Chile Forum

My apologies if this information has already been posted somewhere on this forum, but I'm looking for some basic helpful tips in renting an apartment in Valparaiso.

My husband and I are moving to Chile in about a month and we plan to be residents for several months - up to a year. We'd like rent an apartment while in Valparaiso but won't have jobs andwon't be students (we're basically taking a long sabbatical and will primarily be traveling and enjoying time off work)

I'm a little concerned that landlords may not want to rent to us, as we don't have a chilean credit history. Any tips for how/where to look for a place, and what makes landlords comfortable in renting to foreigners? (bank statements, cash, etc.) If there's a link that covers off on this, please let me know. Thanks!

Higher a company or equivalent of a real estate agent to help you. You'll probably need to leave a big deposit.

Welcome to the forum! We live in Viña and went through the renting thing twice last year.

Re documentation, I think it really depends on the landlord / agent. The big agencies, like Fuenzalida, tend to ask for a lot more paperwork (we were thinking of a flat with them and were presented with a loooong list. It fell through for other reasons, though). For our first flat, we didn't need to prove any financials. I think we may have done for the second, but that was because we had Chilean pay cheques by that point (or at least my husband did). A RUT might help. You can get one of those from the SII quite easily.

The problem about going with one agent around Viña/Valpo is that the market is really fragmented, so there are lots of little agencies that tend to have just a couple of places on their books at one time. The exception to that is Patricia Sepulveda, who has a monopoly on properties around Cerro Alegre and the other gringo friendly bits in Valpo. http://www.patriciasepulveda.cl/ The website isn't updated very much. I should think they're quite used to extranjeros.

Usually properties around here are advertised on http://www.portalinmobiliario.cl/ and on the local paper's website - http://www.mercuriovalpo.cl/matriz/index.html (click 'clasificados').

With both our rentals, the deposit was a month's rent. Personally, I wouldn't put down more as there's a huge chance they'll keep it when you leave.

Good luck!

Hi. Lots of people rent from March to December with furnished homes in Vina and the surrounding beach towns. That might be a good option for you. If you offer to pay cash in advance you shouldn't have a problem, but be sure that you get a notorized paper saying you paid in advance and the amount and you and the landlord sign it because Chileans are notorious for trying to rob you. That is all. Welcome to the forum!

Thank you all for the quick and very helpful responses. It sounds like this maybe somewhat challenging but not impossible. I look forward to participating in the forum!

Yes, challenging, but not *that* bad. takes some patience and persistence! When we arrived, we had a month's let on a one bedroom place with these people: http://www.casaventura.cl/, gave us enough time to suss things out and not rush into anything too quickly.