I am looking at renting thru this company and my question is Are they a reliable company and safe to deal with. I dont want to sent a couple of thousand dollars to reserve an apartment not knowing for sure that this agency is a for real and secure renting company. Need to know how to find out for sure about the business.
Thanks
alaska09
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I would NEVER wire money or send a check to anyone for a service that may or may not be all that it hould. You have no recourse if there is a problem. So many apartment rental firms take credit cards and at least you have some protection if something unforeseen does happen.
That%26#39;s my $.02 worth.
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Coincidentally, I just signed my 2nd rental agreement with Parisattitude today. I am living in Paris now in a studio I found through their service. I understand your hesitancy, I felt the same way, too. But, I used the paypal option which made me feel safer. Plus, using a credit card always makes me feel safer (though I%26#39;m not sure if their fraud policies apply to foreign companies).
I am in the process of renting a larger place for my family when they arrive in March. FYI, they are a fairly large agency, with a large storefront on Rue Sentier in the 2nd Arr. They appear to also sell real estate as I saw photo ads of properties in the window. I paid for the second agency fee with a credit card at the office and took care of the paperwork there (I know this is not an option for everyone).
My only issue with them is that I am inherently troubled by the concept of agency fees. But, after looking at many other sites that are not %26quot;agency%26quot; based (VRBO, craigslist, etc.), the places were similarly priced for me (monthly basis) even after factoring in the fees. In addition, the supply of rentals and ease of navigating on the website, made finding the right flat less of a chore. Just my 2 cents.
Have a great time in Paris,
NeuN
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Coincidentally, I just signed my 2nd rental agreement with Parisattitude today. I am living in Paris now in a studio I found through their service. I understand your hesitancy, I felt the same way, too. But, I used the paypal option which made me feel safer. Plus, using a credit card always makes me feel safer (though I%26#39;m not sure if their fraud policies apply to foreign companies).
I am in the process of renting a larger place for my family when they arrive in March. FYI, they are a fairly large agency, with a large storefront on Rue Sentier in the 2nd Arr. They appear to also sell real estate as I saw photo ads of properties in the window. I paid for the second agency fee with a credit card at the office and took care of the paperwork there (I know this is not an option for everyone).
My only issue with them is that I am inherently troubled by the concept of agency fees. But, after looking at many other sites that are not %26quot;agency%26quot; based (VRBO, craigslist, etc.), the places were similarly priced for me (monthly basis) even after factoring in the fees. In addition, the supply of rentals and ease of navigating on the website, made finding the right flat less of a chore. Just my 2 cents.
Have a great time in Paris,
NeuN
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thanks for the information. Now Since you have done a rental thru them, Did you have any trouble getting your deposit back? The owner/rental owner that is is suppose to give you back your deposit on leaving, and we will need this money back for the remaining trip.
Thanks
alaska 09
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Alaska09 It is rather unrealistic to count on getting the deposit back when you are actually leaving the apartment on your way to another destination. This might happen and again it might not. I definitely wouldn%26#39;t not plan on being able to use that money for the remaining of a trip. I am not saying that the owners will not give it back, only that for your own peace of mind you shouldn%26#39;t count on having it then and there, but only later. Now the following remark is for those who are hesitant to rent from an agency rather than a owner. I am originally from France and if I moved to Paris to work or.. I would have no choice but to rent an apartment from a rental agency and pay them a finder fee of about one month rent. This is the way things are done in Europe (unless one is extremely lucky and one knows someone who knows someone etc.). It is also safer and easier for homeowners who have a place to rent to use an agency--who check clients-- than try to rent themselves.
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I asked about the depost because the agency says we have to give them cash to the owner, so how does the owner refund your deposit then if you gave them cash ? If I give them cash then I am not gonna give them a credit card number to refund it to . Am I making sense on this.
I have no problem with the agency fees, just wondered how they refund cash. Thanks again
alaska09
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It%26#39;s nice to see a fellow Alaskan here! Greetings from the tropics of Anchorage!
I am renting an apartment through Paris Attitude this spring. The apartment I%26#39;m renting will cost me 1000 Eur for 3 weeks. Paris Attitude charged me 300 Eur on top of the rent as their fee. I felt this was a huge amount of money for a finder%26#39;s fee, but at the time, I couldn%26#39;t find a better deal elsewhere.
