snikpoh

Agents in Spain are really no more than 'finders' - they are certainly not 'managing agents' as we would understand in UK.

Therefore, to get problems fixed, it is more normal to go to the landlord and not the agent.

In my experience (having many properties for rent, all via agents) agents do nothing other than find tenants.

lynnxa

so what do they do for their money?

the ones I am talking about were indeed supposed to be managing agents - & the owners live on the other side of the world & we had no means of contacting them

still - that's all in the past now & we're happily renting directly from the owner

mckoolit

Would anyone know how much is the usual expenses (gas, water, electricity) in renting out Spain cost?

snikpoh

For a typical 2-bed flat in town, two people renting, these are some rough figures.

Water - 40 euros every 3 months
Electricity - 40 euros per month
Gas bottles - 14 euros each (small/normal ones)


All this depends on whether you cook with gas or electricity, whether you have air con. units etc. etc.

mckoolit

Thanks so much!

evamar

That reminds me some stupid situation that happened many years ago. A silly Brit young kid got injured (his fault for being stupid, I remember he did something silly but not exactly what) and his mother, with not a single word of Spanish, went crazy because nobody in the emergency service and at the hospital could speak English.

Why most English speaking people assume that wherever they go they will find natives speaking English? This could well be the normal case as more or less all the rest of countries have pulled down their pants and learned the current "worldwide" language, but it cannot be expected.
Spanish people speak Castillian Spanish and that's the only language they HAVE TO speak (plus any other Spanish language in some other parts supposedly IF they want to: Catalan, Vasque, Valencian...). If you actually find Spanish people who can speak English, start with a BIG thank you because they have bothered to try to understand you.

I understand that a mother can be very worried about her son, but she should have learned some basic vocabulary and made sure that just in case something happened (this means BEFORE it happens) she had somebody who could act as translator if needed.

If you travel don't assume things will be the same and people will speak your language. I still haven't really forgiven my sister-in-law for assuming that the 4* Madrid Hotel that we used for our wedding guests would have a keetle as a basic service in every room so she wouldn't have to bring any for mi niece's bottless. NO, there wasn't! We passed the online info, with a description of rooms and services perfectly clear in Spanish and in English. She should have checked in advanced, not assumed she didn't have to bring one. The staff at the cafeteria made her a big favour for one day, as an emergency even though they are supposed not to, and then they told her to buy her own. She started critizicing the staff and the hotel, when it was her own fault. On the first day as a married couple I still had to hear from in-laws and some British guests how bad she was treated and how was it possible for a 4* hotel not to have a keetle.

Of course I should have bit my tongue, but that was too much asking... specially after she showed up in my wedding wearing white!

As per the rental topic... the agents normally won't manage anything, as you already said they mostly introduce the parts. You should always ask about translation of the contract and also if you have to pay to the agents once or monthly. In some cases their cost is included in the rent so you cannot see it because it is later deducted from the landlord.

If possible I would advice to deal directly with the owners, but again don't assume they will be able to speak English if you cannot speak Spanish. There are lots of properties to rent, so they will possibly be keen to accept your offer, just make sure you get the lenght you need, it doesn't have to be a year.

Snikpoh's figures for 2 people/2 beds is fine, actuall cost will always depend of what you actually use.

paintermujer

When we moved house we had to pay a months rent finders fee and so did our landlord.

Any problem our landlord dosent really want us to approach him but the service person directly.He has written all the names and phone numbers on the items concerned.

Our house has some gadgets one of which is a lift which never works so I call the engineer direct.Hes coming again tomorrow.

As far as bills are concerned our summer electric bill came out a couple days ago.Although we have been as frugal as possible with the aircon over the summer the bill was 460 euros for 2 months electricity.

Domino

not wishing to appear difficult and others have given you some costs, but surely that depends on how much you use. If you are a heavy user in the uk then you would see a reduction in some charges due to the Spanish weather, but would still be higher than average. Things like kids leaving lights\radios\televisions etc on 24\7, many hot showers\baths etc.
I would suggest allow for about 15% less than you are currently paying, things like gas and electricity are roughly the same as uk, its things like the council taxes which are much cheaper.
rgds

Domino

I noticed this in Milan where there was no kettle, but have stayed in hotel in Granada where there was a kettle.
In the uk it is accepted that all hotels, basic over night stops such as Travelodge and even a basic bed & breakfast in a private house would have a kettle. This can cause an extra overhead to the business as such items have to be regularly checked for safety.

Is not having a kettle a general rule in Spain, or is it a decision of the operator ?

cricketman

Of course hotels in Spain dont have kettles. Spaniards dont drink tea or instant coffee. What would they use them for!?

If a hotel has kettles is must be that they had complaints from foreigners so decided to stock them

lynnxa

have you seen the price of kettles in Spain!!!!


in my experience they aren't in general use in homes in Spain - at least not by the Spanish people I know, so it seems logical to me that hotels wouldn't supply them


I don't have one............

whitelinen

How patronising!

When and if I ever find a Spanish person who can speak to me fluently in English I will faint. In the meantime I will do what I always do and muddle on in my best Spanglish!

As for emergency services, 112 in English has been available for more that 5 years in Spain. I have used it as have others and without any problems at all. I guess there will be some on here who will disagree but then they always do.

cricketman

Given that they live in Spain then why should they speak English fluently?

Did you ever think about learning Spanish before coming to Spain. After all, people do speak Spanish in Spain you know? Did you not think of that?

Domino

Telefonic\Movistar have a fault line offering assistance in 4 languages including English. But when you report the fault to them in English over the weekend they tell you to ring the main number and hang up. The main number cant take English calls and refer you to the English service.
However, during the week the system seems to work properly, faults get reported - just they don't fix the fault, but you can't have everything

On our first rental we had found a small agency, the guy running it kept apologising for his poor English, when we could only speak about 12 words of Spanish between us. He got a student in from the Uni to act as translator and also provided an English version of the standard Spanish contract, we signed both and the landlord signed both. Very helpful, and we used the same guy for the next rental.

Domino

Yes, and in the last 2 years the prices have dropped by up to 50% IME.
Places like MediaMarkt and Alcampo now have special offers and a cheap range as more and more Spanish are finding they are better than the saucepan on the stove.

Spain as UK doesnt normally have a stove and saucepan in each room, so would be logical to have a kettle, but that would lead to providing the mixings for tea and coffee and sugar and milk etc, which is an extra cost to add to the cost of the room