Just played around on www.loquo.com - really seems to be good and helpful .... has anyone ever used it and purchased/rented, etc?

i have rented apt in Madrid with it loquo site
you can do many things with it;i think its good

Thanks guys! I've tried loquo and it's a great website. I've also tried Craigslist and segundamano. I have a couple of questions, just so I know what to expect and don't get bamboozled! If I rent a place:

1) Which utilities are typically covered by landlord and which by the tenant?

2) Would it be possible to keep all the utlitize under the owners name and just pay him/her what I owe every month?

3) What benefits/drawbacks are there renting from owner as opposed to agencies?

As always, THANKS!

When my husband and I rented (we are now, gulp, homeowners!)....

1) We paid all utilities. We also paid her share of the "comunidad de vecinos". I don't know if this was standard practice, but since we got such a great deal on the rental we had no problem paying the comunidad.

2) All utilities, except for the phone, came under the owners name and we paid them at the bank.

3) Advantages of agencies, if you don't know you landlord or have a command of Spanish, a bonafide contract through an agency is almost always preferrable. Drawbacks: any fee that you might have to pay. Advantages of dealing directly with the landlord, you might be able to negotiate. That's what we did and how we managed to get such a great deal on our rent. Drawbacks: There are many unscrupulous landlords out there. Luck of the draw.

it depends on your level of comfort and experience. have said that i concur with Chica on the No 1, comunidad de vecinos if they have it you pay it.

No 2 it varies according to the owner.
No 3. i always deal with the owner, but I am Spanish so for you the agencies might be better.

Hi,

Anyone know of any specific good, reputable companies in Madrid that have apartments for rent? (not the ones that rent luxury apartments for a billion Euro a month! - who can afford that?!)...

Also, I'm a bartender by trade. Anyone know of any bars in Madrid that would be willing to "hire" a bartender w/experience in Las Vegas and San Francisco?...if so, let me know (websites, emails, anything like that)...

THANK YOU!

Hey,

anyone know what the process is for a foreigner to open up his/her own business in Madrid? Is it suuuper difficult, or is it a matter of having enough $$$?

Thanks!

Yes, it is very difficult if you aren't an EU citizen and it takes a LOT of time and patience. You need to find a lawyer in Spain who could talk you through all of the steps.

driven989, we had a lonnnnng thread here a few years ago bouncing around the idea of opening a kind of Co-Op company in Madrid where we could - IN THEORY - invite anyone we wanted to join the company and also offer easy work visas. Of course, as with many great ideas, no one (including me ) took it seriously and did anything to see if it was even possible.

The topic does come up time to time about opening a serious business in Spain, however, and I don't know of anyone (from here) who followed through, mainly due to The Process, which was long, tedious, and expensive. When people have these ideas they want to do it now and don't realize it can take a year (or more! ) to get all the papers in order just to BEGIN taking on the details of the Spain-based business itself.

If you DO "go the distance", wow, you not only have virtuistic perseverance but also serious determination and will take us along for the ride to know HOW this is actually done. If you're successful, maybe others will choose to attempt to do the same.

Best of luck! Saludos, MadridMan

Driven 989 -
do a search under poster's name "Chica"
you should be able to find some info on starting a business in Spain