If you are serious about finding the right apartment, you need to invest quite a lot of time, use all sources available, and most importantly, keep motivated.
Jot down some areas of first, second, and third choice, get your list of minimum requirements ready and start visiting properties.
Given the lack of rented housing, a lot of the best places are not advertised, but are recommended by word of mouth because landlords prefer 'known' tenants. Talk to friends, family members, classmates, work colleagues, etc. and let them know that you are looking for a place to live. The more people that know you are looking, the higher the chance you will be pointed in the right direction. There are also housing mailinglists. You can register, and get ads that are not advertised mailed to your inbox. This is very easy, and usually you can find good value housing. For a Yahoo mailing list for Amsterdam go to http://groups.yahoo.com/group/amsterdam-housing .
What? Yes! Supermarkets have notice boards, you will always find some properties torent on these notice boards. The advantage of supermarket noticeboards is that the property on offer is always in the local area. Thus you can pick your areas, go to the local supermarkets and visit the properties all on the same day. Universities and libraries have similar noticeboards, the advantage of these is that they are focussed at students and therefore most probably cheaper than most other rental properties you will come across.
A good source for housing in the Netherlands is through classifieds. Look in local newspapers, the especially the Wednesday editions of Telegraaf, Via Via, and De Partikulier. You will find many different offers, but probably few will meet your needs, so be quick - as the good ones go fast. Also, with the classifieds, you need to be careful. There have been many stories of people giving money and never receiving a key, nor ever seeing the so-called landlord again. Or worse, having received a key, they move in, only to find other people already living there. As a rule, never pay more than 3 months rent in advance, 1 for rent, 1 for the deposit, and one more if it is a furnished apartment. Preferably deposit the money on the landlord's bank account, and never give them cash.
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