What are the usual agency fees for a long term rental?

[Alicia79]

Hi Everyone,
I need your advice please. Tomorrow we want to view a long term rental property but the agency wants almost 500EUR for Contract and Agency Fees on top of the usual 1 month rental in advance and 1 month deposit. Is the CONTRACT FEE usual here or is it a rip-off? We really like the apartment, but I don't know what to do... if we don't agree to pay we will probably loose the apartment and if I pay I will support this non-sense and they will get the fee from someone else down the road..., right? What is your experience or opinion?

[tenerifeblue]

Hi Everyone,
I need your advice please. Tomorrow we want to view a long term rental property but the agency wants almost 500EUR for Contract and Agency Fees on top of the usual 1 month rental in advance and 1 month deposit. Is the CONTRACT FEE usual here or is it a rip-off? We really like the apartment, but I don't know what to do... if we don't agree to pay we will probably loose the apartment and if I pay I will support this non-sense and they will get the fee from someone else down the road..., right? What is your experience or opinion?
Its a rip off...so find another Agent. Often the Agent will charge a nominal fee for preparing contract, but this should not exceed 100 euros, and even at that, its still too much for what they actually do. Like i said, don't touch this particular Agent or should i say Cowboy with a barge pole.

[doreen]

It's not necessarily a rip off per se, it's the way some Agents, quite often Spanish, work - charging the tenant rather than the landlord. Other agents charge the landlord a fee (sometimes 10% of each monthly rent to manage the letting, sometimes a once off fee) ... and usually this will end up being built into the rent, so you will be unaware of it.

Try to negotiate with the agent to reduce the 500 fee - don't seem too keen either :)

[marbro8]

Hi Everyone,
I need your advice please. Tomorrow we want to view a long term rental property but the agency wants almost 500EUR for Contract and Agency Fees on top of the usual 1 month rental in advance and 1 month deposit. Is the CONTRACT FEE usual here or is it a rip-off? We really like the apartment, but I don't know what to do... if we don't agree to pay we will probably loose the apartment and if I pay I will support this non-sense and they will get the fee from someone else down the road..., right? What is your experience or opinion?try a pm to either young golfer or C.I.M, they will most likely give you some good advice, i know they are agents for selling apartments and maybe they know a bit about long term lets as well? and i would certainly trust both of them;)

[doreen]

Just some additional information as I see Alicia79 and tenerifeblue are both relatively new to the Forum ... I have had several properties to rent out over the last few years and have dealt with very many agents - the British ones don't charge the tenant, the Spanish (and Latin American) ones do ... and indeed this practice is considered very normal by Spanish renters. In the last few years I have seen some of the Spanish agents reduce their demand of one month to a portion of it, hence my suggestion to haggle.

The British community generally react with horror to this practice as it is unknown in the UK, yet do not seem to quibble too much that 5% is the norm for selling properties :)

[jack and gill]

We are in a long term rent and are moving out the end of the month it,s 3 bed in Adeje town it will one month rent up front and then you will pay a rent at the end of the month as there are on fee,s the rent is very reasonable

[9PLUS]

I was gonna say more or less the same as Doreen,

If its what you want and they are the only people renting that style you really like, try to negotiate a €10-€20 a month discount and rake the finders fee back over a year or two.