Although rental prices in Spain have been rising for some years, this does not stop the increase in the price of homes. Therefore, many people consider renting a house.
Now, looking for a rental can become an odyssey, and not just because of price, if we don't take into account a series of parameters. Follow our advice to avoid some common mistakes that are made when we want to get a good rental.
Market Ignorance
Wear a blindfold is a big mistake. Although we are not experts, it is convenient to know how the real estate market is currently; Looking at and buying prices in certain cities and areas gives us a real vision and, in this way, we will be alert if we observe that they want to charge us more than what is established for a rental.
The market is heterogeneous. In cities like Madrid and Barcelona, rents continue to rise 45% in the last 4 years, according to CBRE. But in the rest of Spain, there are much lower prices, with significant drops even lower than in 2007.
In addition to the numbers, there are more things to consider, and in this case, the figure of a real estate agent can guide us throughout the process to get a good rental.
Exceed our budget
Another mistake is wanting to spend more money than we really can or have. Although we love the area and the flat, if we cannot afford it, we must be realistic. The real estate agents consulted agree that if our economy does not allow us, we must adjust the house to our budget.
First we will calculate a budget, and in the same way that happens when we want to buy, professionals indicate that 33% of the maximum economic effort is needed to pay the rent, and not allocate more than a third of our income to pay the monthly rent. In fact, and according to the OECD, Spain is the country of the Organization where more income is needed to pay rents, with more than 35% of disposable income.
Agree with conditions verbally
We must make sure to make a written contract. The OCU recommends reflecting in writing the fundamentals in a rental agreement and keeping an original, signed in all its pages. If it is for housing, it is important to make sure that an eleven-month contract is not made.
Once the rental contract has been made, you must read it carefully, consult with a manager in case everything is correct, add clauses and conditions, agree to expenses, and then sign with greater security.
Ignorance about housing
We already know the price, the area and the expenses that we must assume in addition to the monthly rental payment, but it is not enough. Being informed about the house that we are going to rent helps to know if it really is what we are looking for and to agree to a new price with the owner. Therefore, there are important issues such as whether insurance should be made to rent it, the duration of the contract, how much and who pays the corresponding fee to the community of owners, if you can live with pets, how long have you been unemployed, if you rent with furniture or not, if reforms can be made, etc.
Beware of scams and abuse
With the rise in rental prices in many cities, finding one that fits our possibilities is getting more complicated. And some owners practice somewhat abusive techniques. Many tenants find themselves with real scams and scams, and they stop them wanting to keep looking: exorbitant prices, bargains that are not so much, rental of premises as if they were houses, apartments that need reforms that amount to 100,000 euros ...
Given this, it is clear that the main abuse of landlords is the poor condition of the home they want to rent. And, in this situation, the advice of the OCU is that to prevent scams, you should never lease or advance money without seeing the house; ensure that the house is a house, since sometimes it is a place without a certificate of habitability; and that the person who rents it is really the owner.
For all this, and to avoid problems, renting through agents or a professional company that can answer for us and that offers a guarantee of the available apartments is always the best.
Do not visit the house
Whether we share a flat with friends or with our partner, it is essential that we all go to see each of the houses chosen. The idea of distributing visits to different places to save time is not good. Not only will they make common decisions in a studied way but we will check the state of the house directly. The Organization of Consumers and Users stipulates that the first thing is to know the house and check its status, especially that of the windows and the type of heating if it has.