# Househunting in Barcelona and surroundings: advice needed



## gerrit (Jul 15, 2008)

Hi,


While I was jobhunting in several locations nothing really came from it as yet, until I then got a surprise offer from Spain. As I needed a change from where I was and felt like my own applications were in a dead end street, I decided to accept the offer and packed my bags to fly to Barcelona.


So here I am in Barcelona in a hotel, one week to go before commencing the new job, a week to focus on househunting. Of course, the sooner I have my own place, the better. Given my salary, I´d say the price range 600 - 700 euro per month for housing would be OK, although for a really good place I may go a 50 euro up or so.
I want to live on my own, that´s very important for me. No housesharing. This means I can forget about the center of Barcelona, but that´s OK, I rather live a bit out of the center in a flat for myself alone than to share a flat in the city center. 

Prior to flying here I already asked around a bit and heard many stories, some of them contradicting each other:
- someone said in the area Eixample you can easily rent big apartments for 500 to 600 euro per month. Given its relatively central location it sounds a bit unlikely, but anyways, I don´t want to jump to conclusions and say the guy lies or so.
- as I said I like to be close to the sea (in my native country I also lived by the sea) but don´t mind commuting to work, I was advised to check Badalona and Llobregat and Hospitalet. All seaside areas and quite affordable (600 - 700 euro per month for decent flat is realistic) so I heard. I was advised not to check Barceloneta due to being too expensive. The same people who gave me this advise told me the public transport from/to the city to Badalona, Llobregat or Hospitalet is good at any given time.
- yet another person advised me Sabadell and Terrassa, which he said is very affordable (big flats for 600 euro per month easy to find, he says) and the areas would be very clean and modern. Sounds good if connection to Barcelona city is OK, about this I heard contradicting stories again: some said there is no train or bus after 9PM and that except for weekends you are obliged to return to Sabadell/Terrassa straight after work due to lack of later trains ... other people said this is untrue and that also to these areas there are trains and busses until late night.



So in the end I am not too sure what to believe anymore…

About rental conditions I also heard contradicting stories.
- someone said landlords can ask anything from no deposits at all to 5 months of deposit or anything in between (apparently 2 months deposit would be somewhat most common?)
- I was advised by someone to avoid estate agents due to high commissions and some even charging you for just visiting a flat without knowing yet if you´ll rent it ... others say that it´s pointless to use sites such as loquo.com or elalquiler.com because many of those landlords will in the end use an estate agent anyway once a deal is made.
- I hear stories about rental contracts for 1 year up until 5 years, while I also heard talks about contracts without specific duration where tennant just gives 1 or 2 months notice when he wishes to leave



I should mention maybe as well that I am single so I don´t need a lot of space, 40 - 50 square meters would be OK, everything more is a bonus. Furniture should be present already. Laundry service and shops nearby a very big bonus. It doesn´t matter if it is outside of the city, I care more about being somewhat near to the sea (if affordable) as I´m not a fan of the nightlife or so whatsoever. As long as the transport to and from the city is good (my job will be in the center) I don´t mind to commute a bit by train or bus.


So can someone give me some advise on how to start the househunting and which areas should be good?


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## ivorra (Sep 24, 2008)

At least one of your queries can be answered with authority- about the rail link between Barcelona and Tersaasa or Sabadell! Here is the web site of the FGC, the railway owned by the government of Catalunya and serving those towns: FGC.

As you can see there is an English language version of the site. It gives all the information you require including the timetables and fare prices. Good luck with your search for accomodation.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

I cant tell you anything about Barcelona cos I dont know it, people have said on here that its beautiful and expensive!! As for househunting, google your requirements, contact the agents that pop up and go and see a few. Or, go thru the local papers and see whats available privately. Watch out for any scams, maybe ask on here if your unsure of anything you're told. There are many ways of renting at the mo, its a renters market, but a few landlords have been burnt by fleeing Brits who dont pay and leave properties in a mess. Those landlords may want big deposits and /or money up front - thats your choice, you can try negotiating or move on to another. Commonly they'll want 2 months worth as a deposit and at least one, if not two months up front?? Some may go for less if you can show them that you are honest etc????

