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Hi all

 

How easy or hard is it to find long term rentals in s/w france?

We have decided the best way to find somewhere we like over in france is to just move and look for a property when we get there.

We need a 3/4 bedroomed place.

 

Any suggestions welcome

 

Sandy

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It is very easy to find such rentals here. (I am making the same assumption I always make about someone moving to France - you can cope with the language, can't you?)

You can start looking on the internet. Here are the five main sites.

http://www.completefrance.com/cs/forums/894350/ShowPost.aspx

The difficult bit will be satisfying the agents/owners:

(1) that you are not a typical anglais who wants to rent just while you look for the perfect property to buy*;

(2) that you can provide all the documentation (and/or bank guarantees) required; the one you are probably least expecting is documentary evidence that your income is at least 3x the rent you will be paying. If you are "cash rich, income poor" expect to have to post a (French) bank guarantee for a year's rent (or more).

PS. We succeeded in getting through (2) above, despite the fact that (1) above (actually rather worse, some English couple just reneged on the rental contract, kind-heartedly dropping the keys into the office before disappearing - presumably back to the UK) and have been very happy here for a year now.

*French rental contracts are (by law) for three years and almost invariably renewed (although a tenant can always leave at three months notice). The owners and agents are looking for long term customers since the rules are much more tenant-sided than in the UK.

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right, now i have a problem........ i dont speak french ( i am having lessons but still only basic level)  and we wont have an income when we move, untill we buy a property.

Also we are typical english looking to rent while lookin for a property to buy

Thanks for the web sites... but i didnt understand them

I think i might have a problem here!!!!

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Tricky. I suppose that your best bet may be to look for links to English language web sites offering rentals - these are mainly offers from UK residents, often sufficiently furnished to try and get round much of French tenancy law (I dare say ignoring it in some cases) and also often available only for comparatively short periods of time (presumably someone's maison secondaire or holiday home).

You will find mentions of quite a few if you read through the postings on the Long-Term Letting in France board and even more if you use the search box in the top RHcorner.

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here again i have a problem.............................. i don't know[:$]

We have 2 young childeren ( 10 and 11) so we need to be near schools. As for area well...... we dont know france but we like the look of midi pyrenesse, but not the ski resort part.

The main reason for wanting to rent first is so we can travell around and see where we like the best

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Hi

With children of 10 and 11 you will need to be very sure of the availability of schooling etc as a driver for where you will locate, I'm assuming that you are not expecting to move the kids from one school to another whilst you look.   I

It's going to be very hard for them and as many have stated on here before you need to take into account travelling times etc which should of course be minimised as the school day here is long enogh without adding a long commute at either end.  The kids would also get on quicker if they have some friends who attend their school closeby. 

Panda

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Agree with Panda - do not underestimate the difficulties of starting two children 10 and 11 years old, who probably (?) don't speak much French, in school over here. It will be traumatic for them and also for you. It can be done but it will need a lot of time, effort and support.

So far as where to rent a property I would have thought a small town would make sense as you will need a local school and all the facilities. As for which area, well, that may depend on how you are intending to make a living.

Going back to your original question - it's not difficult to find a long term rental, a lot of immobiliers handle rentals, so long as you aren't too specific about what and where and in my opinion renting to start with is a very sensible idea - give yourselves time to get to know the area a bit. Good luck [:)]

P.S. I have to be honest - when we moved to France we stuck a pin in the map and ended up in the Dordogne and that was 15 years ago [blink]

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 2 weeks later...

We are looking for a house for a long-term rental (6 - 9 months approx) in SW France particularly the Biarritz/Pau areas that has broadband facilities, no children but 3 well-behaved cats. I am an interiordesign consultant and my husband is a writer and very house proud!  We only need 2 bedrooms but need a good study or work space for us both. We are happy to rent off-season starting Sept/October 2007 and welcome suggestions.  

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