Property pitfalls of renting in Paris

Flat hunting in Paris is a bureaucratic nightmare, and that's only if the landlord likes the look of you! Check out this article from Greatreporter. The author Sally Rubery is right, you need determination, money and a sense of humour!

The need to provide a Guarantor is a particular problem for non-French renters because it's not that easy to find someone who will co-sign with you and agree to pay if you default on the rent if you're brand new in town. French landlords won't accept a non-French based Guarantor because they can't hunt them down if you turn out to default on your rent.

You could just come direct to Bonapart Paris and we'll ease the pain because most people agree after they finally find their home alone, it was a nightmare!

I feel so sorry when people call me and tell me they've been here for a week staying in a hotel and have had no luck finding a place, they are exhausted, disheartened and usually quite uncomplementary about how owners and agencies do business. It can get you down being treated with a complete lack of respect day after day!

It's even horrible for the French, here's a site called JeudiNoir which is a pressure group made up of young people who can't find proper accomodation in Paris. They are protesting on the humiliating process particularly through the Particulier Particulier (PAP), a property magazine carrying listings for apartments for rent and for sale direct with the owner (it comes out on a Thursday, Jeudi, hence the "Black Thursday/Jeudi Noir" name).

Yesterday a family from Mexico city told me that they'd gone to visit an apartment for their son who is coming here to study. On a visit they were let in by the Gardienne who was rather vague about the apartment, it was either this one or another on the 3rd floor. They confirmed the apartment, saw that it was the one they'd seen photos of online and went to the agency to sign the papers only to find out just before signing that they were about to put down a deposit on the grotty, semi-furnished box with a view onto the wall of the neighbouring building. Thankfuly they spotted the trick as the son is already speaking excellent French - they were the lucky ones.