I copied this off of tripadvisor..

http://www.vrbo.com/ is a large world-wide lister. It appears to be owned by


http://www.homeaway.com/ There was one person who said she would not use vrbo again, but did not specify the nature of the problem.


http://www.vacationinparis.com/index.html also appears to be owned by homeaway but obviously specializes in Paris rentals. Numerous people have used and liked its services, although its website is a bit cumbersome. One person definitely had a very bad experience (ants!) with a VIP rental.


Because the above agencies have many listings, they have the broadest ranges of prices, and have properties all over town. All are American owned.


http://www.homelidays.com/ is similar with many listings world-wide, but appears to be French owned. You have to “join” their website to get some details on properties.


http://www.villeetvillage.com/ also appears to be French owned. It lists properties in France and Italy and a few in Spain and Portugal.


http://www.athomeinfrance.com/about.htm is a large lister of 350 properties all over France. It appears to be owned by Americans who now live in France.


http://www.chezvous.com/main.html is American-owned, but has fewer listings, and only in the first, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh. They appear to be nicer properties and therefore more expensive.


parisaddress.com/paris-apartment-rental/inde… is a smaller lister, apparently a cooperative venture of French apartment owners.


http://perfectlyparis.com/ is similar and seems to have a larger listing of apartments. It specializes in Montmartre, where rents are generally lower and therefore you may find a better value.


http://www.guestapartment.com/ specializes in luxury apartments, and is priced accordingly.


http://www.parisvacationapartments.com/ also is quite high-end.


http://haveninparis.com/ is in-between in that it seems pricier than some, but not luxury.


http://centreparis.com/ has generally less-expensive rentals, mostly in Montmartre, very few (two) in the Fourth though Eighth.


http://www.feelparis.com/en/ is an agency with a lot of listings, mostly in the Marais. A friend of mine has used it several times and is very satisfied.


http://www.rentparis.com/home.php?l=en has mostly economical properties, mostly in the Marais.


http://parisautrement.com/en only lists in the Marais, and prices seem to range from very reasonable to moderate.


The following listings appear to be owned and listed by the same persons. In other words, you would be dealing directly with the owner.


http://pad-a-terre.com/ has several apartments, perhaps above-average in price and quality. I found the website hard to search.


http://www.parisbestlodge.com/ is individually-owned. He has six apartments but also has a page listing apartments owned by others.


http://rentalfrance.com/ has 17 apartments listed. It is not clear if they are all owned by the same person.


http://www.parisdisiac.com/ has nine apartments, and the prices seem reasonable, but there is an extra 40€ “cleaning charge.”


I should also mention http://www.parisrentaparts.com/ which is the topic of another thread in this forum. One member had a bad experience and you can read about it yourself here: tripadvisor.com/ShowTopic-g187147-i14-k58164…

I'd add www.parisianflat.com to the above list. I've had a good experience with them and so have friends, recently returned from Paris.

If you really want a list of apartment rentals go to www.parisnotes.com, click on apartment resources and you have a fairly full list.

We are renting an apartment through VRBO in the 5th. All our correspondence with the owner (who is not American) has been excellent we paid a deposit 30% by pay pal. We will be met by a local manager which makes me feel better as I don't speak or read French. (am trying to learn)

I spent a considerable time reading through Fodorite suggestions and and reading reviews of apartments before I made my choice. I had to get a good "feel" for our apartment which to us was a must.

One thing I did notice of your apartment is the age of the guests comments, quite a few years old.

When are you going? I read on another thread that The Ibis has very cheap accommodation deals 49 euro. Maybe that is an option

We are leaving in a few weeks and are staying 3 nights in a 2 bedroom Paris apartment (for 4) I booked this thru www.goodmorningparis.fr
I spent quite a bit of time researching the apartments for rent and 'google-earthed' them to see where they were located. This one looks like it should be great and the cost seems fair, 125 euro/night total. We have the entire apartment to ourselves and the price includes private parking and no extra cleaning cost.

