Hello everyone!

Sorry if this is in the wrong forum, but: My wife and I live in Germany but are considering renting a place in Spain for six months or so.  Searching on the internet finds nothing but a clutter of holiday rentals for 300 Euro a week, which is definitely not what we’re after.

How does one go about finding a normal flat in Spain, preferably furnished, for a six-month or so lease?  We don’t care if it’s in some boring little town where we can’t get our foreign food products or watch TV in our language.  Authentic spanish is good.  There must be some online websites that are for normal flat rentals, not just for tourists?

Thanks for any advice,

Sean

Hello, try kyero.com or thinkspain.com and follow the links to get to long term rentals - best wishes

seanm - 14 February 2010 02:55 AM

How does one go about finding a normal flat in Spain, preferably furnished, for a six-month or so lease?  Sean

Hi Sean, if I were you I would choose the area you’re interested in then look for a local estate agent.  Lots of people who are trying to sell their houses will accept long term lets for very competitive rates, and these should be available through the agents.  And in any case you really want to see what you’re signing up for.

MartCross - 15 February 2010 08:48 PM

Hi Sean, if I were you I would choose the area you’re interested in then look for a local estate agent.  Lots of people who are trying to sell their houses will accept long term lets for very competitive rates, and these should be available through the agents.  And in any case you really want to see what you’re signing up for.

Thanks for the advice.  How much is an estate agent’s fee normally in Spain?  Is it as ridiculously high as herein Germany?  (Usually three times the monthly rent, plus tax, so a flat that costs 300 euro a month could result in an agent’s fee of almost 1000 euro.)

I don’t think you’d pay nearly as much as that in Spain, Sean, probably more like one month around my area anyway.  Everyone is open to negotiation these days, as business is so slow. 

Alternatively you could try and find property directly with the owners - mine for example is on www.greenspain.me -  if you google something like house to rent/alquiler casa+area/town/village name+long term/plazo largo or something like that, you will get individual houses like mine.  If the owner is quoting holiday rates per week, he or she may still be interested in longer term lets at a much lower rate, especially outside the summer months.

Hi Sean,

A couple of useful websites are www.idealista.com and fotocasa.es.  I have an apt for rent on idealista - this is the link if you want to take a look! - http://www.idealista.com/pagina/inmueble?codigoinmueble=VW0000002949619&numInm=1&edd=list.

Kind Regards

Debbie

The best advise will come from a local real estate agent for the area you are looking for. They can be very useful and are free for buyers and renters.

You could always try looking in the local newspapers, they always have listing for rentals. Not sure which area you are looking to go, but have a look online at surinenglish dot com. This is the biggest free newspaper in the South of Spain.

Good luck

Fruity

I have a property in Torreblanca that would be available from August this year. We have TV in all languages and internet should you wish it to be connected

If you want further information, send me a PM 😊

Hi Sean,
You are possibly setting yourself a tough task if you book a place unseen over the internet, unless of course it is through a reputable site such as ownersdirect etc.. (where there are protection clauses in place - although nothing in life is guaranteed 100% proof!)

I would suggest a) pick an area you want to try living in
b) book a B&B for a week or so
c) do all your research once there - i.e local press, agents etc.

My own experience of renting in Spain is varied.  I have had wonderful landladies/lords - who treat you (and your deposit!) with respect.. Down to the unscrupulous.

Generally - unless is is a total straight ‘cash deal’ (which actually many Spanish are not keen to do as it gives them little/no protection if you decide to squat!)... You are best to sign a ‘Temporada’.  This gives both you and the landlord protection - in that you are guaranteed a place to live (as long as you pay your rent!) for an 11 month period. (There may be a possibility to do a shorter one?)  All legal, all above board. 

WATCH OUT for money grabbing rental agents.  I still am not 100% sure on the LAW… But I have had to pay 1 month as a ‘finders fee’ to the agent (go direct to owner via newspaper ad to avoid this?), 1 month deposit to landlord (which should be returned as long as you leave the property as it was found - NB You should do a ‘walk through’ with a detailed list of contents/condition of property at beginning and end of rental period!)... plus I had to pay 1 month rent in advance.  All worked out quite a lump sum!  But at least 4 years later we do our annual renewal with landlady and as far as we know she is 100% happy with us and we have no reason to move unless WE want to! 

Good luck - and let us know where you end up!
😊

ps - Here on Costa del Sol/Malaga there are lots of winter rentals for 6 months as it is not the ‘high season’ and the owners are desperate to rent out.  (With a bit of research/local knowledge you should be able to pick up a nice property at a nice price!) Equally as someone said there are lots of owner out there who cannot sell in this climate and will take what they an get in rental!

Hola Susan

Yeah I agree there, but from a landlord point of view we get some real gems of renters whi just trash everything, compliain constantly for the most stupid of problems that are just daily life and somehow end up being our problem.

In fact we stopped renting last year because I was sick to death of people with nothing better to do than whinge! There is nothing wrong with our house, we lived in it for 7 years, we are very attentive if something goes wrong and lets face it, no house is without issues, it just doesn?t work like that

So, I understand the comments about the renters but from the other side of the fence it is just as annoying 😊

Simone

Did I mention these people?

www.homecareontheweb.com

They have a back up team, although they expect the tennant to do basic things like have the utility bills in their name and to deal with elec and water co’s direct if there is an issue with the supply.
Like Fruity said - some tennants can be demanding without good reason!

(I am pleased as punch that the landlady said today she was very happy that we look after her house and she gave us ?90 off the rent this month towards all the painting/other materials we have used to keep the place looking nice) 😊 
(I am still not 100% sure of the clause in the contract whereby we? are responsible for the upkeep of the property?
Is this standard in Spain? )