If you are moving to Malaga, alone or with family, one of the first very important relocation tasks is finding a new home. Whether or not you decide to buy property in the future, renting initially is the best strategy, so are you up to the task of finding a long-term rental in Spain?
In this article we try to name some of the most common challenges and how to address those if you are an expat looking for a long-term rental property in Malaga
What are the main challenges:
- Intense, fast-moving market, with very high rental demand and continuously increasing rental prices
- Absence of Spanish work contract making it more difficult to be accepted as a future tenant. We explained it in more detail here
- Difficulty of communication with Malaga estate agents and/or landlords due to lack of language and little insight into local practices and regulations
- Difficulty in understanding and interpretation of Spanish rental contracts and their main terms and conditions
- Mismatched expectations of the property market and local practices, leading to disappointments and loss of opportunities.
How to navigate those challenges:
- If you are moving to Malaga, avoid summer months as the market turns to short-term tourist rentals reducing even further the inventory of long-term property rentals. If you can’t avoid it, consider booking a short-term rent during summer and start looking for long-term rent as of middle or end of September, but be prepared to pay a premium on a monthly price. This solution may also benefit those expats applying for the Digital Nomad Visa from Spain and waiting for the approval before committing long-term
- Prepare as much documentation as possible to prove your financial situation: income statements, payslips, bank statements showing that your financials meet your property requirements
- Get references from your previous landlords if you can
- If you come with pets, have their photos ready to be sent to prospective landlords and agents while you are inquiring for properties
- Be open and flexible, remember that you are competing with several other candidates, and at the end it is often a personal decision of the owner and how they see you. Try not to criticise even if things are handled differently to what you are used to, the key is to find a way of working around it
- Be prepared to act fast, but at the same time…
- Be prudent and careful and watch out for scammers. Make sure to understand the terms and conditions and verify the legalities of the property before you make any money transfers
- Stay positive, the task is difficult but not impossible
Our final advice – employ a Relocation agent who will guide and assist you in your Malaga long-term rental property search and help to successfully navigate each and every of the above challenges and secure your new Spanish home! Get in touch to find out how Malaga Expat can assist you with this important task!