I was able to pay PA via paypal, but my particular apartment owner doesn%26#39;t accept paypal or credit cards. As per the agreement, I had to wire him 500 Eur as a deposit, and I will pay another 500 upon arrival so that my total rent will be prepaid.
I am also required to write a check for 1000 Eur as a security deposit, which I am ensured will be returned to me if I don%26#39;t damage the place.
I was very hesitant to go through with all this, it%26#39;s very different than the way business is handled in the States, but I feel more comfortable now that I%26#39;ve been in regular email contact with the owner.
PA will not do anything for you if there%26#39;s a dispute regarding the security deposit. It seems to me that once they%26#39;ve received their cut, their job is done. I still feel like their fee is a rip-off, but as I said before, even including their fee I still couldn%26#39;t find a better deal.
I don%26#39;t know how well PA screens apartment owners they do business with, I%26#39;ve heard of several owners that scam people out of security deposits, so not every apartment owner is honest.
Next time, I will spend more time researching apartments and trying to find a respectable owner I can rent directly from instead of pay a 30% fee to a rental agency.
Sorry for the length of this email, I just wanted to detail my experience so you know what to expect. Good luck!
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I just read an article in French explaining that there is a huge numbers of foreign owners that have bought apartments in the most popular districts of Paris specifically to rent them to foreign tourists for most of the year (this allow them to go to Paris and stay there for a few weeks free of charge). This has drastically increased the number of rental agencies as these owners obviously don%26#39;t want to spend hours a week dealing with prospective short stay tenants. Quite a few locals are very unhappy about this phenomenon (of absentee owners) as, instead of having neighbours in their building they get to know and rely on, they feel that they live in a hotel. Conversely the tourist who want to live %26quot;as real Parisians%26quot; end up surrounded by too many tourists. Personally I had rather go to a hotel than risk so much money upfront. If you do want to rent an apartment try the less popular districts as prices for rental, restaurants etc. will be lower and the tourists will be less numerous. At the same time no place in any of the 20 districts is far from the most famous sights as there are ao many metro stops and 14 metro lines plus the RER.
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Wow Alaskachad, you certainly had to part with a lot of $$$ before you stepped on a plane.
We rented an apartment in Paris last Nov from an internet based company (not the one you have signed with). A friend%26#39;s sister had used them a few months before and she highly recommended them. So we emailed them, signed a contract which we faxed back to them and paid a DEPOSIT of Euro 250. About a month before we arrived, they - with our permission as per the contract - charged a further amount plus a Euro 400 bond. The contract stated up front ckeaning fees, interent fees etc, so there were no nasty surprises or other expenses.
The contract stated our bond would be refunded to our credit card 10 days after we vacated the apartment if it was all in order. We did not have to pay any agency fees. If an wehn we return to Paris, we will definitely use the same people again.
I%26#39;m really stunned at the amount of money you have to pay for agency fees and how much you have to pay up front to the attitude rental agency. If you want further details of the internet company we used, please PM me.
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I%26#39;m amazed that people will pay so much extra in agency fees, security deposits, etc.
There are apartments for rent in Paris that don%26#39;t charge all those extra fees. We have rented from Paris Best Lodge twice. The owner, Thierry, asks you to send him a cheque drawn on your local currency as a deposit, but he doesn%26#39;t cash it. If all is well at the end of your stay (and it usually is, most people don%26#39;t rent an apartment to trash it), he gives it back to you when you leave. So none of my precious vacation money is tied up. There are no extra fees for cleaning, internet, etc. You do have to pay him in cash when you arrive, but you know exactly what that amount is and there are no surprises.
I%26#39;ve also checked out Vacations in Paris. They allow you to pay by credit card, and I think they ask for a small security deposit to ensure you mail the keys back to them. I never saw a big agency fee to pay or extra fees for cleaning, etc.
These are just 2 examples. I think Center Paris is another from what I%26#39;ve read. I%26#39;m sure there are more out there that don%26#39;t charge such large fees and up front costs, you just have to look for them. Personally, I wouldn%26#39;t pay so much extra money for the priviledge of working with an agency, especially when it doesn%26#39;t look like they do anything for you if there is a problem with the apartment.
JMHO!
JO
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