Jo xxx


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## SteveHall (Oct 17, 2008)

Check through here for threads re BCN and accommodation and you will see that there have been several recently. 

Some of your rentals look ridiculously low. From what I have seen of BCN I'd be surprised if I'd be happy with anything under 1000 - 1200 euros per month for what I'd want.

It's a great city, I love it dearly (shame about their excuse for a football team!) but I think you are being optimistic. Also this is probably the worst week in the whole year to rent an apartment there. Many agents/owners will be away or "unplugged" 

I have just added two BCN agents to my site and scanning Red Apple just now, I'm pretty sure you'll have to up the odds 

Good Luck and Enjoy!


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## Plym (Jul 14, 2009)

Hi Gerrit,

I've very recently moved to Barcelona and I'll try to give you my thoughts.

Firstly, transport. As long as you can find it on the metro map you have absolutely no worries. Barcelona metro imo one of the best in the world... super clean, very good networks, on time, very frequent and open until 2am every day (fri/sat open till later). It's really cheap as well.

Regarding rental contracts... I can only speak from personal experience... we have a flat in Jaume (fairly central) for E950... fairly spacious once you look inside and most importantly has air-con (if a place doenst have air-con reject it immediately!) It was a 6 months contract E950 a month which included 2 months deposit upfront (this is standard practice and they take your gas, electricity, water bills etc off the deposit at the end of the contract which saves faffing around having to pay them. Also had to pay an agency fee of one months rent (also standard). Anyone asking for more... avoid them.

There are a wide variety of properties available... you just have to look hard for the good ones and also... I found it was a waste of time emailing loads of agents because they never respond... best thing to do is just go from agency to agency giving them a list of your criteria. We used CometoBCN and they were good (so far!). 

I would avoid Badalona because its a bit pricey and i'd also suggest having a good look round on the outskirts because some places are really nice and value but others (like Guinardo) looked a bit run down. Good luck in your search and give us a shout if there is any more info you need.


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## jojo (Sep 20, 2007)

Steve has a point about the time of year, Spain tends to almost close down in August due to the heat and a lot of professionals will take their holidays now

Jo xxx


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## gerrit (Jul 15, 2008)

Thanks for the advices so far. I will take a break from househunting for a day now due to everything being closed on Sunday, so I am heading to Badalona in an hour to see if I´d like it or not. Ideally I would check some other suburbs the coming days but with hotel bills adding up if the househunt consumes too much time, and with NIE and social security to organise as well, I guess I better make a bit of a pre-selection and then search in those areas.

On enalquiler.com I did see a few flats that sound great but I am a bit suspicious. Even for only 35 square meters, a flat 50m from the beach in Barcelona proper for only 600 euro?? A two bedroom flat in Eixample for only 700?? I find it a bit suspicious although both of them were advertised by an agency so I don´t dare to say neither that it´s a scam. I am just a bit suspicious but maybe I´m being a bit too paranoid.




Plym, you say as long as everything is on the metro map there is no problem. I am confused with the difference between metro and trains through. For example on Plaza de Catalunya there is a map showing Badalona, Sabadell, Terrassa etc on the map ... but the latter two are far out of the city center and some locals said the last train would be between 9 and 10 PM. Some others say there are night busses going there but no metro. The metro map however clearly mentions these towns, so that would sorta indicate that the metro goes there around the clock as well.

So this confuses me. If I would opt to live outside the city and go for suburbs instead (regardless if it is Hospitalet, Sabadell, Badalona, Terrassa, ...) ; should I get worried about returning home late night or not?

Note: I have a notorious dislike for discotheques and partying, however I am very much into concerts, poetry readings, singer songwriter nights, and football games. So it´s not like I need night transport that often ; however I also don´t fancy having to pay a taxi for 20 km on the few occasions a concert or sports game is held that I don´t want to skip.

Ideally I would live close to the sea (both in my native country and in most other countries I lived in, I was close to water) while I don´t care that much to be in the middle of the city, hence why I thought of places like Badalona. Terrassa and Sabadell were recommendations from people I know who lived in BCN area a while ago.
Which areas would you recommend? And would you say I better hop into an agency instead of trying to deal with landlords directly through sites like EnAquiler or Loquo?


