Should You Use a Real Estate Agent to Rent an Apartment in Spain?

Apartments Spain

Using a real estate agent (agencia inmobiliaria) to help you rent an apartment in Spain?

Known as agencias inmobiliarias in Spain, real estate agents can sometimes help you find an apartment to rent.

While they can be useful, particularly if you are looking for a high-end apartment or you are moving with your company and they are paying your relocation and apartment rental fees, if you are just looking to rent an average apartment in Spain yourself, I would not necessarily recommend using a Spanish real estate agent to do so.

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It is not, of course, that there is anything wrong with most agencias inmobiliarias in Spain. On the contrary, many of them offer excellent services.

The problem comes in, however, when you look at the cost.

The cost of using a real estate agent in Spain for apartment rentals

While finding an apartment to rent in Spain yourself will not cost you anything other than things like train or bus fare spent going to view apartments, and other minor expenses, if you decide to use a real estate agent to help you rent an average priced apartment in Spain, your costs will soar.

That is because most Spanish real estate agents charge at least one month’s rent as their finder’s fee. Which means, for most people, you are looking at 600 to 1,000 euros for the real estate agent’s fee — easily — before you even start paying for anything else.

And what do they do for that money?

Not much. Just show you a few apartments and then sit with you while you sign a lease. Once you have done that, most agencias inmobiliarias disappear never to be heard from again.

That is why, unless you are incredibly rushed for time, or someone else is paying for your home search and subsequent rent, I would recommend following these tips to help you find a nice Spanish apartment, and leaving the real estate agents to those who have a lot more money to waste.

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