Hi there,

I’ve been living in Barcelona for over a year. I left a reserva for a flat, but the next day, the agency calls me back saying they can no longer rent me the apartment because of humidity issues.  There’s going to be work done on the building which could take a very long time.  I suggested to move in and when the renovations start, we could stay there but lower the rent.  The agent wouldn’t consider that option.  It just seemed too fishy, and here’s why:

1) That exact same day, I tried to contact the agent via sms.  She’s usually super fast at responding.  this time, she never got back to me.  Her boss called me at the end of the working day to give me the bad news and try to get me to see a flat that didn’t even suit my needs.

2) That same day, while pursuing my online search, I discovered that a few hours before, an ad for what looks like the same flat went on loquo for the first time.

3) On idealista, I was able to also find another ad with the same flat.  I set up an appointment for later today to verify that it is the same flat.  The only thing is the flat is offered at a higher rental rate.

4) I have to say that when I did leave the reserva, the agency boss gave me a really bad vibe. And when he announced the news to the property owner over the phone, at a certain point he had to walk away into another room so that I wouldn’t hear anything.

So how binding is my reserva?  I signed a reserva agreement and have a signed copy.  It says that I reserved the flat and have agreed to the major conditions of the eventual rental contract.  I’m just very disappointed in not getting this flat.  But at the same time it could be a blessing because who wants to deal with liars.

Thanks for any insight

Louro,
I am not a property expert (so just giving my opinon)...
I think although you like the flat/want it… if it is going to be a headache, best get your money back and walk away?
(We ae currently involved in a very lengthy purchase agreement, but not one bit of paper has been signed yet.  6 months down the line and I am fed up of the headaches that appear every week.  Our lawyer said from the beginning that even if we were in love with the place, to think with our heads not our heart.)  So just passing that on.

A Happy New year to you and hope it works out 😊  (either way)...

Sorry for not replying sooner,

Of course we moved along and found another place in the end, not without its share of frustrations and dishonesty. It’s good advice to not attach oneself, and that wasn’t the issue. I still wonder why I even signed a paper and left a deposit if it isn’t even binding. I’ve rented at least 6 flats and have never had in one single search been told or lied to so that the owners would back out of what I call a very clear and written agreement… up until moving to Spain (twice in one search). I’ve sadly learned by living in Spain not to trust anybody’s word.

I’m sorry to hear about your real estate head aches. I wish you the best.

Thanks Louro.  We are still not in yet! But ‘nearly there’ (just need vendors lawyer to agree to all the points we want to include as extras as there are more legal hurdles ahead)  Let’s hope he doesn’t continue to throw a spanner in the works. (This is the lawyer who lied to us from day one, or rather omitted to tell us there was no current escritura, only a stack of Compraventas!)  We decided to ditch him and use our own 😉 Thankfully!

Re renting.  I have only rented 3 places, the first was a disaster and I had to move the same minute as I moved in as the agent had forgotten to put in the clause of who was paying his fee! 

Current rental, very above board, proper temporada etc.  Landlady has even let us stay on month by month (without forcing us into new 11 month contract) as she knows we are moving.  But then again she has had no takers at the high price she is asking 😉

Thanks again for your words.  (Hopefully by this time next week I might be a first time house owner!)  😉