We are planning to spend about four months in France and are considering entering two to four leases so that we have a comfortable homebase from which to explore various regions. Does anyone have experience renting from abroad without seeing a property in France? We would also appreciate hearing if anyone has discovered any scams or had any difficulties with paying deposits and rental fees in advance. Thank you for your help!
Posted by
Arctophilia, Northamptonshire, England
34838 posts
Hi Erik Not asked by you, but with the limit of 90 days in any 180 using the Schengen Visa Waiver Scheme before you must leave, and with "about four months" being about 30 days over that, have you arranged your long term visas yet? French ones can sometimes take time.
Posted by
OP
Irvine, CA, USA
2 posts
Thank you for your reply. Yes, we are working on obtaining a long stay visa.
Posted by
Redmond, WA
295 posts
We have used VRBO and Homeaway for long term (6 week) rentals in France. Both were excellent and we had no problems with our stays. We have also used them for extended stays in Italy and Germany. We were apprehensive at first for leaving deposits on apartments unseen. Read the reviews carefully, as sometimes negative ones can be deleted by owners. Google Earth the locations, then do a search on the neighborhoods on Google itself. Don't trust statements on location (centrally located! sometimes means on the edge of nowhere. Which cities are you planning on staying in? Fellow readers can help with their experiences.
Posted by
L'Occitanie, France
10986 posts
We have never had a problem when using lodgis.com because they photograph everything, including the toilet. We did have an unfortunate experience on vrbo. All of their photos are brushed, making them look more like a B&B, than an apartment we'd use for a longer stay. I would definitely ask for additional photos from vrbo owners. Since you want to go to different regions, you could use Gites de France to find vacation houses all over France. Again, if the rental doesn't have detailed photos, you should ask for more. When using an agency, you can use a credit card for your deposits and fees. There have been scams published in the French press about people renting what they believe to be a great vacation apartment at an interesting price through a Craig's list type publication, either print version or electronic. The scam artist sends convincing photos and information. Then the victim sends all the money up front, only to find upon arrival that the apartment doesn't even exist or it is owned by someone who never had it up for rent. Perhaps the apartment had been for sale and the scam artist used the existing photos and info.