Veronique

I'm thinking of using NY Habitat to rent an apartment for four months in Paris. Their prices seem pretty reasonable.
Any thoughts?

Christina

As long as you are aware of what they are, which is not an apt. rental agency, just a middleman. You are renting from the owner, not them, and if something goes wrong, you can't go after NY Habitat (nor for a security deposit problem). They are just an advertiser who takes a large commission out of the rental fee (about 1/3) for advertising the apt. and faxing a few documents back and forth.

They do have a nice web site with some apts., however, and they are a big company that's been around, so if you don't mind those features, I don't know anything else bad about them. I had some dealings with them over an apt. and did not care for those terms as the apt. owner wanted a very unusually large deposit, would not allow any phone calls on the phone, even local, and NY Habitat cannot do anything about it and would not even get involved in getting the deposit back.

I think the owner of the one I wanted was unreasonable, which is why I dropped negotiations, so if you find one you like at a good rate, you might have a better experience.

moxie

If you are in NYC you should be able to find the free newspaper FUSAC where you will find private owners looking for a trade, or renter and also little businesses which will find a flat for you. It depends on how good your French is to do negociations by yourself. FUSAC has some online ads too. The newspapers figaro, liberation and the rental paper particulier à particulier also have websites and ads -- just search in google.

AlanM1

I would reccommend doing more research on rental agencies. As previously mentioned NYHabitat is only a middleman and they charge a fairly hefty fee (which is in addition to the rental fee listed on the web site)for doing almost nothing. I used them and was quite happy with the apartment, but once you are connected with the owner all arrangements are left in your hands. I happened to rent from a great owner, but I could see the potential for problems. Upon leaving the owner told us to tell our friends about the apartment and to contact him directly as he felt he was loosing out on business due to the fee. There are many agencies and owners that work directly with you and do not charge this fee. We used Guest Apartment Services last November and were very happy with them (www.guestapartment.com)and you can also find many others with good reccommendations by doing a search on this site. Good Luck!

AlanM1

I almost forgot....two other great resources are www.frbo.com (For Rent By Owner) and www.slowtrav.com.

LaurenSKahn

Again, I had an excellent experience dealing with Pascal Zytomirski.

Here are the apartments he rents:

One bedrooms :
75 Bd Malesherbes, 4 people, in the 8th district, Madeleine Opera area, Metro St Augustin
24 rue des Vertus, 4 people, in the 3rd district, in Le Marais, Metro Arts et Metiers
11 rue de la Huchette, 4 people, in the 5th, Metro St Michel in the Latin quarter.

Studios:
11 rue Duvivier, Studio for 2 in the 7th district, MEtro Ecole Militaire.
24 rue Xavier Privas, Studio for 4 in the 5th district, metro St Michel, in the latin quarter
37 rue de la Harpe, Studio for 4 in the 5th district, metro St Michel in the latin quarter

You can email Pascal at [email protected]

Pascal acts as the rental agent for all the owners. He will meet you at the apartment with the keys after you arrive in Paris.

I rented the apartment at 11 rue Duvivier and was very satisfied. Apartment rentals work best if you are staying longer than a week. My apartment was quiet and totally modernized with a washer/dryer. The cost was much less than a hotel room would have been for a lot more space.

I am sure any of these owners would give you a break for a longer term rental. Tourism is down in France now due to the fall of the dollar.