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## ivorra (Sep 24, 2008)

There are three railway systems serving Barcelona and its surrounding towns:
1. The FGC (Ferrocarrils de Generalitat de Catalunya) run by the Catalan government (I gave the FGC english language web-site in my earlier post to this thread)
2. The Barcelona Metro run by the Barcelona city council through the TMB which runs the buses and trams as well
3. RENFE Cercanias which is the suburban train part of the national railway network (Barcelona Cercanias soon to be transferred to the Generalitat)

The FGC serves Terrasa and Sabadell as well as inner city stops en route from Placa Catalunya and other outlying towns on lines run from Plaça España. The metro reaches out to Badalona, Cornellà and l'Hospitalet as well as having the inner city underground network and the RENFE trains also cross the city and serve inner city stops such as Estacio Sants and Passeig de Gracia. Confusing isn't it? And despite all this concentrated transport there is still a sort of metro void around the important junction of Francesc Macia on the edge of the Exiample where the Diagonal crosses and the south part of the tram network terminates.


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## gerrit (Jul 15, 2008)

Heh, confusing indeed... 

Well, just back from a visit to Badalona. While not as cosy as some other towns I visited in the past (eg Cambrills which is my favourite) I quite liked Badalona. It was cosy, not too busy but still vibrant, and seems to be expanding a lot if I see all construction works going on. Took me 20 minutes by RENFE from the city.

It is an option for sure if I may believe the locals I talked to, who all said 600 to 700 euro per month would get me a flat not too far from the sea (which I would love as I have always been a seaside guy and the sea is what I missed most of all in the 2 years I spent in Central Europe). However, I did not trace any laundry service or supermarket (but I guess those must be there, probably just asking a few people and that´s it) and being a vegan, it took me a bit to find a dining place that catered my needs (the one I found in the end was great though)

So all in all I liked Badalona. Ideally I´d visit 1 or 2 more areas that are within the price range of 600-700 euro per month (preferably seaside or not far off the sea) and then visit flats in the selected area.




But, confusing again, after enalquiler.com and Loquo.com I now was advised 2 more websites with estate ads, and that is when excluding the countless agencies that I was recommended. There are so many options that I am getting insecure which is the right order to follow or where to get started ...

Anyway, tomorrow I will arrange my NIE and such, and in the evening may visit yet another potential home location (any other nice towns or suburbs near the sea with a decent pricing for flats?). Then on Tuesday I hope to visit the first apartments or at least hop into several estate agencies.




Thanks to all so far for the hints.


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## gerrit (Jul 15, 2008)

Well, been to Barceloneta today as well and liked it. Very vibrant, nice view on some very modern architecture and a very crowded beach and promenade, and only few streets further some narrow alleys with very old houses ... What a contrast. But generally, I liked the crowded promenade, the number of dining places along the seaside, the beach itself, and the fast connection into the city center. Of course Badalona was cosier ...


I hopped into 2 estate agents and rang two others. Basically they all have flats within my budget range :clap2: although the ones in Barceloneta would only be 35 to 40 square meters while in the suburbs like Badalona I could get something larger for the same price per month. I guess I will just look at a few flats now ... All 4 estate agents had English speaking staff, that´s a positive. A 5th estate agent I rang was closed for August but hearing how many businesses close now, I guess I can´t complain with 4 out of 5 actually being open and having flats available. They said I am lucky to be a long-term renter because all flats for short term were long gone ... 

Anyways, the dilemma now is which area to pick (I wanna live by the sea, that´s a choice already made) and I also doubt if I should check loquo.com and enalquiler.com etc as well again. If yes, I may bounce on larger flats for the same price thus better value! But then checking those adverts + checking the offers from the agencies would be time consuming thus a higher hotel bill ... Not sure yet if I will do both sites and agencies or if I will concentrate on one of both.


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## gpadriano (May 29, 2011)

hi gerrit,

i know it's been a long time since you posted this thread. but i was wondering how you ended up your search for a flat. did you eventually manage to go with the agencies? i was hoping you could recommend some agencies so i can check them out as well.

thanks in advance.


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