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Imo2.com. Directory of French removal companies and storage space by département and special competence. Lorry hire. Sale of packaging. Comparative quoting. etc. In French.

Van Hire

A word of caution: You can hire 20 cubic metre vans with an ordinary B driving licence, but if you fill such a van up completely with furniture and removal boxes, you can easily end up having charged twice as much weight as allowed. Not only will you be fined in case of a police control, you will not be allowed to continue unless you offload enough for getting the van below the allowed maximum weight. That means hiring a second van, moving half the stuff over there, and finding someone to drive it - or leaving one van with contents on the spot until you can get back to collect it, hoping that no one has emptied it in the meantime. Finally, if seriously overcharging a van, there is a real risk of tyre explosion because of the increased tyre deformation and friction that wil overheat the tyre. A 12 m³ van can typically load 1075-1500 kg, which is more than the maximum of 625-900 kg for a 20 cubic metre van. The motorway tolls are more expensive for a 20 m³ van than for 12 m³, by the way. For an ordinary removal, less may therefore mean more. Ask at the local mairie (town hall) where you can weigh the van before starting out if you want to play it safe.

Rent and Drop. One-way van hire.
Rent a Car. One-way van hire possible.
Hertz. Large choice of vehicles.
Budget. 
National / Citer. 
Europcar. 
Sixt. 
Ada.
Avis.

Vocabulary and explanation of French property terms on france-property-and-information.

P NEW: Locate a parking space for short or long term use online: oumegarer.com

Note: In principle, estate agent sites would fit here, but because of the vast number of estate agents in France, it is impossible to include them. In order not to discriminate, we will therefore not list any, although it cannot be guaranteed that a few will not slip through the net. Any site that can reasonably be characterised as a portal or property search or information site of general interest will be listed.

See the Banking & Finance section for links about mortgages, money transfer etc.

GRL. You want to RENT property but you don't fulfil the strict criteria of providing a permanent employment contract and spending no more than a third of your income on rent, for example because you are self-employed or earn your living from seasonal or fixed term contracts. This government sponsored scheme can help providing a guarantee for the landlord so you will be accepted as a tenant. You would need to be settled in France already.

Action Logement (formerly Locapass / 1% Logement) .You want to RENT property. This government scheme can pay the 1-month deposit requested by the landlord. You repay it interest free over 3 years. There are other schemes for property assistance via this site, particularly when moving because of work.

CIL (Comité Interprofessionnel de Logement). Schemes associated with Action Logement to help renting or buying property, particularly when moving because of work. The CILs are regionally organised. This link has a directory of the CILs.

Aidologement: Information about schemes to help with renting.

Alliance Sud Expertise. Real estate specialists in Gard, Hérault and Vaucluse: Measuring, reports (lead, asbestos, termites), valuations etc.
Batirenover. Help and advice for building renovation.
Bluebluesky.net. Help and advice for building renovation and property purchase.
Parisrealestatefinders.com. House hunting service (rent & buy), help and advice for property purchase in Paris. Former lawyer and former doctor from New York find property to your specifications.
VEF UK. House hunting service, help and advice for property purchase in France.

Water quality. This government site shows the test results of drinking water for all public water networks.
Risk Map. Maps and lists of risks commune by commune for the entire France. Flooding, earthquake, industrial, forest fires etc.
Map of polluting sites.
Radioactivity map. Map of radioactivity levels.

Open Directory (DMOZ) listing of French property advert sites.

NOTE: I discourage paying any fees, whether by credit card or premium rate phone numbers, for watching ads or obtaining contact information, something practised by a few sites.

TIP: On some of the sites below, such as for example seloger.com, you can only obtain contact details for the estate agent if you call the site's premium rate phone number, or if you wait a few days until the contact details are shown. Annoying, isn't it? Either it's a rip-off, or someone else gets in front of the queue. Well, there is a way around it which is entirely free and legal. Seloger.com tells you the company number of the estate agent. It is 9 digits long and is either called RCS or SIREN. Sometimes, it may be called SIRET and be 14 digits long. The SIRET is the same as SIREN/RCS + 5 digits. So if you have a 14-digit SIRET number, the first 9 digits are the SIREN and also the RCS. Armed with the SIREN/RCS number, go to www.infogreffe.com, www.manageo.fr or www.societe.com to look up the company name. Sometimes you may also find their phone number there. Otherwise, use the yellow pages at www.pagesjaunes.fr to look up the phone number. If that doesn't work either, try to Google them or guess the name of their website.

