Set-up & furnishing
Furnishing, equipping, preparing your arrival: everything that makes a home ready to live in, decided from abroad and carried out on site. Our guides cover fit-out, useful smart home tech and turnkey installation.
18 articles
The non-resident move-in checklist: utilities, access, safety
The non-resident move-in checklist: utilities, meter readings, access codes, basic safety and the property file to open on day one after the signing.
Furnishing for seasonal lets: durability, safety, comfort
Furnishing a seasonal let in France: durable furniture, safety to standard and the comfort that drives ratings, for a furnished home hosting strangers.
Entrusting and tracking keys: custody, copies, handovers
Entrusting and tracking keys for a property run from abroad: labelled sets, a dated handover log, coded key boxes and lock rotation after an incident.
Internet in a seldom-used home: what are the options
Internet in a seldom-used home: fibre or mobile options, subscriptions for an empty property, remote installation and continuity when nobody resets the box.
Smart home tech that helps absent owners: heating, detection, alerts
Smart home for absent owners: remote heating control, leak detection, alerts and visit cameras, the sober kit that truly serves owners living abroad.
Working with an interior designer remotely: moodboards, samples, photo sign-off
Working with an interior designer remotely takes method: moodboards, posted samples, written photo sign-offs and a proper remote handover at the end.
Equipping a home for short stays: essentials that last
Equipping a home for short stays: sturdy essentials room by room, the useful spares that save a stay and the upkeep of the property between each stay.
Organising an international removal to France
An international removal to France is planned early: volume, groupage, storage, customs, calendar and arrival-day reception, with a partner removal firm.
Turnkey set-up: arriving in a home that is ready to live in
Turnkey set-up for non-residents covers contracts, deliveries, assembly, first essentials, cleaning and basic shopping, all photo-validated before you arrive.
Furnishing a home from afar: from floor plan to finishing touches
Furnishing a home from afar takes method: floor plan, real usage, a budget per room, deliveries received on site, photo follow-up and a snagging list.
Bringing your dog or cat to France: the order that decides the date
Identification, then vaccination, then passport: the order is a rule and not a convenience. Why a vaccination given too early is not recognised, and how to avoid travelling without your pet.
The parking permit: the paper without which the lorry cannot stop
Reserving the space outside the building is applied for at the town hall weeks in advance. Without it the lorry parks far away, the bill rises, and sometimes delivery is postponed.
Moving into a French apartment building: what the rules require before the date
Hours, forbidden days, a reserved lift, protection of common parts: the building's rules govern moving day. What to ask the managing agent, and when.
Moving quotes: the five lines that genuinely commit
Two quotes at the same amount can carry very different commitments. Declaration of value, per-item ceiling, packing formula, access, lead time: what to read before the total.
Customs relief: the three conditions that decide everything
Importing your furniture into France duty-free supposes three cumulative conditions of regulation 1186/2009. What they require, what they exclude, and why the file is built before shipping.
Shared load or full container: the choice that decides your delivery date
Sharing a container costs less and makes the timing unpredictable. Taking one for yourself costs more and seals the load. How to decide on volume, date and risk.
Damage on delivery: ten days, and a wording that does not protect
Reservations are written on delivery and confirmed within ten days. Why a general reservation is worthless, what a reservation must contain, and what article L133-3 requires.
Bringing your car with the move: the question to settle before it is loaded
A vehicle can come in under the removal relief, but it must then be type-approved and registered. For a non-European model, that is where the plan gets complicated.