Hola,
Has anyone had experience with a small apt. rental agency called Sibaires?
Thanks so much!
No one seems to have heard of them. It was established in '07 by a French guy.
Am I naive to rent from a small unknown agency? Is there anyway to "vet" them?
thanks for any thoughts on this....
Chris
The best way to "vet" places is to just read everything you can about them on the forums.
Be wary of reviews, there can be problems with people posting about their own business, or employees doing so .. on the forums is a good place ..
Use the Search box to look up other conversations about apartment rental sites.
For most things, I tend to use a business that has a lot of discussion about it .. of course, positive discussions :)
I have not heard of this agency. It is something you really do have to be very careful about. There is a lot of money involved and it is a long trip, you don't want someone to ruin it this way..
Don't forget to look at the bigger agencies too ..
Thanks, Scarlett. I'm definitely looking at the big agencies, too. It's hard when, as you say, there is a great distance involved and lots of money, too.
Contributor
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9 helpful votes I agree with Scarlett’s advice that it’s best to use one of the well-known larger agencies. Twice I’ve used small temporary rental agencies there just because I’ve had solid success doing that across Europe and I don’t like dealing with large companies. But using small agencies in BA produced only disasters and endangerment for my husband and me.
Smaller agencies don’t’ keep your deposit in their offices. Of some 30 I contacted, not one would do that. Instead, they leave it in the control of landlords even when you ask them to make an exception for you. An agent who doesn’t even have the power to control how your cash is treated is unlikely to exert any control over the landlord to make him fulfill all his other contractual obligations to you. The larger agencies I’ve contacted do hold onto your deposit: that is their policy.
Obviously, the property owners that small agencies attract must include owners who will not list their properties unless they’re permitted to control those security deposits. That makes small agencies attractive to owners who are short of cash. Why do small agents exacerbate the risk to renters by leaving renters’ cash with people who may be broke?
Another thing I’ve encountered is owners of small agencies listing their friends’ properties. That means when your landlord won’t t fix something that breaks, you can’t rely on your booking agent to put pressure on the landlord to fix it. You’re on your own with no support. The last thing you need is an agent who owes your landlord a personal favour, and both of them are looking to you to provide the cash to repay it. .
For these reasons, in BA it’s best to go with larger known agents who create professional arms’ distance relations with the owners they list and whose owners can get by in life without holding onto your deposit during your stay. Larger agents have a reputation to protect and are less likely to hurt it or you.
After suffering 2 nightmare rentals in BA through 2 small agencies, I took the advice of people in this forum and opted to book a flat through a large well-known agency. This third rental was fantastic – great landlord, professional handling, a superior apartment for less money, and the security of always knowing that our deposit wasn’t subject to abuse. This landlord and agent restored our trust. Unless you’ve already had a great rental with a small agency that did hold onto your deposit for you, use the known larger ones.
Thanks, good points. It's too far away to take a chance on housing ourselves for several weeks!
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