Some Advice

[Padi]

Hi, I am after some advice. Up until recently I was living in Seine et Marne working at a holiday centre for school children. I am now living in England but am looking to return to France, to Paris. I know that to rent an appartment in France through an agent immoblier it is common practice to give three months proof of earnings to show that you are earning a sufficient amount, I believe three times the monthly rent. However there is a good chance when I return to France I will not have a job lined up. Does anyone know if it will be possible to pay, say 6 months rent as a guarentee in the event that I dont have a job already lined up? as this is what I had to do when I first returned to England.
I would be most grateful of any advice.

merci d'avance

[guignol]

real estate agents who manage rentals always set the bar very high... if they really insisted on everything they say they need, no one would ever be able to rent an apartment!

show your rent receipts from england, and if you have any quittances de loyer from when you were in france, those too.

your paysheets from both england and your old job in france will help as well.

if you're young, they will always insist on someone else, a parent generally, to act as guarantor... porter caution. they may not need to live in france if they are of solid means.

advancing 6 months' rent is not a current practice, but money always talks, and if you show you've worked and paid rent reliably in the past and you have that kind of liquidity, you'll probably be well-regarded. note that to rent in paris intra-muros you'll need to be better than well-regarded. it's practically mission impossible.

a last little tip: when we rented, we never went through agencies but through services that connect entre particuliers apartment seekers with owners, who are often much more reasonable than agencies... but be careful! the majority of such businesses are scams to some degree, and even the reputable ones (we used hestia) are no guarantee. and the free advertising papers are useless, every phone number in there will lead to an agency or a scam.

these days the internet is probably the best bet; there are lots of sites.we bought using www.seloger.com (http://www.seloger.com) my sister in law rented through www.pap.fr (http://www.pap.fr) and no complaints in our cases, these sites seem 100% legit to me.

good luck!

[Padi]

Thanks for your advice Guignol