Getting a Foothold in Bordeaux

Hello All,
first, please pardon this being in English - my French is just not up to writing this and I didn't want to use Google translate, etc.
I am looking for some advice,guidance, help, in trying to rent a property in the Bordeaux area. My wife, Ness, and I are in Bordeaux currently having traveled across on Monday with the intention of finding somewhere to live in the Bordeaux area prior to moving out here permanently in October of this year. We want to move out to Bordeaux permanently and run a small business here aimed initially at the ex-pat community before widening our horizons to include the French community here - once our language skills are good enough.
The big problem is that we seem to have run into a brick wall regarding leasing / renting a place.
Despite my having a reasonable military pension which would cover all of our living costs (we are looking at a property in the region of E750 - E850 or so) and also intending to continue to work in the UK as an independent consultant, we just don't seem able to find anywhere that we can rent without seemingly ridiculous surcharges or conditions being applied.
Not only that, but despite trawling the internet, we have only been able to throw up a handful of estate agents and half a dozen apartments to see.
So in Bordeaux there must be hundreds of apartments / houses for rent at any one time - but we just cannot see them anywhere.
We are here until the 13th September - so a week on Saturday. We are desperate not to go home without securing a place and so are really hoping that someone on here might be able to help us to access the rental market and find a two or three bedroom flat in the area that we could rent for a minimum 1 year.


So is anyone able to assist or advise us as to how to proceed?


Many thanks


Shaun and Ness Byrne

http://www.sudouest-annonces.com/immobilier/location/

Well here's a start the regional newspaper Sud Ouest publishes a property supplement each Tuesday which includes both for sale and rent. The address above gets you into the on-line version. You should be aware that annual shorthold tenancies are peculiarly British and most owners and potential tenants are looking for long term rents of say three years or more.

having just played with it this address should get you to the Bordeaux section

http://www.sudouest-annonces.com/immobilier/location/bordeaux,33/