We're coming across to Madrid next week for a few days to try and find a flat and have been emailing some inmobiliarias to try and arrange viewings but with no reply (three days later). Am I just too impatient? And if we just turn up at an inmobiliaria, can we arrange a viewing then. Getting stressed . . .

:ks:

Elizabeth, I think that if you are not e-mailing them in perfect Castellano, you are not going to get any replies, this has been my experience with some places over here, even though they might be able to communicate with you in english face to face, so many of them I find just simply don't bother to respond to anything sent to them in English.

I made the mistake of sending in English to one or two departments, (who I was told DO communicate in English) a while back, and almost three months later I got 1 reply back in 'Castellano' just to tell me that they could not deal with my request for xyz blah blah blah reasons. The next time I sent an e-mail to ask them something, I did so in Spanish, and I got the reply that very same evening. (like the Americans say..."go figure").

Are you sending in English or Spanish??

If so, try again in Spanish.

Saludos y suerte........Sanitago

I've tried both! And even in the same message - Spanish first and then English. It's driving me mad :lo: :lo: :lo:

:cry:

We can help you with your Spanish if you need it :cheers:

Maybe you are being too specific with your search? Asking for something they don't have? (just wondering).

Hey Elizabeth...why go through the real estate folks? you could come and just start dialing up segundo mano ads, in madrid ads, ads posted on street signs in the neighborhoods you want. of course if that doesn't work you can just walk up to an immm.obli..however you spell it...another option is to come over with enough cash for a temporary rental that will give you time to find the perfect place.

i know of one piso coming up on February 1. it is a studio though, so it might not be what you and your husband want. also, you can put free ads saying you are looking for pisos in the In Madrid. www.in-madrid.com

also post what you are looking for. there are loads of mm'ers in all walks of life and all areas of town, we can keep an eye out for you.

finally you may want to contact board member mariposita. she is super nice and she and her husband just went through the rental process for themselves and their baby..they may have advice.

cheers,
candy

ps...don't forget to tell us what you are looking for!

Thanks everyone! The truth is, I'm scared of my Spanish letting me down on the phone. I can speak it ok face-to-face, but it's always that bit trickier and I'm worried I'll not be able to understand. I'm going to try, but think I'll need a little drop of Dutch courage first . . .

Basically, we're looking for a 1 or 2 bed flat of upwards of 60m2 not too far from the centre. We quite like the Arturo Soria/Ciudad Lineal, but also like Ibiza and Retiro. We like greenery, bars, restaurants, but not too noisy or "trendy" (neon!) Basically, so long as we're in a Metro line of the centre and it's a nice area! Heating is a must, as is being allowed to have our two cats (that's non-negotiable). And the max we're prepared to pay is 750 euros a month (including community charges).

If anyone can help, we arrive on Tuesday night, but are going to the football (at least in the bar if not the Bernabeu!), so our search is starting in earnest on Wednesday until Saturday.

And it constantly amazes me how much support everyone is prepared to give. Thanks.

:ks:

no Elizabeth, it is not you.

as everyone knows, SPANISH CUSTOMER SERVICE SUCKS!!! (excluding Blanca of course )

here in spain, when you look for a product or service, most of the time they see the situation as them doing you a favor here when they serve you (in pretty much any area of business).

you will have to adjust to the slack business attitude here or you will go crazy the first few months in madrid.

there are many possible reasons that the real estate agents do not see you as a customer yet because you are not in front of them (tangible).

they may have plenty of clients who are here and you take a back seat to them.

they do not have time to write you, even if you will visit them when you get here. if you do get a reply via e-mail, it will most likely tell you to come in and see them when you arive.

quote:

And if we just turn up at an inmobiliaria, can we arrange a viewing then.

ABSOLUTELY!!! just arrive and hit a few of them. also, if you go to the chain ones ("tecnocasa", "fincas corral", etc...) you will find that they put you in their database and will call you from many diff. offices to show you flats.

for the record, i agree with Candela, give it a go on your own first. if you find it too trying and get agravated, you can always resort to an agent.

do it when you get here.

quote:

as is being allowed to have our two cats (that's non-negotiable).

that will make it tougher but not impossible.

saludos,
jer...

oh yes, forgot one thing!!!

quote:

we arrive on Tuesday night, but are going to the football (at least in the bar if not the Bernabeu!)

OUCH!!! that hurts!!! dissed for footy :cry:

footy is just about every day but our special TUESDAY NIGHT, NOV. 23rd GET TOGETHER is once in a lifetime

saludos,
jer...

