Hello All
This is our 1st posting on this forum (asked the same on another)so please be gentle (lol). We are a looking for a week in Paris, sadly on a strict budget. Getting on in years, so wish to do this trip whilst we can. Not experienced travelers, been to the UK a few times, years ago now.
On those trips we managed to find apartments where you just paid a deposit & the balance in cash on arrival & inspection of course. It all worked out fine with no problems, with private owners I guess.
We are finding difficulty finding the same options for Paris now. Everyone seems to want the total payment beforehand + security deposits etc.
Just wondered if anyone on the forum had stayed at a Apartment were you paid a deposit to acquire it, then met the owner on site & paid the balance etc.
Sorry if we are out of touch but any recommendations for specific places would be most appreciated. Just a small budget place safe & quiet with good transport & shopping (grocery) close by, or are we asking to much?

Regards
Peter (USA)

What is your budget?

I don't think that you are asking too much.

What exactly do you want to spend for a week?

Here is a link with many apartment reviews. You could read through it and see if anyone was able to secure it with just a deposit. In all the ones that I have rented I have had to pay at least half if not all of it before arrival.

http://www.fodors.com/community/euro...ent-thread.cfm

You might feel better with one of the apartments on the thread if you knew it worked out for others.

My experience with Paris apts has been as u described in UK--a deposit and generally remainder due upon arrival. The amount of the deposit has varied by apt. Sometimes a few weeks out I have been asked to pay more money, but never the whole rental amount. I think you should be able to find an arrangement that meets your needs.

There are some apartments like you name, but I think a good number of them in Paris expect you to completely pay in advance.

It shouldn't be that hard to find ones where you don't pay it all in advance, I had no trouble. It sounds like you are expecting to use that as an "inspection" thing, though, which most landlords won't like. So are you planning on booking a hotel as backup in case you don't like it or something?

okay, I rented from www.lodgis.fr and that wasn't entirely prepaid. That's sort of a link between owners, they handle the paperwork, insurance, etc., it's not entirely like an agency who does everything. I liked it, though, better than individuals who are just winging it on their own and you have no idea if they know what they are doing. Also, I could pay the deposit by credit card, as I recall. Some of those private owners don't take CCs at all.

I think the idea that you will inspect a place and then pay a person on-site most of the rent sounds mostly like individual owners, not an agency. The French agencies I've dealt with don't even show you the place, you go by their office to pick up the keys and go there yourself. www.lodgis.fr is really individual owners, as I said, with an agency doing some administration. But the individual owner meets you, etc. (each sets its own terms, as well as for the deposit).

Now that I think of it, I don't know of any agency that lets you pay the remainder only after inspecting the place. Now I did rent from Locaflat, a French agency, and I did pay the remainder upon arrival -- but not after inspecting the apt., I went to their rental office to get the keys and paid it there before I went to the place.

www.guestapartment.com does have payment upon arrival of the remainder, but I have no idea if it is after you have been able to inspect the place or not.

To follow up re guestapartment, yes, you pay upon arrival then get taken to the apartment. No inspection first but they are very responsive to clients. HOWEVER, they are NOT budget. Good luck! I have never had a problem with an apartment rental. CJ

We stayed in an apartment through ParisBestLodge last year. With them, you send a deposit check (which they do not deposit), then you pay in Euros when you arrive. When you leave they give you back your check. They are very trustworthy (Theirry is the head guy, very helpful, very honest). We stayed in a large studio apartment. Across the street was a boulangerie, downstairs was a cheese shop and a wine store, diagonally across the street was a small market and down the block was an Italian market. Monoprix department store was just a few blocks away. There were two metros within a block of the apartment. The agency gets very good reviews on this forum and on TripAdvisor.

Thanks to all who tried to help. But still I cannot find a reccomendation from anyone. Being a fisrt time visit I really don't think we can drag suitcases around to an office for the keys , seems such hassle.Sorry about saying 'inspection' just meant at first glance. Anyway am determined not to pay a security deposit or the full amount beforehand so may have to give Paris a miss and head back to the UK.
If anyone has stayed in a particular place with our requirements please advice!
regards
Pete

look at waytostay.com and friendlyrentals.com if you do not want to use vrbo.com. All are deposit up front, remainder on arrival. They will meet you at the apartment, you do not go dragging luggage around for a key.

Is it that you want an actual recommendation for a specific apartment? If so, then you need to provide more details concerning price, size, neighborhood, etc.

