The Endless Quest: Long-term, unfurnished Paris apartment hunting
Ugh! I heard it was difficult and frustrating, but coming from San Francisco (with a vacancy rate of something like 1 to 2% and rent control which makes landlords SUPER PICKY about to whom they rent) I thought I was mentally prepared.
I was so wrong.
Out of about 60 places we've contacted, only about 8 responses. Of those, 3 were either already rented or had too many applicants already. We've visited 6 places (one was an open house, so no need to contact prior) and applied for 4... So far, no luck!
So any suggestions or advice? I've searched the previous threads for info already. I've trolled Expat blogs and resource sites. I know it's July (almost August) and that the market is tough then due to vacations, but there *are* listings posted, so not everyone has left the city!
Here's the sources we're using to look:
PAP
Seloger
Kijiji
Immostreet
Explorimmo
Vivastreet
FUSAC (listings are all for furnished places - ugh)
Craigslist (listings are mostly furnished and shorter term)
Lodgis (few listing and generally overpriced)
Our dossier contains copies of:
- Passports w/ visas (we don't have our carte de sejours yet, actually, I don't have my visa yet due to a paperwork issue, but my husband has his and he's the moneymaker)
- RIB from French bank account
- My husband's work contract (which is indefinite) showing his salary (more than 3x the rents of the places for which we're applying)
- Our current rental agreement (our names are on the lease, but my husband's company pays the rent)
- A typed into page with contact info and a summary of our info plus a note that my husband's company will act as guarant for us, including contact info for the company's Chief Financial Officer)
- My husband's last three pay stubs (I'm not working)
- Last year's U.S. income tax forms
So, are there other resources we should be using?
Should we be contacting by phone instead of electronically?
Is there anything we should include in our dossier?
Thanks in advance for any advice or suggestions!