A Riviera Arrival service

Finding your home is the bigger service — the search, the shortlist, the negotiation. This page is the narrower, more mechanical part underneath it: what actually happens between spotting a listing and getting the keys, in case you want to understand the process even if I'm handling most of it for you.

Reading a French listing properly

French listings pack a lot into abbreviations: "T2" or "F2" means two main rooms (usually a bedroom and a living room, not two bedrooms), "m²" is the surface area under the Loi Carrez if it's accurate at all, "meublé" means furnished, "charges comprises" means utilities are included in the rent and "hors charges" means they aren't. A listing that's vague about which of these applies is worth a direct question before you get excited about the price.

Arranging the viewing

Agencies and private owners both move fast here, especially for well-priced places in good areas — I've seen apartments gone within a day of listing. Respond quickly, be specific about your availability, and if you can't view in person, ask plainly for a video call; most owners are used to the request now and it's a perfectly normal way to do a first pass.

If several people are viewing the same day, don't be shy about asking where you stand in the queue — agents will usually tell you, and it helps you judge how fast you need to decide. A polite follow-up message the same evening, restating your interest, has made the difference more than once for clients I've worked with.

What to check the moment you walk in

Water pressure in the shower, phone signal and whether fibre internet is actually available at the address (not just "in the area"), how much street noise comes through with the windows shut, and storage — older Riviera apartments are often gorgeous and short on closet space. I always ask to see the electricity meter and check what floor it's on if there's no lift; charming fifth-floor walk-ups are charming right up until moving day.

I also open every cupboard and test every tap, gently, without making a production of it — most owners expect this and it tells you more than the listing photos ever will. And I ask directly about the building itself: recent renovations, upcoming shared-cost works, whether the syndic (building management) is responsive, since that quietly affects your life there for years, not just your move-in week.

Building your dossier

French rental applications run on a dossier — a bundle of documents proving you can pay: ID, proof of income or employment (often three times the rent as a rough rule of thumb), recent payslips or tax notices, and frequently a guarantor, which is a real obstacle for newcomers without a French-based one. Guarantor insurance services exist specifically to cover this gap, and having your dossier assembled and ready before you view anything — rather than after you fall in love with a place — makes a real difference in how fast you can move.

Common mistakes

Viewing without a dossier ready, then losing the place to someone who could sign that afternoon — this is the one I see most often, and it's entirely avoidable with a little advance work. Skipping the video call option and assuming you have to be in the country to start looking. And not asking directly about charges — a rent that looks like a bargain can lose its shine fast once building fees are added on top.

How this fits with the fuller service

Everything on this page is mechanics — the parts you can absolutely do yourself if you have the time and a decent level of French. What the fuller finding-your-home service adds is someone doing the searching, the shortlisting and the early viewings for you, so you only step in for the final decision. Which version makes sense depends entirely on how much of your first month you'd rather spend on this versus everything else on your list.

I once watched a client lose a genuinely lovely apartment by twenty minutes because their guarantor paperwork wasn't ready. We had the next one locked down within the week — but it taught me to push people to prepare the dossier before the search even starts, not after.

Ask Nathalie