# Long term rental



## yolly123 (Sep 7, 2008)

Hi I was wondering if anyone could give some advice. My son is going to live in Valencia and will be arriving on the 20th January. He is currently trying to arrange a long term let in the city but all the agents he has contacted through email or via the property hub Kyero, none have even got back to him. He has temporary accomadation for when he arrives but wants to secure a permanent place as soon as possible. Would it be better to call the agent direct or would it be best to wait until he is actually in Spain before enquiring? He is looking for a 2 bedroom apartment in the city and there seems to be lots available but he cannot seem to set up any viewings. Any advice most welcome .


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## Pazcat (Mar 24, 2010)

Agents are frankly hopeless at doing their job and barely respond to emails but yes I would say the best approach is to walk in to an office once he has arrived.
Do look at other sites like idealista and fotocasa, if he can have a list of properties to see via various agents first then just pop into whichever office has them.


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## samthemainman (Aug 15, 2012)

Or better still - go to the landlord directly. Many rental properties on fotocasa and idealista are private and not through an agency. I'd avoid paying the ridiculous agency fees like the plague...


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

samthemainman said:


> Or better still - go to the landlord directly. Many rental properties on fotocasa and idealista are private and not through an agency. I'd avoid paying the ridiculous agency fees like the plague...


Yes, avoid them if you can by going direct but they certainly are NOT ridiculous.

Agents can organise viewings with a number of properties, can organise (legal) contracts, can help transfer utilities and can perform many other tasks to make the process easier.

You have to understand that an agent's sole responsibility is to assist the rental process - they are not there to manage the rental term in any way!


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## samthemainman (Aug 15, 2012)

snikpoh said:


> Yes, avoid them if you can by going direct but they certainly are NOT ridiculous.
> 
> Agents can organise viewings with a number of properties, can organise (legal) contracts, can help transfer utilities and can perform many other tasks to make the process easier.
> 
> You have to understand that an agent's sole responsibility is to assist the rental process - they are not there to manage the rental term in any way!


If you feel that a minimum of a month's rent in commission (which is the norm, although there are exceptions) before you've even put down a deposit or paid your first month's rent is worth it for being shown around a few properties (in my experience you may see a different agent for every property you're interested in) and printing off a standard rental contract (readily available on the net) is worth hundreds of Euros - go ahead. 

And changing utilities over takes 10-15 minutes over the phone. I appreciate not everyone has the confidence to do that if they speak no Spanish - but a gestor can do all that at a fraction of the price. Horses for courses. 

I think I just have an aversion to giving away lots of hard earned money to estate agents when a little effort and shopping around does the job just as well - although I understand that some people get reassurance from speaking to an agent and having them do a bit of paperwork...

And don't get me started on property BUYERS needing to pay commission...:boxing:


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## yolly123 (Sep 7, 2008)

Thanks for the advice. My son does speak some Spanish, so how do you go about finding private landlords ??


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

samthemainman said:


> If you feel that a minimum of a month's rent in commission (which is the norm, although there are exceptions) before you've even put down a deposit or paid your first month's rent is worth it for being shown around a few properties (in my experience you may see a different agent for every property you're interested in) and printing off a standard rental contract (readily available on the net) is worth hundreds of Euros - go ahead.
> 
> And changing utilities over takes 10-15 minutes over the phone. I appreciate not everyone has the confidence to do that if they speak no Spanish - but a gestor can do all that at a fraction of the price. Horses for courses.
> 
> ...


As well as a 'standard rental contract', you should need an inventory and condition report. PLUS, the agent should check on references, work contracts etc. (at least, ours does).

Around here, you can NOT change utilities without having signatures from both parties - it is obviously open to abuse if it is simply done 'over the phone'!

I am a landlord and I have to pay one month's rent as commission as well - so the rental agent (not estate agent) actually gets two month's money!


I wish there was a better way to put tenants in touch with landlords but it doesn't seem to happen. I advertise on the major rental sites (as a particular) and yet most of my lets come via agents - go figure!


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## samthemainman (Aug 15, 2012)

Yes - inventories for furnished properties absolutely should be done - but again it can be done quite easily privately, references - in my opinion (I have property rented out in the UK) - I make phone calls to the previous landlords rather than taking some dodgy written one - but I accept that's unorthodox. I live in Valencia (I see you're in Ontinyent) and Iberdrola, Gas Natural and Emivasa all let you take over the bills over the phone - and with the water I just had to sign a document to say I was happy to take it on after making a phone call and freeposting it back. Getting the previous owner/tenant signature was just optional - but obviously I had to be sure there was no outstanding debts before I took it on.

I think the advertising as 'particular' - yolly123 that is how the idealista/fotocasa properties are listed- i.e. without a link to the corresponding agency.

snikpoh I take your point on agencies - but too many people go through agencies because they think it's the only way. They need tighter regulation and there needs to be more widespread usage of sites like gumtree in the UK where you can advertise for next to nothing as a landlord. 

I bought my place in Ruzafa from seeing a private sticker in the window, even though I knew it was also being advertised by several agencies. The owners were really pleased not to have to deal with middlemen when we rang them up - yes the agency would have helped the paperwork along a bit - but it's not worth the 2.5-3% commission. Some friends of ours have just seen a property worth 140K and the estate agent wanted to charge 6K just to sell it to them. Until we change our renting/searching/buying habits we'll continue to be awash with mediocre-rubbish estate agents who continue to fleece us. I wouldn't mind if the service was always proactive and professional...