You may add in your list : www.apartrental.com good agency for paris apartments. They can take an imprint card for the security deposit. No money out

I would suggest this sounds like advertising. Michele78 is new on the board with only two posts, both of which tout this rental agency.

Naughty, Michele!

:-(

Another vote for vacationinparis.com. They have great apartments and mail the key to you before you leave for Paris. Very convenient and reassuring.

Our VRBO experience last week was good; as I mentioned earlier, we paid 25% when we booked and were to pay the remainder when we arrived and met them. However, they let us know just before our trip that they would be out of town until the day before we left Paris, so we didn't pay them until that time. The owner knocked on our door before she went to work on Mon. morning, and I handed over the euro, and that was that!

Forgot to mention that our apt. was VRBO# 58971; great for a couple, or in our case, 6 yr old child, mom, and grandma. Super location and reasonable.

im not able to see any pictures at
http://www.myapartmentparis.com/aparteng-59.html

any clue how to see them?

Vacation in Paris is located in New Jersey, so they can easily be reached from the US with any questions before you leave. Our experience was excellent - all was as described and the folks there were helpful in making a choice of apartments. You can pay by credit card and thus possibly snag some ff miles in the transaction.

Aside from vrbo, which is probably the least expensive venue you will find, you might try iloveparisapartments.com they have some dynamite flats for a lot less money than parisperfect (with apologies to graciejoan who has a special interest in the latter)

For those who rented w/ RentParis, did you actually have to write a security deposit of a personal check for 300Euros upon arrival? In their terms, it says that is required.

Thanks!

Our experience with Vacations in Paris was fine initially, but we are currently disputing a charge for "extra cleaning." I would probably try to get in writing exactly what is expected of you as a tenant--we didn't scrub and vacuum, but we didn't think this was expected.

I hope it works out for us, but it's very upsetting in the meantime.

Has anyone ever dealt with Isabelle's Apartments? Not sure how I found it on the internet. The apartments (there are about 10 of them, I believe) look lovely.

I'm particularly interested in one that is close to Louvre. She expects 50% to book, 50% + 300Euro security deposit 2 weeks before leaving. Oh, and also 50 Euro cleaning fee. So, everything is paid up front.

Is this out of line?

Thanks.

Vacations in Paris's policy was 100% 60 days in advance, $150 key and security deposit. I was very nervous about paying everything up front but apparently it's the norm.

Agree - full payment in advance is what most (not all) agencies require.

and what about this? 50 unique apartments in Paris http://www.halldis.com/city/paris/131

Sometimes VRBO apartments aren't as cheap as you'd think they should be, and can be very close or the same as through an agency. They should be around 30 pct cheaper, as I think that's a typical agency cut, but I don't think they usually are. It seems sometimes the owners try to price them about the same as agencies, thinking that is the competition. In fact, I've seen a couple in Paris where the fee was the same as through an agency, as the same apt was listed on VRBO as an agency I found. Anyway, you always have to judge prices for what you get, as there isn't any clear pattern I've seen.

I have viewed that Isabel's website but never have heard from anyone who's actually rented from her, so who knows.

I would think extra cleaning would only be charged if you were really filthy. Now I go alone and am a tidy person so I never do anything that is hardly even noticeable, but I don't think any renter should be expected to vacuum or scrub a short-term vacation apt. That's what the higher fees for short-term rentals are supposed to cover. I certainly never have. People on vacation can't really do that too much as they have to pack and leave early for the airport, often, it's just not feasible. All of the apts I've rented through an agency had professional cleaners who came and cleaned it after you left anyway, that's what they do. That's often the reason you can't check in until the afternoon, also. IN fact, I've never heard of an apt. that wasn't cleaned before you occupied it, and scrubbing and vacuuming is part of what they do. Now if someone totally trashed the place or had mud all over or had it really filthy, I can see charging extra.

Do a search on Trip Advisor for Isabelle's Apartment. There have been quite a few posts about her over the last few months.