Moving in France - The Hunt
Moving in France, more specifically, moving from one part of Sète to another, can be awfully stressful. Sète is a designated "ville tendue" meaning it's difficult to find housing, and so additional laws apply. Rents can't be more than something defined by a formula, and tenants only have to give one month of notice (instead of the usual 3) to leave. While this is great from the point of view of someone already in a place, it makes it even more difficult to find a rental. Well, up until a couple of months ago, we were in that enviable position! Then...
August 9 - we received notice that our apartment was for sale. A 1 br, 40 m2 apartment, with loggia and garage - 188k€. We decided that was too much for the place, so our deadline to be gone is February 28, 2020. We revived our wish-list. Despite our fantastic view, I had been feeling a little isolated, and so we agreed to look at other neighborhoods for our next place.
August 16 - we toured a couple of neighborhoods, and looked into news about expected construction. Place Stalingrad will become an underground parking structure - construction to run from September 2019 to end of 2020.
August 17 - we searched apartments online, and pared down a list of possible apartments - this meant even more neighborhoods to check.
August 18 - I sent requests for more info on 5 apartments, using the tool "for more information" - hah! Some time later, it was clear that this was a complete waste of time! The one reply I got informed me that it was already rented. That would become a well-known refrain...
August 19 - we checked rush hour at quai de Bosc and quai Pavais d'Or. We crossed off several apartments as too close to the ground (pollution, lack of light), but decided some canals were ok.
August 24 - we drove around the Château Vert area
September 2 - we went to several immobiliers, and got contact info. Everywhere, there were no apartments (with our specs) available, but they expected more in mid-September. Note - many apartments are still on the websites, even though they are already rented; this is standard practice.
September 4 - As requested, I sent a detailed email to the 3 immobiliers, listing what was important to us.
September 10 - I reinstalled SeLoger, and ran a search, then narrowed it down to 4 possibilites. All this narrowing down is exhausting! Most announcements give too-brief a description, and often, photos don't show all the things you need to know about. It takes questioning the agent for some info, and visiting the place to confirm possibilities.
September 11 - we called about an apartment, and set up an appointment for the 12th.
September 12 - we saw an apartment "at the Corniche" (it isn't really close enough to qualify as that neighborhood, but that's how the game is played) - It was interesting, except that no shower was possible, and there were stairs to any parking. Lots of closet space, but no space left for a table. We called about an apartment near the gare - agent wouldn't make an appointment until we emailed our dossier, including TWO years of taxes and proof of pension. We don't get a monthly payment, so our plan is to include account statements showing distributions. We decided to adjust our pitch to start with a little summary of our situation, then ask about the apartment. This agency also made its way onto Rick's "no way" list...
September 13, - We made a trip to the "gare apartment" to assess its location. The plus was that this apartment had everything on our list, except not knowing the surroundings. Concerns: probable construction noise and dust, North-facing, and on the street (not much sunlight), our dossier may not be accepted. We ended our outing with lunch at Les Halles.
September 17 - we went to another agency to ask about a 2-bedroom apartment (T3). It was still available! And the only questions we had left could only be answered by a visit. So...
September 18 - we viewed the bigger apartment in Château Vert. It had possibilities, but the interior felt too old - it felt run-down, even though it probably was sturdy enough.
September 19-25 - several interesting apartments were rented on the first day, even before we saw the announcement. We changed our strategy...
September 26 - we went to another agency in the morning, told them a little bit about ourselves, and said we were interested in one of their apartments. We heard more good things, and made an appointment to see it at the end of the day. It looked pretty good! It had almost everything we wanted, and had everything we needed. Just to be sure, we went back to the apartment that night - it was very quiet, but there was clearly a parking problem - several cars were in red zones and on sidewalks. So, we had to consider that.
September 27 - After discussing it at length, we went back to the agency and submitted our dossier. That afternoon, another agent called - an apartment we had asked about was available again! So, we arranged to see it (we told her about our situation).
September 30 - we went to see the alternate apartment, and decided it wouldn't work. The agent mentioned that another was coming up, and she would have the key in a few days. She would call us then.
October 1 - No news in the morning, so we left voicemail for the agency; at 4, they called back to tell us our dossier was accepted! And to ask for our move-in date. We had to really discuss this, so they said we could think about it some more and tell them (they need this date to prepare the lease). I have to say, they were really very nice about my French-shortage. After I asked for the second repetition, she got an English-speaking colleague to confirm what was needed :-)
Shortly after, our other agent called - she had the key for the apartment, and it was ready to view. We apologized, and said we had accepted the other. Well, we will definitely call her first the next time...
