Questions & Answers

“Gate to Paris” was founded in 2019 – inspired by the Arc de Triomphe and the English word “gateway” – and brings together relocation services in Paris.

For many people, including expats, moving can be stressful, for example because of time pressure before starting a new job and the many tasks at both the old and the new place of residence. That's where I come in, to make your apartment search easier and help you find your bearings in the first weeks, including recommendations for everyday life and much more.

If you don't have time to come to Paris for viewings, a remote apartment search can succeed with my support.

“Gate to Paris” offers you the solution that fits your personal situation – whether you're looking for an apartment, want to find your way around the city quickly, need support with administrative procedures or would like recommendations for restaurants, doctors, tradespeople, language courses, leisure activities and much more.

German-speaking clients in particular appreciate my services in Paris, though of course they're available to every client, as long as we can communicate in German, English or French.

Visa and entry formalities as well as job searches are not part of my services.

That depends on your specific request and the wishes behind it. Feel free to contact me directly for an exact figure and a personalized quote.

For the apartment search, my fee does not include any expenses that may arise once the search is successful. These include, for example, agency fees, costs for the apartment handover and the security deposit, which the tenant pays directly to the real estate agency or landlord.

Yes, of course – services can be put together to suit your needs.

Payments are made by bank transfer. As a general rule, I ask for an advance payment based on the scope of the assignment.

Please note: I can only accept payments from accounts within the SEPA area. Unfortunately, transfers from outside this area often lead to delays or returned payments, which costs both sides unnecessary time.

Once you've told me, based on my service catalog, which services you'd like, I'll prepare an individual offer for you. You'll receive it together with the terms and conditions and all payment details for digital signature.

After many years here, I know the Paris arrondissements, how things work and the hurdles very well. Over time, I've lived in various neighborhoods as well as in the suburbs and gained a lot of experience with the apartment search.

Often an apartment has to be found within a very short time: I take the stress off your shoulders, review your rental dossier with you, find suitable offers and handle the viewings, even if you can't be in Paris. Renting a serviced apartment at short notice is also possible, to bridge the first weeks without a “real” home.

Requirements such as guarantors are often a problem for international applicants – but experience shows that professional support in the apartment search helps enormously in securing an approval and setting up contracts. The “VIP factor” is undeniable and quickly puts the cost of your personal relocation consultant into perspective.

You should get in touch about 6 to 8 weeks before your planned move. You can also contact me further in advance to discuss your wishes – and of course I'll do my best if you've only just learned about your move and suddenly have your hands full.

Once the contract is signed, you'll receive a detailed questionnaire from me, in which you can share all your wishes for your future home. We then discuss the details, you receive recommendations, and I start the research.

This means I contact real estate agencies in the individual arrondissements, go through the relevant portals and offer you a shortlist based on your criteria. I then contact the landlords or agencies and schedule viewings – either together with you or on your behalf if you can't be on site.

You're also welcome to pass on a listing or a direct contact for me to follow up on.

As a rule, the apartment search takes about two to three weeks – from the start to signing the lease, including preparing your rental dossier and all viewings.

How long it takes in your case depends on your requirements for the new apartment, the current supply, your availability for joint viewings on site and, above all, the budget you plan for rent.

I generally present several properties to you. Up to 6 viewings are included in the packages. Additional viewings can easily be booked as needed.

After you've completed the questionnaire, in which we define your wishes for your new home, we plan the search together. Based on this, I look for suitable apartments and present them to you via WhatsApp as soon as a viewing is possible. You then decide whether we go ahead with it.

If you can't be there in person and your schedule allows, you're welcome to join me at viewings via WhatsApp video call.

Once a landlord says yes, there's usually not much time to think it over. If the apartment meets your key requirements, you should accept.

But what if you're hoping for another option and need a little more time? Here, too, a quick answer is expected, and you can only afford the luxury of time if the other approval is almost certain and the deadline pressure isn't too high.

My research is based on your wishes, meaning your answers in the questionnaire. If you don't like any of the apartments, I need precise feedback to still bring the search to a successful conclusion: What bothered you about the properties? What was missing? And which criteria are most important to you, and where could you be more flexible?

Especially in a housing market like Paris, it's difficult to meet every requirement. Quite a few searchers overestimate the options their budget can get them. On top of that, the condition of many apartments leaves a lot to be desired despite high rents – for example, poorly installed plumbing or drafty windows.

If no apartment meets your expectations, we'll quickly agree on how to adjust the search. Additional viewings can be booked as needed.

First of all, it's great news that you were successful. However, since I was hired to take exactly this work off your hands, it would be a shame if you took action yourself during the agreed period. In that case, the full amount would be due.

For us to work together successfully, I ask for an advance payment. It not only confirms your serious interest in the assignment, but also allows me to start right away. Many services involve a significant investment of time and effort.

