Paris Flat Rental - Donation???

I probably would not take advantage of this offer. My first question would be whether an apartment actually exists. (there have been times people pay to rent an apartment, get there and find that it is a scam and the people they paid don't even own the apartment and they are out their money and no place to stay.) Secondly, this charity could be set up just to take in money with little to none actually going to a charity. The bottom line is once you have a problem, what "rights" do you have? You have "donated" the money (not made a payment for an apartment.) and you really would not be able to do much about getting your money back (which would probably be next to impossible anyway) My advice: Stick with reputable rental companies when renting a place.

Ashly,, exactly what previous poster said, find another place, a reputable agency.. there are too many stories of problems when renting an apartment to play around with something that sounds fishy.
It sounds sketchy because it is sketchy. Why doesn't owner just take the money from you and donate it herself,, no way, this is too sketchy. Run.

Much appreciated for the advice so far! I figured as much, and was just trying to see if this was "standard practice" or anything of the sort. This begs the next question: Can someone point me to a reputable (and online viewable) Paris flat rental company? Google search turns up only 68 billion results and I'm having trouble sorting the good from the bad... ...And thanks for the help! Small town folks like my wife and I are new to the big wide world, so advice is much appreciated!

Try vacationinparis.com. I've rented through them twice (in 2009 and 2011). They are very easy to deal with and both apartments I rented were as advertised. You can pay with credit card through paypal. The prices are in U.S. dollars as they are a U.S. company.

I am using Parisbestlodge this year, they are highly recommended by many posters on tripadvisor.com ,, posters I have "chatted" to for many years now,, and I trust their judgements. The policies are great, no big up front deposit, and Thierry( the owner) was great and communicating with me re how to do the deposit( he accepted a post dated cheque in my own funds,, ) .
I am staying in the Esmeralda this July,, looks lovely, small but I can deal with that, location is excellant, and it has a/c , good for the summer in Paris and hard to find in many apartments.

I have rented 2 apartments in Paris using vrbo.com and homeaway.com. I don't know what you are looking for in an apartment, but if you clarify we might be able to make recommendations.

I can highly recommend www.rentalfrance.com
I have used them a few times without any problems.

I saw something like this on VRBO when I was looking for a rental in the Latin Quarter. In fact, it was one of a few on my short list. I wasn't sure that to make of the women's group and donation thing either. Luckily another apartment that I had inquired about responded first and I went with it.

We have used VRBO for Paris twice (2010 and this year). I was very happy with the whole experience. (We even found an apt. on my personal favorite street so I could not help but be charmed by the whole transaction!!) This year we have also discovered AirBnB and have used it for a couple of transactions in Greece. I have liked the immediacy of the pre-rental exchanges, so far, and hope that what we experience upon arrival is equally positive.

I wonder if this donation thing is just a way to get around restrictions on renting out apartments in Paris. But I'd still be suspicious.