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Globexs helps foreigners rent an apartment in Bilbao, Vitoria and San Sebastian.

The cruel reality of finding an hassle free rental in the Basque Country

Almost 20 years ago I was lucky to live in Bilbao for 9 months. I was an Erasmus student at the University of Deusto and I remember that finding an apartment was a nightmare. A lot has changed since then (first of all my Spanish is a lot better now), but it is still very difficult to find a temporary apartment, for 3-9 months, fully furnished, with all the costs that entails. This is not only the case in Bilbao, but also in Vitoria, San Sebastian and the other big cities in the Basque Country.

As in most regions in Spain, Airbnb has disrupted the rental market in the Basque Country.

In fact, now it’s probably even harder to find an affordable rental apartment because Airbnb and other vacation rental websites have completely disrupted the rental market. In recent years, apartment rental owners have been misled and confused by the promises of insanely high profits from vacation rentals, making it very difficult for expatriates to find a decent priced furnished rental apartment for the medium term, despite local government efforts to regulate the market.

The rental market in the Basque Country

As in most cities in Spain, there are 3 types of rentals, which do not take into account student housing and flat sharing.

Traditional rentals

Traditional estate agents usually offer empty, unfurnished apartments for rent with a minimum stay of 1 year. Prices are higher than in the south of Spain, but still 5-10% lower than in Madrid or Barcelona. Compared to e.g. Valencia, the rental prices in Bilbao are 20-25% higher. For much less than 750€ per month you won’t find anything in a decent neighborhood.

And of course you have to add the costs and the agency costs (1 month rent). The costs for the community are usually included in the rent, but you’ll have to endure the hassle of wifi, water, electricity, etc. These apartments are not interesting for people who are looking for a temporary apartment for a few months in the Basque Country, because they are far too complicated. And if you don’t speak Spanish (or Basque), forget it!

Holiday rentals

As in the rest of Spain (Europe? World?), Airbnb and friends have dramatically changed the concept of vacation rentals in the Basque Country.

However, locals have expressed anger about the impact of unregulated apartment tourism in their area, and the local government has stepped up the strict rules and high fines that deter many apartment owners.

Today, there are still more than hundreds of vacation rentals on Airbnb, but this number is constantly decreasing. Anyway, vacation rentals are not interesting for people who want to move to the Basque Country.

Expat rentals

If you want to soak up the atmosphere of the Basque Country for a few months (isn’t it great to be a digital nomad?), or if your company sends you there for a project, then you are looking for an expat landlord. In other words, you are looking for a company like Globexs.

Due to the growing trend of global mobility, the demand for flexible housing is increasing, also in the Basque Country.

More and more people are working online and loacation-independent. As a result, more and more people are moving and living in another city for a few months. This growing group of digital nomads is specifically looking for flexible expat rental in the medium term.

Indeed, a lot has happened since 1980, when Dolly Parton released numbers 9 to 5, and more and more people are trying to bypass the standard 9-5 work model. In fact, by 2035, an estimated 1 billion digital nomads will be roaming the planet in search of flexible rentals. Globexs is responding, even in the Basque Country.

Globexs offers hassle free medium term rental with flexible contracts

When the duration of the foreign assignment is less than 1 year, which is often the case, the expat encounters major challenges and obstacles when looking for an apartment and often uses the services of a company such as Globexs.

What Globexs offers

Interim (1-11 months) rentals
Affordably priced beautiful rental apartments in decent neighborhoods
Fully furnished rental apartments, ready to move in
All on 1 invoice: all costs are included in the rental price.
Flexible contracts: most expats do not know exactly how long they will stay.
No problems with landlords. Globexs is the contact person for owner and expat during the entire stay and for intermediaries in case of problems.

The flexibility expatriates need

Situated between the traditional rental and the holiday homes are the Globexs rental properties. We have a large database of furnished apartments, most of which have been previously published on Airbnb, available and suitable for medium term expat residences: fully furnished and ready to move into.

Most digital nomads and expats do not know exactly how long they will stay in the Basque Country.

All costs are included in the rental price, so you don’t have to worry about wifi, water, electricity and other bills. And most importantly, the rental contract has flexible cancellation and renewal conditions.

In which cities is Globexs active in the Basque Country?

The Basque Country is becoming increasingly popular among digital nomads and many foreign companies have recognized the opportunities the region offers. In fact, there are currently more than 1,000 foreign capital companies in the Basque Country and thousands of highly qualified foreign workers live and work in Bilbao, Vitoria and San Sebastian.

Research has shown that most expats have difficulty finding an apartment. Globexs builds bridges between apartment owners and expat tenants.

Globexs is rapidly expanding its portfolio of apartments in all the major cities of the Basque Country. Most of the apartments are currently located in the larger Bilbao region.