October 2 - Relax! But not too much! We wrote our notice letter to our current landlord, and sent it to both the landlady and our managing agency (apparently, it's only necessary to send it to the agency), via recommandé (meaning they sign for it, and we get the proof of when they received it). We agonized over the end date just a little, because by law, you have to give 1 month notice, and the month starts on the day they receive the letter (not the date it's mailed). Well, so we decided on November 4th.
After the post office, we went to the new agency (L'adresse), and confirmed our move-date October 28th, and made an appointment for next week to sign the contract (we have to bring a check and an attestation d'assurance - that's renter's insurance).
~~~
Some things we learned or remembered:
- the greatest number of rentals is available in 3-month cycles. People want to be settled in a new place in time for school, or in time for Christmas, so September and December (and so March) are better months for finding apartments available
- you will get either 3 or 6 months of notice (depending on your circumstances), so you probably have time to see 2 of these cycles.
- emailing an agency is worthless. Either call, or better yet, go in.
- always have a copy of your dossier with you.
- always be ready to stop at an agency if you see a new one, or if you haven't been in for over a week
- a consolidating site (like bien ici) is good for discovering new agencies, but the announcements are delayed. To get announcements in time to have a chance, sign up for alerts directly with the agencies.
- T3 (2 bedroom) apartments are in much higher demand than T2 (1 bedroom)
- unfurnished means nothing but a sink in the kitchen. A partially furnished kitchen is becoming more common, but don't count on it.
- usually only newer apartments have showers. Older ones might have a shower added to a tub, but the tubs are often narrow, with curved bases, so not ideal for standing in.
- taller, newer buildings have a higher probability of having parking and elevators. In fact, laws on the books require elevators in new construction above a certain number of stories.
- notices almost never include room-sizes. Agents have this extra information, so it's one of the easier things to find out with a visit or call. A big bedroom was important to us, so I made my alerts for a minimum of 43m2.
- viewing an apartment is free. Submitting a dossier is free. Neither commit you to taking the apartment or to paying a fee. You pay when you sign the contract.
- while you do have the right to buy the (unfurnished) apartment you live in if it's for sale, the asking sale price is (of course) higher than they would eventually take. So, it takes hanging on by your nails to wait out a sale reduction (you can counter, naturally, but you don't have the advantage of watching the price go down and then swooping).
- get the full address of a place when the opportunity arises. Often, the agent doesn't have the apartment number handy (for instance), but can try out the mailbox key to tell you. You need all of this to set up your utilities and arrange deliveries.
- too often, agents don't have the keys for cellars and garages when showing a place. Sometimes the electricity is off. You have to decide how important this is.
~~~
My collection of agencies (Immobiliers) handling rentals in Sète (there are even more!):
Gestimmo
L'adresse
Gaillard
Agence du Levant
Citya
Amarine
Banegas
Gesim
Nexity
Century21
Foncia
Orpi
~~~
Our dossier:
- a list of critical information, for the application: bank address and phone, income summary per person, current address and phone numbers
- copies of IDs
- last three rent receipts
- 1 year latest French taxes (we only needed 1, but some may want 2)
- latest proof of pension: investment account statement showing IRA distributions (monthly or annually). This matches the pension line on French taxes.
- as a backup, a bilan comptable, a statement of assets and liabilities (we didn't use this, but are considering it as an option for next time).
Note: even though *everything* else in France is viewed via the household lens (taxes, residence permit, nationality, all take into account the family income as part of their requirements), when you apply for housing, everyone has to show some income. We got sloppy, and just put all the income under one name. This meant that only that name would go on the lease. Ack! When we explained our situation, and that it was important to have both on the lease, they worked some magic, and we're *both* on the lease (yay)!
Note 2: some situations may require or benefit from a guarantor - this is a company that will contract to pay your rent if you don't (I don't know under what circumstances), by charging you an extra 3.5-4% of the rent. This strengthens your position with agencies.
~~~
The official rules for moving:
https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F1168
The official rules for dossiers:
https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/vosdroits/F1169
Model notice letter:
https://www.inc-conso.fr/content/logement/vous-decidez-de-quitter-le-logement-meuble-que-vous-louez
A nifty set of model letters for all things French:
https://www.service-public.fr/particuliers/recherche?rubricFilter=serviceEnLigne&rubricTypeFilter=modeleLettre
Last time, our first apartment in France:
http://slowtravelin.blogspot.com/2017/03/housing-hazards.html
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