Guido, a penniless student, could hardly believe his luck when offered lodging in the heart of Amsterdam at a fraction of the going rate -- a boon thanks to the credit crunch as property owners desperately fend off squatters.

He smiled from ear to ear upon arriving recently, key in hand, at his new, temporary address: a piece of prime property with vast, empty rooms a stone's throw away from the world-renowned Van Gogh museum. The building will soon be converted into a luxury hotel.

"Until now, I've had to go home to my parents in The Hague (a 50-minute train ride) every day, or sleep on a friend's couch," the 20-year-old sport science student said, after receiving a call earlier in the day from Anti-Kraak BV -- a company that puts tenants in empty buildings at 24-hour notice.

Savings, savings, savings

In a country where squatting is allowed if a building has been empty for more than a year, Anti-Kraak BV is one of about 30 firms offering anti-squatting services and doing brisk trade as slumping property sales leave many a building at risk.

Guido will pay 250 euros a month (350 dollars), at least half the going rate, for a bedroom of some 40 square metres (430 square feet) and his own small living room in an apartment where he shares a kitchen and bathroom with two other students.

Photo credit: Karen Eliot