Elizabeth--
I know just what you are going through. I worked myself into such a frenzy of worry just before we came.... Trust me, you'll find a place. It will all work out.

As scary as it sounds, I think it's best to just wing it once you get here. No one is going to do anything for you until you are here. This is definitely a cultural thing. I can completely sympathize with the "fear of talking on the phone"--for me that is the hardest thing to do.

And somehow we still managed to find a place in just a week, during a heat wave, jet-lagged, with an unhappy 2 1/2 year old. It really wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, but it was stressful. Just plan on walking around a lot, so that you can narrow down your geographic area and then start making elaborate lists to keep track of everyone you have called, the places you've seen, the ones that are already rented out.

You will catch on really quick--and these are the real "learning experiences". A week of looking for an apartment is better than a month of "immersion study" in an academy.

You can check out idealista and segundamano online now. Quite a few of the places on segundamano are placed by inmobiliaria, so you can get in touch with them this way. I think idealista is all private listings. Also make sure to get the segunda mano print version at a newsstand when you land here, since it is organized differently and seems to have more listings. I think it comes out every weekday.

We decided to only use an inmobiliaria, if nothing panned out otherwise (which luckily it did). They all try to extort one month's rent for finding you a place. I think the owner should be the one to pay this, not the tenant! About the cats... if they seem reluctant, offer to leave a bit more of a deposit (if you can swing it).

Here are some words that you'll need to know:

se�al
Deposit that you leave so that the landlord will hold the apartment for you. Make sure to get a receipt.

pr�rroga
Extension. If you plan on staying more than a year, make sure that there isn't anything in the lease that says you give up your right to "pr�rrogar" for five years.

aval bancario
Guarantee from a Spanish bank that you will pay a full year's rent. I never could figure out how to do this.

exterior
Has windows to the street. If the ad doesn't say that the apartment is "exterior," then it almost certainly isn't. Which doesn't necessarily mean that it's a bad place.

climalit
Special windows that block out noise and cold air.


I know there are others... I'll post more when they come to me...

great info mariposita!!! :cheers:

just to add to the "se�al" (deposit) thang. normally, if you leave a se�al and then take the apt., you take the se�al out of the first month's rent.

so, if you leave 50 euros as a se�al and your rent is 750 euros/month, you only pay 700 euros the first month since you already left 50 as a deposit.

either that or you get the se�al back and then pay the entire rent (750 euros).

may be obvious but i thought i would mention it anyway.

some landlords or real estate agents will "forget" you gave them a se�al if you don't remind them.

saludos,
jer...

Thanks for the great advice, Mariposita! I'm starting to feel a little better (I always hated the phrase "on an emotional rollercoaster" until I now find myself on the damn thing! Tears one minute, excitement the next . . . ). I'll keep you updated on our search. Very excited to think this time tomorrow I'll be back in Madrid!!!!

And Jer - no, you haven't been passed over for footie. We're not sure what we're doing exactly and so didn't want to commit to dinner. But if you guys are going for drinks anywhere after . . . (And yes - I will post this reply on topic too )

I'm really looking forward to our move and getting to meet you all.

:ks:

Hey Elizabeth--
A woman in my class is moving out of her place this Tuesday. It's at the Alfonso XIII metro stop. As I remember, she said it was a one bedroom with a terrace. It will rent for 550 Euros, which seems like a really good deal. She said she loves the place, but now she and her husband are moving to a free place that a family member doesn't use (lucky them!). I haven't seen the place, but it might be worth looking into...

Let me know if you are interested and I can get her landlord's number for you (m@alpha60.com). She also mentioned that her landlord speaks English...

--Megan

Well, we think we've found a place. It's in Ciudad Lineal and has a lovely terrace for my cats (ultra-important). It's a bit more than we wanted to pay, and won't be available until the beginning of February, but we think it's worth it for the first year. Then we'll see what happens!

Thanks again for all the advice. It was quite a frantic few days!

Very good Elizabeth. Must keep the kitties happy

Were the estate agents helpful? Did they explain why they ignored your various emails?

In response to customer service issues mentioned earlier I�d like to add that I work in a phone company and we receive vast amounts of emails requesting information each day. Not all can be dealt with on the day, many are responded to with the standard �thank you for your letter�.� reply and others are simply discarded (be it those written in Catalan or us having bad days/can�t be bothered/hungover � great customer services, eh? )

RYB did send me an email - the day I left Britain!!! And that basically said to pop into the office. When I did, all the estate agents were very helpful, and Gema at RYB has been great (they're all really friendly).