Hi all,

Recently my wife got a job offer in Alicante(city) so we happily accepted that and will be making the move with our two kids in the summer.
We are looking to rent for the first year before buying a property once we familiarise ourselves with the area and get all the other little details in order so in a few weeks time we will be heading down to look at some rental properties and hopefully sign off on one.

One question I have though is how negotiable are the rental prices if at all?
I imagine there is some room for movement as some places are advertised at different prices on different sites. I guess once there it's something to ask the agent about.
Same with furnishings too as most places seem to come fully furnished and since we will be bringing all our stuff with us we don't really need it.
Are the landlords keen enough for the rental to put there stuff in storage?

Anyway, thought I'd post a little welcome to the Spanish section and I'm sure I can come up with many more questions as time goes on so please bare with me if you have heard them all before.

I would say yes rental prices might be negotiable - just depends on the landlord and how desperate he is and how much he likes the look of you (ie is he convinced you will pay putting it bluntly)

Most rentals here are already furnished - (as indeed are many purchases) I would be reluctant to put my furniture in storage for a tenant (not even an easy option) - so I think you really are going to have more problems on that issue.
Why not save the costs and bother and leave it in the UK? Most of it is probably not suitable (this from personal experience) for Spain anyway.

Thanks for the reply Rob.
I only ask as I'm not sure if it was a done thing or not, I wouldn't of dreamt of trying that here but you never know. If it was common practice I'd feel as if we missed out more than anything by not knowing. However the prices seem reasonable enough anyway.

I suppose the furnishings depends on what extent the place is furnished, there are certainly things that we wouldn't have a problem and could do with but most of the stuff we have we are connected too and as we are in Belgium now we don't have anywhere to leave it and to be honest don't ever intend on coming back.
It may not be an issue if the place is big enough and we can store our stuff for the time we are renting. There is no harm in asking if we can find the right place and we would even consider paying extra if needed(not too much though).
I did notice that the purchases seem to come furnished too that is less of a problem.

Hope this is not seen as hijacking the thread, but are there storage depots (for domestic furniture and stuff) around this part of Spain?

I imagine there should be although I haven't looked into that yet and don't know what they might cost.
That's why I would ask if they would be willing to shift their stuff, even at our expense if necessary. Also another reason for asking how negotiable the asking price is.
Of course that is their prerogative not too.

Well I am not saying they don't exist because you can never say never but....in my experience there is no culture of this because of the furnished system for both renting and buying.

Obviously if your have family heirlooms then your furniture is important to you - but as I hinted at earlier I think the cost (13 yrs ago) of shipping it was never worth it and better to buy new local furniture that suits Spanish properties - but that is my personal view.

Typically my rental tenants arrive with bedding, towels, and a TV (I had one said he could not live without his 42inch TV)

BTW New furniture is very cheap at the moment and there are also 2nd hand furniture shops in my south Costa Blanca area.

Mmm, seem to be a few "GuardaMuebles" on here. No idea if it's the same concept though..

http://www.milanuncios.com/guardamuebles-en-alicante/

That's what I was trying to sound out not knowing of the culture myself. I can always ask, it's not going to be a deal breaker if the place is too good to pass up but part of the relocation package is that the company will cover moving costs including a truck packed with stuff.
We have just started packing and are not certain what will come yet, some stuff we'll probably junk but it's nice to know these things before we get there.

A 42inch TV would be more than ample however.

Once we are there looking at places we will know more, hopefully.

Personally I would never rent a place that came with its own furniture. Landlords only leave behind what they dont mind getting destroyed!

I dont know the Costa Blanca, but there were plenty of unfurnished places available on the CDS

Most rentals are furnished, but there are a goodly number unfurnished available in and around Alicante. I would suggest you contact several agents with your requirements and let them do the leg work for you.

You can ask anything. When trying to sell a property, I had one cheeky agent try to get me to accept a client at a ridiculously low rent on the understanding he would "consider" buying it after a months trial.....

Thank you for the link, I had a quick look and it there are a number of companies around.
Something to keep in mind if ever we need it.

I can see the appeal in it but when you already have your own things you much rather live with them. Plus there is no worry that when you move out they don't try and slap you with a bill for all the damage done.
It's not our first choice anyway if it can be avoided.

There are some that we have seen unfurnished and there are plenty of places available it's just that the majority of ones we have made enquiries about are furnished. That or they turn out not to be a long term rental despite being advertised as one.

missile, exactly what we are doing at the moment. Hopefully get them to find some places and set up some appointments for when we visit in May.

You might want to scan the local press for private rentals? You can subscribe and have Costa Blanca News delivered to your address in Belgium.

That might not be such a bad idea, at the moment we feel detached from the process being so far away and trying to gauge everything online.
I'm going to look into that, thanks.

Alicante City has very few expats and the expat newspapers in the Alicante province seldom advertise rental properties in the city itself. The Spanish rental agents, which are plentiful in the city, don't seem to bother much with a web presence either.

Yet the bigger ones in the city usually have English speakers and are very helpful, if they consider you a serious renter.

It's a big city and not free of some not so pleasant quarters, but the area from El Corte Ingles down to the harbour is considered one of the better areas and it's full of decent, large apartment blocks. The stuff up by the university and round the back of the castle is a bit rough.

One thing to watch out for, is that apartments in Spain can be very noisy places. Generally they do not have carpets on the tiled floors, and the sound of high heels clomping back and forth over your heads, can drive you scatty!!
Also the Spanish are quite a noisy lot (I love them!), and loud music coming from nearby (when apartment balcony doors are wide open in the summer), is another problem. When we had an apartment, one young couple above us, were 'AT IT' most nights at 2am, then there was a short brake while they talked for a while, then they were off again! It was just as though they were on our balcony