How to find the perfect apartment in only 5 steps!

Who would not like the idea of ​​living in Barcelona for a few months or even for a long term? We decided to write this note so that it works as a guide for all those who are looking for a new home here. Barcelona attracts a lot people from abroad because it is a city right at the beach with the perfect climate and there are many multinational companies offering interesting work opportunities. So when you decide to move to Barcelona one of the first but most difficult steps is to find the perfect apartment according to the characteristics you need.

At SmartMove we help all kinds of people to find a new home in Barcelona and get settled fast. We are more than a typical real estate agency, we have access to over 500 properties and will help you find the perfect apartment which fits all your search criteria. Not only will we give you great support to find the perfect apartment, we will also help you with relocation services after the move in date. This could be opening a bank account, getting the NIE or Wifi at your home etc. Check out these services here: https://smartmovebcn.com/relocation-services/

Now let’s go through the checklist to get settled in 5 steps:

1. As a first step we recommend you have an idea of which area or neighborhood you would like to live in. We can help you with our neighborhood guide: https://smartmovebcn.com/neighborhood-guide/

But if you get the chance to come to the city in advance it would be good if you walk through the neighborhoods to see which one you like best for you. If you are far away, ask friends for recommendations or use further online research to know more about each barrio of Barcelona. The more specific you are about the location, the easier it will be to find something of your interest.

2. Then you should write down all the criteria for your dream apartment. The clearer you know what you are looking for, the easier it will be to start your flat hunt. How many bedrooms and m2 do you need? Would you like the flat to come furnished or unfurnished? Do you need more than one bathroom? Is some outside space such as a balcony or a terrace important? Do you need heating and aircon? Do you prefer wooden floors or typical tiles? Do you prefer to live on a lower floor or at the top if the building? Also make sure you are looking for apartments in Barcelona that you can afford comfortably, so you have to define your budget for the rent. The monthly rental price usually comes without utility bills and wifi, so you have to add these on top in your calculations.

3. As soon as you have all the criteria written down, you can start your search on the online portals! We recommend you use idealista, Fotocasa, Habitaclia and pisos.com to find the perfect apartment. You can fill in all filters as detailed as possible and all suitable ads should come up. If you do not have much time to search online, you can also create alerts from these portals so you will get email notifications as soon as new apartments come online. We can also recommend to contact real estate agencies, the easiest would be to have an email with all search details and sending it to your favorite agencies. Real estate agents will then contact you and organize viewings for various apartments.

4. Once you have done the viewings and found the perfect apartment for you, we recommend delivering the needed documents as quickly as possible. The landlord usually requests to see a copy of the passport/NIE, a work contract and the last 3 payslips to proof your solvency. We recommend you to be fast answering to requests from the agencies and landlords. In Barcelona the rental market moves very quickly as there are many people looking for apartments every day. So if another person who is faster than you likes the same flat, you will risk to lose it. Be quick and always have your documents ready!

5. Congratulations, you have done many viewings and decided which apartment to go for and have already handed in your documents to the agency or landlord. Now it’s time to make a reserve to secure the property. The usual would be to pay 1 month rent in order to keep the flat reserved for you and stop all ongoing viewings and take it off the market. Once the reserve is settled, it’s time to prepare the rental contract and arrange a meeting for the move in date and contract signing.

You can see all our available flats at: www.smartmovebcn.com and also on Instagram: / smartmovebarcelona

We wait for you to contact us to find your new home!