mobilité internationale | Sofime le blog

🇬🇧 Costs to foresee when relocating

During a relocation, one does not necessarily realize that there will be a lot of payments to make at the same time. So as to prevent bad surprises, you need to foresee all the costs. And you need to have sufficient funds in your bank account on the D-Day ! SOFIME Relocation helps you get a better idea of how much you will have to spend upon arrival.

     → 1st rent

Depending on when your lease starts and how the rent is calculated, you will have to pay either a full month rent, or a prorated rent. The latter will be based on the amount of days covered by the lease in the first month.

     → Deposit

For a primary residence personal lease (which is the most common lease), the deposit is 1 month rent (charges deducted) for empty apartments. On the other hand it is 2 months rent (charges deducted) for furnished apartments. If the rental lease is a company lease, or a secondary residence lease, it might be even more! (see our article about the different types of leases, as well as the one about furnished / unfurnished apartment, for better understanding).

     → Agency fees

For a primary residence personal lease, the agency fees are regulated by law. Hence it can be maximum 15 euros per sqm (incl. administrative + check-in fees). However, for company leases and secondary residence leases, there is no maximum. As a result they can rise up to 13% of the annual rent. But if you rent your apartment directly with the owner, there are no agency fees.

     → House insurance

In France, having a house insurance is mandatory. As a consequence you need to subscribe to a house insurance as soon as you have signed the lease contract. The estate agency will ask you to provide an insurance attestation on the day of the checkin in the apartment. Importantly, if you do not have it, you will not get your keys… So make sure your housing insurance is valid starting the 1st day of the lease! The insurance contribution depends on the size of the apartment, how much protection you want against risks and on the value of your belongings. Count for a small 2 room apartment around 150 euros.

     → Moving costs

If you move with your furniture, do not forget to foresee the cost of moving. From one country to another, it can be very expensive.

🇬🇧 THE RENTAL MARKET IN PARIS


What you need to know to start your home search
with the right mindset !

     Renting an apartment abroad is not a simple matter, especially if you do not know the country you are moving to… You have to ask yourself the right questions about what would fit you better. 

You also need to be aware of the real estate market of the city you chose to live in, so that your expectations match reality. From one city/country to another, you do not have the same standards for a similar budget. Especially in Paris, which often comes as a surprise for foreigners! Here is SOFIME Relocation insight about that:

     Demands exceed the offers

     France being a very centralized country, Paris has become the densest market for rentals. In Paris only, 2,2 millions people are living, and Ile de France (the administrative area comprising Paris) has more than 12 millions inhabitants, which corresponds to almost 20 % of the full French population (living on 2% only of the area of France). As you can understand, the housing market is constantly under pressure, and very dynamic.

Paris architecture is protected by law, and new constructions are scarce. The pool of available apartments is not growing, and hence is not following the demand. In the end, it means that there is a lot of competition: for every apartment available, there will be several applicants. And when an apartment is put on the market, it is usually rented in the next two days. So there is no time to think or ask for a second visit! This is less true for big apartments i.e more than 90 m2, and furnished ones.) 

     Rent prices are skyrocketting

     Because of the high demand, prices for rentals have massively increased in the past years. It reached a point where the government had to intervene, and implement rules. Now, in Paris and its close suburbs, there is a maximum price per square meter that cannot be exceeded. Now it is fixed by law depending on the district the apartment is located in. You can find here the detailed information.

This is theory. In reality, things are not as clear. If an apartment has something more than the average, landlords are allowed to exceed the price limit. (i.e high ceilings, amazing view, luxury furbishment etc.). And it seems in the facts that every apartment in Paris is exceptional, because this rule is constantly twisted!

     What is a typical parisian apartment?

     Because new constructions are rare, there are not that many modern buildings. A typical flat in Paris is around 45 m2, comes in a 19th century building and has wood floors that crack when you step on them. It will almost never have an air conditioner. Nor several toilets for instance ! Also, if a lot of old buildings have been equiped with elevators in time, most of the ones in the heart of Paris do not have one, as the staircases are far too narrow to welcome one!

 → Our piece of advice: 

Prioritize your criteria, because the perfect apartment does not exist. Hence you will always have to  make concessions! Therefore be sure of what you want and what you need before the visits are planned. You will have to make up your mind the same day in order to send your application! And do not  worry, with SOFIME Relocation, you always find the perfect place !

Mobilité internationale d’un salarié: quel statut choisir? Expatriation ou détachement ?

Pour le collaborateur, l’enjeu est de ne  pas voir son niveau de vie baisser tout en conservant une protection sociale au moins identique à celle qu’il a en France.

Pour l’entreprise, l’enjeu est financier: optimiser financièrement l’expatriation du salarié.

Mais il faut bien faire attention à respecter les règles et les procédures pour obtenir l’un ou l’autre des statuts car les sanctions peuvent être sévères.

C’est la législation sociale française qui va déterminer le statut  entre l’expatriation et détachement du salarié.

Responsable mobilité: optimisez le retour sur investissement de vos salariés en mobilité

C’est le thème de la conférence que Sofime Relocation organise en collaboration avec Abroad Conseil, le 20 mars à 14:00, au salon de la mobilité internationale.

Nous y aborderons le point de vue de l’entreprise sur la gestion ou non gestion de l’arrivée d’un salarié en France, ainsi qu’un certains nombre de solutions concrètes pour viser efficacité  et optimisation de la mobilité.

Les intervenants seront Dominique Pécout, Abroad Conseil, conseil en mobilité internationale, ex Responsable Mobilité Internationale de Saint-Gobain, Technip et Moët Hennessy (Groupe LVMH) et Sophie Girault, fondatrice de la société SOFIME Relocation.

Pour vous inscrire, c’est ici!