There's no one-size-fits-all answer: rents in Paris are very high and depend heavily on the arrondissement. For an unfurnished apartment of 25–30 m², €1,000 to €1,200 including service charges is not unusual, and furnished apartments usually cost even more.

Rent control (encadrement des loyers) does cap the rent per square meter. In sought-after neighborhoods such as Montmartre or Saint-Germain-des-Prés, however, the permitted rents are considerably higher than in the outer arrondissements. A studio intra muros for €600 that also offers decent living space would be close to a miracle.

As Paris is one of the best-known and most popular cities in Europe, demand is correspondingly high. On top of that, despite strict city regulations, apartments are rented out as vacation rentals and are then no longer available on the regular rental market. This further reduces supply.

In addition, the requirements for the rental dossier are a major hurdle. Not everyone can show a permanent employment contract or a French guarantor.

Not to mention the many scams you can stumble across as a foreigner.

Overall, there's no month when the market really eases up. Especially in midsummer, when many students are also looking for a place to live, one-room apartments become scarce, and it's not unusual to have to stand in line at viewings.

The apartment search is relatively “easy” in spring and winter, but even then, supply and demand can vary, as so often.

Of course, you might get lucky and receive an approval quickly. Experience shows, however, that this isn't the rule. Allow enough time and start about 6 to 8 weeks before your move – after all, you want to find something and still have time for the move and the apartment handover.

It's better to start earlier rather than later. However, everyone has to decide for themselves whether the financial double burden of overlapping leases outweighs the stress shortly before starting university or a new job with no apartment in sight.

Speaking from my own experience as a private individual, the search can take anywhere from a few days (including approval) to several months. A long search usually happens when there's little time for viewings and the search is constantly interrupted by other commitments. Your willingness to compromise and, of course, your rental budget are also important factors in whether you find an apartment in Paris faster or slower.

Some people have found an apartment at very short notice through flyers posted on lampposts. Or they have a nice French neighbor who happened to have something to rent. Unfortunately, though, the usual route is rather arduous and calls for persistence.

And of course, my HOME Service is a way to help you find a home in Paris with far less stress!

With its 20 arrondissements, Paris has something for every taste. That makes it hard to talk about the “best neighborhoods” – a lot depends on personal preference. Do you like things a bit livelier? Do you prefer quiet residential areas? Or would you rather have a classic Haussmann-style setting? In the 10th arrondissement you'll find African flair, the 11th is not a bad place for students, lovers of Asian cuisine will be happy in the 13th, and the 17th is a bit more upscale and traditional.

Every arrondissement has its pros and cons, and there's so much to discover. It's often a good idea to browse listings all over Paris – you'll be amazed how quickly you can be pleasantly surprised!

In Paris, as anywhere else, you should stay alert and use a healthy dose of common sense. A confident manner and the good sense not to venture into dark, deserted corners alone at night are advisable. But even the somewhat seedy area around Barbès-Rochechouart/Pigalle, which may take some getting used to in the evening, is far from being a no-go area.

There's no need for paranoia or fear: Paris is a wonderful city where no more and no less happens than in any other big city.

Yes. For everyone who wants to plan their move to Paris on their own, I wrote my practical guide “Apartment Hunt in Paris”: on more than 40 pages, it brings together what I've learned from many years of apartment hunting in Paris – on dossiers, rental prices, guarantors and common mistakes – so you can start well prepared and avoid costly pitfalls. You can buy it here.

A dossier is a rental application file for real estate agencies and landlords, used to assess the applicant's creditworthiness.

A convincing dossier requires several documents. Exactly which ones depends on your personal situation: employees, self-employed people and students each have to provide different proof, and a guarantor is often required as well.

As a rule, this includes:

• Identification documents
• Proof of your professional or financial situation
• Information on your current housing situation
• Depending on the landlord, a completed questionnaire

What matters, though, is not only that everything is complete, but also how the dossier is put together. Landlords in Paris often receive numerous applications for a single apartment. A clearly structured dossier makes you stand out. That's exactly where I support you: together, we put your documents together to fit your situation.

The guarantor essentially provides the same documents as you do: identification documents and proof of their professional and financial situation. This allows the landlord to check whether the guarantor could cover the rent if necessary.

However, more and more landlords are taking out rent default insurance (garantie loyers impayés, or GLI for short). In that case, a guarantor is usually no longer required, and you have to meet the insurer's criteria yourself – typically a stable and sufficiently high income. For applicants without a permanent employment contract or self-employed people with fluctuating income, this can become an obstacle.

Whether a guarantor makes sense in your case, and how best to set up your dossier, is something we'll of course work out together.

It's possible, but it often reduces your chances.

Many landlords and property management companies focus on minimizing risk and want as little effort as possible when reviewing incoming dossiers. Above all, they want to be protected against missed rent payments – and unfortunately, not every landlord is open enough to accept “exotic” dossiers.

I'm happy to help with advice and hands-on support on any question regarding your dossier – just get in touch.

This option is also available to you independently of booking the apartment search.