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## AllHeart (Nov 22, 2013)

yolly123 said:


> Thanks for the advice. My son does speak some Spanish, so how do you go about finding private landlords ??


The private landlords are listed as "particular" and agencies as "agencia" or "agencia acreditado" (accredited agency). The best site that someone on the forum recommended to me is Pisos en alquiler en España, Madrid y Barcelona - Enalquiler.com. Go to the far right under "anunciate" to select agency/private.

I took people's advice here on the forum and didn't even try to contact anyone before getting here. In Canada, I researched all the apt sites, though, and got advice from the forum, so I knew exactly what I was looking for by the time I got here. I rented for a month with https://www.airbnb.com/ while looking for an apt, but I found my apt in a week!

I didn't use an agent, in order to save the one month's fee. But it's a real gamble for both me and my landlord. I didn't even have my DNI yet, so my landlord gave his in order for me to get my empadronamiento. He couldn't do a credit check, since I had no credit yet in Spain. I couldn't check his references either. One of my neighbours told me my landlord had horrible experiences with tenants, who trashed his place and wouldn't pay bills. So he really should have been using an agency. As it turns out, he landed a great tenant and I landed a great landlord. We're both very happy with each other.

When I got here, I phoned for about 10 apts, and only 2 got back to me. The other one that contacted me said he didn't have that property available any more, but he had another one (which I didn't like). As people explained on the forum, it turns out that even when there are ads, they may not be available. I've been in this apt since last Sept, and it's still listed as available!

It's true that people in Spain use WhatsApp a lot for texting. You can also now call people for free all around the world on WhatsApp. Save your bucks that way!

I hope that helps out.

Best of luck to your son!


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## yolly123 (Sep 7, 2008)

Thank you Saylinda and all heart for your advice. I will pass this information on to my son. I think he will probably be better off waiting until he is in Valencia and can visit agents in person.


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## C.G. (Jan 6, 2016)

I would drop the mails, as it seems everybody in Spain likes the phone better.
A way to find a place would be to wander the area you like to live in, if from distance, you can do a lot of research on google maps too
He will find a lot of places with phone-numbers on posters hanging from balconies,
but of course it can take time, if he is particular with taste in furniture!
Personally, I have rented 5 apartments in three years, without using an agency, and there has been troubles, but those I expect, so I don`t let it ruin a good day.
However, next time I will use an agency, not for the contract, as those are usually standard, but because i`d like to deal with the landlord/lady as little as possible, as it feels better going to the agency if a problem.
Personally I had nothing but a good experience with Spanish owners living in the same city,
only those far away in other countries, renting out their Spanish investment.
Best of luck!


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## snikpoh (Nov 19, 2007)

C.G. said:


> However, next time I will use an agency, not for the contract, as those are usually standard, but because i`d like to deal with the landlord/lady as little as possible, as it feels better going to the agency if a problem.


Agencies will, generally, not be interested in helping as they are only paid a 'finders' fee and are not paid to manage the let.


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## C.G. (Jan 6, 2016)

snikpoh said:


> Agencies will, generally, not be interested in helping as they are only paid a 'finders' fee and are not paid to manage the let.


Probably true, that`s why I find agencies operated by Scandinavians, as it`s not that many of us where I live, and we usually help each other out when abroad.
Besides, you come a long way with a smile, as that is how I mostly had to communicate when I first came down here, but Spanish getting better, so soon I will be able to argue in Spanish too, if I wish
Where I live now, I actually have a no fee broker, who only had his fee from my landlady, and he has been very helpful the past year.

Sweet day!


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## AnneR (Jun 25, 2016)

Hi Sam,
What is a gesture? How do you go directly to the landlord? 
Are you in Valencia city? What are good neighbourhoods for older expats?
Thanks,
Anne.


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## xabiaxica (Jun 23, 2009)

AnneR said:


> Hi Sam,
> What is a gesture? How do you go directly to the landlord?
> Are you in Valencia city? What are good neighbourhoods for older expats?
> Thanks,
> Anne.


:welcome:

he means _gestor_

a gestor is someone who manages your paperwork for you


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## Jesnat (Mar 5, 2016)

We saw our place on fotocasa although it was an agent that responded and handled our rental. The agent was great, she met us 3 times to show us the property and then arranged all the paperwork, contracts, utilities and resolved a few issues with the landlord once we had moved in. I really don't resent paying her about three quarters of a month's rent in fee. I know not all agents are as professional but it's worth remembering an agent might show numerous people around a property using up a lot of their time and energy before they make any commission. In reply to the OP we also found it frustrating that we never got replies to many emails requesting info or if we did it was to say the property was no longer available. In our case being on the ground, driving around, seeing the 'for rent' signs and going into agents with 'we are here show us something' worked better than trying to do it remotely. We took a one month holiday let whilst we looked for something longer term. Good luck


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## AnneR (Jun 25, 2016)

Thank you all. It's a learning curve!


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## Dedaneen (Jul 6, 2013)

Sounds great Allheart but I suppose it would be rather difficult without Spanish?


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