GETTING READY TO RENT

YOU'RE SITTING outside Carrefour waiting for a taxi, minding two shopping trolleys full of - well, everything. Corkscrews. Duvets. A self-assembly TV unit. Four chairs. A casserole dish. Three bins. A wall light fitting. A hairdryer. Lamps. Vase . . .

Glamorous, it's not. But if you've decided to rent out your investment property in Nice, it's work that has to be done. You could have paid an interior decorator, or shipped it all from Ireland. But here you are, waiting for that taxi.

If you want to fit out your rental apartment, where to start? Investors with experience of renting property at home will know it all starts with a list - and if you need some prompting, check out rental agency websites which have lists to get you started (try www.havenfromhome.com).

The sensible thing to do is to hire a van and drive to IKEA in Toulon: this means that you can get nearly everything from the furniture to the white goods down to the knives, forks and spoons in one long, gruelling shop. But even without transport, the fit-out can be done relatively quickly once you've reconnoitred Nice's shops. Here's what you need:

Furniture: for simple, good-looking beds, sofas, chairs, tables etc, go to Fly, a French Habitat-style chain - there's one opposite Gare Riquier, a short tram journey from Nice's main street, Rue Jean Medecin. Other options are Habitat itself, in the Etoile shopping centre a short walk up Jean Medecin, or Conforama, a cheaper version of Fly, in the large shopping mall very close to Fly on Blvd de Gen Louis Delfino. But as with Habitat, you will have to wait for delivery or to collect, so will have to find someone reliable in Nice to work for you if you can't be there yourself.

Electrical goods: Darty, on Rue Notre Dame near the corner with Jean Medecin, is best. You can get everything from TVs to hoovers to hairdryers here.

Curtain poles, light fittings etc: Ciffreo Bona, a Woodies-style shop near the main train station, again, a short walk off Jean Medecin, has a wide range.

Nearly everything else: go to Carrefour, a Dunnes Stores -style supermarket/homewares chain with a dazzling array of goods. It's good quality, too. There are of course plenty of other shops - department store Galeries Lafayette (on Jean Medecin at Place Massena) is more upscale, but not too expensive. But if working to a modest budget, the shops above are the best place to start.

Total cost: generally, costs are the same as or lower than you'll pay in Ireland. To completely equip a studio or one-bedroom apartment - from bed, sofa to washing machine to delph - will cost around €5,000.

All you need now is that taxi . . . (sadly, not cheap in Nice).