A vendre A louer. Property to buy and let. Good site. "A vendre A louer", "123immo", "123realestatefrance" and "lesiteimmobilier" are owned by PriceMinister.com.
Abonim. Property to buy and let.
Accesimmo. Property to buy and let.
Adoos. Free ads. Property to buy and let.
Agent-immobilier-france. Property to buy. Site in English and French. Targets UK buyers.
Agoradom. Property to buy and let. Specialises in larger properties, historic buildings, châteaux, holiday lettings. Covers only parts of France.
Annonces de France. Free. Organised by region.
AnnoncesJaunes. Property to buy and let from the publisher of Pages Jaunes - the French Yellow Pages.
Annonciade. Property to buy and let.
Aparapar. Person to person (no agents). Property to buy and let. Search facility very primitive.
Appart-in-france. Property for holiday and furnished short term lettings.
Appelimmo. Person to person (no agents). Property to buy.
A3inet. Property to buy and let. Holiday lettings.
Le Bon Coin. Free classified ads.
Bureaux-commerces. Commercial property only.
Centreimmo. Property in Auvergne, Limousin and Centre.
Chateaux-belles-demeures. Property to buy. Specialises in larger properties, historic buildings, châteaux..
Cheznous. Property to let. Holiday lettings.
LesClesDuMidi.com. Property to buy and let in the south of France (le Midi). Only few ads. Same company as Mopimmo.
Colocation. Time sharing.
Comintoo. Buy and let. Scans other sites' ads so you don't have to do it. It's a new site and its search facility is still complicated to use.
Craigslist France. Free classifieds. In English.
Creme-de-Languedoc.com. Languedoc-Rousillon: Property to buy. Holiday lettings.
Demeures. Property to buy and let. Specialises in larger properties, historic buildings, châteaux.
Demeures-de-charme. Person to person. Property to buy. Specialises in larger properties, historic buildings, châteaux.
Directgestion. Property to buy and let.
Emilegarcin. Estate agents. Provence, Paris, Côte Basque, Côte d'Azur, Deauville.
Entreparticuliers.com. The company owning this site, and its director, were fined 165,000 euros for misleading advertising on the 2 July 2009 and ordered to pay a total of 36,865 euros in damages. Only use this site for browsing ads. Do not post ads (which may end up being much more expensive than you thought) and do not call premium rate phone numbers.
Estateagentsfrance.com. Property to buy. Estate agent listings.
Eurimmo. Property to buy and let. Not good.
Evannonce. Everything.
Explorimmo. Property to buy and let. Good site. 
Expressimmo. Property to buy and let. Holiday lettings.
Findhomeabroad. Home finders independent of estate agents. Property to buy. Holiday lettings.
1st-for-French-Property.co.uk/. Property to buy.
FNAIM. Large organisation of more then 8000 estate agents. Property to buy and let.
La Fôret. Large estate agent chain. Property to buy and let.
Focusfrance.com/. French property for sale.
France-property-and-information.com. French property for sale.
French Connections. Property to buy, holiday lettings.
French-homes-direct.com. Estate agent targeting non residents. In English. Property to buy.
French Property. Property to buy and let.
French Property Links. Property to buy. Useful information for buying and many other things in France.
French Property News. Property to buy.
Frenchpropertysite.com. Advertising portal: Property to buy.
Gateway-to-french-property.com. Rental and Sale of Properties across France. Regional searches, Property virtual tours, Property website designs and links to resources.
Goldimmo. Property to buy and let. Not good.
GP Immo. Also known as Pierre Immo. Property to buy. GP Immo lists many agencies' properties on a commission basis so the agents you contact will actively search for you. This is inspired on the American model.
Gratissimmo. Person to person (no agents). Property to buy and let. Not good.
Historic Rentals. Short term and holiday lettings.
Immoabc. Property to buy and let. Old ads.
Immoannonce. Property to buy and let. Not much choice.
ImmoFrance. Green-acre site in French. Property to buy.
Immo-free. Person to person (no agents). Property to buy and let. Holiday lettings.
Immopacte. Property to buy and let.
Immorapide. Property to buy and let. Not good.
Immostreet. Property to buy and let. Certain ads the same as Seloger.
Immo-web. Property to buy and let. 
L'internaute. Property to buy and let. 
J'Annonce. Everything. Good site. 
Journaldesparticuliers. Person to person. Property to buy, holiday lettings.
Kel-koloc. Time sharing.
Localerte.fr. Poor presentation, poor information, and you have to pay for it.
Lodgis. Apartments in Paris for sale or rental, furnished or unfurnished.
Logic Immo. Property to buy and let. Site regrouping ads from several agents.
Maisons du Sud. Property to buy in southern France.
Maison-online. Property to buy and let. Not good at all.
Micimmo.com. Ads and information about property for sale.
MixAd. PriceMinister.com's site for classified property ads.
Mopimmo. Index of many estate agents. Links to regional real estate ad sites. Same company as LesClesduMidi.
Mon-adresse. Property to buy and let. Good site. 
Myfrenchproperty. Property to buy and let. 
Nexdom. Property to buy and let. Good site. 
OLX. Free. Property to buy and let.
Ouestfrance-immo. Property to buy and let. Only Bretagne, Basse-Normandie, Pays de la Loire.
Offres-immo. Property to buy and let. Only Montpellier, Lattes, Pétols, Sete, Nîmes, Grenoble, Agde, Cap d'Agde, Grau d'Agde.
Openmedia. Property to buy and let.
ORPI. Organisation of estate agents. Property to buy and let. Only few ads.
Parishomes. Person to person. Furnished flats to rent in Paris.
Le Parténaire Européen. Person to person. Property to buy.
Particulier. Person to person. Property to buy and let. 
De Particulier à Particulier. Person to person. Property to buy and let. Good site. 
ParuVendu. Good site. 
Proprietes de France. High-end property to buy.
4immobilier. Estate agent network.
Reflex-immo. Property to buy and let. Not good.
Residences-secondaires. Secondary homes to buy.
SeLoger. One of the most important sites. Property to buy and let. Certain ads the same as Immostreet.
Le Site Immo. Property to buy and let.
LeSiteImmobilier. "A vendre A louer", "123immo", "123realestatefrance" and "lesiteimmobilier" are owned by PriceMinister.com.
Sitimmo. Property to buy and let.
Sudouest-immo. Property to buy and let. Aquitaine and neighbouring areas.
Topannonces.fr/. Property to buy and let.
Trefle. Free ads.
3d-immo. Property to buy and let. Not much choice.
123immo. Property to buy and let. "A vendre A louer", "123immo", "123realestatefrance" and "lesiteimmobilier" are owned by PriceMinister.com.
123realestatefrance. Property to buy and let. Site fully in English, targeted at English clients. "A vendre A louer", "123immo", "123realestatefrance" and "lesiteimmobilier" are owned by PriceMinister.com.
Vebra. Property to buy. English site.

