|
Looking for a flat in
Barcelona
Condividi su Facebook
Accomodation is one of the biggest
problem among the international expatriates
(and, actually, also among Catalans).
This is caused by two main reasons:
-
An
apartment is extremely expensive: During
the last few years, thanks to property
speculation, the price of flats has
grown approximatle 20% per year.
Nowadays even the smallest studio (25/30
square meters), in a semi-centric
district, costs at least € 210.000
-
Rentals:
As a result of high prices to buy a flat
in Barcelona, also rents as increased.
Even if, being lucky and searching
through the right channels, you can
still find something decent for a
relatively cheap price (at least
compared with other European capitals),
it’s very difficult to be able to live
alone with a typical call-centre or
English teacher salary.
At least in
the beginning of your Barcelona experience,
it’s quite commong to rent a room in a
shared flat.
To look for an accommodation in a flat
shared with other people, the best website
is Loquo (www.loquo.com)
Remember that best rooms are taken right
after the ad has been published: a few
months ago, my girlfriend was renting a nice
double room in her flat. Well, a few minutes
after the ad was on the Loquo, the phone
began to ring (she had to switch it off
after a while) and 3 hours later she already
rented it. Don’t discourage when you will
visit rooms that, compared with some other
standards, are very close to brush closets.
You need patience, perseverance, timing and
a bit of luck to succeed in renting a nice
room, in a renovated flat, shared with nice
people.
Anyhow, after
a few scrambles, most probably you will find
the right room: of course anyone has got his
own peculiar needs: some people prefers a
small room in a “marcha” district, others
prefer escaping the chaos of the centre to
enjoy a bigger room in a quiet area.
Barcelona offers the right solution for
everyone!
Usually, the path you will follow, in order
of time, will be:
First room: The “emergency room”…this
will be the first room you find, after a few
days searching, being more or less ok
(less). Normally you choose it to stop
paying the Hostal (Hostel) or to sleep on
your friend’s coach.
This accommodation is going to be abandoned
very soon
Second room: better then the first
one, it’s an acceptable room in a renovated
flat, a little bigger then the previous one
and (if you’re lucky), also bright.
Depending on many different factors, this
could be a medium term accommodation.
Third solution: a flat of your own
(or shared your Girlfriend/Boyfriend).
Well…yes… after all you will have that
stroke of luck and you will be able to rent
(or buy !) a flat all for your own without
having to stop eating.
When it comes to renting a whole flat, I
suggest not using Loquo: usually,
Catalan landlords who publish an ad on this
website, know that most of the readers are
foreigners and think they are extremely rich
(remember, Catalans don’t know who is this
"strange" people coming from faraway lands
to live in their own town)... so they
must be punished with extremely high rents.
If you want to find a flat of your own, it’s
better if you use the same channels as the
Catalans: “Segunda Mano” (the newspaper or
the website
www.segundamano.es) or the “Col·legi
d'administradors de finques” (it’s a
kind of Property manager’s association.
Property managers can also work as property
dealers. The website is at this address:
www.coleadministradores.com).
Also Idealista (www.idealista.com)
sometimes is a source of interesting
opportunities.
Of course, to successfully search through
these channels, you need to speak Spanish
and be able to (at least) read some Catalan.
If you cannot, it is better to ask some help
from a friend.
Something you really have to avoid is the
“Associaciones de particulares”
(Landlord Associations – the name can vary a
little bit, but the concept remains the
same): they are pseudo-barely-legal
companies who asks some money to “join the
association” and access to a list of cheap
flats. They will try to attract you with ads
on major (i.e. Segundamano) newspapers
describing wonderful flats at very low
prices (around 400 euros per month !).
Be cautious: in Barcelona nobody gives
anything for free !
These flats, together with the ones of the
others on the “list-you-will-read-after
-you-pay” don’t exist or has been already
rented away months ago. You will just lose
your money: when you’re lucky, a few
hundreds euros.
In general, don’t pay anything before
signing the tenancy agreement.
It’s ok and somhow normal paying an agency
for their service, but real ones don’t ask
you anything before you sign the contract.
As I said, through Spanish channels, the
price to rent a flat is usually cheaper.
Unfortunately this way you will have to pay
a lots of money in advance (anyway, if
you can afford it, just do it...you will
never regret !). When you sign the
contract you will be requested to pay
1. The month
2. A couple (sometimes more) months of rent
as a deposit
3. A bit more than one month’s rent as
Agency fee (sometimes 10% of annual rent)
So, you should be prepared to pay more or
less 4 months of rent in advance. Some
landlords, especially if they rent to
foreigners, ask for an “aval” (it
means guarantee: this means you will
have to lock some money on you bank account
as a guarantee towards the landlord). To
open an “aval” you just need to go to your
bank and speak with the employee. Normally
it has a price.
Usually flats you rent are empty, so you
will need to buy your own furniture.
As long as you don’t want design stuff, you
can go the local Ikea store and buy
everything you need: there are 2 of them in
Barcelona, one in Hospitalet and one in
Badalona. Check
here for the addresses.
Before going to Ikea, it’s probably worth
having a walk around the “Mercado de los
Encants” in the Glories barrio:
there are plenty of little shops there,
where you can find cheap furniture, sofas,
beds and everything you might need for your
new apartment. According to some friends’
experience, this is THE place to buy the bed
and the mattress.
Some people (especially younger and most
informal expats) really like the “dia
de los trastos”
(day of waste): once per week (day vary from
district to district) people is allowed to
throw in the street, close to refuse bins,
furnitures and items they don’t use anymore.
