How much cash in hand for a 1000 euro flat?

Shale, what is common is to ask for one month's rent down and another month as the deposit. So basically, you're paying two month's rent when you move in. If you do this through a real estate agency, their commission is ANOTHER month's rent.

I would recommend you take a look at these direct owner websites:
www.enalquiler.com
www.fotocasa.com
www.idealista.com

Also, make sure you sign a legal contract and that the owner is declaring the house on his yearly rent. If not, you can get in trouble.

There's the ol' Aval Bancario as well. This is the expensive one. If you can find a place that doesn't require the aval bancario then you're probably looking at only 3k to get in. The aval bancario is the deposit that the bank holds for the owner on your behalf and often runs between 4-6 months of rent.

I spent ages looking for an apartment and when they know you are a foreigner its quite normal that they will ask for a 6 month aval for the duration of the contract! That means that if the rent costs ?1000 per month you will be expected to deposit ?6000 in a savings account (obviously choosing the one that pays the highest interest) you are not permited to touch it until the contract ends or you leave the apartment. When leaving you must get a letter from estate agent or administrator who dealt with rental stating that that you are no longer renting the flat so that the aval agreement can be cancelled by the bank!

On top of that you would also be expectted to pay 2-3 months rents (1or 2 months going to the agent in "fees") Quite a lot of the apartments I needed also required quite a bit of work just to make it habitable! You should always try to negoiate discount for 6 months - 1 year (with written agreement) when agreeing to carry out refurbishment work on a flat!

( 1 apartment I went to see cost ?1000 per month and was 150m2, but just to live there would have needed new kitchen, bathroom, electric etc - along with an aval and i would have had to fork out around ?20,000!!!!!!!)

Wow! I have rented since I was 17 in about 6 different places and have never been asked for an aval bancario. We've only been asked for our n?minas once. Of course I never rent through an agency, always directly with the owner.

im speaking about necomers with no job history here! The flat im in just now was through a friend and I didnt have to pay any kind of deposit, only the 1st months rent up front! I know this is the case in Barcelona, cant speak for anywhere else in Spain, I suppose on the costas where there is a glut of housing it would be different!

first of all, thanks for all the responses!

So, just to clarify...

If we have a good (signed, good amount of $$$, etc.) contract in hand, will that make the long bank deposit go away?

I've heard that it's worth the money to go through an agent (one month's rent isn't too bad, if they're really a help). Any thoughts on that?

I imagine if we don't go through an agent, we'll have to be extra careful with signing a good/fair lease, etc. any thoughts?

Thanks again.