Renting an Apartment in Madrid - How to rent + apartment tour

This video explains how to rent an apartment in Spain and provides multiple tours of Madrid apartments. It describes my experience renting an apartment in Madrid, Spain as a foreigner. In it, you will find resources such as websites, negotiation tips, lessons from my experiences, warnings, plus be able to view several stylish apartments at different price points. Many of the points are applicable to renting an apartment in other foreign countries too. I focus mainly on apartment characteristics worthy of your attention, but also explain how I paid and provide an overview of my timeline.

Timestamps:
0:00 Introduction
0:58 Scams, Renter Beware
4:05 Timeline
5:15 AirBnB
6:17 Timing & Pricing
7:01 Apartment hunting by walking around
7:28 Shopping Online (websites, filters, idealista example search)
11:59 Apartment Characteristics to consider
14:49 Costs, negotiation, & payment
20:14 Move-in, neighborhood overview, quick apartment tour

Website for finding an apartment in Spain:
Idealista.es
Pisos.com
Fotocasa
Trovit.com
Perfect Spain.com
https://www.spotahome.com/
AirBnB

Apartments typically ask to see salary letters or pay stubs. One apartment asked me for a guarantor (Aval) and another asked if I could pay all 11 months at once. The banks do guarantees but they are expensive. If you don't have a salary letter or pay stubs and don't want to get a guarantor (Aval), you can:
-offer a double deposit
-Buy renters insurance
-get an Attorney to negotiates on your behalf
-Offer to show bank statements

Minimize the deposit if you can because many Spanish landlords try to keep all or most of it even for just normal wear and tear. Paying the deposit, agency fee, and 1 months rent is enough for most agencies and owners. And if it isn’t, be prepared to walk away. I ended up not needing to pay an agency fee or multiple months in advance. Instead, I paid two months deposit (which I get back hopefully), a cleaning fee of 100 euros, and 1 months rent.

Visit the apartment!
Again, sites like airBnB, VRBO, and spotahome allow you to book immediately, but not visit the apartment beforehand so you couldn’t get a feel for the neighborhood, especially the neighborhood at night. And you also can get a better feel for how small 50 or 70 meters squared actually is if you visit the apartment. Plus, if you visit, you can look in the drawers and cabinets to see if they are sufficiently stocked, and check if the water pressure is good and the water is hot in the shower etc.

Madrid Neighborhood descriptions:
https://www.nakedmadrid.com/2014/08/17/madrid-neighborhood-overview/
https://theculturetrip.com/europe/spain/articles/the-trendiest-neighborhoods-in-madrid/
https://www.esmadrid.com/en/madridneighbourhoodsutm_referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com%2F
https://moving2madrid.com/best-neighborhoods/

Prices mentioned in this video are pandemic prices. Add 500 to 1,000 euros per month for a 60 meter 2 bed apartment in the city center during good economic times.

Payment - some apartments will allow you to pay with a debit or credit card. Others with a bank transfer. Most don't accept checks.

Feel free to message me any questions in the comments. And stay tuned for a follow-up video! Make sure to like and subscribe to our channel: "She saves, he invests, they travel."

Видео Renting an Apartment in Madrid - How to rent + apartment tour канала She Saves - He Invests - They Travel