Once in the street, everyone’s allowed to
grab whatever they want and take it home! Of
course you should catch the stuff before the
garbage truck comes.
Very often, electric items are labelled with
a paper with the word “funciona” on
top: this means it is still working. A
friend of mined found a perfect microwave
oven in the street: it just needed a good
cleaning!
Lots of people I know has furnished most of
their flat this way: even if most part of
items are really scruffy, with a bit of luck
you can find furnitures and domestic
appliances in good conditions that just need
to be cleaned and/or fixed a little bit.
Of course, if rent is too high to be paid
alone, you can sub-rent one or more rooms to
amortize your investment: this is what
everyone does in Barcelona.
As you will probably realize, while looking
for your first room, the best way to quickly
find a tenant is publishing an ad on
Loquo:
it’s better if you also attach a couple of
pictures of the room(s) you’re going to
rent. Most probably you will receive tons of
calls of people interested in visiting your
rooms.
It quite normal to "interview" a few people
interested in your room and then decide who
you want to live with... it's normal and
nobody will be offended if not choosen.
Also keep in
mind once you will present your “declaracion
de renta” (tax declaration), you might
be entitled to deduct up to 10% of your
annual rent.
Talking about housing, I think it’s very
important you really understand the meaning
of some "key words" you will always read in
advertisements.
Since
Spainyards have the very bad habit to divide
small flats in many smallest rooms these are
the words you will need to remember:
Habitacion individual: Very small
room. It’s ok for a no-claustrophobic
person. This kind of room usually host a
single bed, a small wardrobe and, if you’re
lucky, a small desk.
Forget the room you used to have at your
parents’ place: that is the size of sitting
rooms in Barcelona!
Habitacion Doble: It a room a bit
bigger than the other. It might either be a
small (but not too small) room with a double
bed and a wardrobe, or a real double room.
Depends on how lucky you are and how honest
is the landlord.
Habitacion Interior: This kind of
room overlooks a very small (1.5 meters
wide) skylight passing through the whole
building. Since these rooms are really dark
and a bit stinky, they are usually cheaper
than the other rooms of the same flat. Also
opening the windows will be tough: every
smell coming from kitchens and bathrooms of
the building will be circulating through
this “skylight”.
Habitacion Exterior: It’s a room that
overlooks toward the street: of course this
could be good or bad…it depends on the
street, its noise-level and the floor.
Piso Ideal Parejas (Flat idea for a
couple): This means a small “studio” or, at
most, a couple of small rooms. Normally it’s
a very small flat and, the more the concept
of being ideal for a couple is emphasised,
the smallest the flat.
No reformado: A flat that has not
been renovated. These flats are usually
really old.
Piso de diseño (translation: design
flat): it’s a flat where landlord bought
some Ikea-style furnitures and, maybe, Ikea
parquet.
You might also find useful the following
short description of the areas where most
part of expatriates live:
Barrio Gotico: Looking towards the
sea, it’s the area on the left side of “Las
Ramblas”: it’s very centric, but also really
old. Most of the buildings are crumbling
but, if you want to live close to the
“marcha”, this is the place !
It might be a problem the fact that this is
a really noisy area and flats are usually
quite dark.
Raval (former Barrio Chino): Still
looking towards the sea, this is on the
right side of “Las Ramblas”. It used to be
an ill-famed area but now, after lots of
money invested by the city hall to improve
and “clean” this block, it’s quite all
right.
Expats have mixed feelings about Raval: some
people just love it, some could never live
there. For sure Raval represents the
multi-ethnic heart of Barcelona: here you
can find living side-by-side Europeans and
Arabs immigrants, each one of them with his
own experiences and culture to share.
For sure this is an area to consider,
specially the youngest residents and
students.
Most of best bars in town are in Raval.
Unfortunately, flats are really old and dark
in this area too.
Born: Born takes its name from “Paseo
del Born” and it’s part of the Barrio Gotico
(it’set out by Via Layetana, the Princesa
and the Calle Comercio, but the boundaries
are quite elastic). During the last few
years it turned into one of the most fashion
and trendy areas in Barcelona, especially
for some kind of expatriates (intellectual
and radical chic fellows). According to my
opinion, Born has got that special
atmosphere that makes it one of the most
beautiful “barrios” of Barcelona.
Gracia: Until last century, it was an
independent village right outside the town.
Nowadays, Gracia can be considered part of
the centre, even if you can still breathe
that special “village” atmosphere.
It’s one of my favourite areas of Barcelona
and I really suggest you to consider Gracia
in your flat-haunting: it’s amazing waking
up and having breakfast in one of the many
cafes of Gracia, greeting and having a chat
with the neighbor you meet in the street !
Buildings here are relatively new, so you
won’t face all the problems typical of
center flats.
Eixample: This is one of the biggest
districts in town: it’s divided into
Eixample Derecho (right side, with respect
to Paseo de Gracia, looking towards the
mountain) and Eixample Izquierdo (left side,
still with respect to Paseo de Gracia).
Historically, this is the neighbourhood of
Catalan middle class: big flats, usually
with a Modernist touch (of course, it
doesn’t mean you will live in a Gaudì
palace).
This is another zone I suggest, especially
for people who wants to live close to the
centre without having the noise and the
“fiesta” right under their door.
I suggest you to have a look at
this map of Barcelona with a well marked
indication of the different areas. It will
be useful to know exactly where the flats
you will see on the Loquo or anywhere else
are.
continue...
|
|
Italian
Introduction
Accomodation in Barcelona
Job in Barcelona
Practical suggestions
Cost of living in
Barcelona
Study Spanish in Barcelona
Contacts
|