See Yellow Pages, Directories of Goods & Services etc. 

Expat contact sites, see Family, Personal, Schools, Holiday/Vacation.

Zilok. NEW! RENT your stuff to others and earn money. For individuals and professionals.

Priceminister (click on the ad below). Sell your stuff and buy new and used goods. One of France's very successful sites. It has recently opened in the UK at priceminister.co.uk. 

Achat - Vente garanti sur PriceMinister

2xmoinscher. Used CDs, records, books, DVD, VHS, Games, Phones, Computers, Software, Hi-fi, TV etc. One of France's major sites. Good site. 
Abebooks. Old, rare and used books.
Adoos. Free classifieds including housing and cars.
Amazon France.
Annoncer. Car adverts. New and second hand car price index.
Annonces de France. Free. All sorts of ads, including cars. Organised by region. Still very new, so yet few ads.
AnnoncesJaunes. Used car ads from the publisher of Pages Jaunes - the French Yellow Pages.
Argus. Car adverts. Official new and second hand car price index (payable). Important site. Good site. 
Aucland. Online auctions.
Auto-Evasion. Car ads. Owned by PriceMinister.com. New and second hand car price index.
Autoplus. Online car magazine, new and second hand car price index and adverts.
Autoreflex. Second hand cars.
Le Bon Coin. Free classified ads.
La Centrale. Cars adverts. New and second hand car price index (free). Important site. Good site. 
Cliczoom.com. Adverts for cars, property, jobs, IT/Telecoms equipment, and more, at most reasonable prices. Get your ad on several hundred sites.
Craigslist France. Free classifieds. In English.
Drouotlive. Online bids for the Gazette Druout auctions (see later).
E-bay France. Online auctions.
Economique.fr. Auctions, free ads etc. In French.
Evannonce. Everything.
Fiveauction. Real life car auctions.
Fnac.
Franglo.com. Free classified ads for expats in France, site in English.
Gazette Drouot. Auctions on site. Online bids via Drouotlive.
GusBazar.
l'Internaute. Free classified ads. French site.
J'Annonce. Everything. Good site. 
Kijiji.fr. Free classifieds for local communities in some French cities.
Lesannonces. Same as "Vosannonces"; see there.
Marchander. Free. Auctions, classic ads etc.
Marché.
MixAd. PriceMinister.com's site for classified car ads.
Net-annonces. Second hand cars and other used stuff. Free.
OLX. Free. All sorts of ads, including cars.
Onlycar. Second hand cars.
Particulier. Person to person. Everything.
Petites-annonces (Galibot). Everything.
Les petites annonces gratuites. Advertise your stuff free.
Pleex. Distribute your small ads via bluetooth on mobiles. NEW
Topannonces.fr. Classifieds.
Totalfrance.com. Extensive, free expat classifieds section. Good site. 
Trocanglaise.com. Classifieds for expats in France, site in English. Currently (July 2006) fairly uninteresting; very few ads; the link pages are restricted to very few sites because they only link to sites linking back to them.
Trefle. Free classifieds.
Ventes-Domaniales. Public sector auctions of public goods no longer used and lost-and-found goods.
Vivastreet.fr. Free classifieds for local communities in some French cities.
Voiture-occasion.madanight. Second hand cars.
Vosannonces. Free classified ads. French site.
Wanteed.fr. Free classified ads. Site in French.
Webcarcenter. Second hand cars.
Webmycar. Second hand cars.
Windil. Part of ParuVendu. Good site.
Yahoo France. Everything. Good site.