Finding long term rentals

chingston said: 
26 February 2017 @ 11:54 

Hi jsevanbergen,
Thanks for your comment,
We haven't been that far West as we are thinking that staying in the Fuengirola, Mijas area is so central to get to anywhere.This way wherever we decide to open our business we will not be too far.
To be honest I have been searching for a house or apartment to rent for quite a while now and I am realizing that the agents don't really take us seriously probably because we aren't in Spain at the moment
I find it very frustrating that searching on the internet is mostly pointless as most of the long term rentals advertised are not actually available.I was dealing with one agent who had over 25 long term rentals available on their site for under €600 pm but when I started asking about them I got a very short reply stating that nothing was available under €800 pm. 
this was in the Alhaurin & Coin areas as we thought it would be quieter and a little cheaper half an hour inland.We would prefer unfurnished as we have all our belongings in storage but would take furnished if it was really nice.
Maybe we should just get a holiday rental for the first month so we can physically go to agents whilst we are there.
That way we can look at a few different areas also.Just wanted to get as much sorted as possible before the move as we will be very busy after we arrive.
Nothing worth doing is easy!! 
If anyone has some recommendations about letting agents I would be very grateful

Chingston I think you already know the facts of life on this subject. Estate agents/property rental agents generally have a poor reputation. Basically because they are unregulated, unqualified and mainly run by Spivs looking to earn a quick easy buck.

In their defence I suspect they are overwhelmed with email enquires from outside Spain regarding rentals. They probably have an attitude that these enquiries are just day dreaming timewasters, which many will be.

I think it would be more sensible to pay a little more and book a holiday let for your first month.

Hi potblack,

Yes totally agree with your comments

Thanks

Did you look at ThinkSpain/EyeonSpain websites?

Yes I did but usually the same problem, either the properties listed have been rented or the agents

concerned just don't reply.

We have decided to get a holiday let for the first month and then look whilst we are there,probably

a much safer way of doing it.

From my own experience I think the sales & letting agents should be regulated which would make 50%

of them dissapear ,therefore the good ones left would have a large selection of properties that are actually available.

I am not the type who wants to see any business fail but the really awful level of service offered by some of these

agents just makes the whole industry look bad which is a shame as I am sure there are some good ones out there.

I have previously worked in sales,actually for the past thirty years and I do understand that if you have a really good

product that is sold you leave it on your website so that when potential customers contact you about it you can try to

offer alternatives, but I really don't understand when you then don't even bother to reply to prospects emails.

In Spain ,this industry needs a good shake up!!

Sorry just venting.

I will be keeping a record of all my experiences with letting agents and will name & shame the bad ones as well as giving praise to the ones who deserve it.

Again sorry to everyone for going on but I would be very interested in hearing anyone elses experiences, good or bad

Hi there Chingston, I too am looking for a place to rent for the long term.  I don't even know what their long term means on EyeonSpain? Anything over a month?  Six months?? Anyway, I did want to ask how you went in the end and what worked for you?  I'm hoping to cut out some of the hard/dead end work by asking someone who's just been doing what I am about to do.  Hoping you can help.

Hi Jmar,

Actually we have been delayed in our move due to commitments elsewhere and should now be making the move

in mid April. Finding a long term rental when not there is very hard, so many agents don't bother replying to emails

and so many of the properties advertised have actually been rented. We have decided not to even bother looking before we get there. Long term rental means a contract of eleven months which means you must commit to at least eleven months. This is hard to do without seeing the actual place as you must take into account the surrounding area as well.

To be fair to the agents there are a lot of time wasters out there so when they know you are not even in country they have little interest and also their commission on a long term rental is usually between half a month to a months rental.

By far the best way is to get a holiday rental for the first month and spend that time looking for a long term place once there,agents should then take you more seriously and you will be ready to view and then sign contracts quickly. The long term rentals really go fast and this is now the worst time to look for one as any landlord who hasn't rented already will now want to rent as a holiday rental until September as they can get as much per week as a long term gets per month.

Not ideal but unfortunatelly circumstances are what they are so we will just have to go with it.

For a holiday rental for a month I suggest airbnb as you can get some good discounts for monthly rentals, another local agent who seems quite responsive and has a good choice of holiday and long term rentals is bluehorse properties.

I have contacted them and they do actually reply.

Sorry I can't be of more help at the moment but again I suggest spent a little more and get a holiday rental for the first month so you can make sure any potential long term place is ideal before signing a contract.

I wish you all the best with your move and if I can be of anymore assistance please do not hesitate in contacting me.

Regards

chingston