Gaudí House inmobiliarias — Attraction in Barcelona

We had such a disappointing experience with this agency. I´ve never left a bad review in my life but I feel I have to as this situation really screwed us over. We went to a viewing at one place and the agent didn´t seem to know anything about the property and just kept talking over the owner, not the end of the world. BUT... The real disappointment however came after seeing another property and making a "reservation", of which we were told meant that no further reservations could be made and we would "probably" hear back in 1 or 2 days. I understand we signed a document that said it could be up to 7 working days and that is ultimately our responsibility, but we received absolutely zero contact/updates from Rocio from the 8th until 20th. Finally after I called the office on 20th I spoke to a lady who "checked the system" and was able to tell me the answer from the owner was no, sorry. Why had it taken 12 days for someone to just check the system and tell me no? After asking Rocio further, she explained that other applications had been made for the flat (how is this possible when you are taking people´s money to avoid exactly that happening?) and that we were unsuccessful as we are not Spanish. In what world is it acceptable to be offering this information, basically openly admitting that your company is happy to work with people who discriminate? Again, I understand that it is the owner´s decision to choose who they want in their home and that is fine, but maybe in future - 1 - Don´t tell people their reservation means other people cannot apply and that they will hear back soon. 2 - Reply to messages and make your customers feel like you are communicating with and helping them. 3 - Don´t tell people that their nationality is the reason their application was unsuccessful.

I really just wish I had read a review of this agency before we made our reservation on this apartment that explained the reality of their service. If I had known that actually they continue to accept applications and that even after the 7 working days (which turned out to be 12 days), the result was unlikely to be positive, we obviously would not have used...

BE VERY CAUTIOUS - BIG AGENCY FEE, HEAVY PRESSURE TO SIGN. The young Frenchman (Louis, I think) who showed us around the property was lovely and did a good job, sadly, the experience turned pretty sour once we came in to put a reservation fee down. We were a bit cautious of scams initially and they said the price should be higher than what was listed. When we said no, they dropped it back down to the original price. The agency fees were relatively high (customary in BCN is around 1 months rent, and this was 10percent of yearly rental price), but manageable, and then there was a 300euro fee for the contract, as well as over 200 euro taxes on both. For our rental price (750 a month) that meant additional payments to the agency of over 1000€, that will never be paid back. This might be customary here, and I'm not even complaining about the price, but when we wanted to take our time, and go away and have the reservation contract translated, we were met with annoyed glares, frustrated comments, and they tried to pressure us into signing immediately (as if we weren't paying the agency 900 euro for the privilege of going through them....). They said we couldn't take it away for translation, and then complained that they 'needed to do their job', when we made a few phone calls to try and sort it out on the spot. So yeah, watch the fees, but the real problem is the scammy and uncomfortable staff, that only remain friendly if you don't have questions. Especially the young woman who served us (she never said her name, but it wasn't Domenica), made us feel very unwelcome from the start, and like we were just a nuisance for even...

BE CAREFUL! In Spain, if the appartment is owned by a company, fees must be paid by that company, NOT YOU. This real state sells many properties from big property-owner companies and together they are making a good deal out of this by charging you those fees (too high, by the way). Also, they shouldn't ask you to pay in cash (or at least they can't if the total payment is higher than 2501€). I have to admit that workers are nice, but quite a bit disorganized because they, by mistake, offered me a rental slightly cheaper than what they actually asked me later when I was about to pay and sign the actual contract (Yes, I mean a very last-minute price increase). Other agencies do similar things and I've heard about some others that are way worse, so I do not discourage you to contact this agency, but be cautious or you will end up...