# Securing a rental off OLX?



## Mac62 (May 13, 2015)

Hello again folks!,

Iḿ in contact with the owner of an apartment I'm interested in, problem is I'm in the U.S., but I would like to ask the advice of the forum on how best to handle the situation as I imagine people have done this before?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Cheers!:smile:


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## Strontium (Sep 16, 2015)

Mac62 said:


> Hello again folks!,
> 
> Iḿ in contact with the owner of an apartment I'm interested in, problem is I'm in the U.S., but I would like to ask the advice of the forum on how best to handle the situation as I imagine people have done this before?
> 
> ...


Hi,

Are you thinking of entering into a (PT) legal binding rental agreement with people you have not met for a property you have not visited?


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## Mac62 (May 13, 2015)

Hence my post, putting my question out there to see if anyone else has gone that route, and if they have, was the experience good, bad or ugly From your choice of words Strontium, I suspect itś not a good idea? 

cheers.


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## Strontium (Sep 16, 2015)

I think it all depends on your attitude to risk and I assume you do not know the area or people. I have been renting places here, on and off, for almost ten years and they varied (both people and places) so much but as none of those are (probably) the place or landlord/landlady you are interested in so none are relevant. It would also depend on why you are going to rent, if it's to get an address for medium term visa process etc. and you have enough spare cash to maybe rent a second place to live after some time of looking then that should work. Otherwise if you have someone here who could go have a look at the place and meet the owner/agent just to check the basics, If you do a search for "slums Lisbon" for example you can see some places which you may not want to live near but without someone having a look you wouldn't know, they can also check the person/agent has the basics like their address, the keys to the doors, copies of contracts etc.


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## Mac62 (May 13, 2015)

Hi Strontium,

I've had no problems whatsoever using Airbnb in various places around the world, but obviously that is very different because they have a verification process. And I think that will be my way to go initially for a month or so, then hit the pavement and walk around the areas I like and look in shop windows or just ask the local folk, and of course OLX and the like. 

When you start the process for residency, do they look at the length of your rental agreement? From what I've read on the forum it seems very difficult to find long term rentals, and so I wonder if authorities understand that?

Cheers.


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## Strontium (Sep 16, 2015)

Ahhh, you seem to understand perfectly and have a good adaptable plan to fit whatever circumstance pops up. I found it useful to have a consistent PT address for fiscal number (v important item) + bank account + paperwork but did not need to go down the residency route. To arrange longterm rental remotely is difficult.


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