paris apartments

I am struggling to choose an apartment... have been looking for 6 weeks. Australian dollar is weak but improving so would like to not pay whole thing up front. Also the add on costs on some sites are extraordinary eg 750euros for apt OK but... 235 e agency fee, 60 e cleaning, 60 e insurance(for someone else%26#39;s flat, what is this ??? Is this normal for staying in a Paris Apartment) and 100 e if you arrive before 9 or after 6 .... . I have tried paristay, parisapartments. Can I have some help with other sites which don%26#39;t make it all so hard ?? Thank you. Staying May 2 adults, 1 6 year old

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We are renting a 2-bedroom with John Knutson at

http://www.parisholidayapts.com. We are first-timers at the apartment rental thing and his terms make us very comfortable. Prices are also reasonable.

Good luck!

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have used parisbestlodge for the last couple of years Thierry is great to deal with no agency fees no cleaning cost no insurance grat locations highly reccomend it

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What sites have you been using? My husband and I have rented apartments in Paris. We have used http://vrbo.com. We paid no agency fees, there was a refundable security deposit. We stayed two weeks and cleaning service was included. No insurance fees. Some sites will have cleaning fees. Some sites accept credit cards, some ask for money thu PayPal. I would never rent an apartment and pay the entire amount up front. Also some sites owners will ask for balance in Euros. You do need to be careful and make sure that the utilities are included. Some sites will not include the electricity and or gas and it is very expensive. Is the 750 E for the total stay? You might also want to check out www.welcome2france.com. There is a Paris apartment thread on www.fodors.com that has a lot of recommendations of apartments by travelers.

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Have you had a look at www.centreparis.com? They have budget apartments, no agency fees extra, the cleaning fee is 25 euros per week. There are also no security deposits. You pay 1/2 when you reserve, then the other half when you arrive.

We have booked an apartment through centreparis for May based on good reviews for their service here on TA. Hopefully all will go well - it%26#39;s been fine so far.

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Hi MF,

In Sept 08 we rented a nice apartment in the 6th through %26quot;Paris Hideaways%26quot; http://studio.provaction.com

Found them good to deal with and lots of apartments to choose from. (I wrote a little about them in a previous post - posted 4:25 am 1st January 08). Would go through them again.

Regards,

Karen

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Oops, make that 1st Jan 09, sorry.

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Have a look at www.parisvacationapartments.com We have used them on 2 occasions and they are a great agency. Sure you have to pay 50% up front, but an apartment is not like a hotel where a room can be rented out the next night if somebody cancels. All communication with PVA is excellent, there is always someone there to welcome you, fresh flowers, a loaf of bread and a bottle of wine make you feel special and most have laptops with Internet connections to keep up with the footy scores and to write home. An experience with them is very positive and one of their Plais Royal aprtments would suit you fine. With the dollar at 71cents the exchange rate is not all that bad and Paris is worth every cent!

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Thanks foryour advicer. I will have a look at it MF

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Thanks for your advice. I have read about them on other forums so will have a good look MF

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Thanks for your advice. 750E for the week plus all the other charges plus bond... handing over 1700 eincluding bond seems too risky to me. I will check out your sites. MF