A CRITICAL WARNING TO ANY CURRENT OR FUTURE CLIENTS OF ANDY / A1 REAL ESTATE:…read moreBefore signing anything, require full written disclosure of every legal and tax classification related to your rental. Had we been given accurate and complete information at the outset, we would never have rented from him or his agency. Please protect yourself -- the issues we encountered were serious, costly, and entirely avoidable with proper transparency.
Major Problems We Experienced -- With Serious Financial Consequences:
* We were hit with a large, unexpected French residence tax (Taxe d'Habitation) nearly a year after moving out -- a tax burden we were never told could fall on us.
* We were designated as the responsible occupant for this tax without any disclosure, written or verbal.
* At the last minute, rent payments were suddenly requested to be sent to a Belgian bank account, something never disclosed upfront, which creates documentation complications and is viewed unfavorably by French tax authorities.
Why This Happened (None of This Was Disclosed Upfront):
* The property was treated as a secondary residence, but this was never disclosed to us verbally or in writing.
* Every other secondary-residence apartment we viewed had this status clearly labeled in the listing and communicated verbally -- and none were presented as options because our situation required a primary residence for a full-time student.
* These undisclosed decisions by the agency directly caused the tax liability and required significant legal and tax advisory fees to resolve.
* Once these issues surfaced, Andy offered no assistance whatsoever.
To Protect Yourself, Get These Answers In Writing:
* Is the rental classified as a primary or secondary residence?
* Who will be legally designated as the responsible occupant for taxes?
* Where exactly are payments being routed (country + account)?
* Will the routing create administrative or tax complications later?
* Are there clauses that could shift liability onto you?
* May you have a legal or tax specialist review the contract before signing?
We share this so other renters can avoid the costly and stressful consequences we faced. With proper disclosure and transparent handling, none of this should happen. Renters deserve far better clarity than what we received.
We attempted to resolve these issues directly with Andy, but he has completely washed his hands of the tax consequences created by how our rental was structured and reported.
We also want to make clear that any earlier positive review he has chosen to repost does not reflect our current position. We formally withdrew that review, and it is inappropriate and misleading for it to be reused as though we still stand behind it. The review above is the accurate and current account of our experience.
Nothing in our experience suggests that this agency operates as a safe or reliably transparent option for tenants.
