Professional management of a rental flat will help you achieve higher profits
Have you bought an investment flat to secure a regular, effortless additional income? If so, you may have been taken aback by the necessary steps inherently connected with letting a property, which often turn the whole process into a nightmare that consumes all your free time and energy. However, your plan does not have to be lost if you turn to professionals for whom property management is their daily business.
At first glance, it may not seem that way. After all, you only need to advertise the flat, find a tenant, and then you can monitor your income in real time. However, this widely known scenario is far from reality: letting a flat involves not only essential administrative steps, but also regular maintenance and negotiations with tenants. First, though, you need to find them, and even this stage is often subject to delays.
Demand for rental flats continues to grow, so it is not unusual for a property to attract several dozen interested parties. This may seem like an advantage, but for the flat owner it means going through a lengthy selection process. If you want to find a tenant who always pays on time, communicates with you and does not damage the flat, you need to be thorough in your selection. Professional brokers even recommend checking references not only from the previous landlord, but also, for example, from the employer; reviewing the debtors’ register should also be standard practice. However, this takes time, not to mention the energy required.
Yet this is not where the cycle of worries ends, and you will have plenty of work connected with the property in other respects too. “Collecting rent is great only until the first problems arise. And these do not necessarily mean troublesome tenants. You also need to devote time to the property when service charge and energy payments are apportioned, at owners' association (SVJ) meetings, when it is time to file a tax return, pay insurance, and so on. Suddenly, the owner has plenty of work that they do not enjoy or may not understand. However, we offer a relatively simple way out through professional property management,” says David Novotný, founder and CEO of the independent real estate company Bohemian Estates International.
The company has operated on the market since 2006 and, in addition to property management, offers its clients comprehensive solutions for investments in residential and commercial properties. All necessary services are therefore handled under one roof by professionals who understand the relevant field. Today, Bohemian Estates successfully manages more than 2 000 flats in the Czech Republic and abroad, with a total value of CZK 15 billion.
So how does property management work? On behalf of the owner, the company handles all matters connected with letting the flat. It communicates with tenants, energy suppliers, authorities and maintenance providers. It also monitors the validity of lease agreements and advertises the property and seeks new tenants in advance when the current ones are leaving. It also checks that every prospective tenant has no outstanding debts, thereby minimising the risk of non-paying tenants. As an owner, you also have access to an online web application where you can find not only financial information about your property, but also monitor in real time how profitable it is.
According to statistics from previous years, professional property management is also more effective in the long term, as Bohemian Estates achieves average occupancy of up to 98%, meaning the service can pay for itself.