town can be charming but consider two problems: cockroaches and the heating problem. For the budget minded, central heating is more preferable since it's 30% cheaper than electric. These kind of apartments usually exist in the newer, boxy, look-alike buildings in the suburbs or in commie-esque New Belgrade. As for cockroaches, you'll either have to hold a referendum on fumigation with the other residents of your building or spend your free time drawing white death rings on the floor with a sinister product called Chinese chalk.

So you either love the place or you've decided it's your best bet. Now it's up to the landlord or landlady to decide if they like you and trust you enough to allow you to live there, so rely on your common courtesy and bring along a local to help you sort out issues such as paying bills, responsibility for broken utilities and negotiate your contract.

All settled now? Welcome to your new home. Meet your neighbors and name the cockroaches.