In May of this year I stayed at Parisbestlodge St. Germain apartment. I reserved my apartment a year ago and as someone said, I wrote a post-dated check which was not cashed. Thierry gave me instructions to unlock the door and about an hour later Thierry dropped by to instruct me on the washer/dryer etc. I paid Thierry in cash when he arrived at the apartment. There was no cleaning deposit and the apartment was clean upon arrival. The apartment had a computer which I found very useful.

I was a solo traveler so my apartment size was fine and within my budget. Frankly I think a couple should look at the larger apartments and since you've said you are older, I would verify that you select an apartment with a lift.

I stayed at an apartment in Paris last year and paid them 1/4 when reservation was made, and I was to pay the remainder when I arrived at the apt. As it turned out, the owner was out of town when we arrived, and we did not pay them until the night before we left (obviously, they had notified us of this before we left home, and they left instructions for us, etc.) Point being that you do not always have to pay the entire fee upfront. It was through vrbo.com

Please let us know what you mean by budget; people on here post about all kinds of accommodations, from "budget" to posh, and you will surely get some good recos.

airhotelb&b is a site that intriqued me. There's a highly rated apartment renter (Karine or Katrine) who rents out an apartment by the week or day for $78 a night. It's somewhere in the east outskirts of Paris, so not very central, but near a metro. I don't know how payment goes (up front, or just just balance, or what), but it might be worth checking into if you're the least bit interested. Sounded interesting to me....a small but decent place, with lots of positive reviews.

We stayed in an apartment we found through VRBO-#31360. 700euro for 1 week. I payed a deposit through paypal and the balance when the owner Davy met us at the door. It was clean,quiet and very central...hope you find something suitable.

For reviews, the Slow Travel site is quite nice. I picked an apartment off VRBO and don't leave until October though, so I can't tell you anything specific about it. But, I did notice that on VRBO and Homeaway, many owners wanted payment in cash at arrival. With my rental, the woman that owns it is based in CA and there is a signed contract, etc., with the rent due about a month before, payable through personal check, Paypal, etc. Honestly, I am more comfortable with that and don't want to be carrying around 1000 euros in my handbag the day of check in- it also satisfies my desire for a "paper trail" if you will, with security deposits and what not.

Also, I forgot to mention, but with my research and being close to things, I found that I was most attracted to the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th districts. I ended up in Marais (3rd).

We stayed in this apartment from vacationinparis.com in February. It's in the 7th but right on the Bus #69 route and only a short distance from the metro.

http://www.vacationinparis.com/apts/id_08.htm

It was perfect for us, and at $140 (yes that's dollars not euros) a night it was within a reasonable budget. We did not have to pay an large security and were able to pay for our apartment with our credit card, so we had no need to carry a large amount in euros for payment on arrival.

They have an office in NJ so you can call and speak to them to ask any question, they were very helpful. We would highly recommend them.

Hi Pete,

I stayed here two years ago: http://www.homelidays.co.uk/paris-14...o-58643en1.htm

It was €400/week. It's a studio so it's small - basically one room with a fold out sofabed plus a kitchenette and bathroom. I was traveling solo so it was fine for me. I think a couple would be ok - but they have to be good at sharing space. It's in the 14th - some people think that's not close enough to the tourist areas but I like the 14th a lot. If you look at the link, you'll see they've gotten lots of good reviews (including one from me).

The owners live downstairs and will meet you at the studio. They leave you alone but are available to help - I couldn't figure out how to work the washing machine. I mailed them a deposit check. I don't remember how much it was for. However, it was a moot point. Their bank told them it would take three months for an American check to go through and I had already arrived and left within that time period. So they just handed me back my check when I arrived. I didn't have enough cash on me when I arrived and had reached my ATM limit for withdrawal, so I paid them most of the €400 when I arrived and paid the rest the next day. The owners are very nice people.

If you are determined not to pay a deposit, I don't think there is hardly any place where you can rent.


Also, note that these places that say you pay upon arrival do not necessarily mean you can inspect the place before paying, or that you even see it before paying.

Ruthruthruth, I think you mean Airbnb, not airhotelbnb. The correct link is www.airbnb.com/ We have used them to rent our guest room here in the States, and they seem to work well. I have looked at their Paris site, and some of the rentals look interesting.

2incarolins, we would like to help you, but you really need to give us more information. I don't mean to be critical, but you are really limiting yourself by sticking with your "no payment up front" policy. I might suggest to you that VRBO has insurance you can get to cover you if the apartment is not as advertised. Give a look at VRBO.com. Another resource would be the Paris Craigslist, which has a multitude of listings.

Good luck in your search.

Check out Centreparis. They might have what you are seeking.