How to Rent an Apartment in Spain Online
05. May, 2008 
5 Comments
If you ever plan on an extended stay in Spain, consider renting an apartment. It’s cheaper (compare $40/night hostel at $1200 a month to renting your own flat from $500 and up—less if you have roommates). Many apartments are available amueblado (furnished) and with utilities included (gatos incl.) and if you do decide to have roommates, it is a great way to improve your Spanish and meet new people.
The best way to rent an apartment in Spain is to go there first, look at listings in person, and scope out neighborhoods. If you’re doing a short trip (between one week and three months) this may not be realistic. However it is still possible to find a good place online, with a little luck, some basic Spanish, and lots perseverance you can secure your apartment before you leave.
What you’ll need:
Spanish to English Translator
Babelfish.altavista.com
Translate.google.com
Some basic phrases to get you started:
Alquiler- To rent
Piso- Flat, studio
Apartamento- Apartment
Casa- House
Habitación- Room in shared flat or apartment
Día/Semana/Mes- Day/Week/Month
No Fumadores- No smokers
Wifi- wireless internet
Amueblado- furnished
Todo incl.- everything included
Gatos incl.- utilities included
Websites:
Loquos.com- The most popular place to find listings, it is Spain’s answer to Craigslist. Many of the ads are completely in Spanish (a good thing) but be weary of English ads, as they typically will be charging more than their Spanish counterparts. You can assume, if it not otherwise noted, that the listing is intended for a one-year lease. If you are staying for less time, be sure to negotiate this upfront, and be prepared for people to ask higher prices for shorter periods.
Kyero.com- If you can’t deal with Spanish or searching for listings yourself, the folks at Kyero.com have you in mind. Just tell them what you are looking for, and they will the listings to you. Almost all of the rentals are commercially managed, with at least a rental agency involved in the transaction. Not the best resource for major cities (Madrid, Barcelona, and Valencia are under represented) but if you’re looking for a beach bungalow in the Costa Blanca or house in Grenada, then this might be your best bet. (All listings are in English).
Contacting Owners-
Email works best, unless you have enough Spanish to converse over the phone – a difficult feat when you don’t have body language to help you out. Draft a very simple letter in English and then translate into Spanish. If that last sentence ran chills through your body, this is where you turn to Spanish Expat community for help. Check out the forums at SpainExpat.com or Notesinspanish.comand there are plenty of helpful topics and folks willing to help you with your Spanish skills.
Closing the deal!
You did it! You found your dream place, negotiated the length of rental and price, and now you just have finalize the deal. They just want you to send money via wire transfer- something that normally would indicate a scam artist. But actually this practice is common and often a requirement. Just do you’re research, call the numbers they provide, Google everything about them, and you’ll be fine.
Tell me your story
Have you ever rented a place sight unseen?
Did you really rent an apt on line? We are hoping to start an RTW trip next year and 6-8 weeks in Spain is on the itinerary. I would be interested in hearing more about how you managed this piece.
G.
ps. you must be very excited to be starting so soon.
I’m not too sure if you’ll read this. I certainly hope you do.
First… I recommend two other websites: http://www.idealista.com and http://www.fotocasa.es They have tons of apartments, furnished or not, with roomates and without, etc.
Second… I want to “offer” myself for anything you’d need in Madrid. I know it’s hard to be the “nOob” in town, especially when your first language isn’t spanish (suffered the first when I came to Spain 2 years ago, the latter when I lived in Canada for 3 years)
So anyway, if you need anything, send me an email!
CHEERS!
@Marina: I do read my comments! And thanks for your offer, I will definitely be emailing you.
I had used idealista and fotocasa, but I didn’t get too lucky on those… but still great resources. Thanks!
So many apartments are available now for long-term let, people who have bought property over there would love a long term let and you would get it cheap.